Great Island fishing within reach of the beach
With vast amounts of baitfish flowing in and out of Tampa Bay, migratory fish have shown up in abundance.
Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, jack crevalle and bonito are thrashing schools of Spanish and scaled sardines, causing the water to look as if its boiling.
With all of this commotion, the various species of sharks we have in our waters are staging on these schools of bait to find a quick and easy meal. In my own experiences this week, we caught spinner and black tip sharks until we were too tired to reel in any more. You can expect to see bull sharks and hammerheads, too. This action is taking place within a mile of the beaches of Anna Maria Island, so if you’re looking for some good catch-and-release action on sharks, now is the time.
Redfish are still schooling on the shallow grass flats of southern Tampa Bay and northern Sarasota Bay. Top-water action has been superb before morning’s first light. While targeting these reds, expect to catch some bigger size trout, too. As the sun gets up in the sky, switch to a gold spoon or Berkley Gulp shrimp on a jig head to keep the bite going.
Jonny Keyes at Island Discount Tackle says, “Early morning beach fishing is where it’s at.” Migratory species such as ladyfish, jack crevalle and Spanish mackerel are working schools of baitfish right along the shoreline. Keyes suggests using artificials to target these fish. Small silver spoons, white crappie jigs and Gotcha plugs are working best.
Bait fishing along the beaches is prosperous, too. Using small shiners fished on the bottom is producing keeper-sized flounder. “Most of these flounder are being caught around structure,” says Keyes. “Try to find some rocks or piers that are close to the shoreline.”
Using frozen shrimp is still producing whiting, but there are numerous bait-stealers with which to contend. If you find your bait being eaten by small fish, it’s best to just move down the beach a ways and try again.
Small bonnethead and blacktip sharks are cruising the shallower waters just past the sandbars. Keyes says to try using small pieces of frozen mullet or frozen squid to get a bite.
Moving into the backwater, flats fishers are reporting good numbers of spotted sea trout and redfish on both live bait and artificials. Most fishers are using either live shrimp or live shiners. Lure fishers are using top-water plugs in the early morning and switching to subsurface baits once the sun is up.
The nearshore and offshore bite is steadily producing keeper-size gag grouper. Live bait fishing for these bottom dwellers is the tactic you want to use to bring home dinner. Fishing the upper part of the water column is producing Spanish mackerel, bonito, kingfish and numerous species of shark.
Capt. Mark Howard of SumoTime fishing charters reports speckled trout, redfish, flounder, snook, mackerel, kingfish, sharks, grouper and tarpon were some of the species he battled this past week on his charters and scouting trips.
Howard says the key to successful fishing has been overwhelming amounts of bait on the flats and off the beach. “Start by loading up your live wells with lots of shiners to chum your fishing spots,” Howard suggests.
Snook, speckled trout, flounder and redfish have been on the edges of flats and in the potholes at low tide. Howard suggests following the tide and fish up the flat as the tide moves in, winding up tight to the bushes as the tide hits the high-water mark. “Do the opposite for the falling tide,” says Howard.
Howard reports mackerel, kingfish, sharks and grouper have been feeding heavily on the abundance of bait hovering around the structure of artificial reefs. “Use a long shank hook or a small wire leader to avoid the cutoffs from the toothy predators,” Howard says. He’s also finding the grouper cannot resist a hand-size pinfish dropped to the bottom.”
Conner Girardi of Tampa and friends caught 40 mackerel and battled a few sharks, including an 8-foot hammerhead, while fishing with Howard. The apex beast was released after a 15-minute challenge.
Capt. Warren Girle is fishing his charters offshore for gag grouper and mangrove snapper. Girle is looking for gags around ledges in water depths around 50 feet. Free-lining pieces of cut-bait behind the boat and letting them slowly sink to the bottom is producing the best bite. Fishing this method is producing Spanish mackerel, gag grouper up to 27 inches, and some bonito and small sharks.
For the mangrove snapper, Girle likes to chum with fresh-cut shiners. Chumming brings the mangoes to the bait and gets them in a feeding mood. Once the fish are chummed up, Girle is free-lining fresh-cut pieces of shiner or sardine to achieve the bite. Girle suggests using fluorocarbon leader — he says snapper have good eyesight.
On the early mornings, Girle is targeting schools of bull reds in Sarasota Bay. Before the sun is totally up, Girle likes working top-water plugs for these “schooled up” fish. “There’s nothing better than seeing a redfish hit a top-water plug,” says Girle. “The splash is like dropping a cinderblock in the water.”
During the late morning hours, Girle is seeing ladyfish and bluefish corralling bait schools on the deeper grass flats of upper Sarasota Bay. Plastic jigs are working well to catch these frenzied fish. “Once you find these fish, you should be able to catch one every cast,” says Girle. “Keep a dehooker handy for a quick release.”
Leni Hagen at the Anna Maria City Pier says, “Spanish mackerel are being reeled up daily, and they’re big ones, too.” Most pier fishers are using a popping cork trailed with a Clark spoon to target these toothy fish. While targeting macks, pier fishers are catching jack crevalle, ladyfish and skip jacks on the same rig.
For species more on the edible side, pier fishers are working live shiners under the pier to catch mangrove snapper and flounder. “They’re catching a lot of flounder,” says Hagen. “But most are barely keeper-size.”
The same applies for the mangrove snapper. Decent numbers are being caught, but most are small.
Tom Cassetty at the Rod & Reel Pier is seeing tons of small jack crevalle devouring bait schools in the early morning. “When those jacks are here, you can catch them on pretty much anything,” says Cassetty.
Pier fishers also are catching good numbers of Spanish mackerel on white jigs and silver spoons. “Live shiners are working, too,” says Cassetty.
Other species at the Rod & Reel are being caught under or close by the pier. Flounder tops the list of keeper-size fish being caught on either live shiners or shrimp. There are still some redfish hanging around the pier, too, which also can be caught on a shrimp. Last but not least, mangrove snapper are coming to the hook, although most are undersized.
Jeff Medley at the south bait shop on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Fishing Piers says the Spanish mackerel have arrived there in full force. Fish up to 22-inches are being caught on a variety of baits. He says live shiners on a long-shank hook are producing hookups the second the bait enters the water. Mackerel are striking artificials with a purpose. Silver spoons, white jigs and Gotcha plugs are the top three choices for pier fishers.
Along with the large schools of Spanish macks are the long-awaited king mackerel. Keeper-size kings are being hooked daily, though not in large numbers. Most of the kings being hooked are by fishers targeting Spanish mackerel with light tackle. “They’re hooking a lot of the kings on spoons, while targeting Spanish,” says Medley. “But on the light tackle they’re using, they don’t stand a chance.”
Medley added that a few fishers using heavier tackle and big baits, such as blue runners, are catching and landing respectable-sized kings.
Mangrove snapper are infesting the structures under the pier. Live shiners or threadfin herring are producing the bite. You can also use fresh dead shiners cut in pieces if the mangoes are being picky. Fish up to 18 inches are being reported with bigger fish hooked up, but not landed.
Tarpon are still rolling around the pier and are frequently seen crashing the middle of large schools of fry bait. It’s an opportunity for fishers to get that last fix before next year’s silver king season.
On a final note, Medley says he’s seeing cobia patrolling the pier in the early morning. Live pinfish are a great bait to target these brown bombers. Just make sure you have a way to land them, such as a drop net or pier gaff.
Send fishing reports to fish@islander.org.