January Trout and Redfish Continue in Naples Backwaters

Redfish and Sea Trout continued to be reliable catches aboard my skiff the "Intowishin" last week. My anglers enjoyed nice catches of each with many fish released and a few invited back to dinner! Trout are being caught in many of the inside channels on 3/4 ounce jigs. Any type of plastic grub tail will draw strikes. My "go-to" continues to be a 3″ Berkley Gulp shrimp. These baits are scented throughout and are very effective without having to tip the jig with shrimp. Most of the trout are running 15 to 16 inches and we also caught a few pompano mixed in throughout the week. Redfishing was best during the higher tides in the afternoons last week. We targeted edges of oyster beds and shorelines with shelly edges. Live shrimp rigged with a small split shot was the bait of choice. Some decent sized sheepshead were caught in the same spots with several of them running into the 3 lb. range. We also encountered quite a few flounder and mangrove snapper.