HM Fishing Report 1-26-24

Inshore Fishing Report

Sheepshead are thick right now around our docks, piers, bridges and jetties. Virtually any structures right now are holding plentiful sheepshead feeding well on barnacles, clams, oysters, small pieces of shrimp, fiddle crabs and more! We are seeing quite a few caught around the pass especially around the docks and bridge. They are even cruising some of the mangrove shorelines of the back bays too. Residential canal docks especially where water is moving is a good spot for them too.

Trout action going well around the back bay waters. We are seeing them attacking the soft plastics, live shrimp and surface plugs. The water temps have come up a little and seemingly their action has remained steady.

Redfish are biting well around the area and you can find plenty working the docks of canal tips near the flats, or islands or close to passes. They are hiding under the docks looking for shrimp. Working docks casting live shrimp under them with a jig head is a great way to prospect for these redfish and you will often run into the trout, black drum or sheepshead too.

Black drum have picked up a bit this past week around the area. We are seeing big boys around the bridges in the back bay and upper bay areas. We are seeing lots of the schoolie sized fish working the flats and islands.

Flounder are biting well around the area too, we are seeing them hanging on the sandy bottom areas near the flats or dock lines. They love to lay in wait and ambush passing baits that venture to close to the sandy bottom areas.

Nearshore Fishing Report

Hogfish action is going well around our near shore waters aboard our 5hr half days, 10hr all days, and also the private fishing charters. They are definitely most common around that 40-60ft range but we are seeing them inside that from time to time and even a little more shallow at time too. You can find them deeper, but as you go deeper theres other more aggressive fish that make it tricky to get to the hogfish.

Mangrove snapper aren’t too abundant close to the shore, unless you venture into deeper nearshore and offshore waters. Lately, we’ve been spotting some good-sized ones during our ten-hour fishing trips in the deeper section of nearshore waters, roughly around 70-100 feet deep. They seem to have a liking for cut threadfin and shrimp. Every now and then, we also come across them in shallower areas like the hogfish zones, ranging from 40-60 feet deep, although it’s not as frequent.

Currently, there’s a significant abundance of lane snapper close to the shore, and we’ve been observing remarkable clusters, including exceptionally large ones! Recently, we landed the largest lane snapper we’ve ever encountered in the shallow waters, approximately 40-60 feet deep. They’re responding favorably to shrimp, squid, and cut threadfins as bait. These snappers exhibit high activity levels, are prolific, aggressive, and are known for their excellent taste. 

Offshore Fishing Report

We’re pretty stoked about our boat coming back from drydock soon – probably within the week, which means that we can finally get back to some OFFSHORE FISHING! The weather’s finally on our side next week, and we’re itching to get back on the water. Dealing with the recent rough weather made it tough to go offshore, but we’re determined to take advantage of this good weather streak and get back to catching some FIRETRUCK red grouper and  can’t forget about the Blackfin Tuna.