Florida Fishing January Forecasts | Fish Florida Alliance

FLORIDA FISHING FORECASTS: JANUARY

The following is the Fish Florida Alliance's curated list of local fishing forecasts around Florida. We share links and information from authoritative sources as well as "locals" to give you the best resource to plan your next fishing excursion. Check back before your next trip for the current fishing forecasts to the area.

January 2023 Saltwater Forecast Overview

If you're searching for a winter escape from the cold, Florida is the perfect destination. With a wide range of fishing options, there's something for everyone!

The Florida Keys offer year-round warm weather and fishing that's always hot, from Key Largo to Key West. The lack of crowds in January makes these destinations ideal for fishing. The shallows in Biscayne Bay provide opportunities to catch Bonefish and Tarpon, while offshore, you can target Tuna, Sailfish, Wahoo, and more.

For a more immersive experience, the flats and bays in the Panhandle are teeming with fish. From Pensacola to Panama City Beach, you can expect to catch Redfish, Flounder, Speckled Trout, and Sheepshead. And, if you venture a bit further southeast, you can even take the kids on a manatee spotting excursion in Homosassa!

January 2023 Freshwater Forecast Overview

January brings about a fantastic time to explore Florida’s freshwater lakes, rivers and streams! Cooler temperatures get the bass active and wanting to spawn.

The fishing is so good during this time of year (November through March) mainly because this is the time that the bass are in their pre-spawn and spawning stages which produce some of the best catches and some of the biggest bass during trips.

With the cooler water temperatures, the larger female bass will begin moving out of the main river into their shallow spawning areas. You can find Winter bass by deep drop offs that allow them to move shallow if the sun heats up the water enough during the day. One of the great things about bass fishing in the Winter is that you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch them. They aren't going to bite much until they warm up.

Bass will often hang out in groups during the Winter months so if you catch one, then you should stay a while. You might catch a few more out of the group before they figure out what's going on.