Anna Maria Island anglers are becoming proficient in watching the weather and dodging storms as rainfall and thunderstorms pop up daily over our waters.
Despite all the running around and rerouting, anglers are finding success fishing inshore and offshore.
Inshore fishing for spotted seatrout remains the most consistent bite available for another week. You might notice a high volume of smaller trout throughout our region, most likely due to the full moon triggering the larger fish to move into the Gulf to spawn. Nonetheless, there is plenty of action to be had.
Catch-and-release snook fishing is a good bet if you know where to look. Many of our area’s snook are preparing to spawn and will be staying in waters where bait is readily available as they need to fatten up before it’s time to get down to business. Good opportunities for linesiders should present themselves in the passes and along the Gulf beaches as we work toward July.
You might find some reds mixed in, too, but the real action will be on the flats where schools of reds should be starting to appear.
And, if you’re looking for the fishing experience of a lifetime, you still have a few weeks to hunt and hookup with a tarpon. The fish should be on their long trek back from their offshore spawn during the full moon. And when they return, you can bet they’ll be hungry.
Moving offshore, American red snapper seem to be a hot topic. Although the limits are stringent, there’s plenty of other fish out there to make the lengthy offshore trip worthwhile. Limits of red grouper, mangrove snapper and yellowtail snapper are attainable, which can fill the cooler quickly if you’re on the right numbers.
Just remember, while you’re offshore, try to avoid the sharks and keep a keen eye on the sky as pop-up storms can be intense.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m seeing plenty of spotted seatrout daily. Limits are being caught on most charters, although on the tail end of the full moon, I’m noticing a larger mix of smaller fish, which means we have to work harder for our limit of slot-size fish.
Catch-and-release snook fishing is heating up, especially along the beaches and passes. There’s also a mix of migratory fish, such as jack crevalle, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel on the deeper grass flats in Tampa Bay, which provides good action as well as excellent shark bait.
Black tip and sandbar sharks are frequent along the beaches and in western Tampa Bay, which can provide some great rod-bending action for any anglers wishing to test their strength.
Capt. David White says he’s spending most of his time on patrol for tarpon and his early morning sunrise trips are yielding quite a few hookups and the same applies for the evening outgoing tides.
Fishing inshore for trout and catch-and-release snook also is providing action for White’s sportfishers when on break from tarpon fishing.
Redfish also are an option on the inshore trips and fishing structure in the Gulf is getting good for mangrove snapper reports White.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.