As May approaches, temps and action heat up inshore
Just Reel Fishing Charters Report April 30, 2025: As we wrap up April and slide into May, inshore fishing around Anna Maria Island is really heating up just like the temperatures.
With water temps finally reaching 78-80 degrees, inshore fish such as snook, redfish and spotted seatrout are finding their comfort zone which is quite apparent by the way they are biting.
Live bait presentations such as shiners or pinfish are quickly being devoured when cast around mangrove shorelines, oyster bars and shallow grass flats with sandy potholes.
Snook and redfish are lurking on the shallows and have one thing on their minds — feeding.
Now is the time to get out before temperatures quickly rise putting a slight damper on flats fishing. Spotted seatrout are following suit with most action coming from deeper grass flats in Tampa Bay south to Sarasota Bay. As the trout migrate toward the beaches to spawn they can also be found in the passes and along the Gulf beaches where structure exists. Don’t forget the slot-limit of 15-19 inches on trout includes one fish over the slot per person unless you’re in a boat where it is only one fish over the slot per boat.
Don’t make the mistake of keeping more than your limit of over-sized trout as the ticket for such an offence can be a hefty one.
And since we’re speaking about the rules, set a reminder that snook season ends on May 1 which should give a needed break to all the slot fish measuring 28-33 inches.
Moving on to the nearshore and offshore action, reports of red grouper being caught are frequent. Both live and frozen baits yield plenty of action in depths of 100 feet or more.
Mangrove snapper are being caught while fishing offshore as well as around the nearshore structure inside nine miles. If you’re fishing the artificial reefs, keep your eyes peeled for kingfish and cobia as they are beginning the move throughout our region.
On my Just Reel charters I’m enjoying the inshore bite as snook are cooperating nicely during the last stage of the moon in April.
I’m seeing a pretty decent snook bite with several keeper fish being caught as well as the normal 20-26 inch fish filling the gaps.
Redfish are mixed in with the snook bite which is quite entertaining and adds variety to the catch. Most reds are measuring 22-27 inches, with a few shorties which are being returned to the water.
Spotted seatrout for yet another week are the most prominent bite with many fish over 20 inches being caught. There are still plenty of slot-size fish measuring 15-19 inches to put in the cooler for dinner while the larger “gator” trout are providing great photo opportunities before they are released.
Fishing along the beaches in the Gulf of Mexico is yielding action on Spanish mackerel although that bite is day to day as these fish seem to be on the move.
