New Member, will be to Anna Maria soon.

[snappaheed]

Hello out there! I'm new to this site but have been ripping lip as early and often as I can for almost 40 yrs. I'm in Wilmington, DE now and the fishing is starting to pick up as the water temp. increases. We'll be vacationing at Anna Maria Isl. starting 6/17/10. I'll be on the beach off of Gulf Dr. I'm very familiar with the Island and the piers in the vicinity. I'll have 2 adolescent nephews with me and I'd like to show them some good fishing time. I am not however familiar with what to target and the best baits to use for the surf and the piers for this time of year. Will the mangrove snapper be avalable at the piers? Sheapshead? Where can I find fiddlers? Are sand fleas readily avalable in the surf? I will have a small casting net at my disposal. I will also have plenty of sibiki rigs and pompano rigs. Please give me some good ideas.

[Filletnrelease]

Welcome aboard. Don't get down that way much, but you seem to have a good handle on the area anyway. As far as the time of year, I think the Sheepies will still be around and the Snapper should be biting good with Macks in the mix. The bait schools should be around structure and with a net or sabiki you should be able to catch what you need. Don't forget some type of system to keep your bait alive. A bait bucket will work, but a 5 gallon bucket with a aerator would be better. I prefer the little black crabs to the fiddlers, but it you want fiddlers, find a mangrove beach area at low tide. The little black crabs hang out in the rocks. If you got a shovel, also at low tide you may be able to dig up some blood worms or tube worms. These will drive the sheepies nuts and of course the trash fish also. The sabiki's are great for the kids to keep busy with the bait fish, unfortunately they will keep you pretty busy as well. Some live shrimp will also do good for snapper and such. Hope this helps, and give us a report.