What have we been catching so far in February?
So far, in February, we have been focusing on sheepshead, black drum, and redfish around docks and heavily structured areas. We have been focusing on these fish on my Fishing Charters in Anna Maria Island due to the very cold water temperatures that we have been dealing with. When the water temperatures are in the 50 degree range, we don’t have a whole lot of options on what we can target. The cold water affects many of our fish, and most of them are lying low waiting out the short cold season. One thing that I try to be when it comes to running a successful charter fishing service here on Anna Maria Island is very versatile in what species I am good at catching and putting my clients on fish, no matter the season, condition, or circumstance that we have been given that day, week, or month. With all that being said, I have put in a lot of time and effort this year dialing in the sheepshead fishing and making sure that I can put a great number of sheepshead in the boat every trip for my clients. This has been the coldest February I have fished full-time so far in my 5 years of charter fishing, and it forced me to get good at targeting a fish that I once did not care to target. But after fishing them hard the last several weeks, I have learned to love sheepshead fishing, and I am excited to fish for them this upcoming week.
What have we been using for bait?
Sheepshead are very similar to the hogfish that we also will start to target again this week, as the winds die down and we are able to get back offshore. They are similar because they both eat shrimp, crabs, barnacles, and a few other crustaceans that make these fish delicious table fare. The shrimp being alive or dead hasn’t mattered much, and getting these fish to bite has been more about being repetitive and being patient when it comes to putting the bait in front of the fish and waiting for them to bite.
Where have we been targeting sheepshead?
Over the past week or so, we have had several big cold fronts come through with intense wind speeds, causing the waves off the beach to be a little too big for us to get offshore and enjoy the amazing fishing out there during the colder months. With the winds being high and the seas being rough, we have been staying inside the bay and fishing rock piles, sunken structures, and nice deep docks. These structures have been holding a great deal of fish and have been very productive. We have been catching anywhere between 8-16 keeper sheepshead on my Fishing Charters in Anna Maria Island and have been catching 10-15 smaller sheepshead and different fish, making it super productive and fun for all age/s and skill levels.
What’s the weather looking like for the next week?
Starting on Super Bowl Sunday, the weather looks like it will be warm and gorgeous, and the winds will be low, making it an awesome week to do some fishing. I am currently booked on Monday, Friday, and sunday allowing several open spots in my calendar for several last-minute bookings if anyone is interested! It looks like the best weather week we have had in a while, and I am looking forward to fishing with everyone this week.
What species of fish will we be targeting this upcoming week?
With the beautiful weather forecast this week, we will be doing a lot of offshore fishing for hogfish, sheepshead, mangrove snapper, and much more. I predict that the hogfish will be sitting in the shallow water areas that we like to target them at, and there should be some awesome fish to be caught with nobody being able to fish them throughout the last few weeks. We will also be doing a ton of sheepshead fishing all around different areas off the beach. It should be a great productive week.
If we want to go fishing with AMI Excursions, how do we do so?
The best way to contact me is to call or text @ 941-720-5374. You can also email me captnate@amiexcursions.com, but calling or texting is the best way. I don’t take deposits due to not having an issue with anyone canceling, and trying to keep it as simple as possible for my guests. I take your name and number and put them in my calendar, and we are all set. I always call my guests the day before our fishing charter and make sure everything is all set, and we are good to go!
