Strong breezes, red tide put damper on fishing action
Strong breezes from the south are still managing to allow traces of red tide to linger in our local waters.
Despite this occurrence, fishing remains consistent, especially in waters north of the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue. As long as you can avoid the wind and find that magic combination of clean water and fish, you should find the fish fairly responsive.
On recent charters, I’ve been doing one of those two things. On days when winds are out of the east and the Gulf waters are semi-calm, I’m venturing along the beaches in search of kingfish, Spanish mackerel and shark. To find these fish, I’m looking for gulls and terns diving on bait schools.
Generally, if you can find the birds, you’ll find the fish. After catching macks and kings, I migrate to nearshore structure to put my clients on mangrove snapper and flounder.
On days when strong winds make it impossible to fish in the Gulf of Mexico, I’m fishing the flats of Anna Maria Sound and southern Tampa Bay. On deeper flats and around the edges of sandbars, I’m finding good concentrations of spotted seatrout. Free-lined shiners don’t last too long, as a few moments after being cast out, they’re inhaled by hungry trout. Sizes of the trout leave a little to be desired, but I’m managing to put my clients on slot-size fish for the cooler.
As the tide moves in, I’m moving closer to shore in search of snook and redfish. Finding snook is proving fairly easy, although the redfish are a challenge. For both species, I’m instructing my clients to cast live free-lined shiners to attract a bite.
Capt. Warren Girle is venturing into the Gulf of Mexico in search of both migratory and reef species. By anchoring and chumming around nearshore structure, Girle is attracting attention from a variety of species, including kingfish, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper and gag grouper.
To target the macks and kingfish, Girle puts his clients to work, free-lining live shiners behind the boat. For rigging, he’s using a fluorocarbon leader with an Eagle Claw extra-long shank hook. This is effective for the macks, although six more inches of hardwire is needed above the hook when kingfish are present.
For the snapper and grouper, a knocker rig and circle hook baited with a live shiner is proving effective. Dropping baits to the bottom around structure is resulting in gag grouper and snapper, plus flounder, Key West grunts and juvenile red grouper.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier is seeing several species being caught on live shrimp. Pier fishers using live select shrimp as bait are reeling up flounder, mangrove snapper and a few sheepshead. Shrimp fishers — with luck — are catching the occasional black drum or redfish.
Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle are being caught during early morning tides, right around sunrise. Pier fishers using jigs and spoons are getting the action. Live shiners as bait will result in bent rods when the macks and jacks are on the feed.
Capt. Rick Gross of Fishy Business Charters is targeting redfish and snook from the mouth of the Manatee River north to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. In this stretch of water are numerous grass flats with a variety of terrain. Mangrove edges, oyster bars, creeks and potholes provide habitat for snook and redfish, especially during falling tides.
To target these fish, Gross is anchoring at his chosen spot and setting up his clients with live shiners for a free-line cast. Sometimes chumming is needed to locate fish. Other times, the fish are visible and sight-casting is possible.
Spotted seatrout are being found in these waters, although most are on deep flats as opposed to the shallow flats that host the snook and reds. By use of a popping cork and live shiner, Gross is putting clients on rallies of spotted seatrout. Various sizes are coming to the hook, with slot-size fish making up about a third of the catch.
Capt. Aaron Lowman of Keyes Marina in Holmes Beach also is working the flats of Anna Maria Sound for snook, redfish and spotted seatrout. During morning low tides, Lowman is trolling the outer edges of the sandbars to locate concentrations of fish. On low tide, these fish are forced to move from the mangrove shorelines to deeper water, which causes them to congregate along the “outer bars.” It sets up the prey for his clients who then cast live free-lined shiners to the edges, where snook, redfish and trout are being taken. Spotted seatrout are the most abundant in these areas. Schools of under-slot snook also are being found and, for the redfish, the catch ratio is random.
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