Looking for a few of your favorite locations in Florida. Nice beaches on blue water, access to fishing. Either coast works, but with the cost of travel, anything nice north of Sarasota on the Gulf side?
Drive just a bit further south to Gasparilla or Captiva/Sanibel. Hard to beat gulf and inshore fishing there; great beaches; quaint towns for family. Although a friend just returned and said this has been a very “down” season with diminished bait. Don’t know if it’s the same further north.
Anna Maria or Holmes Beach is nice… laid back, mostly locals. I used to live in Sarasota and all the “Crackers” I worked with lived out there. You can wade the flats for miles.
Spend a little more on gas and visit Marco Island. Great white sand beaches, great shelling, keys clear water, gulf smooth like your bathtub and fantastic fishing, both offshore and backwater. Backwater fishing gets even better the further south you get into the Everglades. Shoot, snook and tarpon fishing is great on the beaches right now. Do not go to Cedar Key.
“Reasonable risk is implied in lion hunting”
Peter Hathaway Capstick
It doesn’t get any better than this. Only 28 units in this beachfront resort so there’s no crowds at the beach or the pool. We go there at least once a year. Already made reservations for 13 nights next May.
http://www.bluegreenonline.com/explore/resortDetail.aspx?ResortID=22
I’d rather fish than eat.
Thanks. Taz, that looks alright. Looks like you can;t take kids, and my boy is almost ten. Anything nearby?
debidude,
There shouldn’t be a problem. There’s been kids of all ages every time we’ve been there. It’s probably as safe as anywhere you can go for a beach vacation. There’s quite a few restaurants nearby but no fast food chains. It’s close to this:
http://www.skywaypiers.com/index.html
I’d rather fish than eat.
quote:
It doesn't get any better than this. Only 28 units in this beachfront resort so there's no crowds at the beach or the pool. We go there at least once a year. Already made reservations for 13 nights next May.http://www.bluegreenonline.com/explore/resortDetail.aspx?ResortID=22
Hay Taz have you ever fished for the snook in the breakers on the beach there?
I love Anna Maria Island!!!
There is a fine line between fishing and standing on the bank like an idiot!!
No, the only fish I’ve caught off the beach has been ladyfish, pinfish and jack crevalle. We’re going for a week in December and almost 2 weeks next May. If you go to Manatee Beach and fish about 45 degrees to the left at the end off the concrete pier you can catch some nice sheepshead on live shrimp. I did see a man bring a big snook in on the Anna Maria City Pier last October. I’ll try for snook on the beach next trip.
I’d rather fish than eat.
In God We Trust
snook will be good on the beach in the summer…in dec. your best bet would be find them stacked under a light and free line some live shrimp thru or a white crappie jig pulled thru fast always worked well for me…my 2 cents
I’ll try them at the Anna Maria City Pier at night. Before daylight you can see them under the pier but it’s hard to get them to bite when there is so much bait in the water.
I’d rather fish than eat.
In God We Trust
Taz when you go in may june or july those snook on the beach are a blast when the wave is about to curl you can see them in the wave. I am talking about 10 to 12 feet out from the waters edge!! We caught them behind people that were out waist deep fishing. I wish I could make it back there one day!!! Tarpon schools right off the beach all day and snook all afternoon on the beach!!!
There is a fine line between fishing and standing on the bank like an idiot!!