May 2018-Fishing Anna Maria Island

—Fishing action in the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, around Anna Maria Island and Egmont Key, has been explosive so far this month, May 2018. My clients have been catching a crazy variety of fish including mangrove snapper, spanish mackerel, kingfish, permit, cobia, bonito, groupers, sharks and more.

—I’ve usually been starting the day catching a mess of live bait – whitebait, pinfish, threadfins and/or crabs. Then, heading offshore to fish in the Gulf, I look for areas of hard, coral-bottom, wrecks and reefs. Depending on the situation, I’ll put some baits on the bottom, and some on the surface. This is one of my favorite ways to fish in May. The action and variety is second to none.