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Pompano, along with a few redfish, black Drum, sheepshead, whiting make for the bulk of fishing here. Do not look for the action to be fast and furious but enough to make the day enjoyable. The best days will be those just before a weather change, normally temps will be up just a bit ahead of a weather change, also helps to have a nice beach swell and some breakers to stir up the sand and make fish feed better in the crystal clear water you get in winter months. The best baits would be fresh peeled shrimp, sand fleas when available, and Fish Bites. Reports have it there are of some sharks from around the Topsail hill to Grayton beach area. If you are interested in trying your luck for them use, a frozen cigar minnow on the bottom. This is the best opportunity for shore fishing most of the winter. Many species hold up around the jetties in winter. The rocks provide good hiding and feeding opportunities for most fish. Redfish are just as easy as ever and you get good action on both tide movements, the out going being the better of the two. The best action comes using live shrimp, live bull minnows and a few on spoons. Sheepshead and black drum have been abundant on live shrimp and fiddler crabs. There are a few grouper around the jetties now and a large live bull minnow or pinfish will do the trick. Also look for pompano to start biting on the nice days. For pompano jigs of orange, pink or chartreuse tipped with Fish Bites, live or frozen sand fleas and or live shrimp. We have some Berkley Gulp Sand fleas here at Half Hitch Tackle that work especially well of you and are much more convenient than live or frozen Bait

Pier fishing is some what like surf fishing in the winter as you can never tell from day to day what might be happening, so there is good reason to try your luck here. Many mornings there are some winter bonito and northern mackerel, they are best caught on white jigs and bubble rigs. Look for flocks of birds to give away the fact that bonito and northern are on the way to the pier. Flounder on bull minnows, sheepshead and black drum on live shrimp and reds most days all oversized. The real prize here is Pompano. With the milder winters we have been having, there are always a few pompano hanging around. They are normally better around the jetties, Grayton Beach and Phillips Inlet but if you manage to catch the first one of the year from the Okaloosa Island Pier you receive a season pass to the pier. They offer a season pass for the first black fin tuna, king mackerel and cobia, but a pompano is a real possibility in January or February. The others there are no real shot until late march. Fishing in the surf can vary all winter depending on the weather; there are several options for fishing.

Trigger and Mingo snapper should be good in the 18s, Nicky grounds and mingo ridge area. Flounders are also still good on near shore reefs on live bull minnows. Using Mann's Stretch 25’s, Rapala CD 18s and spoons you can expect to get in on the action with the abundance of over sized reds that hang out most of the winter. You can venture out of the pass most mornings and look either east or west and see large flocks of seagulls and pelicans working schools of reds and bonito feeding on small rain minnows. Most if not all the reds will be over sized but you get a legal one on occasion. Lots of bonito and a stray black fin tuna also are in the same mix of feeding fish.

Amberjack are the choice for deep water bottom fishing this month. Pick your days to head to the edge and beyond and make sure to spend a few days prior to heading out catching up a good supply if live pinfish or live mullet. Live baits are sometimes hard to find in winter months but can be the difference in a successful trip. If you are going to go with frozen baits, larger ones like Northern Mackerel will be better than cigar minnows, producing a better grade of grouper and also be large enough to discourage snapper bites as red snapper season is closed. Don't wait until the day you are going to look for bait. If you cannot find pinfish or mullet try the Broken bottom or Frangista reef for some ruby lips, rockfish and Mingo's for deep water baits. The rigs produce black fin and yellow fin tuna most of the winter. Finding the right window of opportunity is the biggest obstacle here. Winter weather fronts can change fishing conditions rapidly so keep a good ear to the radio for weather changes if you venture this far. Fishing can be excellent this time of year normally a day or so after a big winter weather event.

Destin Bridge and Coast Guard Station - Redfish have been exceptional over the last month; the only real problem has been finding one here small enough to keep. Bull minnows and live shrimp are the way to go for bait. Also with colder temps the sheepsheads have been much more plentiful. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs for bait rigged on a Carolina rig made of 15-20 fluorocarbon leaders, a #4 Owner fly liner hook and a 1-2 oz lead. Mid-Bay Bridge / Bayous / and Flats- Trout will be excellent in the bayous that have freshwater creeks running into them. The back of Cinco, Joes, Indian and Tom bayous are good choices. Alaqua bayou, Mack's, Hewett's bayou and the Intercostals water way from Choctawhatchee to east bay in Panama city have been excellent for large quantities of trout. Redfish have been abundant neat Midbay bridge and most any deepwater boat docks.

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