Post-holiday chill brings hot fishing action for AMI anglers
Now that the tryptophan and other holiday festivities have worn off, Anna Maria Island anglers find themselves emerging from a tranquil dream state as the uncontrollable urge to get on the water takes hold once again.
After a moderate cold front with some over-exaggerated gusty winds many anglers are anxious to get out there and check their flock to see if the drop in water temp has moved the fish or if they have held fast in their typical areas.
When the seas are calm once again, a trip out to the Gulf to fish structure — reef, wrecks and hard bottom — will be a good bet as the fish in the deeper water seem to be less affected by the cold than those that inhabit the shallows.
Live shrimp on a bottom rig should lead to plenty of action on species such as mangrove snapper, lane snapper, hogfish, porgies, and grunts.
Flounder inhabit these areas too which is a plus as their season just reopened Dec. 1. Flounder need to be 14 inches in total length and have a bag limit of five per person per day in case you forgot.
As far as fishing inshore goes, patience may be a virtue at least until water clarity and water temperature regain some normalcy. Fishing canals, back bays and creek mouths should be productive as these areas tend to be slightly warmer than shallow flats out in open water.
Again, soaking shrimp as bait is a good bet, although when water temperatures improve, live shiners should prove worthy for some afternoon catch-and-release snook sessions.
Keep in mind the harvest of snook closed Dec. 1 and will reopen on March 1, giving these fish a slight break while they try to maintain during cooler months.
Redfish and trout are available as their season is open year-round making them still targetable during the winter if you know where to look.
Inshore fishing should produce action on other species like pompano, sheepshead and black drum, which add a nice variety on a cold day.
So, as we suffer through another Florida winter, there should be plenty of good fishing to be had as well as some mild temperatures and opportunities to target some wintertime species.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m finding consistent action while fishing nearshore in depths of 30-50 feet of water. Live shrimp combined with a knocker rig is leading to a wide variety of species, including mangrove and lane snapper, hogfish, porgies, scamp and Key West grunts. Numerous juvenile groupers 15-20 inches are also quite apparent in these depths adding to even more variety to the bite.
Moving in closer to shore in depths of 20 feet, Spanish mackerel are taking offerings of live shiners as bait. Jack crevalle, blue runners and ladyfish are mixed in yielding some great sessions on medium spinning gear.
On the flats, redfish and catch-and-release snook are still cooperating on the warmer days when using live shiners as bait. On cooler days, casting shrimp around docks is producing some reds as well as sheepshead, black drum and mangrove snapper.
