Frequent rainstorms pushes freshwater, fish from Manatee River
With many afternoon and evening thunderstorms, Anna Maria anglers are finding themselves gathering around the mouth of the Manatee River in search of a bite.
The result of the massive rainstorms raises the water levels of Lake Manatee to dangerous levels which triggers large releases of fresh water into the Manatee River.
As a result, many species that take up residence far up the river are forced to move west in search of higher salinity levels. Species most affected by this are snook, redfish and spotted seatrout.
Concentrations of these species are found at the mouth of the river and into the waters of Anna Maria Sound. When this occurs, schools of reds are found on the shallow bars out from the flats, as well as next to the mangrove shorelines lining the north and south sides of the river.
Snook are in the same areas as the reds, but are most apparent along the shorelines where good water flow exists. As for the trout, deeper flats in these areas can hold a variety of sizes ranging anywhere from 14-24 inches.
Anglers in search of action on Spanish mackerel and mangrove snapper are fishing the waters closer to the Gulf of Mexico which aren’t as affected by the fresh water action of the Manatee River. Fishing the reefs and wrecks by Egmont Key and the passes of Bean Point and Passage Key is working well. And on the right pieces of structure, lucky anglers are hooking into keeper-size gag grouper.
Just Reel Fishing Charters
On my own Just Reel charters, I’ fishing around the mouth of the Manatee River. Spotted seatrout are being caught in several areas and reaching 22 inches. Many fish are slot-sized measuring 15-19 inches.
Targeting snook and redfish along the mangrove shorelines is also a good bet. Finding slot-size snook is slightly difficult, although many fish 20-26 inches are being caught by my clients.
Lastly, fishing structure for mangrove snapper is resulting in limits for patient anglers willing to weed through the Spanish mackerel.
