Anna Maria Island anglers are flocking to their favorite grouper spots in state waters to cash in on a short gag grouper season.
The season opened Sept. 1 and ends at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 16.
An order from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission prevents overfishing following the quota average that occurred in 2023. Now we’re seeing a small window of opportunity to catch the popular inshore groupers.
If you can recollect from last year’s grouper season, every Tom, Dick and Mary was posting on Facebook and Instagram every time they caught grouper.
So there you have it.
The cat’s out of the bag.
And don’t get me wrong, we all want to preserve our fishery for future generations but a two-week season seems extreme. I guess with the population boom as well as there being an overabundance of charter boats and recreational anglers on the water, this might be the “new normal.”
So if you plan on going out to target gags, you better get out there early as there are only so many spots to find them. Once you’re at your spot, plan on fending off other anglers as you can bet you’re not the only one that has that number.
Remember, a keeper-size grouper is 24 inches in total length with a limit of two fish per person per day.
Also, if you’re fishing from a recreational vessel, anglers must sign up for a state reef fish designation, which makes you eligible to receive a mail survey used to manage the Gulf gag grouper fishery and provide optimum recreational fishing opportunities. For more info on this, visit myfwc.com/srfs.
If you’re only able to fish on weekends, recreational American red snapper is open through Nov. 30.
Capt. Johnny Mattay is working offshore in the Gulf where the American red snapper dominate the bite. In depths of 100-150 feet of water, Mattay says catching limits of red snapper is being done with ease. For most snapper trips, a limit is occurring while fishing the first spot of the day. Live pinfish as bait work well when combined with the bottom rig, while frozen baits —sardines and threadfin hearing — also are getting the job done.
After limiting out on red snapper, Mattay is setting his sights on yellowtail snapper. Chumming with chunks of cut sardines or threadfin herring is luring the yellowtails from the depths to where they are visible just below the surface of the water. Once the snapper rise in the chum, Mattay has his clients free-lining small chunks of bait on a jig head to them, which is yielding one hook up after another.
As of Sept. 1, Mattay is targeting gag grouper with clients while offshore. Keeper-size gags are being caught on live pinfish as bait in areas where hard bottom and ledges exist.
Moving inshore, redfish are the highlight for Mattay’s anglers. Large slot-size reds are being caught while using shiners as bait and live pinfish are working, too.
Capt. Wes Wildman of Wildman Adventures is on the hunt for gag grouper in Tampa Bay. With such a short gag season, Wildman is planning on spending most of the days in the deeper areas of Tampa Bay.
To catch the large fish in shallow depths, Wildman is trolling to get a bite. Plugs such as the Rapala X-wrap or large soft plastics on an oversized jig head are go-to baits.
With this technique, Wildman hopes to lure the grouper from their hiding places. When they are hooked, they are clear of structure, which gives the angler a better chance of landing the large fish.
Wildman says live bait fishing is effective when working shallow water reefs and wrecks. He likes to use large pinfish or grunts as bait, combined with extra-heavy spinning gear to hoist the fish out of the wrecks. So if you think you’re strong enough to handle one of the large gags, you better act fast.
Capt. David White is targeting redfish in Tampa Bay. Casting live pinfish along the mangrove shoreline is yielding numerous slot-size redfish. Targeting reds along the beaches is yielding action, although most catches are over-slot and must be released.
Hunting snook — the season also opened Sept. 1 — along the mangroves is keeping White busy. He is watching the snook devour his offerings of live shiners as bait and the snook catches are running 20-30 inches.
On days when the Gulf is calm, White is venturing with clients to nearshore structure, which is producing limits of mangrove snapper for the hungry anglers. Small shiners on a jig head or knocker rig fished on the bottom are attracting snapper up to 16 inches.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.