Fishing Report Week of January 5th

The fishing has been up and down lately, but patient anglers are able to bring home some pretty good table fare. Sheepshead can be caught around the mangrove islands, oyster bars, and dock pilings on higher water using shrimp tipped 1/0 circle hooks with split shot. They are also plentiful on the nearshore reefs using the same shrimp tipped circle hooks or jig heads. Anglers will also pick up plenty of keeper mangrove snapper with this set-up. The redfish action is hit or miss, but your best shot at a slot fish is along the oyster bars and mangroves on higher tides using shrimp tipped jig heads or shrimp under floats. The are some seatrout along the deeper channels near the grass flats. Shrimp under popping corks will work best in both locating and catching a few of these spots. Drifting the passes with shrimp tipped jig heads in 15-20 feet will produce whiting, sand trout, and even a few sharks.