iStockphoto / Dorothy Dillon
Spring has sprung in Southwest Florida. Rising temperatures in the Gulf around here mean one thing: tarpon fishing season. I’m born and raised near where this video was filmed and late April through June turns this stretch from Tampa Bay down to Boca Grande as the greatest tarpon fishing destination in the world and, of course, means a LOT of sharks in Florida.
To be fair, sharks are here all year long. But during tarpon fishing season sharks are a LOT more visible up and down the beaches, especially hammerhead sharks. While it is unclear which species the sharks are below, they are part of this annual migration that often follows the tarpon migration which is on fire in the late Spring in my part of SW Florida.
This video of these sharks crowding Anna Maria Beach in Florida has gone viral after a bunch of local weathermen shared the clip on social media. It was originally filmed by Jacob Merrifield who flew his drone over Anna Maria Island on Sunday morning to capture these sharks taking over the Florida beach.
Hundreds of migrating sharks off Anna Maria Island today! 📷 Jacob Merrifield 🦈 #Florida pic.twitter.com/tCbHKb22UG
— Paul Dellegatto⚡️FOX (@PaulFox13) April 28, 2025
For anyone who sees that and thinks “I’m never swimming again” well, there’s really no cause for concern. If you see a shark then don’t get in the water but you must trust that these animals are there all the time and unprovoked shark attacks are extremely rare on the Gulf Coast of Florida. There were just 6 total shark attacks last year on Florida’s Gulf Coast among the millions and millions and millions who went swimming at Gulf beaches.
For those curious, the Gulf’s water temperature right now at Siesta Key Beach which is where I’m at is a perfect 78 degrees today, 3.1 degrees warmer than average for this time of year. It is 1-degree cooler at Anna Maria Island where this video was filmed (77F), but sharks generally prefer water a little bit cooler than 77F so as they follow the tarpon in the Spring around South Florida and out into the Atlantic and up the coast they’ll soon find cooler water temps.
This video was filmed just north of Bean Point on Anna Maria Island which is the northwest tip of Anna Maria and one of my all-time favorite beaches because of how clean and clear the water is. Sitting at the mouth of Tampa Bay, there is an insane amount of water being flushed in and out of there daily with the rising and falling tides and that keeps this area looking gorgeous year-round.
From a fishing perspective, it also means there is a LOT of bait that gets sucked past that beach in both directions with the tides, which brings in the tarpon, which brings in the sharks.
If you are looking to catch a tarpon though, this is your time. Charters are hard to come by so you better book one fast.
Content shared from brobible.com.