As August comes to an end temps, fishing remains hot

As we finish up August, fishing around Anna Maria Island on Just Reel fishing charters is productive, aside from having to endure scorching hot temperatures and dodge pop-up thunderstorms. 

With high tides peaking during the morning hours, just after sunrise, I am seizing the opportunity to get some flats fishing accomplished. 

We are catching snook and redfish early before the sun heats up the shallow waters of the flats. Using live, free-lined shiners as bait works well, although with the endless amount of pinfish inhabiting the grass flats, changing out baits frequently is a must. 

On deeper grass flats, my clients are catching spotted seatrout. Swift moving tides are triggering better results from the trout, so timing is everything. We are encountering other species in these areas, including mangrove snapper, ladyfish and plenty of catfish — which are also in abundance throughout Tampa Bay. 

As the morning progresses and the heat intensifies, moving to deeper water is advantageous. Fishing wrecks and reefs is yielding good action on mangrove snapper. 

Chumming for the snapper is aiding in catching limits in a short amount of time. Just remember, the chum attracts other predators such as Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and skip jacks. Although fun to catch, these fish can be considered as “getting in the way” of the snapper bite so chum accordingly. 

Getting back to the snapper, you want to rig stealthy as mangrove snapper have a reputation to being selective on taking a bait. I am using small hooks and light fluorocarbon leader. Try starting with 20-pound fluorocarbon and a No. 4 hook. If this works stick with it. If not, scale down your leader and hook size and try again. 

Don’t think snapper fishing is exclusive to fishing in a boat. Mangrove snapper like to inhabit areas of structure. This includes bridges, piers, docks seawalls and even mangrove roots. Fishing the piers of Anna Maria for snapper is a favorite past time for anglers. 

Just remember, snapper can be picky and the more susceptible they are to pressure, the smarter you’ll have to be in your approach if you wish to be successful at catching dinner. On my Just Reel fishing charters, I’m seeing limits of snapper being caught. On some days the bite is quick and on others clients are having to earn it.

Moderately chumming is keeping the snapper interested long enough to get some in the cooler. But typically, the mackerel and skip jacks are arriving, which makes targeting the snapper slightly more difficult. Adding a little weight to the rig is helping to get the bait down quickly to the reefs where the snapper are lurking. 

After catching snapper, I’m moving to the flats to catch snook along the mangroves. Swift tides are producing the best action. Fishing deeper grass flats also works well during the swift stages of the tide. Spotted seatrout and ladyfish are quickly taking baits free-lined behind the boat. 

Finally, fishing along the beaches for small blacktip sharks is entertaining for my clients. Site casting to 15-20 pound sharks with medium spinning gear is providing drag-screaming action as well as quite a visual display of jumps and twists in the air for the angler holding the rod.