Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide – June 1, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – June 1, 2016
Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Island Waters
Tarpon, Snook, Grouper

 
—Tarpon bite still going strong. With all the pressure in the pass, I’m looking in the bay and on the beach for less pressured fish. Using long, light leaders, and burning a little gas, I’m catching fish away from the big crowds.

—Mackerel, trout, and snook have been good on bigger tides of the week inshore.

—Gag grouper bite has been on fire. Catching them in as little as 10ft of water inshore, out to 9miles. Snapper mixed in have been big, not a ton, but nice ones.
 

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide – May 14, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – May 14, 2016
Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Island Waters
Tarpon, Kingfish, Snapper, Grouper

 
—It’s that time of year again. Tarpon are beginning to make a good show here in the bay, and on the beaches. Sight fishing with live bait is definitely the most exciting way to fish for these giants, although chunking with dead bait can produce days with double digit hookups. The tarpon bite seems to fade during the high sun hours around mid day, allowing for some great snapper, grouper, mackeral, and kingfish action on some of the nearshore reefs.
 

Anna Maria Island Fishing Charter – April 3, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Charter
Captain Aaron Lowman – April 3, 2016
Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Island Waters
Snook, Seatrout, Redfish

 
—Strong tides and a warming weather trend helped the inshore bite really get going the past couple weeks.
—Bait is on the move into Tampa and Sarasota Bays once again, sparking a good seatrout, snook, and redfish bite.
—I’m finding snook, trout and redfish close to mangroves, in potholes on grassflats, and around docks and oyster bars. A live shiner under a popping cork is my go-to rig for these situations.
 

Anna Maria Island Fishing Charter – February 14, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Charter
Captain Aaron Lowman – February 14, 2016
Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Island Waters
Sheepshead, Permit, Snapper, Grouper

 
In between cold snaps this week, clients still found plenty of jumbo sheepshead.
Fishing live baits, such as shrimp around structure was the ticket.
Sheepshead are often underestimated – they can be super cautious, are hard fighters, and taste great.
Permit have made a showing around some of the local beaches and passes this week.
Permit are the larger cousin of the highly-sought pompano.
As with the pompano, permit will agressivly strike small, brightly colored jigs.
This makes jigging for permit a really exciting way to catch these elusive fish.
Hogfish and mangrove snappers have been the highlight offshore a few miles.
Red grouper and throw-back gag grouper have been consistent offshore, as well.
 

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide – January 9, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – January 9, 2015
Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Island Waters
Hog Snapper, Grouper, Pompano

 
—Hope that everybody had a great New Year! Despite the poor weather lately, fishing has been good. Redfish and sheepshead have begun to show around docks and structure. Shrimp or fiddler crabs are a killer sheepshead bait, and when paired with shiners or small pinfish, you should be able to catch quite a few of both species. Pompano are also trickling in, and can be caught near sandy areas using jigs or shrimp.

—Offshore fishing has been productive, and we have been catching red and gag grouper, hog and mangrove snapper, sheepshead, and an occasional cobia or kingfish. Sharks are also still around, and are usually eager to eat a dead bait.