Saltwater Fishing Report for Sarasota, Florida.
Capt. Bob Smith
November 9, 2001
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cobia come back!
The Cobias are back and have been moving along the beach reefs. For the last few days the cobia action has been better than it has been in the last few years. We did well in eighteen feet of water using large live shrimp, both free line and on the bottom. The action was very good until about 10:00 AM and then it would slack off. During that time we would see many schools of Spanish mackerel frothing the surface and feeding on very small baitfish. They did not seem to be interested in the large shrimp, but I am sure they would have taken a small jig.
Further offshore at the (M) reefs in forty feet of water, gray snapper (Mangrove) were on the bite and taking live shrimp. However, it was necessary to put up with a lot of triggerfish stealing your bait. Large gag grouper have started to move in to the (M) reefs and surrounding areas. They are responding best to large plugs. Trolling deep and running plugs far behind the boat at 4-5 knots has produced gag grouper up to twenty pounds. This is the normal time for the gags to move inshore, but they are often overlooked due to the kingfish run. The kingfish action has been sparse at best. The grouper will also take live pinfish and grunts, but it has been hard to keep them alive because there is still some Red tide still hanging around offshore. The gags also like the live shrimp but have trouble getting to it fast enough and/or your tackle is too light to hold them when fishing for snapper.
There was not much to hold me on the bay this past week, so I will pass on that.
Enjoy and Protect
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