Liam Cunningham, 5, of Cincinnati was all smiles on Feb. 24 when he took off the line in salt water for the first time. Liam picked up this little hogfish and released it while on a guided trip with the family and Capt. Mac Gregory, standing behind Liam.
I’m sure you’re as tired of reading about the wind as I am of writing about the wind, but for a week Anna Maria Island fishermen are left with just a few days of calm seas.
Inshore waters in the backcountry are calm but the bite follows. In late February and early March, many anglers enjoy venturing into the Gulf of Mexico to target bottom habitat species such as sheep, mangrove snapper, grunts, porgies and hogfish. On very windy days, access to the areas where we target these species is limited.
So you may need to put the “grocery list” aside and focus on backcountry fishing, which can yield great trout results. Drifting and jigging with soft plastics over deep weeds can be productive, as well as entertaining — especially if you stumble upon schools of trout measuring 18-24 inches. With light spinning tackle, many anglers enjoy fighting a feisty, wintertime gator trout.
And, while jigging for trout, it’s not unheard of to encounter ladyfish, jack crevalle, bluefish and even pompano. Yes, those pompanos will smack a soft plastic when it passes in front of their nose, which is an added bonus on every fishing excursion.
If you’re not into trout, or you’ve caught a bunch, there’s always a redfish or two lurking around an oyster bar, wharf or mangrove islands. Casting a select size of shrimp into these areas can be beneficial, as they will typically smell like redfish and be inhaled. And, if not, there’s always the possibility of catching black drum or sheepshead. There is also a negative consequence if your shrimp is eaten by a school of pinfish, at which point you’ll know it’s time to move on.
The point is that even if the wind makes fishing difficult, being able to adapt and do other types of fishing can turn a good day out of a bad day — and an empty cooler out of an entire day.
Finally, snook season reopens March 1 for recreational harvest for Florida’s West Coast and remains open until April 30.
This opening includes all state and inland waters, as well as adjacent federal waters in the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Southwest management regions.
On my Just Reel charter, I bounce all over the water, depending on what the weather presents.
On calmer days, I’m in the Gulf of Mexico fishing over ledges, reefs and wrecks. Using live shrimp as bait results in a variety of catches for my anglers, including mangrove snapper, hogfish, porgies, Key West grunts and juvenile grouper. Flounder and sheepshead can be found around the artificial reefs in good numbers, as well as plenty of lane snapper and a few grunts.
On windier days, I cruise around the backcountry in search of redfish. Casting shrimp under docks produces the best results. Reds mix with black drum and ram’s head, adding variety.
Drifting the flats for spotted seatrout helps create action for my anglers. Soft plastics on a jig head or a pompano jig entice the fish to bite. This bite has included jack crevalle, as well as a few pompano here and there.
said Capt. Johnny Mattay of Anna Maria Charters that offshore fishing in the Gulf of Mexico is good — on calm days.
Targeting the group’s red group is the highlight, with limits being caught most days. Dropping live pinfish on the bottom works well to attract red grouper, as do large jigs tipped with squid.
Mangrove snapper are caught offshore on Mattay’s charter trips, with some catches reaching 26 inches. If you hunt mangrove snapper, you know a 26-incher is big. Bait for snapper varies, but Mattay says frozen sardines work best.
Working nearshore structure in the Gulf results in sheepshead, mangrove snapper and hogfish, which are caught with live shrimp.
For the inshore bite, Mattay says spotted seatrout is a go-to. Live shiners combined with split-shots and casts in deep weeds are producing plenty of slot-size trout, as well as some over-slot fish. Catch-and-release snook fishing works on the hottest days, as does targeting redfish.
said Capt. David White, of Anna Maria Charters, that targeting sheepshead around nearshore and inshore structure is fine. Using live shrimp as bait has attracted fish up to 6 pounds with many 3-4 pounders being caught. Other baits, such as sand fleas and fiddler crabs, are good to carry, especially on days when sheep show poor appetites.
Moving to the Gulf of Mexico, White has fishing clients and hard bottoms. Using shrimp for bait results in many species being hooked, including sheep, mangrove snapper, porgies, Key West grunts and hogfish. And some of these red groups are mixed with the bite.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier said sheepshead and black drum are the main species being caught at the northernmost pier. Anglers casting live shrimp on a weighted rig under the pier are hooking both sheepshead and black drum, although the consistency of the bite requires some patience.
Most sheepshead caught at the pier are 12-14 inches, with smaller and larger examples mixed in. For black drum, slot fish of 18-20 inches are common. Finally, some reds are caught by lucky anglers. Again, live shrimp as bait works.
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