Fishing Report: Match the Hatch for a Mixed-Bag Batch

Many anglers have heard the term “match the hatch,” and that’s exactly what Capt. Rick Gross of the charter boat Fishy Business out of Catchers Marina on Anna Maria Island has been using with success.

Many captains are reporting they’re having a hard time netting bait, but Gross said he just makes due with what is available — the small stuff. And he said it’s paid off for a mixed bag from Terra Ceia Bay to three-mile reefs for redfish, mangrove snapper, flounder, Spanish mackerel, silver and speckled trout, sharks and snook.

“It takes me 10 minutes to catch bait,” Gross said. “You can go to the (Sunshine) Skyway and any passes and cuts. But the key to that is moving water.”

Gross said redfish have begun to bite better after heavy rains have cooled bay waters a bit. All his redfish bites have been on the last part of the incoming tide and the first of the outgoing tide.

“We’re not getting any big bruisers,” Gross said. “But I am getting a lot of fish — all on that hatch.”

He said 50-cent-piece-sized pinfish has also been effective redfish bait.

“A lot of guys are having problems getting bigger bait, and it’s always hard during the end of June and the first part of July,” he said.

For inshore species, Gross recommends using a popping cork on 10-pound braided line and a 25-pound fluorocarbon leader with a No. 4 hook (to match the hatch).

Also, Gross said Spanish mackerel have been on the 3-mile reef off Anna Maria Island as well as the artificial reef on the bay side of Egmont Key.

Trout are all over the flats, but keepers are rare, he said.

“This rain has really helped,” Gross said. “It’s kept things cool.”