By Rod Hunter

There isn't another state in the country (or even another country, for that matter) that offers the year-round mix of angling that Floridians enjoy, but tapping into the various species at their peak times and locations does call for a bit of planning. The Sunshine State doesn't really have "fishing seasons," but there is no doubt that some species respond best at certain times of the year, and this is doubly true of the numerous saltwater species that migrate up and down the coast. Check out the Florida Game & Fish picks for this year and you won't have to hear "You should have been here last week."

Water will still be dropping during the spawn, which pushes bass to the deeper edges of hydrilla beds in 3 to 5 feet of water. Some spawn there and others feed there, but the hydrilla edges hosts much of the bass activity January offers.

Weedless soft-plastic baits, such as Texas-rigged plastic worms, tube lures and soft-plastic jerkbaits, account for the majority of bass, but anglers shouldn't overlook spinnerbaits and small topwater lures during dim-light periods.

Tarpon are feeding in Key West Harbor. Find the mullet schools and you find the silver kings. Live mullet and large plastic-bodied swimming jigs can be deadly.

Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Look for concentrations of both spawning and pre-spawn bass along the southern shoreline from the dam to Blue Springs; along with the Orange Springs area; and on the eastern side of the Deep Creek flats.

Weedless tube jigs are ideal for enticing bedding fish, while plastic worms, lipless crankbaits, small spinnerbaits and jerkbaits can be deadly early and late in the day as fish move to and from the spawning sites.

Look for big trout to be leaving the Cocoa Beach canals to soak up some sun on the shallow grass flats near the mouths of the canals. Warm, overcast afternoons are excellent times to find the fish around white holes and mangrove shorelines, where jigs, jerkbaits and live bait can produce.

On an outgoing tide, look for feeding bass on the outside edges of eelgrass beds along the main-river channel, especially early and late in the day. Plastic worms, spinnerbaits, weedless spoons and jerkbaits are very effective. On a rising tide, check the inside edges of the grass patches for bass beds and pay particular attention to any downed wood along the shoreline in low-current areas.

Should that fail to produce, don't overlook any canals. Bass use them heavily for spawning in this section of the river.

This month will see the heaviest bonefish of the year in Biscayne Bay. Check the flats on a rising tide.

Spoons, plastic grubs on jigs, and jerkbaits can prove effective, but if angling pressure is heavy and the reds don't respond to artificials, drop a live finger mullet or half a blue crab in front of them, and hang on. Fish in the 20- to 40-pound range are common.

Big trout are stirring in the Jacksonville area. Check the mouths of tidal creeks on the falling tide.

On a rising tide, look for the trout around rock jetties and spartina grass lines close to deeper water. In the ebb, check deeper dock pilings and any spot where an oyster edge abuts a deep-water drop. Live mullet are deadly if you can find them, but plastic jigs, big topwater plugs and hard-plastic jerkbaits also produce trout over 7 pounds.

Lake Seminole bass are stacked up on the outside edges of hydrilla beds and can provide exciting topwater action during the morning hours.

Lipless crankbaits and topwater plugs are deadly early, while plastic worms and live shiners pull additional fish from the vegetation during the midday hours. Savvy anglers also keep a stout flipping rod handy and probe any small patches of surface-crowned hydrilla along the deepwater edge. Big bass are often lazing underneath this surface vegetation.

Flounder are flooding the St. Augustine Inlet this month. Docks are prime hangouts, but don't overlook the edges of exposed oyster beds on the dead low tide.