Story Tools • • Date of Issue: June 25, 2008 Everything 'fishy' almost a repeat of last week By Capt. Mike Heistand Monster cobia Aaron Davis hooked this monster cobia while fishing with some of his buddies on a charter trip with Capt. Tom Chaya. It’s same-same in the fishing world, with good catches of redfish and trout in the bays, as well as grouper and snapper offshore. Don’t forget the Florida Fishing College Outdoor and Recreation Show at the Manatee Civic Center at One Haben Blvd. in Palmetto June 27-28. It runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, and will feature local guides such as Capt. Thom Smith and Capt. Rick Gross. The event is free. Bob Kilb at the Rod & Reel Pier says it’s all mackerel, jacks, mangrove snapper and flounder for the anglers there. At the Anna Maria City Pier, Dave Sork says its macks, small sharks, black drum, snapper plus catch-and-release snook under the pier. Capt. Sam Kimball out of Annie’s Bait and Tackle on Cortez Road said his offshore charters are producing lots of grouper and snapper for his charters, plus mackerel, triggerfish, banded rudderfish and amberjack farther offshore. Capt. Tom Chaya on the Dolphin Dreams out of Holmes Beach said he’s finding tarpon fishing is holding up in the passes and beaches, trout fishing also good on better tides in the deeper seagrass beds, and redfish and snook on sandbar edges in Miguel Bay. Capt. Mark Johnston out of Annie’s said his backwater charters are producing redfish, many in the slot limits, trout in Sarasota Bay, mangrove snapper and mackerel along the beaches. Capt. Larry McGuire of Show Me The Fish Charters said he’s finding hot, hot, hot palegic action offshore of Anna Maria Island. “Believe it or not we are catching lots of smoker kingfish up to 45 pounds, big cobia, mahi mahi dolphin (not flipper), red and gag grouper, American red snapper, mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper, amberjacks, triggerfish, big sharks, barracudas and catch-and-release goliath grouper. The kingfish action has been hot around 65-feet with cobia hanging with them. What’s unusual is that the surface water temperature is at 90 degrees - and thats hot for Kingfish - and there is lots of bait out there for them. Best grouper and snapper action is out past the 100-foot depths.” Bill Lowman at Island Discount Tackle at Catchers Marina in Holmes Beach says, “It’s time for trolling offshore for dolphin, wahoo and tuna anywhere from 30 miles and out. Grouper and snapper fishing remain good even though it’s very hot out there. Inshore shark fishing is as good as it gets, with blacktip, bull sharks and spinner sharks, bonnetheads and black nose.” For backwater anglers, there are lots of redfish being caught, with some too big to keep. Capt. Zach Zacharias on the Dee Jay II said that mangrove snapper are coming on strong in local bays. “They can be found with numerous gag grouper and an occasional flounder fishing any deep structure around the area. Spotted sea trout are still coming in pretty good in north Sarasota Bay. They are of average size and can be caught with whitebait, small pinfish, shrimp and plastic baits over deep seagrass beds on good tides. There are also ladyfish, jacks, bluefish and a stray Spanish mackerel in the same areas. Snook and redfish action is about-average around the area. Large reds will be schooling up on really shallow flats and schools will gang up around docks similar to a winter pattern. In the nearshore Gulf around the mouth of Tampa Bay and the southeast bay, there are numerous shark, bonito and Spanish mackerel. Tarpon should begin spawning out on the next couple of full moons as well and the big pre-spawn schools will be diminishing in size and numbers but the big herrings will still be available to anglers for several more months.” At Snead Island Crab House, Dave Johnson says there are good reports of redfish and trout from the Miguel Bay area and just inside the mouth of the Manatee River. Also, he said, “mackerel are all over the place.” At Tropic Isles Marina, reports include lots of trout and sharks coming out of Terra Ceia Bay, and some redfish Capt. Rick Gross says tarpon are still being caught, with three boated and three lost last week. Mangrove snapper action is hot right now, and redfish and trout made up the rest of his catch. On my boat Magic, we limited-out on redfish up to 25 inches, plus trout to 20 inches as well as mackerel and snapper. Good luck and good Fishing. Capt. Mike Heistand is a 20-year-plus fishing guide. Call him at 723-1107 to provide a fishing report. Prints and digital images of your catch are also welcome and may be dropped off at The Islander, 5404 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, or e-mailed to news@islander.org. Please include identification for persons in the picture along with information on the catch and a name and phone number for more information. Snapshots may be retrieved once they appear in the paper.