As we settle into the first week of July, Anna Maria Island anglers are anticipating the arrival of mangrove snapper.
We already should be seeing mangoes around the passes and bridges, but this year they seem to be running a late.
Most anglers hope that by the full moon July 21 — the buck moon — the snapper bite will be in full swing. The snapper will be found in mass numbers around the passes, bridges and piers and even on the flats.
The buck moon is so named for the full antlers on the male deer — bucks — by June.
It’s time to start checking the nearshore and inshore reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. With the mass quantities of hatch that arrived after the last full June moon, it should only be a matter of time before the mangrove snapper make a good showing.
As we’re waiting on the snapper, we’re concentrating our efforts on the top inshore trio of spotted seatrout, redfish and catch-and-release snook.
Right now, the deeper grass flats are holding plenty of trout. Although there are multitudes of smaller fish, 13-14 inches, determined anglers are catching limits of slot-sized fish measuring 15-19 inches.
Larger trout are being caught, especially in areas closer to the beaches. For bait, live shiners work best but the fish are not picky on the sizes of the bait. Small shiners or “hatch bait” work as well as large shiners.
For the reds, casting baits along mangrove shorelines and oyster bars works best. Shiners as bait are good, although many catches are occurring using cut threadfin herring or pinfish. In many instances, once a redfish is caught, there are several more in the area, resulting in multiple hookups. Slot-size fish seem to be the norm, with some smaller examples mixed in.
As for catch-and-release snook, the passes and beaches are the most productive locations, where sight casting to snook during swift tides is yielding catches of all sizes. Live shiners work best as bait in this instance, although for the larger linesiders, a large hand-sized pinfish will get the job done.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m following the trout bite in the backcountry toward the beaches on the tail end of the June full moon.
Deeper grass flats in Tampa Bay hold plenty of trout, although most catches are 13-16 inches. As of a week ago, there were plenty of upper-slot fish in the same areas, although after the June full moon, they seem to have migrated toward the Gulf.
Fishing areas with structure along the beaches is yielding trout 18-22 inches. This is great action, as well as the opportunity to put a few upper-slot fish in the cooler and take a few trophy pictures of the ones that are too big to keep before release.
We are targeting mangrove snapper, which are being caught, although the large quantities of fish have yet to make a showing. Small shiners are attracting snapper up to 15 inches.
Catch-and-release snook are taking a hook during swift tides around the passes, with catches measuring 20-30 inches.
Capt. Todd Romine of Back Country Sport Fishing says he’s seeing plenty of action on spotted seatrout as his clients free-line live shiners as bait over the deeper grass flats of Tampa Bay. Many catches are within the slot limit of 15-19 inches, with larger catches reaching lengths of 23 inches.
After their limits of trout are met, Romine sets his sights on redfish and he reports the best results are occurring during the “hill tides” or the highest stages of the tide. Casting baits around oyster bars or other structure on the flats is yielding action for his anglers, with most reds falling in the slot of 18-27 inches.
Romine is then putting his charters on the catch-and-release snook bite, with larger shiners cast around the passes and along the beaches attracting the most attention. Snook catches 20-30 inches are coming to the boat, with some larger examples being caught by lucky anglers.
Capt. David White says he’s patrolling the beaches and passes for Tarpon. Early morning and early evenings in the passes are yielding good action on live crabs as bait.
In between these times, locating schools on the beaches is proving good. For the beach fish, White is casting live threadfin herring to the silver kings, which is yielding quite a few hookups of fish averaging 80-120 pounds.
While targeting tarpon, White says he’s also seeing a volume of sharks in Tampa Bay. Blacktip and sandbar sharks are the norm, with an occasional bull or hammerhead being sighted.
His clients are getting a taste of a big catch by casting fresh-cut chunks of bonito or mackerel, which is luring the sharks to the hook.
Lastly, White is finding some action on mangrove snapper. Using hatch bait is working good to get limits of these fish into the boat.
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