Sailfish Reportedly Hooked In 42 Feet Of Water Off AMI

Capt. Warren Girle reported accomplishing a rare feat on April 13 — a client of his jumped a sailfish in 42 feet of water offshore of Anna Maria Island.

Fishing a blue runner on a flat line for kingfish, the anglers eventually got a sailfish to chew, Girle said.

“We never did get the fish in,” Girle said. “But it tail-walked right in front of the boat. Had the fish on 10-15 seconds.”

How rare is a sailfish in such shallow water off Anna Maria Island?

"I've done it one other time, and we went 130 miles offshore 20 years ago,” Girle said.

In the same, hard-bottom area, he reported catching keeper gag grouper, big hog snapper and kingfish. He also reported catching a 150-pound hammerhead shark.

“Inshore, my three best trips have been wade fishing, between 4 and 8 p.m.,” Girle said. “Some snook, but here are a ton of trout in the bay. And macks all over the bay. And the little fry bait are just starting to show.”