Various weather conditions result in varied catches
Fishing around Anna Maria Island with Just Reel fishing charter is proving to be nothing short of “all over the charts.”
Fishing warm, mild days prior to cold fronts is proving to be on the exceptional side, while fishing during and shortly after the fronts is yielding mediocre catches and discouraged anglers.
Snook action is occurring on those days when the sun is warm and bright and the tides are moving swiftly. On my Southernaire charters we had some days of 40-plus snook to the boat in less than an hour and a half. Even the redfish couldn’t resist hitting a free-lined shiner on those days. Venturing out to the reefs was also prosperous for kingfish and Spanish mackerel. Numerous kings in the 36-inch range were nothing short of hectic on the backwater spinning gear we were using. An ample bait-well full of shiners was critical to be able to keep chumming up the king’s interest.
On those mornings where the temperature was 55 degrees and the wind was blowing 20 mph the fishing can be a “reality check” at best. I catch myself saying, “you’re not as good as you thought you were” on those days. I am managing to scrape up some redfish around the docks by using live shrimp on a knocker rig. Spotted seatrout are staying somewhat clumsy around my hooks on those cooler days although the tide has been moving pretty good for them to commit.
