Temperatures, fishing action heating up

Fishing around Anna Maria Island is definitely heating up as the spring season progresses towards summer. Whether fishing the flats or venturing out into the Gulf of Mexico, you can rest assured that there is action waiting to be had.

On my own fishing trips with Just Reel Fishing Charters, my clients and I are taking advantage of the calm seas to due light east winds. Fishing nearshore structure for mangrove snapper is proving most prosperous. Mangrove snapper up to 20 inches are readily taking live shiners dropped to the bottom on a 1/2-ounce knocker rig. While targeting snapper we’re also reeling up a lot of juvenile grouper as well as cobia, big jack crevalle and some Spanish mackerel.

Moving inshore, the flats fishing is nothing short of outstanding right now. Spotted seatrout are plentiful on deeper flats. Free-lined live shiners over the grass are producing trout in the slot and some over the slot.

Fishing the shallower along mangrove shorelines is producing respectable numbers of snook. Most catches are falling just under 28 inches although we did mange to put the landing net under a few keepers this week.