By Pam Anderson
Spanish Mackerel are in and plentiful! Charter boats and private anglers are reeling in Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel, finding them in St. Andrews Bay and along the Gulf shore where they are in large schools.
The Anderson Seafood Market and others are staying busy cleaning the catches as they roll in.
Another favorite this time of year are Sheepshead! Sheepshead are spawning and being caught in The Pass from the jetties and on the smaller guide boats and private boats.
Redfish, another favorite, are in season and can be caught around the jetties and by chartering a guide boat or on your private boat.
As you can see, in spite of the heavy winds and cold fronts throughout March, our fishermen are getting out and getting those lines wet! Can’t keep a good fisherman down! As the water is getting warmer, more and more snapper varieties are showing up.
On our head-boats, we are seeing more Vermilion Snapper come in every day-a good sign this time of year!! In addition, we are still catching Triggerfish and several other varieties of reef fish. Red Snapper are appearing in good numbers although they will be catch-and-release only until their season opens June 1st.
Our larger charter boats are staying busy with our Spring Break families. They are bringing in Red Grouper, Spanish Mackerel, Triggerfish, and Vermilion Snapper as well. They are using Squid, Boston Mackerel, live Grunts, Squirrelfish and Shrimp for baits. (One captain shared his secret… he’s catching a lot of Spanish Mackerel on Clark spoons).
Jigs cast from the Gulf shore or Gulf Piers are good ways to catch Pompano which should be coming through soon on their annual migration.
The Cobia usually migrate through the area after the Pompano, so be on the lookout at the local Piers.
This just in!! Red Snapper season for 2021 on For-hire Boats (federally permitted charter boats and head-boats) will be June 1 through August 2. Reservations on all Federal boats for Red Snapper season are already going fast. Be sure to book soon!
Capt. Anderson’s Marina has bay fishing charters, 35 Gulf fishing charter boats and 3 head-boats that offer a variety of fishing options. Go for a few hours or go all day.
Anderson Seafood Market (dockside) will clean your fish when you return. You even have the option of taking your catch to several local restaurants for what we call ‘hook ‘n cook’- have your catch cleaned here and the restaurants will cook them and provide the ‘sides’ for a reasonable fee. Always tastes better if you catch it!
We also offer private charters on the head-boats at very reasonable prices. You can book a large group, 30- 80, if your church, club, business, or Scout troop would like to have the boat all to themselves.
The Capt. Anderson family has been taking families and friends fishing since 1935 and plan to keep going for generations to come.
Capt. Anderson’s Marina, Where the fish are always biting and the kids are always smiling!
Located at 5550 N. Lagoon Drive, PCB.
