With fall season open for red snapper, shallow waters of Tampa Bay may be key to success
With a fall season reopening for red snapper last weekend, recreational anglers who wanted to venture offshore for the tasty bottom fish had to deal with breezy weather.
Those who did were rewarded with hungry fish as the popular target was in shallower water than their typical summer depths.
Angler Travis Redder was one of the brave ones who ventured offshore last Saturday, the first day for the extended open season of October 8-9, 15-16, 22-23 and then for two long weekends in November 11-13 and 25-27.
Stopping at 120 foot depth, they dealt with the windy conditions to put together a box full of fish.
“It was breezy all day,” Redder said. “It wasn’t bad on the way out but when we started fishing we realized it was honking pretty good. We were in a bigger boat so it was OK. By the end of the day, the trolling motor batteries had died from working so hard so came back in shallower.”
In 120 feet, 35 miles west of Anna Maria Island, Redder rigged a light rod with a jig head as others fished a variety of tackle. They started catching smaller legal sized red snapper but released them hoping to get bigger ones throughout the day.
“We threw some 16 inch fish back with the thought we’d get bigger. The spots we fished we figured we’d get mixed snapper and did with yellowtails, mangroves and a mutton. I don’t think we would have gone that deep if red snapper weren’t open so it made it worth it.
“The biggest red snapper we got was about 30 inches, maybe a 20 pound fish! We were very happy to see that size in 120 feet of water,” Redder emphasized.
When the trolling motor wouldn’t hold the spot as the wind picked up, the crew headed back east toward Anna Maria. It was a slow ride into the waves, but they made another stop in about 50 feet of water.
There they targeted gag grouper and hogfish, adding a few of each to the fish box.
The anxious crew were able to get offshore despite the below average weather, and Redder noticed there weren’t many other boats out with them.
“I think we saw a few boats a couple miles away, but not many. It definitely wasn’t like the summer season,” Redder said. “I definitely want to get back out and am going to try if the weather permits, but that is always an issue this time of year.”
Weather will be the key to allowing anglers the chance to get offshore with few red snapper days available. With a strong cold front arriving mid week it may push more red snapper into shallower waters, which will allow anglers to target them without running so deep.
And if not going for red snapper, it appears other options are out there and hungry.