Ponce Inlet Winter Fishing Report

Winter is here and with fall and most of 2024 in the review window, it’s time to look forward to what 2025 will bring with all the seasons of exciting fishing ahead of us. The coming year is sure to have many days of exciting fishing for us and I’m looking forward to all of them!


Winter season fishing changes the metrics around the inlet and nearshore area. Many of the warm water species like snook, jacks and tarpon have migrated or slowed down their activity significantly. We switch gears to spending more time fishing inshore in the backwaters and lagoon just to the south of the inlet which is the headwaters of these areas. Winter fishing in these areas is highly productive with some of the best fishing of the year for our temperate weather tolerant species like sea trout, redfish and black drum. 


The flats and back country fishing for these species is a great way to spend the winter months and an exciting change from our summer weather tactics of fishing closer to the ocean. Sight fishing is the name of the game and when we have the right conditions, we spend our days spotting these fish in the water to target with fly rods and light spinning gear. If conditions don’t allow sight fishing, we use other techniques to stay on the fish. 


Winter fishing is yet another fun option and allows us to have a year round fishery with great fishing in every season. Don’t miss out on the opportunities that we have in what’s considered an off season for many other fisheries.