After recovering from the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol and BBQ and surviving an array of small explosives over the long holiday weekend, Anna Maria Island anglers are creeping back into local waters to do some fishing.
Multitudes of people from all over were out on our waters for the July 4 weekend, and now, with the amateurs gone, the local wildlife, including the fish, birds, manatees and sea turtles, are venturing out from their hiding places.
The hum of outboard motors and personal watercraft has all but subsided except for the charter captains and recreational anglers that the fish are used to hearing curse during the eruption of vacation traffic.
Many anglers are targeting mangrove snapper. Fishing inshore structure such as piers, bridges and docks is beginning to heat up. Snapper are being found in the passes both north and south of Anna Maria Island. Using small shiners or “hatch bait” works best, as these baits are a favorite meal for the mangrove snapper.
In some areas, catching limits of the fish is attainable while in others the bite remains sporadic. Doing your homework is key to finding success. Have several of your favorite snapper spots in mind before you leave so you have some options to find the fish. And, with the number of boats out targeting snapper, you’re definitely going to want to have options as you may find someone sitting on your spot when you get there.
On the flats, spotted seatrout are abundant. Using live shiners as bait is leading to plenty of action on the deeper grass flats where good tidal flow exists. Many areas are holding trout 12-14 inches while some select areas are holding slot-size and even over-slot fish. You’ll know after a few catches whether the larger fish are present. If you’re just catching small ones, one after the other, it’s time to move on.
Catch-and-release snook fishing is worth trying right now with many fish being caught along the beaches and passes. Hooking up with snook along the mangroves in the back country is working, while larger specimens seem to be closer to the beaches.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m seeing plenty of spotted seatrout reeled in. Using live shiners as bait is leading to trout 12-24 inches. Plenty of slot-size fish 15-19 inches are being caught which is making daily limits attainable for my clients who are looking for a fish dinner.
Targeting catch-and-release snook along the beaches and passes is good during swift moving tides. Snook catches are 20-32 inches and the fish are hooking up on live shiners as bait. On many mornings we’re averaging about 15-20 snook. When targeting snook along the mangroves in the backcountry, I’m also seeing slot-size redfish being caught.
Capt. David White says he’s catching mangrove snapper on his inshore charters. Fishing over wrecks and reefs with small shiners as bait is leading to near limits of the popular fish. Chumming with hatch bait is working to get the snapper to rise from the bottom as they frolic in the chum, making them targetable on hook and line.
After catching snapper, White is moving on to the deeper grass flats of Tampa Bay to target spotted seatrout. Free-lining liver shiners in these areas is leading to an array of trout 14-22 inches.
On the shallower flats in Tampa Bay around mangrove shorelines, White’s sport-fishing anglers are catching and releasing snook, with most linesiders measuring 20-30 inches.
Moving offshore, White says mangrove and yellowtail snapper are a good bet. Both are being caught on either live shiners or frozen sardines as bait.
Capt. Scott Flinn of She’s Way Out There fishing charters says he’s finding plenty of action while targeting spotted seatrout in Terra Ceia Bay. Free-lining live shiners as bait over deep grass flats is yielding limits of trout with most catches 16-18 inches, and larger and smaller examples in the mix.
Targeting catch-and-release snook in Terra Ceia is going well for Flinn, where he says casting live shiners along mangrove shorelines works well to hook up the linesiders. During lighter tides, Flinn says getting baits as close to the bushes as possible is imperative. During the heat of the day, the snook are taking refuge in the shade of the mangroves.
Lastly, on the lower stages of the tides, Flinn has his clients targeting redfish on deeper holes throughout the grass flats. On the lower parts of the tides, the reds are “sitting ducks” in the holes, waiting for higher water so they can disperse throughout the flats. Finding them in the potholes makes it like fishing in a barrel.
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