Offshore of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key our parties are catching a wide variety of species. On our full day trips we are catching limits of fire truck red grouper. With the limit of 4 per person that's a serious meat trip.
But there's more than just red grouper, we are catching monster mangrove snappers, yellowtail snappers, blackfin tuna, cobia. kingfish. spanish mackerel, amberjacks, big sharks, barracudas, porgy's and triggerfish.
Best bet for the big grouper and amberjacks is go deep starting around 125 feet out to 170 feet for the monsters. Start out with cut bait to get the party started and finish up with large live baits for dessert.
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Closer in the last few weeks I have been fishing a lot of families on spring break family out around 40 feet to 70 feet with lots of kids and moms catching smoker kings, spanish mackerel, lots of smaller grouper, snappers, sharks and a variety of tasty reef fish.
For the pelagic action with the kings I like to deploy a chum block over the side and set out some flatlines with sardines while I am bottom fishing and let the smokers come to me. It gets wild and crazy when the free lines go off with the running fish and you still have grouper and snapper coming in from the bottom.
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Catch of the week goes to 7-year-old Sydney Moerman who caught a large blackfin tuna on a sardine in about 50 feet offshore. This time of year we call it spring cleaning after all these fish come aboard. The action is fast and furious so now is the time to come on out and get some.
