Anna Maria Island anglers who like to target sheepshead hope to see a strong arrival of the popular fish in the weeks to come.
With a full moon on Feb. 24, anticipation is high that we will see a volume of sheepshead similar to past years.
The past few weeks, sheepshead were being caught but they seem less abundant compared to prior years, which has some anglers wondering: Where are they?
Spots that are good indicators of how many fish are present in our waters include the Rod & Reel Pier, the Anna Maria City Pier and the Historic Bridge Street Pier, but they have yet to see the masses of sheepies.
It’s possible herds of sheepies are still in deeper waters in the Gulf although, from personal experience, I haven’t seen the numbers yet.
Areas such as the 1-mile and 3-mile reefs should have respectable numbers of fish present but the bite at those locations has been mediocre at best. The same applies to around Egmont Key and its artificial reefs. There are a few around, but hardly in targetable numbers.
Although this causes some anxiety among those of us who love catching, cooking and eating sheepshead, I’m not going to ring the alarm, not yet.
I’ve seen several seasons where the sheepshead bite came late and lasted into the middle or end of March. Maybe that’s what’s happening this year. Only time will tell.
So don’t lose hope and don’t give up on the hunt. Stay vigilant and, with a little luck, we should see the arrival of sheepshead in the next few weeks.
On my own Just Reel charters, I am venturing into the Gulf of Mexico on days when the seas are calm. In depths of 40-50 feet, I’m finding plenty of action while working structure such as ledges and reefs. Mangrove snapper, Key West grunts and porgies are the most predominant catches, with the most rewarding catches being hogfish.
I’m also seeing a few sheepies out there, as well as a variety of grouper including red, gag and scamp.
Moving inshore, spotted seatrout are showing in the bays on some of the deeper sand holes on the edges of the grass flats.
Casting live shrimp into the holes is yielding plenty of trout, as well as some welcome guests, like pompano. Fishing rocks and docks is yielding black drum, redfish and sheepies, with an occasional flounder being reeled up. Live shrimp are working best as bait and, as long as the cold fronts keep coming, I expect shrimp will be the bait of choice for the next few weeks.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier says fishing at the north end has been slightly challenging. Determined anglers using live shrimp as bait are hooking into sheepshead, as well as black drum and redfish around the pier pilings.
In the coming weeks, especially around the full moon on Feb. 24, pier anglers are anticipating the arrival of sheepshead in Tampa Bay as they prepare for their spawn. When this occurs, hundreds of sheepshead can be seen in the waters that surround the Rod & Reel and many are vulnerable to anglers using shrimp, sand fleas or fiddler crabs as bait.
So hang in there, as the bite should improve.
Capt. David White of Anna Maria Charters says that on the few days a week when the wind isn’t blowing 20 knots, he’s venturing into the Gulf of Mexico with clients to target hogfish and mangrove snapper. Both species are responding to live shrimp as bait.
White says he’s finding the best action in depths of 50-70 feet of water, where, mixed in with the targets, are plenty of grunts, porgies and numerous varieties of grouper.
On windier days, White is working inshore, targeting sheepshead and redfish. The bite is predominantly sheepies with some reds mixed in. Again, live shrimp as bait works well. Lastly, over the deeper grass flats, White has anglers jigging with fresh-cut pieces of shrimp added, which results in some pompano.
Capt. Johnny Mattay, also running guided fishing trips for Anna Maria Charters, says the backcountry bite is beginning to fire off. Of course, the bite is occurring on the warmest days, between cold fronts.
Using live shiners as bait is resulting in catches of snook, redfish and spotted seatrout for Mattay’s clients.
Also, while inshore, Mattay has his anglers casting jigs along the sandy beaches of Anna Maria Island, which is attracting sheepshead and pompano. The addition of fresh-cut shrimp to the jig is imperative when targeting the sheepies and it also doesn’t hurt for the pompano.
Moving into the Gulf of Mexico, Mattay is bottom fishing, which is yielding his clients some nice fish for the cooler — hogfish, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, porgies and grunts.
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