Grouper pleasing inshore anglers in Sarasota
Capt. Jim Klopfer
October 15, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
I was on vacation out west and returned mid-week. Action was steady this week, despite some challenging conditions. Wind has been brisk out of the northeast and there is still some lingering red tide. The key to success was moving around a bit then once fish are located, optimize the situation. The grass flats near Big Pass produced gag grouper, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, jacks, snapper, and ladyfish. Mangrove shorelines with a depth change produced snook, jacks, and snapper in Robert's Bay. All of the fish were caught using live bait.
Wednesday was the first day I fished after my vacation. Gina and Mike Rymer fro Petersburg, MI were my clients. We started off first thing by running up to Stephen's Point and casting live shrimp. The bite was slow and the water looked a little off-colored, so we left and headed to the Middlegrounds, where I loaded up on bait. Chumming near Bird Key rsulted in steady action over the next couple of hours, with speckled trout and gag grouper being the most plentiful species landed.
Janet Pothier and Kevin Hyla, both from Niagra Falls, NY had a good charter on Friday. I caught bait and anchored near a mangrove shoreline that had a steep drop-off, and began chumming. It did not take long before the fish showed up. Jack crevelle, snapper, ladyfish, gag grouper to 20", and a pair of snook kept things exciting. Eventually the tide became too strong and we hit a couple of grass flats near Bird Key. Speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, and gag grouper provided steady action. We finished up with a hot trout bite off Siesta Key, with several fat trout to 17" being caught and released along with a dozen smaller fish.
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