Tarpon fishing remains strong throughout Island waters this week but especially so out by Egmont Key. Numerous pods of the silver kings can be seen rolling just about any morning, and it appears this is one of the better years in terms of numbers in recent memory.

Captain Rick Grassett

I had a chance to stand on the bow for a change on Wednesday when Sun Outdoors Editor Rusty Chinnis went fly fishing for tarpon with me. After several fish spooked on dark and chartreuse flies, we switched to a small tan shrimp pattern. I had a head-on shot at a single that pounced on the fly the first time I cast it. I got the fish, an estimated 90-pounder, to the boat in about 35 or 40 minutes. My first of the season! A strong line of thunderstorms chased us off the water early on Thursday. The rest of the week had numerous shots at tarpon with flies, but no eats. Visibility was poor, so many of the fish were on top of us before we could see them, making it tough.

Tarpon will probably thin out as we head away from Tuesday’s new moon, but should resume their normal patterns later in the week. I usually tarpon fish most of July, which offers some of the best fly fishing action of the season for tarpon.

Jim Ewoldt, from St. Louis, Mo., and Bob Maddocks, from Arizona, fished with me from June 16 through 18. Jim hooked up briefly with a tarpon on a black and purple Enrico Puglisi fly off Lido Key on Tuesday. The wind turned to the west on Wednesday, forcing us into the bay. Jim caught and released trout, ladyfish and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies near Bishop’s Point. Gary and Garret Visser, from Charleston, S.C., fished with me on June 19. After a 2-hour rain delay in the morning, we poked our nose into the Gulf and found conditions not too bad. However, it didn’t last long. We worked a few schools of tarpon and then the wind switched to the west, forcing us into the bay. The action wasn’t fast, but they caught and released trout on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails at the Marina Jack Flat and near Longboat Key Moorings.

Fly angler Glenn Maddalon, from Danville, Ca., tarpon fished with me Friday, Saturday and Monday. He landed a feisty 60-pounder on a black and red bunny fly with bead chain eyes off Lido Key. It was the perfect fish to catch late in the day – a couple of jumps, one long run and then back on the fly line and landed in about 30 minutes. A spin angler fishing with me had a couple of bites and one hook up with a tarpon off Siesta Key on a live crab on Tuesday, June 24.

Captain Zach Zacharias

Much better tides towards the end of the week provided much improved action.

Mangrove snapper and spotted seatrout made up most of the catch but bluefish, juvenile gag and red grouper, ladyfish, Jacks, reds and snook all came aboard over several trips last week.

Lloyd Johnston and grandson, Peter, from the Minneapolis area, did well with a variety of grouper, snapper, a limit catch of redfish and sea trout. Earlier in the week, local Don Lapp and his family bested a pair of 30-inch snook.

Bait has become kind of scarce but I have been able to dig up enough small pinfish, grunts, spanish sardines and small pilchards.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Captain Larry McGuire

Fishing is great offshore of Anna Maria Island.

We are catching lots of different species with lots of monster red grouper, gag grouper, American red, mangrove, yellowtail, lane and vermillion snappers, big amberjacks, triggerfish, lots of sharks and barracudas. Larry Bethke even caught a 7-pound hogfish on hook and line. Grouper and amberjack are hot around 125 feet. Closer in, we are catching a few big kingfish and cobia along with smaller grouper and snappers.