Florida Gulf Coast fishing gets underway with the opening of Snook season since September 1, 2008. Redfish and Trout are also offer some promising fishing inshore these days!
Capt. Sam Kimball, out of Annie’s Bait & Tackle on Cortez Road, said he’s been putting his charters onto amberjack, snapper and grouper offshore.
Capt. Mark Johnston, also out of Annie’s, said he’s catching reds, trout and lots of mangrove snapper.
Bill Lowman at Island Discount Tackle at Catchers Marina in Holmes Beach said offshore fishing has improved a bit, but it’s still rough out there and he expects it to be rougher this week with Hurricane Gustav coming through. Offshore action last week included red and gag grouper, plus lots of mangrove and lane snapper and amberjack. In the bays, fishers were catching redfish, snapper everywhere where there’s a structure, and mackerel off the beaches. Best bet for snapper is on the rocks off Coquina Beach and Whitney Beach on Longboat Key.
Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me The Fish Charters said he found that fishing picked up after Tropical Storm Fay cleared up. “We are catching big red and gag grouper, cobia, mangrove snapper, triggerfish, barracuda and lots of sharks,” he said. “Best action is out past 90 feet offshore of Anna Maria Island, using live and cut bait.”
Capt. Zach Zacharias on the Dee-Jay II out of Parrot Cove Marina said there are plenty of snapper all over the inshore waters of Manatee and Sarasota, and fairly decent trout and redfish action as well. “As is usually the case, the plentiful small bait of the summer has reached a decent size for the opening of snook season,” he said, “and the schooling of redfish for the autumn spawn. The dense schools of bait are the key to success for trout, snapper and mackerel, because most of these species are found in close proximity.”