Now that Anna Maria Island has dodged another bullet — this one being Tropical Storm Elsa — it’s time to get back to the water and really do some fishing.
It’ll probably take a few days for the waters to settle and become clear, which can make fishing a challenge, but with a little know-how and some luck, you should be able to find success.
In July, we typically start seeing a showing of mangrove snapper in Tampa Bay. These hungry snapper show up around rock piles, reefs, piers, pilings, bridges, boat wrecks and even on the deeper grass flats of the bay, gorging themselves on the vast schools of hatch bait — Spanish sardines, scaled sardines, shiners and glass minnows.
The average size of “bay” snapper is around 15 inches but — with a daily limit of five fish per person — they are a favorite among anglers on the hunt for a fish dinner. The minimum size on mangrove snapper is a mere 10 inches, but most captains release the smaller fish with the hope of bigger ones to come.
You can catch the snapper using various baits. Small shiners or hatch baits seem to be consistently best, although carrying live shrimp is smart. At times these snappers can get finicky. Combine these baits with a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader — or less if you can stand it — and a small circle hook and you’re off to a good start. If you’re bottom fishing, add some weight to the rig and try your luck.
Stealth is key as the snapper tend to be quite smart. Chumming for them is a good way to coax them into making a mistake — and taking your hook. In these scenarios, the light leader and small hook will prove their worth. And, once hooked, the snappers put up quite a fight on light to medium spinning tackle. In fact, it’s quite surprising how hard they fight for their size.
So, if you’re itching to get out on the water and catch dinner, you may want to rig up and try snapper fishing in Tampa Bay.
Capt. Warren Girle is finding plenty of action for his anglers while working the waters of Sarasota Bay. Free-lining live shiners or fishing them under a cork is resulting in a variety of species.
Spotted seatrout — the targeted fish — are coming to client hooks regularly, as well as numerous Spanish mackerel, bluefish and jack crevalle. Mangrove snapper also are being caught in this fashion.
As a bonus this past week, Girle had a large cobia appear next to the boat while his angler was reeling up a snapper. Reacting quickly, he presented a bait to the cobia, which it quickly consumed. After quite a time with the fish on the line, it was brought boatside, where it was dehooked and released. Girl estimated the brown bomber at 40 pounds.
Moving to the flats, Girle is finding a bite while fishing close to mangrove shorelines, where catch-and-release snook and redfish are both being caught in decent numbers.
Capt. David White was working inshore, for the most part, this past week — thanks to the churn from Elsa. He found mangrove snapper frequenting structure, which is making them targetable during slower stages of the tide. Catch-and-release snook fishing is producing action for the sport fishers along the mangrove shorelines of Tampa Bay. A few redfish are being found in these areas as well.
Fishing along the beaches around Egmont and Passage keys at the north end of AMI are other spots for action. White enjoys watching his clients hook into hefty blacktip sharks in the clear waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
When White was able to run offshore, his clients were hooking into plenty of red grouper and American red snapper.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier is thankful that Elsa was mild and left no damage. After the storm passed in the Gulf, anglers found plenty of mangrove snapper to eat their offerings of life shrimp as bait.
Catch-and-release snook fishing is going strong for pier fishers using larger baits — pinfish and mojarras. Lastly, mackerel and jack crevalle are being hooked by anglers pitching silver spoons or small pink jigs.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.