Saltwater Fishing Report for Sarasota, Florida.
Capt. Bob Smith
December 9, 2000
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Pompano & Permit
During the week there were some very nice fish caught but there have also been days like Thursday, when you could hardly loose a bait. Except for the pompano there has been not much of a pattern to the inshore bite. Pompano and permit have been hitting just after the change of tide in New Pass. We are using yellow short haired jigs in the quarter to half ounce size and tipped with a small bit of shrimp. Drift along the sand bar and bounce the jigs on the bottom as you drift along the edge.
If you have not done this before, watch the other boats to develop the correct cadence to your snap. It is a short snap and you want the jig to hit the bottom sending up a small puff of sand, simulating a crab digging in. You know you are doing right when the paint starts to come off your jig, or you catch fish .
Amberjack in the 40 pound range have been on the bite and December is the time for the big ones, 80-100 pounds. AJ's have been known to move in to the deeper reefs offshore. You can find AJ's on any structure in 80' feet of water and deeper at this time of year. AJ's prefer live bait but will take dead bait. I have caught some big ones on live bluefish and one eighty pounder on live shrimp. Just get over the structure and drop your bait down and they usually take it about half way to the bottom. Grouper have also been on the bite but you will need to get off the structure and away from the AJ's. Fish the hard bottom so that you can get a bait down.
With the 80 degree weather this week, we should start to get some good action on the inshore reefs as well. Sheephead, grouper and snapper should pickup. You also want to keep a lookout for cobia and tripletail. One seventeen and a half pound tripletail was caught this week.
Enjoy and Protect
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