The winds are blowing, tides are low, and the water is too cold for the fish to bite right now. Don’t lose hope, because thanks to the hot water runoff of the power plants, February can be a most productive month. Snook, Redfish, Pompano, Jacks, Trout, Sharks and Cobia are just a few of the species which invade the warm waters of the power plants.

We have some great catches going on right now and the weather is beautiful for this time of year. On Show Me The Fish Charters operating out of the Bradenton Beach Marina, fishing out of a custom 31 ft Morgan Sport fisherman, my parties are catching bone-bruising amberjack, red grouper, scamp, mangrove snappers, porgys, triggerfish, sea bass, bonita (little tunnys), blacktip sharks up to 5 ft, and an over-abundance of catch-and-release gag grouper. Best action is starting out about 115 ft offshore of Anna Maria and Longboat Key. Going out to 150 ft  to the deeper ledges and wrecks it gets even more wilder and crazy with larger fish. Extra large pinfish have been working magic this week for AJs and smaller baits for the mangrove snapper and other tasty reef fish. The red grouper are eating anything we put down. On a couple of trips I have seen red grouper come up with fried chicken bones in their mouths someone must have dropped overboard.

On Show Me the Fish Charters running my custom 31 ft Morgan sport fisherman operating out of the Bradenton Beach marina—our parties are enjoying limit catches of great gulf amberjack, red grouper, scamp, mangrove snappers and porgy's to fill up the coolers for the meat hunters.

John Domagal, John Broke, Paul Brown, Hemant Kapadia, and Glenn Poole began 2012 with a limit catch of Amberjacks. They were fishing in 125 ft offshore of Anna Maria Island using pinfish. The happy anglers also caught more amberjacks, grouper, and snapper fishing with capt Larry McGuire Show Me The Fish Charters, operating out of the Bradenton Beach Marina.

With all the residential canals and inshore reefs, bay anglers are truly are blessed when it comes to fishing in December and it seems you never have to run far to find what you are looking for. Fish seem to acclimate themselves to the lower tides and feed all day with little or no concern of weather. Fishing around the grass flats also begins heating up, with plenty of respectable sight fishing. Live baits are occasionally unnecessary, especially with all the artificial lures available in today’s arsenal of fishing tackle, although it can be helpful when you’re looking for larger fish.

With all the residential canals and inshore reefs, bay anglers are truly are blessed when it comes to fishing in December and it seems you never have to run far to find what you are looking for. Fish seem to acclimate themselves to the lower tides and feed all day with little or no concern of weather. Fishing around the grass flats also begins heating up, with plenty of respectable sight fishing. Live baits are occasionally unnecessary, especially with all the artificial lures available in today’s arsenal of fishing tackle, although it can be helpful when you’re looking for larger fish.

This time of year you never know what kind of fishing trip you may have. The weather can change at any time with the cold fronts arriving. It’s normally better before the front and things can shut down after the front. I would say that most trips we do manage to have a great time and catch dinner.

While on a charter with Capt Larry McGuire Show Me The Fish Charters, operating out of the Bradenton Beach Marina, Shirley Orr and Dr. Janet Razze, both of Holmes Beach, FL caught Red and Gag Grouper, and even caught and released a 100 lb Goliath Grouper [Jewfish] offshore of Anna Maria Island.

Fall is in the air… Well, almost. September is here and we are just around the corner from fall. We should start to get some relief from the summer’s heat and see water temperatures fall. Usually, September means gearing up for the one of the most revered species in our waters, Mr. Snook… Not this year. It will be catch-and-release only. No need to worry. There are plenty of options this time of year for catch-and-release.