May brings productive fishing for backwater, reef species
What does the month of May have in store for the ever-famous fishing destination of Anna Maria Island?
With water temps on the flats exceeding 80 degrees, fishing for backwater species — snook, redfish and spotted seatrout —should be consistently good.
Keep in mind, as water temps are rising, its best to fish low-light conditions, especially early morning. Live shiners are still the most productive means, although artificials such as topwater plugs and soft plastics are worthy of a bite.
Try to plan for your best chance of a good fishing trip. Strong moving tides in the early morning hours are the No. 1 option. Also, try to pick calm days when the winds are down and navigating on the water is manageable.
Reef fishing in May can be productive. Mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel are abundant on nearshore structure. You may find the local structures are host to other species, including hogfish, cobia, permit and barracuda. Again, live shiners are the bait of choice unless you’re in search of the elusive permit — in which case you may want to have a couple of pass crabs handy.
Finally, around Anna Maria, May brings on the tarpon. You may want to dust off your tarpon gear in preparation for the day when tangible numbers of the silver king appear. Sooner than not, tarpon junkies from all over the world will be flocking to our sleepy little island in hopes of matching wits with a silver king.
Finally, don’t forget that snook fell out of season May 1 and won’t be open until September. Don’t be discouraged though, catch-and-release snook fishing is becoming more and more popular among anglers. Now is the time to search for your all-time biggest snook. Start checking the piers, bridges, beaches and passes — especially at night — to find those fish exceeding 40 inches. Big baits, such as ladyfish, mullet or pinfish, might get you hooked up with more than you can handle.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier is seeing pier fishers reeling up a number of migratory species. Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and ladyfish are voraciously hitting Gotcha plugs, small white jigs and silver spoons. The bite is best, according to Malfese, when bait schools are present. Look for diving birds and feeding fish as you walk out to the end of the pier for a preview of what’s in store.
Pier fishers using live shiners as bait are hooking up catch-and-release snook. To target these fish, try to fish the pier during low traffic times — early morning or late at night.
Finally, pier fishers using live shrimp as bait are catching keeper-size flounder. These may not be the biggest flounder you’ve ever seen, but fish up to 15 inches are the norm. Just cast your weighted shrimp around the perimeter and under the pier for best results.
Capt. Aaron Lowman at Island Discount Tackle in Holmes Beach is targeting spotted seatrout around deeper grass flats in Sarasota Bay. Finding flats with good tidal flow is key — especially during days when the tides are weaker than normal. Lowman suggests looking around passes and inlets to find the best water movement. By doing this, Lowman is leading his clients to limits of slot-size trout. Mixed in with the trout are Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle.
Moving farther into the backcountry, Lowman is fishing shallow grass flats for catch-and-release snook. Although snook are out of season, these fish are great adversaries on light tackle, providing excellent sport fishing action for his anglers. Snook 22-26 inches are the norm.
Finally, Lowman is fishing nearshore structure for mangrove snapper. By dropping live shiners to the bottom on a 1/2-ounce knocker rig, Lowman is reeling up snapper 15 inches. The occasional undersized gag grouper is occurring amid the snapper bite.
Capt. Rick Gross of Fishy Business Charters is fishing the flats of southern Tampa Bay with good results on redfish, spotted seatrout and catch-and-release snook. All three species are responding to live shiners free-lined or fished under a popping cork. For the redfish and snook, Gross is fishing adjacent to mangrove islands and oyster bars. Strong incoming or outgoing tides in these surroundings are providing excellent action for both of these inshore tackle busters. As for the trout, deeper flats on slightly weaker tides seem to be doing the trick.
Moving out to nearshore structure, Gross is finding plenty of migratory species to keep his clients busy. Spanish and king mackerel are still in the areas, as well as plenty of jack crevalle and bonito — all worthy of a cast. They may not be the best on the table, but they’re great for the sheer power they put on the angler.
Capt. Warren Girle is fishing offshore and nearshore structure on clam days. In depths of 40-60 feet of water, Girle is finding drag-sizzling action on king mackerel. These fierce fighting fish are readily taking free-lined live shiners. It is not uncommon to hook into fish 30-pounds along with many in the 15-20 pound range.
In areas where Girle is finding kingfish, he’s also hooking up blacktip sharks. These sharks are on patrol around bait schools and mackerel. By casting fresh-cut chunks of mackerel or jack crevalle into the water, Girle is getting a strike from 50-100 pound blacktips.
Around nearshore structure, Girle is locating cobia, cruising just below the surface in search of prey. When these fish are spotted, Girle is quick to signal his clients to cast a bait, resulting in keeper-size fish for his clients.
Finally, moving to the backcountry, Girle is getting good results on redfish, trout and snook. All three species are reacting to free-lined live shiners. While targeting these species, Girle is finding bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle as a by-catch.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.