Water temps heat up and so does the snapper bite

If you can stand the heat, fishing around Anna Maria Island is favorable, especially for mangrove snapper.

Whether fishing around artificial reefs, wrecks, rock piles, bridges, rivers or jetties you are bound to find some mangrove snapper.

I’m even finding snapper on the flats while targeting spotted seatrout. What’s good about these fish is one — they are some of the strongest fighting fish for their size, and two — they are adored on the dinner plate by most experienced and inexperienced fishers. To target these snapper, try using live baits such as live shiners or shrimp. You can use techniques such as bottom fishing or free-lining to attract a bite depending on what the circumstances call for. For an added advantage, try employing the use of a frozen chum block or just chumming with fresh-cut pieces of bait scattered throughout the area you plan to fish. Most of the snapper we target are inshore and nearshore and ranges 10-20 inches which makes them excellent to target with medium weight spinning tackle. This keeps it sporty and a little challenging, especially when catching fish 16-20 inches. Remember, when targeting snapper, the limit is 5 per person per day and the minimum size is 10 inches.