May prompts return of the silver king
Now that snook season ended — as of midnight on April 30 — Anna Maria Island anglers are sliding right into the next best thing. Tarpon season.
The indicators are apparent as the love bugs have arrived in force and the Royal Poincianas are beginning to bloom.
Those with a vigilant eye on the water are already being rewarded with sightings and catches of silver kings while fishing along the Gulf beaches of Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island and Egmont Key.
Action at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a good bet and has been for a while for those anglers who fish that area regularly. It’s advantageous to get out there on this early bite as the fish have yet to be tampered with by the masses which can ultimately lead to some stellar tarpon fishing as these fish are eager to eat.
The previous full moon was May 1, which triggered some large outgoing tides causing pass crabs to flush out of the bays and into the Gulf. This presented good opportunities to stage up in the passes to collect crabs as bait for upcoming tarpon trips.
Between now and the next moon on May 31, we should see tarpon numbers greatly increasing as resident and migratory fish gather along our beaches in preparation to head offshore to spawn.
So, if you haven’t dug out your tarpon gear yet, you may want to consider it as its time for tarpon season once again.
On my own Just Reel charters, catch-and-release snook fishing is as good as it gets. Fishing around the full moon tides yields some great action with some mornings resulting in 25-30 snook being reeled to the boat. Most catches are 20-30 inches with a few larger examples for lucky anglers. Swift tides moving over shallow grass flats are producing the best action so time your trips accordingly.
Spotted seatrout are cooperating in most areas, especially over deep grass in 5-7 feet of water. Larger trout are being found on shallower flats but are not as frequent as the 15-18 inchers found on the deep grass.
I’m seeing redfish here and there, usually while catching snook as well as a few around docks.
Lastly, a bycatch of ladyfish, mackerel, jacks and flounder adds variety to the catch on most days.
