Finally, a fish dinner of the finest kind.
The harvest of the popular inshore trio of snook, redfish and spotted sea trout reopened Oct. 12 in a defined area north of the Anna Maria Island Bridge.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Oct. 6 that the harvest would open in the waters in Manatee County north of State Road 64/Manatee Avenue, as well as in Hillsborough and Pinellas county waters.
The Braden River and all tributaries of the Manatee River are included. Sarasota Bay, Palma Sola Bay and all waters south of Manatee Avenue remain catch-and-release only.
Size and daily bag limits remain the same as before the closure.
Fishing inshore on the flats around Anna Maria Island is providing excellent action on snook, redfish and trout for visiting and local anglers. The propects are high for both sports fishers and others looking for a keeper fish.
Spotted seatrout are in abundance on most of the deeper grass flats of Tampa Bay. Live free-lined shiners cast over the deep grass flats are being devoured by hungry trout.
Also on the deeper flats, you may encounter Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and mangrove snapper, adding a nice variety to the bite.
On the shallower flats of Tampa Bay — especially along the vast mangrove shorelines that make up the eastern perimeter of the bay —you can expect to find plenty of action on snook. Many schooley-size snook, 20-26 inches are taking up residence on the flats. If schools of glass minnows are present, you can bet the snook are there, too. Keeper-size snook — not less than 28 inches or more than 33 inches total length — seem far and few between, although the sheer numbers of smaller snook will keep you reeling.
As for redfish, large breeder schools are being found on the flats of Tampa and Sarasota bays. The schools can contain hundreds of redfish, which make the bite quite easy.
If fishing the breeder schools isn’t your thing, you can catch random reds throughout the flats. You’ll most likely encounter the a red while targeting snook on the flats. Areas where oyster bars and good tidal flow exist are great areas to cast a bait.
Finally, mangrove snapper and macks are being found in good numbers while fishing reefs and wrecks in Tampa Bay. Both are responding to live shiners as bait. Chumming, sometimes heavily, seems to be yeilding the best results when targeting fish.
Please, visit myfwc.com to re-familiarize yourself with the slot limits and other regulations for the newly opened species.
And good luck fishing. Remember, too, to help these species survive, take only what you need.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier on the north tip of Anna Maria Island says redfish are being caught frequently by anglers using live shrimp or live pinfish as bait. Anglers are catching many redfish measuring 20-30 inches. Stout tackle is advised, as these reds are staging on the bottom under the pier among the barnacle encrusted pilings. Casting baits under the pier is resulting in the most bites but, once hooked, it’s imperative to work the redfish out and away from the pilings as quickly as possible to avoid getting your line cut.
While targeting the catch-and-release reds, anglers are hooking into black drum and snook. Both species are responding to live shrimp and live pinfish as bait. Mangrove snapper are being caught frequently by anglers baiting with live shrimp and catches there of 10-12 inches are common.
Capt. David White of Anna Maria Charters is back from a busman’s holiday in Montana to catching redfish on the flats of Tampa and Sarasota bays. Schooling reds are being found, which is resulting in many hookups for White’s anglers. The schooley reds are measuring 30-40 inches depending on what schools are being fished. A variety of baits are working, including live shiners or pinfish, as well as fresh-cut offerings of ladyfish.
Snook fishing is going well for White. Free-lining live shiners over shallow grass flats in Tampa Bay is producing the best action. Most snook catches are measuring 20-26 inches, with bigger fish occasionally mixed in. While targeting snook, White also is seeing a good redfish bite.
Lastly, targeting mangrove snapper over structure — reefs and wrecks — is proving productive. Limits of these fish are being caught. In the same areas, there’s plenty of macks taking the bait between the snapper bites.
Barry Jones at the Anna Maria City Pier is seeing mangrove snapper measuring 12-16 inches being caught with live shrimp the bait of choice. Migratory species — mackerel and jack crevalle — also are being caught. For the macks and jacks, small white crappy jigs are producing the best action. Silver spoons and Gotcha plugs also are working well to attract the attention of the macks and jacks.
Lastly, Jones reports barracuda are taking up residence under the pier. These voracious predators love to feed on injured fish which, for the angler, means you’ve to reel fast and get the fish on the deck quickly before it takes a hit from a hungry barracuda.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.