Hernando Beach Fishing Report
Capt. Josh Fritz
January 20, 2019
Hernando Beach - Saltwater Fishing Report
Old man winter is here in Florida but the fishing is great. Our fish we target at this time is Speckled sea trout, Red fish, Sheepshead. Sea trout are holding in very shallow water 1-2 feet deep on hard lime stone bottom, fish these guys on a incoming and first part of the outgoing tide. We are doing great with soft plastic zoom baits in white, Arkansas shad, Albino, and watermelon red. Rig these baits weedless with a 4/0-5/0 skip gap worm hook tied with a loop knot for more life like action, cast as far as possible to cover ground and work the bait slow with a soft rod tip twitch the trout are hitting the bait on the fall, size of the trout are ranging from 17-24 inches.
Redfish are holding around the same areas as the trout and in the back creeks and bays, target them on a incoming tide using live select shrimp tail hooked with a 1/0-2/0 circle hook. A good tip for using shrimp is to pinch off the tail end and tail hook the shrimp you will be able to cast a lot further and sent will be disbursed with the tail being pinched off allowing the reds to smell the shrimp faster.
Sheepshead are holding on the offshore rock piles target them in 10-20 feet. The way we catch these convict is two different ways, depending on the current flow use a 1/8 to 1/4 ounce gotcha jig head or use a knocker rig with a 1/4-1 ounce egg sinker and a 1odd bait savor hook. I like to pinch the tail off and thread the hook into the center of the shrimp coming out close to the head or legs key is to hide the hook. Sheeps nibble so when you feel weight on the rod tip set the hook.
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