The once and future king of our local waters, kingfish return
Just Reel Fishing Charters Fishing Report April 9, 2025
With Gulf waters reaching consistent temperatures in the mid 70s, you can bet Anna Maria Island anglers have one thing on their minds — kingfish.
The springtime migrations of this tackle-busting mackerel is occurring in the nearshore wat
ers just west of Anna Maria Island triggering anglers to get out there to experience some excellent action on medium-heavy spinning gear as they hook into some of the fiercest adversaries in the mackerel family.
King mackerel, unlike their smaller cousins, can grow to extreme sizes reaching 100 pounds. Most catches average 15-30 pounds although you never know when that big one is going to take your bait.
Known for their speed and fighting power, kingfish are among some of the most popular fish to catch in our area. They can be caught in a variety of ways on both live and artificial baits. Free-lining large, live shiners or threadfin herring is the most popular, although trolling lipped plugs is also effective.
Being one of the most popular fish to catch, you would think they must be super good on the plate too, but actually the meat is strong in flavor, and it best suited for being smoked.
You may have heard people refer to kingfish as “smokers” which is where this name derives itself. After caught and landed, many anglers will bleed the fish to pull some of the strong flavor out of the meat which gives it a milder flavor but even with doing this, kings are still quite strong which makes them excellent to put on the smoker to make smoked fish dip. And due to their size, be prepared to have plenty of dip for your friends and family. And don’t forget if you’re harvesting kingfish the limit in state waters is 24 inches to the fork of the tail and the angler may possess 3 fish per day.
On a side note, don’t forget that we are all on the water together out there. Losing your temper on another angler can have some very negative repercussions so its is always best to keep your composure while fishing, so you don’t end up being an Internet sensation like the captain to the south of us.
As our population keeps growing in Manatee County our inshore waters are becoming crowded — especially by inexperienced boaters which can be frustrating but displays of bad behavior only makes things worse.
I understand this like anyone else whose been fishing these waters for many years. We’ve all lost our tempers at one point or another but taking things to extremes is never a good idea. And with everyone carrying a video camera in their pocket nowadays, you have to be super careful on what you do or say as you can guarantee it’ll most likely get documented. And it may not matter whether you were in the right, it only matters how to public perceives the situation. So, try to use some patience on the water as the boat traffic and volume of people on our local waters is only going to increase.
On my own Just Reel charters I’m patrolling the inshore waters of Sarasota Bay northward to Tampa Bay.
Spotted seatrout are dominating the bite for my clients. In fact, the trout bite this year is one of the best I’ve seen in a while. Trout of all sizes are being reeled to the boat with lucky anglers hooking into fish up to 24 inches.
Snook fishing is shaping up as the water temperatures rise. Casting baits along mangroves and oyster bars is resulting in some good rallies. I’m also seeing redfish being caught while targeting snook, adding some variety to the bite.
