Florida Fishing Report Week of April 29, 2008 Gulf Coast
Capt. Scott Greer of Stray Dog Charters out of Cortez Florida has been on top of the grouper fishing. Amberjack and snapper fishing has been going well also.
Capt. Mark Howard on Sumotime Fishing Charters said fishing around Anna Maria Island has been fair. “With the slow tides, it takes a lot of patience to get the fish to bite,” he said, adding that he’s getting lots of very big trout, plus sharks, including a 5-foot-long hammerhead and numerous lemon and blacktips.
Capt. Sam Kimball of Legend Charters in Cortez said grouper fishing has been steady in the Gulf in about 80 feet of water, and snapper fishing has been excellent off the offshore ledges.
Capt. Mark Johnson of Legend Charters in Cortez, said he’s putting his charters onto redfish and big trout.
Capt. Rick Gross on Fishy Business out of Catchers Marina in Holmes Beach said he’s catching some good-sized redfish.
Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me the Fish Charters out of Cortez is always upbeat. He reports this week that “Fishing is great, the weather is nice and life is good.” Larry also says fishing is fast and furious offshore of Anna Maria Island. “This time of the year, I ask my parties ‘What do you want to catch?’ Everything is biting!” We’re catching limit catches of big red grouper and good catches of gag grouper and scamp, lots of amberjacks, permit up to 30 pounds, black tip sharks up to 6 feet, 5-foot baracudas, goliath grouper and mangrove snapper. There are also some kingfish and all the Spanish mackerel you want out in the Egmont Key Channel. The best grouper and snapper catches are out past 100-foot depths. Larry says big live baits are working best, such as the two-pound live blue runners he puts out for the big shots. “People think I’m crazy when I set out a bait that big, until a minute later a big fish eats it!”
Capt. Zach Zacharias on the Dee-Jay II out of Parrot Cove Marina said boats heading offshore to 80 to 120 feet of water “are having a field day with grouper, snapper, amberjack, kingfish, cobia and permit. The action near the beaches has not been that great, but Spanish mackerel, bluefish, grouper and a stray cobia or two has been the bulk of the action.” He said there are also lots of pompano running the beaches, and suggests using sand fleas, shrimp, or pompano jigs to catch the tasty fish.
“On the inshore scene,” he added, “it has been feast or famine. Some days have been extremely tough to get a sustained bite going. Days when a seabreeze kicks in at midday, coupled with a good tide, has produced some top-notch action with snook to 33 inches, trout to 23 inches and reds to 26 inches. Big jack crevalle and ladyfish have been bending some rods as well.”
Chuck Shuler of Michigan caught this 27-inch spotted sea trout in Sarasota Bay while fishing charter Capt. Zach Zacherias.
Filed under: Saltwater Fishing
[...] Longstreet wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptHe reports this week that “Fishing is great, the weather is nice and life is good.” Larry also says fishing is fast and furious offshore of Anna Maria Island. “This time of the year, I ask my parties ‘What do you want to catch? … [...]
[...] gofu568 wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMark Howard on Sumotime Fishing Charters said fishing around Anna Maria Island has been fair. “With the slow tides, it takes a lot of patience to get the fish to bite,” he said, adding that he’s getting lots of very big trout, … [...]