Kings, macks, reds, snook best bets in nearshore waters
By Capt. Mike Heistand
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Happy crew
Capt. Scott Greer took Boone Distributors, entertaining G. Fried Carpets of Sarasota, out in the Gulf of Mexico for a fine day of fishing for grouper and snapper. |
Fall fishing is in high gear right now, with lots of kingfish and Spanish mackerel coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, redfish and snook from the bays, and a few flounder being caught.
Keep away from the trout, though - they’re fragile, don’t take well to catch-and-release, and after the past red tide outbreaks don’t need to be slammed around.
Capt. Thom Smith
Capt. Sam Kimball out of Annie’s Bait & Tackle on Cortez Road said winds and waves have made it rough to go out in the Gulf, but he’s managed a couple of trips and caught kingfish, mackerel, snapper and grouper.
Capt. Mark Johnson of Annie’s said he’s doing well with snook and redfish, plus mackerel and snapper.
Bill Lowman at Island Discount Tackle at Catchers Marina in Holmes Beach said mackerel are thick almost everywhere right now. Redfish are a great bet in the backwater, and kingfish are finally starting to really show up in the Gulf, as well as grouper and snapper.
Bob Kilb at the Rod & Reel Pier said there are lots of good reports of mackerel, small redfish, small flounder and a few snook, plus a lot of jacks and ladyfish. Mangrove snapper are also a good bet, Bob added.
Jesus Rosario at the Anna Maria City Pier said snook fishing at night is excellent, plus pier anglers are catching snapper, flounder jacks and “tons” of Spanish mackerel.
Dave Johnson at Snead Island Crab House said a 7-foot-long bull shark was caught in Terra Ceia Bay last week, as well as a 45-inch-long snook. There also seems to be a lot of redfish coming out of Miguel Bay on the lower tides.
At Tropic Isles Marina, reports include snook coming out of Terra Ceia Bay, small black-tip shark from the waters there as well, plus mackerel and redfish.
Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me The Fish Charters said Fishing is absolutely outragous! Everything is biting, fall is here, and it is my favorite time to go fishing offshore. Everybody is asking, where the kingfish are, well they are right behind my boat and in our cooler. We are also catching Grouper, and Snapper.
Capt. Zach Zacharias on the Dee-Jay II out of Parrot Cove Marina saidsaid he took Bob Carter, a retired game warden from Machias, Maine, to “a pretty good catch of kingfish to 20 pounds, big Spanish mackerel, blacktip sharks and bonito. It was pretty rough with a 20-mph wind blowing out of the north, and the fish didn't go nuts, but bit well enough to keep us hopping for several hours.” Action in Sarasota Bay included reds and juvenile gag grouper in a sheltered bayou. “All of the action was on an outgoing tide and pilchards for bait,” Capt. Zach said. “The windy weather pattern that plagued us for weeks has finally ended with the rapid departure of Noel to the northeast. The first real cold front of the season is upon us and the fishing patterns will gradually be changing over the next month.”
On my boat Magic, we’ll be targeting redfish and snapper, plus some flounder.
Good luck and good Fishing.
Capt. Mike Heistand is a 20-year-plus fishing guide. Call him at 723-1107 to provide a fishing report. Prints and digital images of your catch are also welcome and may be dropped off at The Islander, 5404 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, or e-mailed to news@islander.org. Please include identification for persons in the picture along with information on the catch and a name and phone number for more information. Snapshots may be retrieved once they appear in the paper.
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