What is the importance of catching bait?
I guess the obvious answer is to catch fish, but for those of us who catch bait day in and day out there may be something more to it.
I tend to wake up early, and by early, I mean 3:45 or 4 a.m. My first steps outside are observing the conditions as I load the truck with my essentials for the day; rods and reels, cast net, gas for the boat, sunglasses and plenty of water and Gatorade to put in the cooler.
Is it cloudy out or is it going to rain?
Is it hot and, most importantly, is the wind blowing. If so, what direction is it coming from?
East winds are generally favorable, which puts my mind at ease, but if the wind is blowing out of the west, I typically feel a knot in my stomach as I prepare for a tough day on the water.
It’s about 4:30 a.m. when I pull my Chevy truck out of the driveway to head to the boat for more prep work. The roads at this hour are typically empty because most normal people are asleep, making for an easy drive free of the daily traffic that has plagued our sleepy little island.
The traffic lights are still blinking.
The only sign of life is possibly the Holmes Beach police, who typically are staged up, parked side-by-side, making their presence known at Kingfish Boat Ramp. The boat ramp parking lot is empty aside from the police.
The island is still asleep as I arrive at the marina to load up the boat. After gassing up, loading the cooler with ice and setting the rods in the rocket launchers on the tower, it’s time to pull into the darkness of Anna Maria Sound and head to the flat to catch bait.
I travel over the calm water in the darkness with the help of my GPS to find my way. The disorientation of not knowing where the water stops and the sky begins can be a real experience as I soar smoothly over the glassy waters eastward toward the bait spot. Upon arrival, I lay the boat down off plane and slowly idle to the mark where I like to catch bait.
It’s now about 5:15 a.m. and I am the first one on the flat. The bait typically doesn’t show until just before sunrise, leaving me about 30 minutes to wait before it’s time to throw the net. The stillness and peacefulness are appealing as I sit and look at the constellations in the sky, contemplating what I’m going to target that particular day and where I’m going to fish.
Will the fish I caught yesterday be in the same spot or should I try new spots and see what happens?
The predawn breeze caresses my face.
As I look east, the twilight just before sunrise creates a luminescent glow of light blues, purples and pink as the new day arrives. The faint hum from the distant outboard motors as other anglers arrive at the flat signifies it’s time to throw the net for bait.
I throw handfuls of chum into the water to attract shiners to the boat as the sun is just barely peeping over the horizon, bringing a warm, orange glow.
I scan the water for dimples on the surface caused by the bait as it feeds on the chum.
With the net loaded and ready, I make a throw, opening the net in a circle behind the boat. As the net lands, it causes a fluorescent green circle in the water, agitating the bioluminescence and sinking into the grass.
Upon pulling on the rope to retrieve the net, I can see the bait darting in the net as it is pursed shut.
I reach down to grab the horn of the net, shaking it to let the bait settle to the bottom before pulling it over the gunnel and emptying it over the bait well.
On some days, I repeat the process a few times and I have an ample amount of bait.
Those are the good days.
Some days it’s not that easy, but you have to take the good with the bad, right?
Having caught a sufficient quantity of bait, it’s time to clean the deck and go fishing.
The peacefulness has ended.
The noise of the world being awake is upon me and the tranquil thoughts of being alone on the water fade.
It’s time to go to work.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m trying to work in deeper water due to the extremely-high water temperatures we are experiencing.
Targeting mangrove snapper in depths of 20-30 feet results in limits of fish most days, depending on how strong the tides are running.
After catching snapper, I’m targeting spotted seatrout along the beaches and in the bays on deeper flats and structure in depths of 10-15 feet.
Many of the trout are on the bottom end of the slot, but the sheer number of fish results in a catch on nearly every cast. Early morning catch-and-release snook fishing is productive, although the window of opportunity narrows as the fish seem to turn off in the shallows once the sun is high in the sky.
Random catches this week include some cobia and black tip sharks.
Capt. David White says he’s easing up on the tarpon fishing after being on the hunt for the past month or so. Targeting other species is helping cure his tarpon fever, enabling him to get back to a normal routine, minus the compulsion to chase tarpon morning, noon and night.
Catch-and-release snook fishing provides White a change of scenery and he’s putting clients on plenty of linesiders along the Gulf beaches and in the passes. He says targeting snook along mangroves is producing good action during the early morning tides and mangrove snapper also are taking their bait while working the passes and nearshore reefs.
Another species is spotted seatrout, which are being found over deep grass flats in southern Tampa Bay. Casting free-lined live shiners over the right flats is putting clients on some exceptional rallies.
And shark fishing around Egmont and Passage keys is filling the gaps. Blacktip, bull and hammerhead sharks are the norm.
Capt. Johnny Mattay of Anna Maria Charters says inshore fishing has been up and down due to extremely high water temperatures, but he’s managing to catch plenty of redfish and trout and hookups on catch-and-release snook. Early morning tides are producing the best action, as fish are slightly more active before the sun warms the flats.
As the sun gets higher, Mattay is moving to deeper water. Nearshore fishing in depths of 20-50 feet is yielding his clients good action on mangrove snapper, and moving deeper to depths of 100-plus feet is producing limits of American red snapper, yellowtail and mangrove snapper.
Also in the mix for a good day’s fishing are plenty of red grouper.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.
