First, we would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Here’s to hoping all of your big bass “fishes” come true in 2025. If you need help with that, that is what we are here for as your local fishing guide service. We’ve been guiding in Central Florida from the Harris Chain, to the Winter Haven Chains, and the Kissimmee Chain for 15 years – and counting – as the official guide for Polk Counties Tourism Board VisitCentralFlorida.org, and running the guide service out of Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. Let’s dive into our Florida Bass Fishing January 2025 fishing forecast.
The basics of how this “forecast” will go is totally weather driven particularly this time of year. And January’s weather looks to be favorable for us in 2025. We all know that Ma’ Nature loves to throw curveballs at us as fishermen. Honestly, I think she likes to play games in deer hunting season too but I digress. Hopefully, the weather will kinda average to my favorite temperatures of 75/55 for most of the month. But as usual, the 3rd week of January looks like a clunker, weather-wise. Now, we’ll still catch ‘em but it’s going to differ from everything else I’m offering as the standards for the month.
Starting out on the Winter Haven Chains – for those not familiar, we have the North and South minus the Mason Dixon Line – I’m fishing offshore in 10’-20’ as long as I’m on a grass line of hydrilla or eel grass. Here your primary bait fish are smaller 3” white bait shad. You will have a handful of days around the moon phases when the bass will be on a bluegill binge, but mostly it’s the shad, so keeping your bait selection pared down will help.
With the water clearing with lack of rainfall and letting the springs fill the lakes will give the you, and the fish, greater visibility. I’ve been a huge fan of the Z-Man 4” Jerk ShadZ in natural colors but the 5” will work and if you don’t have the Z-Man, ZOOM flukes catch the heck out of fish also. Having a few jerkbaits – both shallow and deep divers – in white, pearl, silver, along with Rattle Traps in both 1/4oz and 1/2oz is gospel. If you are into a tough bite situation, bust out a wacky rigged stick bait of your favorite brand in watermelon red, black, green pumpkin pepper, or motor oil.
Moving southeast to Lake Wales and Camp Mack on the Kissimmee Chain is a predominantly different ball game. Here you can go from open water spinnerbait / chatterbait, to froggin’ & flippin’ within 10 yards of each other in under 4 hours.
Let’s start with what we hope is our “typical” morning. We’re in open water over scattered hyrdilla and eel grass anywhere between 5 and 9 FOW throwing a combo of a hollow body frog and a Spook or Devil’s Horse to find which may draw the best bite. Also, a gold/silver spinner bait is a good option because the predominant forage is wild shiners. Now, if you really want to get crazythe new Z-Man Tungsten Chatterbait Elite EVO drives fish wild. Talking with the rest of the team at ICAST and seeing it’s erratic action in person I was impressed and let me tell you that the way this bait will knock itself off a straight line and come right back is something fish are not used to, especially the Big Mamas that have “been there done that” in the lakes. If you can find one, get it! This with a Chatter Spike trailer is deadly out here. Some days you can stay off shore as long as you like, but when guests want a variety we move back to the grass lines chucking frogs (swimming not popping because of the heavy vegetation) and here you can also flip your favorite worms or jigs. I’m a sucker for a Culprit FatMax ribbon tail and you should throw your favorite “go to” bigger bodied worm or creature bait. Hopefully this Florida Bass Fishing January 2025 report/forecast will help you on the water.
Capt. Scotty Taylor
855-FL-GUIDE (855-354-8433) or TMCGuideService.com
Capt. Scott is the Senior Pro Guide for Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Outpost, and he is also the Official Guide for VisitCentralFlorida.org the Polk County Tourism Board.
