Anna Maria Island anglers will find the fishing good between cold fronts.
On calm days, venturing into the Gulf of Mexico provides great action for a variety of species.
Fishing around structure — reefs, wrecks and ledges — can yield many Key West grunts, as well as sheepshead, flounder, mangrove snapper and hogfish.
You also can count on some porgies and many catch-and-release gag grouper to come to the party.
Live shrimp on a bottom rig is resulting in steady action.
And, if you’re in the right area, you might see a bite on every drop, a bite that has fish fry written all over it. The sheer abundance of fish coming to the hook can result in a bountiful harvest.
If you want to stay closer to shore, you’ll find action along the island beaches.
Casting pompano jigs tipped with fresh-cut pieces of live shrimp yields the action. Pompano — the targeted species — are being caught with some regularity. Mixed in are whiting, black drum and sheepshead.
And, if there are any jack crevalle or ladyfish in the vicinity, you’ll be hooking into them — they can’t resist a jig.
Also, if fishing the flats in the back country areas is your passion, try drifting over the deeper grass flats of Sarasota Bay.
Small jigs tipped with shrimp are attracting pompano and juvenile permit that lurk and feed in the grass.
You’ll also encounter jacks, bluefish and Spanish mackerel.
Plus, if you’re lucky, you’ll stumble across large concentrations of catch-and-release spotted seatrout. The fish love to bunch up in the sandy potholes found on the deeper flats. If you find them, there’s a good chance you’re going to find a bunch. If you hook into a couple, then quickly and quietly drop anchor and work the area.
On my recent Southernaire charters, I’m fishing ledges and artificial reefs in depths of 30-60 feet. Live shrimp as bait works well.
I’m seeing Key West grunts, sheepshead, flounder, porgies and hogfish reeled up by my clients, as well as numerous catch-and-release gag grouper about 15-20 inches.
Moving inshore along the Gulf beaches, I’m finding good action on permit, whiting and sheepshead. All three species are being caught in the same areas. So you never know what’s going to grab your bait.
Lastly, I’m catching catch-and-release redfish around residential docks. The bite is occurring during the coldest days of the fronts. It’s a great way to duck out of the wind and get a bite.
On days when the seas are calm, Capt. Jason Stock is venturing offshore with clients where bottom fishing with live shrimp or live shiners is resulting in numerous hookups on mangrove snapper. Some lucky anglers are hooking into snapper up to 9 pounds.
Other catches offshore include limits of red grouper, as well as hogfish. While targeting the red grouper, Stock is seeing an occasional true black grouper — an exciting catch.
Meanwhile, Capt. Aaron Lowman is working the nearshore ledges and other structure in the Gulf of Mexico.
Using live shrimp as bait, Lowman is seeing a variety of species being reeled up, including Key West grunts, mangrove snapper, hogfish, porgies and catch-and-release gag grouper.
In areas about 3 miles out from shore, Lowman is putting clients on tripletail when they come up on any sort of floating debris.
On windier days, when fishing in the Gulf is futile, Lowman is finding action in the canals around residential docks. Casting live shrimp is yielding sheepshead, black drum and catch-and-release redfish.
Capt. David White is guiding trips to the Manatee River.
Live shiners as bait are attracting slot and over-slot catch-and-release snook. The bite occurs on the warmest days between the cold fronts.
While on the river, White also is finding large jack crevalle taking anything put in front of them. This gives him a chance to put fly-fishing clients on the schools. The 10-15 pound jacks will put the most experienced fly fishers to the test.
White also has been plying the waters of Tampa Bay, where sheepshead, black drum and catch-and-release redfish round out the bite for his clients. Live shrimp is the bait of choice, although some of the reds are coming to the fly rod.
Hamilton Brown at the Rod & Reel Pier says sheepshead are the primary bite in Tampa Bay at the north tip of the island.
With strong winds and choppy conditions, the sheepies are really on the feed. The bite presents a great opportunity for those who want to fish, but can’t get out in a boat due to rough conditions in Tampa Bay.
What’s better is the sheepshead really turn on when it’s cold and rough. For bait, live shrimp, fiddler crabs and sand fleas are working well. Mixed in with the sheepies are some black drum and whiting.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.
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