Gone Fishing

Capt. Scott Greer of Stray Dog Charters out of Cortez Florida has been placing his customers on top of red and gag grouper along with American red snapper.

Capt. Mark Howard of SumoTime Fishing Charters out of Anna Maria Island, said he’s finding fishing around Anna Maria Island to be “exciting. Tarpon are all over the bay and Gulf of Mexico,” and he says the key to catching them is a quiet approach, set up 100 yards or so in front of the fish and let them approach you. Backwater fishing for trout has been excellent, he said, with the best action coming from the deeper seagrass flats in the bays and the edges of the Intracoastal Waterway. Capt. Mark said he’s also catching redfish near the mangroves in the bays, big mackerel around Egmont Key and catch-and-release snook along the beaches and in the passes.

Capt. Sam Kimball of Legend Charters out of Bradenton on Cortez Road said he’s finding the grouper and snapper catch offshore to be excellent. He’s also catching barracuda and amberjack

Capt. Mark Johnston of Legend Charters out of Badenton said his inshore action includes redfish, catch-and-release snook, and lots of small trout now that the water has warmed.

Capt Randall Fowler of Uncle Mud Fish Charters out of Bradenton, has been working the tarpon as he does every year at this time, putting his clients on some whoppers along the beaches and at Egmont Key in Tampa Bay!

Capt Jack Parker of Skinny “M” Charters out of Cortez Florida, has been putting his clients on some nice redfish, mackerel, catch and release snook as well as some nice sea trout.

Capt. Rick Gross on Fishy Business out of Catchers Marina in Holmes Beach said he’s putting his charters onto redfish and mackerel, with the macks being “all over the place.”

Capt. Tom Chaya on the Dolphin Dreams in Holmes Beach out of Catchers said “look for tarpon on the beaches at first light.” He said that there are plenty of big sharks near the sandbars, especially near schools of ladyfish. “Trout action was excellent in deep seagrass in Sarasota Bay last week,” he added, and he caught some nice-sized redfish near oyster bars in Terra Ceia and Miguel bays.

Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me The Fish Charters out of ortez said he’s finding fishing to be hot offshore of Anna Maria Island. “We are catching limits of big red grouper, some nice gag grouper, lots of American red, mangrove, yellowtail, lane and vermillion snapper, all the big amberjack you can handle, cobia, big sharks, barracuda and catch-and-release Goliath grouper.” He said the best action is 100 feet out using a variety of live, cut and artificial bait.

Capt. Zach Zacharias on the Dee-Jay II out of Parrot Cove Marina in Bradenton Florida said trout were by far the biggest catch last week numbers wise, followed closely by catch-and-release snook and redfish. “The spotted sea trout were plentiful, fat and healthy and came in from a variety of locations around the area,” Capt. Zach said, but north Sarasota Bay had to be the best. Whitebait, small grunts and pinfish all worked equally well with shrimp under a cork effective as well. The specks were hitting on both the incoming and outgoing tides with a broken grass bottom. In the same areas there were an occasional mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish, grass gags grouper and juvenile shark.” He’s finding most of the fish hanging tight to the mangrove and oyster rock shorelines around the area. 

Brody Yost, 10, caught this 24-inch trout while fishing with his grandfather, Capt. Jack Parker, aboard the charter boat “Skinny M.”

 

 

Filed under: Saltwater Fishing