As we get an early taste of some fall weather, you can bet Anna Maria Island anglers are venturing into the back country waters to cash in on some great flats fishing action before winter finally sets in.
Water temperatures are hovering in the low 70s, which triggers snook, redfish and spotted seatrout to migrate onto the flats for one last feed before hunkering down for the winter. They’re feeding hard, trying to pack on extra weight in anticipation of cooler water temps and fewer opportunities to feed.
Finding these staging points — where the fish are feeding — can result in some epic fishing for inshore anglers. Combining this with the proper tides can produce some great fish stories as well as a few fish dinners as the abundance of fish in these concentrated areas can result in hookups on just about every cast.
So don’t miss out. This bite may only last for a few weeks, depending on how frequent and how severe the upcoming cold fronts will be. If the fronts are mild, a larger window of opportunity may present itself. On the other hand, if the fronts are colder with more frequency, then we will be sliding into a wintertime pattern sooner than we think.
On my Just Reel fishing charters, I’m finding plenty of fishing action for my clients in the back country of Tampa Bay southward to Sarasota Bay. Casting live shiners along mangrove shorelines is leading to multiple hookups on snook and redfish. In some areas, I’m seeing some large spotted seatrout and a few juvenile tarpon in the mix, which adds a nice variety to the bite.
Many of the redfish being caught are running on the smaller side — 16-20 inches. Snook sizes are all over the boards with fish as small as 18 inches mixed with fish up to 36 inches.
As for the trout, many are in the slot of 15-19 inches with some larger examples taking our bait while working the shallow flats.
Capt. David White says he’s seeing plenty of snook being caught on his charters. In fact, he says, in the span of two days he had several keeper fish aboard and some releases, too. These slot-size snook are great to see, according to White, as it shows the population is doing well.
Redfish also are being caught on White’s guided fishing trips as casting small live pinfish and shiners around structure is leading to many hookups on the reds. Most catches are in the slot of 18-27 inches, he reports.
Lastly, spotted seatrout are being found on deeper flats with many fish running 16-20 inches. Keeping the bite interesting are ladyfish, jack crevalle and Spanish mackerel.
Capt. Johnny Mattay is working offshore for American red snapper until the season wraps up Nov. 30. Limits of the snapper are being found in depths of 150 feet of water, where both live and frozen bait offerings are quickly being devoured before they can even reach the bottom, says Mattay.
After catching red snapper, Mattay is moving on to slightly shallower waters to target mangrove and yellowtail snapper. Both are being caught frequently on medium-heavy spinning gear. Moving inshore, Mattay is finding plenty of action while targeting redfish and snook. He says he’s finding both during the higher stages of the tide around mangrove shorelines and oyster bars.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.