Action and variety pleased anglers in Sarasota this week!
Capt. Jim Klopfer
March 26, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
We started our week off with a severe cold front that moved through the area on Sunday. I had to cancel on Monday and the bite was fair on Tuesday. However, fishing rebounded as it warmed up and the action was hot both in Big Pass and on the surrounding flats. Anglers bottom fishing with shrimp caught good numbers of sheepshead along with mangrove snapper and gag grouper. Clients casting red/gold Bass Assassin jigs and free lining live shrimp did well on the deeper flats, landing Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, pompano, gag grouper, black sea bass, flounder, catfish, and of course a bunch of ladyfish. Stephen's Pt, Country Club Shores, and the Bird Key flats were the top producers this week.
A severe front moved through on Sunday and it was very windy on Monday, so no fishing that day. On Tuesday Bill Marean from New York and a couple of friends went out on a charter with me. We were faced with typical post-cold front conditions; bluebird skies and high pressure. Not surprisingly, the bite was fair. We moved around a lot but managed to find decent action on speckled trout, ladyfish, and a Spanish mackerel. They cast Bass Assassin jigs and Country Club Shores was the best spot.
I had two trips on Wednesday. In the morning I picked up John Carroll from New Hampshire, his granddaughter Jillian, and friend Bill Link at the Bay Isles Park on Siesta Key. We caught the tide just right as it was low turning to come in. For an hour sheepshead and snapper kept the rods bent. Jillian had the hot hand and that continued as we made a move to the flats when the tide became too swift. Equal numbers of trout and ladyfish provided steady action at the Radio Tower and Bird Key flats. In the afternoon Joe Mogolon from PA and his 3 sons Roman, Nick, and Joe had a good trip, catching Spanish mackerel to 2 1/2 pounds, speckled trout to 20", flounder, ladyfish, and sailcats on jigs and live shrimp at Stephen's Pt and Country Club Shores.
Buddies from Michigan Rich Ruis and Hank DeYoung had a great charter on Thursday! We spent the first half of the charter working a ledge in Big Pass, and the action was virtually non-stop. Sheepshead to 3 pounds, mangrove snapper and gag grouper hit just about every shrimp that went to the bottom. The tide picked up and we moved to the nearby flats and caught trout to 22", ladyfish, and more.
Tim and Lisa Adamson from Charlotte, NC treated their son Nick and his girlfriend Sydney to a charter on Friday morning. We started off back in Big Pass, where the action was steady, though not as frantic as the day before. A bunch of sheepshead and mangrove snapper were landed, along with a few other species. A move to the Bird Key flats resulted in good action on trout to 18", sea bass, grouper, and ladyfish using both live shrimp and jigs.
I finished up my week with Dorothy Rokicki from the Pittsburg area who treated her two 16 year old grand children, Eden and Ryan, to a charter. Action was very good first thing in Big Pass both near Marker # 19 and in the rocky structure. After the tide picked up, we moved to the nearby flats. They landed 12 different species including pompano, mackerel, trout, gag grouper, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, ladyfish, and more. Great way to end the week! I am taking off Easter Sunday.
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