December Tampa Bay/Anna Maria Fishing

—What a beautiful fishing month we had here around Anna Maria Island. December 2018 was one for the books! We finally saw a complete reprieve from the ferocious red tide outbreak of this summer. This combined with a long stretch of great weather, provided some outstanding fishing opportunities in and around Anna Maria Island and Tampa Bay.

—As water temps begin to cool in December, my focus usually shifts to shallow water gag grouper. The open season for these delicious fish closes on the 1st of the year, and December is a great time to catch these bruisers. My clients were catching gags up to 15 pounds by trolling lipped plugs near rocky areas inside Tampa Bay. And we were catching gags on live bait in 20′ – 40′ over shallow ledges. Keeper-sized gag grouper start at 24″, and each angler is allowed a max of 2 gags. While fishing these ledges in 20′ – 40′, we often encounter mangrove snapper, hogfish, porgies, grunts, flounder, sheepshead and more.