Anna Maria Island Fishing Report
Captain Mark Howard-Fishing Report-May 6-2013
Island Discount Tackle Charter Desk: (941) 779-2838
www.KeyesMarina.com
—–The Anna Maria Island fishing report this past week out of Island Discount Tackle has been fantastic with the spring pattern finally taking hold and resulting in some action-packed days on the water.
—– The inshore trinity; snook, speckled trout, and redfish have been very active on the moving water, providing for some drag-screaming action and some nice bags of fillets for the dinner table.
—–Speckled trout schooled up around the full moon and were very cooperative feeding on shiners . We have had no trouble getting enough slot-sized fish to chew and provide for some steady action and tasty fillets. “Gator” trout were mixed in with the schoolies. With the 1 over 20″ rule for your creel, a gentle release by using a de-hooking tool on the big ones will ensure many more speckled trout for the future. Speckled trout are all over the bay in a variety of water depths. If you are looking for some easy dinner fillets, go chase speckled trout.
—–Redfish have been cooperating with some big over slot fish landed. Mike Osborn of Essex England hooked a 32″ redfish after the redfish inhaled a large shiner rigged on a 1/0 Owner circle hook under a popping cork while fishing in 3ft of water. After taking a few photos, his biggest fish landed in his lifetime was released to fight another day . Finding redfish that have not been worked over by other fisherman has been the key to finding the big ones.
—–Snook are one a tear and feeding heavily as they slowly move out of the backwaters and toward the passes to begin their spawning .The long closure on harvesting snook has resulted in a lot more big ones on the flats. Hopefully we can look for the FWC to open the season this Fall.
—–Looking forward as the new moon approaches the saltwater fishing scene will stay active as we experience bigger tides and fast moving water. Look for the tarpon to invade our waters in big schools and give us an opportunity to battle the Silver king. Snook, speckled trout and redfish action will stay strong . May is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. There are so many choices of fish to catch. Until next week keep the slack out of your line and learn to feel the thump of the predator inhaling your bait