Anna Maria Island Fishing Report
Captain Danny Stasny-April-15-2013
Island Discount Tackle Charter Fishing Desk: (941) 779-2838
www.KeyesMarina.com
—–April 2—– I fished around Anna Maria with Bob Salmon joined by his two sons, Hunter and Keegan, and Bob’s friend Dan Barker. We started out fishing some near shore structure with good results. Using live shiners for bait we managed to boat 4 cobia and a 22 inch flounder. Then we switched to using live shrimp on a knocker rig which resulted in numerous keeper mangrove snapper as well as some sheepshead in the 3 to 4 lb range. To finish out the day we rallied on spanish mackerel and a few black tip sharks. Not bad for a bunch of guys from Michigan.
—–April 3—– I fished with Chuck Ellis along with his sons, Dustin and Robbie, and Robbie’s wife Ashley. We fished the flats of Anna Maria Sound, the mouth of the Manatee River and the ICW. Using live shiners for bait, we managed to catch some nice spotted sea trout, catch and release snook, and a 25 inch red. Robbie had the hot rod throughout this fishing report although the redfish that Dustin caught made the trip. Great job guys!
—–April 10—– I decided to check reports about kingfish action at the Anna Maria near shore reefs. Joined by Jim Ecamilla, his fiance Brenda Longman, and their friend, Greg and Deb Tysowski, we headed out Longboat Pass in search of some action. Once we set the anchor and began chumming with live shiners it was game on. On Greg’s first cast he got hit by something that dumped a whole spool of line in less than a minute. Once the fish finally turned Greg was able to regain half his line before the fish made another drag screaming run. After a 10 minute battle the fish was close enough to the boat for identification. Greg was fighting a Jack Crevalle estimated at 25 lbs. I say estimated because when the fish was 15 feet behind the transom a big old black tip shark came up and bit the jack in half. A nice, clean bite too. Well, Greg reeled in what was left of his fish and we cut a nice size chunk off of it and baited the shark rod. Within 5 minutes of casting it out we had a good size fish on the line. 30 minutes later, after Greg and Jim took turns at the rod, I can report they managed to reel up a 7 foot blacktip shark. We think it was the one that bit the jack in half. After wearing out the guys on a big shark the ladies reeled up a keeper king mackerel and a very energetic bonito that commenced doing circles around the boat. To finish out the trip we ran inshore to the flats of Sarasota Bay. There we managed to get a good rally on over slot and slot size reds as well as some keeper size catch and release snook.
—–April 12—– began with a great rally of fish in Sarasota Bay. Joined by three old salts John Weikert, Dan Pierce, and Jerry Dye, I had one of those charters that reminds a fishing captain why he does what he does. These guys were a riot. We no sooner set the anchor, cast our first baits and Jerry was reeling in a hefty c&r snook. After that it was game on. Dan and John started catching upper slot redfish and a few keeper trout. The highlight for me was to see Dan reel up a 25 inch trout. What a fatty she was. What was really cool was Dan suggested we release such a beautiful fish. After 2 hours of catching fish we decided to move for a little change of scenery. Good thing we did because Jerry managed to reel up a 32 inch red on his first cast at the new spot. John managed to catch a couple nice snook and a keeper red too. By the end of the trip we were proud to arrive back at the dock with 3 reds between 26 and 27 inches long as well as a couple fat trout. Oh yeah, to quote Jerry. “Those sons of b#%*hes were biting like crazy!”
