Captain Zach's Fishing Report, July 30, 2010

CORTEZ – After a few weeks off the water, my clients and I enjoyed some fairly good action in both the gulf and the bay. A couple of trips offshore of Anna Maria and Longboat Key produced numerous Spanish mackerel. One trip in particular had a number of jumbo Spanish coming aboard. It is interesting that there are still so many mackerel in the area in mid-July. The biggest of the spotted speedsters were taken within yards of the beaches. Mixed in were some huge ladyfish, grouper, and flounder.

In the bay, the week started off on a slow note, a few trout, reds, mackerel, and ladyfish were taken up until the day before and after the passage of the weakling tropical storm Bonnie. Those two days gave up some banner catches of sea trout, mackerel, shark, and bluefish in Anna Maria Sound fishing over broken grass in 4- 6 feet of water. During the drop in the barometer and a drop in the tide on Friday, my clients nailed several nice snook in a steady rain. A variety of baits, including artificial worked well.

Pilchards ranging in size from fry bait to slabs, small pinfish and grunts all contributed to some good catches of trout, shark, mackerel, bluefish, and ladyfish. A trio of anglers nailed a number of spotted sea trout from 17 inches up to several gators in the 25 inch range, topped by a 27-inch beauty on Saturday.

Good luck and good fishing! Be careful out there. Capt. Zach Zacharias fishing out of Cortez, Florida; 941-795-5026 for bookings of inshore, nearshore, and offshore trips.