January Fishing Tips for the Northern Gulf

January brings us into full swing of winter weatherThe final option is to head north! The creeks and
patterns. Frigid temperatures leave you withtributaries that feed into the Orange Beach and
fewer options when it comes to fishing theGulf Shores areas are a great place to hunt
Orange Beach area. The gulf is typically great forspeckled trout! Look for deeper holes with a dark
red fishing! Look for the hard north winds to laymuddy bottom to find these sluggish fish! The
the beach waters down slick as glass! Fishing thecold water slows the fish's metabolism and makes
birds and bait are a great way to catch bull reds!them feed more lethargically. Dead-sticking
Another option is to fish the Perdido Pass area.Berkley Gulps! is a great method of tempting
The sheepshead are beginning to congregatethese fish to bite. A popping cork rigged above a
around the jetties and bridge for their annuallive shrimp can also be deadly for catching
spring spawn. Look for these fish to bite aroundspeckled trout! Just remember the fish are slower
tide changes. Live shrimp, Fiddler Crabs, and Sandmoving this time of year. Moving a live bait or
fleas are great baits to entice a sheepshead bite!artificial bait to quickly can determine whether or
With warmer weather between the fronts, looknot you catch fish! My rule of thumb for the
for some slot sized redfish to periodically show upwinter months trout bite is "Dark water, Dark
around the bridge, jetties, and piers close to thebottom!" Darker colored waters combined with
pass! The inshore reefs in Bayou St. John anddarker muddy bottoms hold water temperature
south of the Intracoastal Waterway will typicallymuch more consistently than a sandy bottom in
produce some big numbers of white trout and thegin clear water!
occasional speckled trout!