Anna Maria Island //

Inshore
Fishing

View Rates
Book Now

Trip Overview

Iconic species, beautiful sights, and incredible wildlife; Welcome to a guided adventure that's as laid-back as Anna Maria Island itself.

Join us for a half-day to full-day trip fishing for Florida's best inshore species in the waters around Anna Maria Island.  Beyond the fishing, this is about the experience. We're a family operation that combines professional expertise with a laid-back approach. We want your trip to be easy, we're flexible, and most importantly, we want everyone to feel comfortable. 

Book Your Trip

Have more than five people? Contact us to coordinate trips for larger groups and multiple boats.

Half Day

4 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$650

3/4 Day

6 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$850

Full Day

8 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$1,050

Half Day

4 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$650

3/4 Day

6 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$850

Full Day

8 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$1,050

What's included

This is your experience, your time, and we ensure that we provide everything needed to make your trip memorable and as convenient as possible. Fishing licenses are included, and each boat is outfitted with top-of-the-line gear designed for ease of use and to battle the fish we target. Before we pick you up, our captains stock the livewells before sunrise, guaranteeing fresh bait for each trip. Water and ice are also provided on each boat.

  • Fishing Licenses
  • Rods, Reels, & Bait
  • Gas
  • Experienced Captain
  • Safety Equipment
  • Cooler With Ice & Waters

Iconic Species

There's a fish for every type of angler around Anna Maria Island. Inshore fishing in the lower Tampa Bay is exciting all year long. Whether we are targeting migrating species seasonally, like tarpon, sheepshead, mackerel, or red grouper, or hunting down local favorite snook, speckled trout, and redfish, live bait is the key to success.

Snook
Redfish
Speckled Trout
Mangrove Snapper
Jack Crevalle
Sheepshead
Flounder
Ladyfish
Shark

Year-Round Action

Anna Maria Island is a rare year-round fishing destination because its unique position at the mouth of Tampa Bay offers a constant migration of diverse species across three distinct ecosystems: the shallow inshore flats, the structured passes, and the deeper Gulf reefs.

Spring

Spring fishing around Anna Maria Island is all about the arrival of the "greenbacks"—scaled sardines that flood our grass flats and attract the big three: snook, redfish, and trout. It's one of our favorite times to fish when a well-placed live bait is almost a guaranteed hookup for anyone looking to secure an inshore slam.

Summer

During our summertime inshore trips, we focus the majority of our time around the beaches, bridges, and inshore reefs. It is harder to find a prettier setting than hunting down snook, redfish, and speckled trout off the beaches of Anna Maria Island. From May to July, our focus is primarily on hunting down tarpon. Our tarpon average 120-140 pounds and are the pinnacle of inshore fishing.

Fall

Fall is an excellent time of year to experience all that our inshore fishing has to offer. Our fall mornings start off the beach, anywhere from a couple of hundred yards to ¼ mile, searching for Spanish mackerel and kingfish. Both species can give themselves away by jumping; Spanish mackerel jump in an arc, and kingfish launch more at an angle straight to the sky. Trolling or drifting live baits are surefire ways to catch these fish. To finish up our fall trip, we head back to the intracoastal and catch redfish or snook in mangroves or by docks.

Winter

As temperatures drop and winter sets in, our primary focus shifts to the Manatee River. During this time of year, we fish upriver, where the muddy bottom provides less volatile water temperatures. We will target redfish and snook in the mangroves or around structure, and speckled trout out towards the mouth of the river. Sheepshead also make a great showing this time of year, and we will find them on various structures throughout the Intracoastal. When the weather permits, we will slide out to the reefs for hogfish, one of the best-eating fish on the planet!

How We Fish

80% of the time, we're fishing with live bait. Three-inch pilchards are the gold standard down here. Sometimes we have to “build the bite.” What that means is we will chum, throw pilchards out, to draw them out of cover like mangroves or draw them away from wrecks and reefs. During the winter, we will use the same rigging and tactics with live shrimp. While we use live bait a majority of the time, when the right scenarios dictate, we will throw paddletails and jigheads to fool fish on artificials.

Gear We Use

We find that 3000 series spinning reels combined with 7’6" medium, extra-fast action rods provide the best balance of comfort, power, and longevity (easy to hold and cast all day). Our reels are spooled with 20lb braid to maximize castability, sensitivity, and confidence, and we tie 20lb fluorocarbon leaders to each mainline with an FG knot that flows through the guides better than other line-to-leader knots, all to make your experience easy.

What To Bring

From the time you contact us until the time we drop you off, everything is taken care of. Come dressed for the weather. Your guide will be in touch leading up to your trip to go over the weather forecast and make sure you're properly prepared. If you're bringing your kids, we recommend life jackets for them, as the sizing can be very specific.

  • Lunch, Snacks, & Beverages
  • Polarized Sunglasses
  • UV Resistant Clothing
  • Rain Jacket (If Forecasted)
  • Hat
  • Sunscreen
  • Drugs or Firearms
  • Big Coolers
  • Dogs

FAQs

Ensuring our guests have an unforgettable time on the water with us is our top priority. See our frequently asked questions below for more information on our Anna Maria Island Fishing Charters. If you've got a question, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Great For Families &
Experienced Anglers Alike

family fishing anna maria island

Trip Gameplan

Our approach to every trip is methodical and deliberate. Every trip is planned to maximize time with lines in the water. That being said, we may pick up and burn some gas to get you where the fish are. Our expertise in the area means that sometimes it takes plan D to make it happen.

family fishing anna maria island
fishing charters anna maria island

Making A Loop

Everything we do has a purpose and is designed to maximize your time with us. We don’t want to be taking time away from you fishing by ending the day with a long run back to the dock, so we plan our trips in big loops that cover a lot of ground and species, with our last spot of the day just minutes from the dock.

View Rates
Book Now
Anna Maria Beaches
Most of our pickups happen right here on Anna Maria Island, and for good reason. Summertime mornings on these beaches are hard to beat, speckled trout move out here in numbers, snook cruise up and down the shorelines, and redfish show up to feed in the shallows or on the sandbars. We'll find tarpon here in the summer as well. It's the variety and accessibility that make these beaches so productive.
Egmont Key
A historic island, and one of our favorite places to fish during the summertime. Located on the north side of the Passage Key Inlet, Egmont is an easy six to seven-mile run from the dock and loaded with life. Here we will fish the grass flats for speckled trout and redfish, or cruise the beach side for snook. From May through July, the king of inshore fishing, tarpon, are here every day, making Egmont a true fish magnet.
Terra Ceia Bay
Terra Ceia Bay is a change of pace. Just a 7-10 mile run, the bay is full of natural, unspoiled structures like oyster bars, grass flats, and mangroves. This is one of the most solid speckled trout fisheries in the area, consistently producing fish over 20” +. The combination of pristine habitat and lower fishing pressure makes Terra Ceia a go-to destination when conditions are right.
Manatee River
The Manatee River is the lifeblood of the estuary that Anna Maria Island calls home. Its brackish headwaters feed nutrients into the lower bay, allowing the ecosystem to thrive. When winter temperatures drop, fish push up into the Manatee River system, seeking warmer, more stable conditions, thanks to the root beer-colored water and the muddy bottom.
Intracoastal Waterway
Structure is the name of the game when we fish the intracoastal from lower Tampa Bay to Sarasota Bay. We’ll target docks, bridges, mangroves, and rocks that offer consistent fishing all year long. This is where snook shine. You'll find them along rocks, docks, and edges waiting to ambush bait. Snook are beautiful and plentiful, and we love giving our clients a chance to experience their heart-stopping eats and acrobatic fights.
Palma Sola Bay
Palma Sola Bay is a different animal from Terra Ceia. It doesn't have the oyster bars or current, but what it does have is redfish, and lots of them. This big ol' pocket is exactly what redfish love: mangroves and docks with calmer water where they can cruise and feed. Expect more redfish here, along with quality 20-25" snook tucked into the structure. It is not uncommon to see redfish roaming the flats in this bay.
Sarasota Bay
Sarasota Bay is a solid fishery that we visit when it makes sense strategically. If we're dealing with poor water quality up north, we'll make the run down here. During tarpon season, we might head this way to mix things up: a few hours chasing silver kings, then switching gears to target redfish, trout, and snook. Wintertime brings sheepshead into the area. When conditions call for it, though, Sarasota Bay delivers.
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is home to artificial structures that are fish magnets, providing non-stop action year-round. The fun part about fishing reefs is that you truly never know what you’re going to catch. Our favorite way to fish these reefs is chumming them up with bait, then freelining pilchards to the fish that wander out of the structure including gag grouper, goliath grouper, snook, and more.
Skyway Bridge
In the heat of summer, specifically July and August, the Skyway Bridge becomes a grouper headquarters. We're targeting gag grouper and red grouper around the bridge structure and mangroves. During the summer, we target only grouper on the bridge. The iconic Skyway Bridge is loaded with structure and hiding places that grouper love, making it ideal for delivering non-stop action on quality fish.
Shells
Where We Fish

Incredible
Locations

We have access to an incredible diversity of structure within 10-15 miles and 20-30 minutes from your dock, everything from bridges to docks, oyster bars, grass flats, beaches, mangroves, and everything in between. This variety means we can adapt to conditions and put you on fish consistently, no matter what Mother Nature throws at us.

Book Your Trip

Other Trips

anna maria island offshore fishing charters

Offshore Fishing

4-8 Hours

1-5 Anglers

$650 - $1,050

Our offshore fishing trips are all about constant action without venturing too far offshore, making these trips perfect for families and anglers of all experience levels.

Head Offshore
anna maria island tarpon fishing charters

Tarpon Fishing

6-8 Hours

1-4 Anglers

$900 - $1,100

Whether it's on the beaches, in the passes, or on the bridges, tarpon provide one of the most heart-pumping battles, combining drag-screaming runs and acrobatic jumps.

Tarpon Trips
anna maria island boat tours

Boat Tours

4 Hours

1-6 Guests

$450 - $600

Explore the beautiful, clear, turquoise waters around Anna Maria Island by boat, where we'll head to the sandbar for a swim, view wildlife, and enjoy the best the island has to offer.

Boat Tours
Capt. Randall Shaw

Over A Decade Of Experience

Captain Shaw has a passion for fishing and making lifelong memories for each of his clients and their families. Captain Randall has been guiding for over 10 years and still fishes with some of his original clients. Captain Randall has built a great team of guides who share the same passion for fishing.

About Us
Our Boats

Comfort & Fishability

The quality of experience we offer extends to the equipment we use. Our guide team only trusts the best equipment when hosting our guests on the water. Our gear is meticulously maintained to ensure you have a great time on the water and can focus on the fishing.

Our Boats
Latest From The

Journal

All Posts
how to catch hogfish in florida a step by step guide

Videos December 15, 2025

How to Catch Hogfish in Florida: A Step-By-Step Guide

Whether you are looking for your first keeper or want to increase your daily numbers, here is everything I’ve learned from years of professional fishing offshore along Florida's West Coast.
Read More →

Videos November 15, 2025

Breaking in the New Boat: 80 Miles Out for Monster Yellowtail & Red Grouper

We ran about 80 miles offshore on a "sporty" day to put some blood on the deck. I brought along two heavy hitters for this trip: my buddy Salty (from Fishing with Salty) and Dylan (from Hog Squad Fishing).
Read More →
st pete snapper fishing

Videos October 29, 2025

Offshore Snapper Fishing in St. Pete, Florida

In our latest trip, we mixed traditional reef fishing with spearfishing to see exactly what was happening 80 feet below the surface.
Read More →

Fishing Reports April 5, 2024

April Fishing Reports Florida

Now this is the month when fishing gets really good! April is the month when the water temperatures get in the upper 70s and the fish feed very well.
Read More →

Fishing Reports March 25, 2024

Anna Maria Island Fishing

On a recent fishing trip, captain Randall experienced unexpected challenges with the weather with a recent fishing trip.
Read More →

Fishing Reports March 25, 2024

Springtime Florida Fishing

As the waters around Florida warm with the advent of spring, Captain Randall Shaw of Florida Fishing Company is witnessing an influx of fish on the nearshore reefs.
Read More →
All Posts