Red tide looms to the south causing uncertainty for AMI fishers
Fishing around Anna Maria Island is facing a moment of uncertainty as the threat of red tide looms over our heads as it slowly approaches from the south.
Areas such as Siesta Key and southern Sarasota Bay are suffering the consequences of toxic water caused by red tide where as our waters to the north remain clear as of writing this article. Hopefully, with the upcoming cold fronts and the combination of strong north and east winds, Anna Maria Island will be lucky and dodge this unfortunate “natural occurrence” of nature.
With the presence of red tide so close to our area, fishers are planning ahead and scouting waters to the north and east to find areas of refuge to still get out on the water and find some action. Typically, areas such as the Manatee River, Terra Ceia Bay and the waters north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge on the eastern shoreline of Tampa Bay are good places to escape the toxicity of red tide. In these areas, spotted seatrout are quite abundant as there are numerous lush grass flats in depths of 3-8 feet, which offer great habitat for these fish to live and thrive.
If you’re not familiar with these waters, try drifting and jigging with soft plastics on a jig head. This technique is most effective as it gives anglers an opportunity to cover quite a bit of territory in hopes of locating concentrations of trout. Plus, there are numerous other species which will take the jig for such as ladyfish, jack crevalle and pompano.
If fishing with artificials isn’t your thing, you can try live bait. Live shrimp under a popping cork works well for targeting trout. It may take longer to locate the fish but when and if you do, the shrimp is usually quickly devoured by a hungry trout.
Lastly, practicing catch-and-release is advantageous as there is potential for our fish populations to decline as a result of red tide. Under normal circumstances, keeping daily limits of fish is acceptable, although in times where there is potential for major fish kills, its best to try and preserve the fish we have.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m enjoying a variety of fishing both in the Gulf of Mexico and in the inland waters of Tampa Bay. In the Gulf, Spanish mackerel are prevalent around structure such as reefs and wrecks. Free-lining live shiners on a long shank hook is resulting in as many macks as my clients can stand. And, with all of the commotion with the macks, cobia are finding their way to the boat to investigate what is going on. In many instances, we are sight casting to these fish as they appear boat side. Once hooked, the battle ensues with some fish taking up to 15 minutes to get into the boat.
Moving inshore, I’m finding that jigging with DOA CAL jigs on the flats is the most effective for spotted seatrout. I’m also seeing jack crevalle, ladyfish and pompano mixed in with the trout bite. The pompano are sporadic, but we are averaging a few every trip.
