Anna Maria Island anglers who are willing to brave the cold temperatures and get out on the water are finding good action by fishing the negative tides around the full moon in December.
A negative tide is a tide lower than the mean average low tides throughout the year. These tides are extremely low, leaving many areas of the flats exposed, which can cause groups of fish to find slightly deeper water for refuge until the tide once again rises.
On the flats, deeper potholes and ditches may be the only areas where these fish can remain, causing them to be consolidated in areas as they wait for the tide to come up, which enables them to once again disperse and forage.
Finding these areas on the flats can be quite beneficial to the angler as it reduces time searching for fish — they’re waiting for you. They’re contained in a large hole, practically landlocked, which creates a scenario much like the term “fishing in a barrel.”
Getting to these areas is not always easy, as the shallow waters can prevent access by boat. It requires the angler to wade to the “barrel.” In colder temperatures, those anglers in the know will employ the use of neoprene waders as well as some waiting boots or booties to keep warm and protected. Plan accordingly if you are to attempt such an excursion.
The payoff can be substantial, as species such as redfish and trout are frequently trapped in these low tide oases, rendering them vulnerable to the angler.
Casting live shrimp or artificials such as soft plastics on a jig head into these potholes or deeper water can result in numerous hookups depending on how many fish are trapped in the hole.
And going through the process of wading to a flat in the middle of a winter, carrying the proper gear and keeping yourself warm can be quite satisfying when rewarded with a more than successful morning of fishing on a day when normally you wouldn’t expect a bite.
So get out there and do your homework.
Get out of the boat and learn the territory you’re fishing.
The experience of walking the flat can be much more intimate than just drifting over it in the boat, which in turn should make you a better angler.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m working the inshore waters of Sarasota Bay. Spotted seatrout are the most apparent catch with some mornings yielding 20-30 fish.
Live shrimp or jigs tipped with shrimp work well to catch the trout, which are running 12-20 inches.
Meanwhile, redfish are cooperating in the backcountry. Casting live shrimp around rocks and docks is leading to numerous hookups on these fish.
Many reds are just short of 18 inches, although catching the boat limit of two keepers is attainable.
Lastly, while targeting reds, we’re seeing a variety of other catches — flounder, mangrove snapper, sheepshead and an occasional black drum.
Capt. David White is taking his charters to fish inshore throughout the waters of Tampa Bay, where redfish are the most frequent catch — readily taking offerings of live shrimp as bait. According to White, casting bait around rocks and docks is leading to the bite, as well as some action on black drum and sheepshead.
Drifting over deeper flats with good tidal flow also is working well for White. In these areas, casting jigs tipped with shrimp is resulting in spotted sea trout and pompan for his clients.
Capt. Johnny Mattay is finding his best action while working nearshore ledges and other structure in the Gulf of Mexico.
Using live shrimp as bait combined with a 1-ounce knocker rig is yielding catches — mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper, Key West grunts, porgies, juvenile groupers and a few hogfish.
In most instances Mattay is only moving to a few spots while in the Gulf, which results in a lot of fishing time for his clients as well as plenty of fish in the box to take home for dinner.
Moving inshore Mattay is spending his mornings catching redfish around rocks and docks. Casting live shrimp in these areas is attracting reds as well as some other species such as mangrove snapper and sheepshead.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.