By: Capt. Philip Watson
It’s February now and we are in the thick of our winter-time fishery in the offshore waters of Anna Maria Island. Hogfish, mangrove snapper, and red grouper are on the top of my hit list. By now, all the Pelagic species have moved south and it’s all about bottom fishing. Bigger amberjacks have moved into the closer ledges, wrecks, and springs but remain closed until summertime. Nonetheless, these guys are fun to fight even if you must release them. For amberjack, I really enjoy live chumming these fish to the top. On the right day you can even pitch to the fish you want to catch. These fish will usually bite on reaction, so for bait I like a fish that will swim fast away from them such as a pinfish, grunt, or bluerunner. White bait will work well for chumming, it won’t give them the chase that they are after. On days when they chum to the top you can even get them on topwater poppers and cuda tubes as well, which is a ton of fun.
Our trip highlight last month was with Jay and Jeff who booked a 6-hour trip on New Years Eve. Jays mission for the day was hogfish, so we pushed out to 85’ deep with 10 dozen shrimp and went to work. Within 15 minutes Jay had his first hogfish in the boat followed by both anglers filling the box with yellowtail and mangrove snapper. Once the bite slowed down at that location we bounced ledges back home putting 3 more hogfish and a bunch of key west grunts in the cooler. Our last stop was to a shallow ledge hoping for a nice gag grouper to top of the box, but after a few shorts it was time to pull the trolling motor up and head back to the hill. All and all an amazing 6 hours with a great group of guys.
We are starting to book up for spring break, so make sure to call us or book online to save your date.
Just Kickin Back Charters
Captain Philip Watson
941-226-1100
