Good action and variety in Sarasota!
Capt. Jim Klopfer
June 18, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was very good this week, though unstable weather was an issue later in the week. Action was good on the deep grass flats with the Radio Tower being the top spot. Speckled trout were plentiful with fish over 20" being landed on most trips. Bluefish, jacks, ladyfish, and snapper were also caught on charters this week. Most of the fish hit live shrimp but Bass Assassin Sea Shad baits in the 4" Glow color also did well. False albacore and Spanish mackerel were thick on the beach early in the week when conditions were better and hit small Rapala X-Raps with reckless abandon.
On Sunday I had a tarpon charter with Bob Goohs from NYC. Tarpon were plentiful and large schools were moving slowly on the surface, but they would not bite. Everyone I spoke to had a similar experience that day. However, there were large schools of false albacore with Spanish mackerel mixed in just off the beach, and Bob had a blast with those, landing albies to nearly ten pounds and Spanish to three pounds on a #8 white Rapala X-Rap.
Roc LaCorte treated his son Damen and grandchildren Max and Ben to a trip on Monday. It was a bit breezy and the bite was a bit tougher, but the gang landed a couple dozen fish including several decent speckled trout using mostly live shrimp.
The action was better on Tuesday for Quintin Frey from PA, his son Derek, and grand kids Julia and Logan. We started off at the Radio Tower with a good trout and ladyfish bite, with mangrove snapper and jacks mixed in. The tide quit and so did the action, so we finished up bottom fishing in Big Pas, catching mangrove snapper and Key West grunts.
Jim Jerele, his cousin Bob, and two grand sons had a VERY good charter later in the week. The boys were keeping count and all told landed 85 fish. We fioshed the deep grass at the Radio Tower and near Bird Key and caught a bunch of speckled trout, including a pair that went 20" and 22", quite a few ladyfish, with several bluefish, jacks, and mangrove snapper mixed in. Bob did all of his damage with a Bass Assassin Sea Shad jig while the rest used live shrimp.
The speckled trout bite was hot at the Radio Tower for Sarasota resident Ron Chappell and his buddy Wally. Live shrimp produced a lot of trout with quite a few between 15" and 22". A storm send us scurrying in a bit early, but it was still a very good morning. Saturday morning I was greeted at the ramp with a thunderstorm, so decided to cancel the trip.
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