Fishing action heats up at tail end of April

With hopes that the constant winds and cold fronts are going to subside, Anna Maria Island fishers anticipate a good bite for the tail end of April.

A water temperatures rise we should see an influx of fish — especially snook — filtering out of the Manatee River and onto the flats of Anna Maria Sound southward to Sarasota Bay. 

Spotted seatrout and redfish should become more apparent in the weeks to come and should be reaching their full potential during the month of May. 

With a slightly prolonged winter many fish we expect to see in April remained in their wintertime haunts for an extended period of time, but they can only wait so long.

Large quantities of bait arriving in Tampa Bay will sustain these fish as they reach the flats which should hold them there for a while making them targetable. 

Speaking of large quantities of bait, don’t forget migratory species — macks, jacks, kingfish and sharks are found near the bait schools. These high-speed predators are on patrol along the gulf beaches and in Tampa Bay monitoring the bait as they feed along the edges of the schools.

Spanish mackerel and kingfish are worthy adversaries on medium-heavy spinning gear and pound for pound can be quite sporty when hooked. And if you run across a school of large jacks in the 10- to 15-pound range, be ready for a fight. These tackle busters can test the stamina of even the most seasoned angler.

Finally with less wind comes calmer seas making it comfortable to venture offshore. Red grouper and mangrove snapper can be had over hard bottom areas and ledges. Cobia, kingfish and amberjack as well as apex predators such as barracuda and sharks will be found around the reefs and wrecks.

So, although the late season has made it tougher than normal for April so far, have faith that fishing is only going to get better in the weeks to come.

I’m seeing numerous spotted seatrout being reeled to the boat on my Just Reel Fishing Charters.

We are fishing over deep grass flats with free-lined shiners to lure many trout to the hook. A variety of other species including jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish are also taking the hook. On shallower flats snook are the main target and with the addition of live shiners as bait, we are catching quite a few. I’m seeing an occasional redfish being caught when targeting the snook.