Anna Maria Island Snapper & Cobia in July

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – July 14, 2016
Snapper, Cobia and Sharks

—Reef fishing for mangrove snapper, cobia and sharks has been the hot ticket around Anna Maria Island and Tampa Bay during this first week of July.
—Mangrove snapper have been steadily slamming baits presented near the bottom, and at times have been rising up like a dark cloud in the water column to eat chum. Free lining a live bait, or a chunk of bait, will keep the snapper bite going after the school starts to catch onto what you’re doing.
— Live chum helps keep the party going through the brutal heat of the day. Spanish mackerel, and even a few king macs and cobia, will chase your live shiners free lined away from the boat.
—Big, spawning sized flounder are all over rock piles/reefs in anywhere from 10′ – 50′. Bouncing a live shiner, or pinfish on a knocker rig is a good bet. Half ounce bucktail jigs, worked sharply but methodically along the bottom, are big producers of flatties as well.
—Sharks, jacks and bluefish have made a push into the bay and surrounding beaches. They may be following the influx of hatch bait this week. Small spoons or bucktail jigs work great for these guys.

Snapper in July

Big Flounder

Cobia in the chum

Snook & Flounder-July-Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – July 6, 2016
Snook and Flounder

— Snook and big flounder have recently been exciting anglers all around Anna Maria Island and Tampa Bay.
—The snook are all over the Gulf beaches and passes as the summer exodus from the backwaters to Gulf waters continues. We have had great luck early in the morning along the beach throwing live pinfish and/or shiners with the lightest line possible.
—Flounder also move offshore this time of the year and bouncing a baited jig on the bottom around near shore reef structure has been an effective way to catch them.

Early Morning Snook

Summer Flounder

Flounder hit a shiner

Tarpon Fishing Anna Maria Island- June 30, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – June 30, 2016
Anna Maria Island tarpon and snapper

— There are still plenty of tarpon around Anna Maria Island and Tampa Bay.  Over the last few weeks, we have had a lot of fun boating and releasing some really big fish that were caught from the pods that are moving along the beaches of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key. Early morning and late day trips have been producing the most action on these beach fish. They are easier to see when the sun is not directly overhead. ( And it’s not so darned hot!} Crabs have been the best bait for these fish. Fishing in the passes from Egmont Key south through Longboat is also still productive. I’ve been using mainly threadfins as bait for pass fishing.

— Near shore and inshore reefs and wrecks are producing some really big mangrove snapper right now. This reef fishing is also steadily producing gag grouper, BIG flounder, spanish mackerel, blacktip sharks, and cobia. I use live shiners or threadfins on a knocker rig for snapper and grouper and a free-lined shiner rigged with a small piece of light wire leader for the macks and sharks.

— I expect the bite to be even better with the upcoming new moon this week.

Big Tarpon

Snapper on the reefs

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide – June 10, 2016

Anna Maria Island Fishing Guide
Captain Aaron Lowman – June 10, 2016
Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Anna Maria Island Waters
Cobia

—During the heat of the day, when the tarpon bite slows down, I’ve been taking my clients to look for hard-fighting cobia. Cobia are nomadic wanderers, and can be difficult to pin down to a pattern most of the year.

—Right now I’m finding a pretty consistant cobia bite on many nearshore/inshore structures, as well as free swimming fish on sandbars. Nine year old angler Alex Jorgensen from Iowa caught this stud 25# cobia in between mangrove snapper and spanish mackerel this week!

—Mark Winters and crew doubled up on cobia earlier in the week, while snapper fishing as well. Cobia are delicious, fast, and hard hitting.

—Come get em while it’s hot!

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.