Saltwater Fishing Report for Sarasota, Florida.
Capt. Bob Smith
October 8, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fall Run
At the beginning of the week, we found the beaches loaded with small Spanish mackerel, little tunny, large barracuda, and sharks of all sizes. They were feeding on the large schools of very small baitfish, anchovies and whitebait. We used small ¼-½ ounce Diamond jigs. We trolled very fast with a long flat line or we cast our lines out and let it sink before retrieving as fast as we could. This technique loaded us up with mackerel and some tunny. Other boats that were chumming and fishing with live whitebait also did well. The sharks and barracuda were feeding on the mackerel and tunny. By noon Tuesday, the beach was boiling with the fish in a feeding frenzy. On Wednesday, the wind started to get stronger and the action slowed down but we still caught plenty of fish. The mackerel only averaged a pound or two but this will improve as we go into the fall season. Some kings and cobia have been caught in the mix.
Bay fishing has produced some very nice seatrout on the grass flats, the Middle ground flats to start. Keep an eye open for cobia on the grass flats. D.O.A. and live shrimp as well white bait has been working well. Some redfish are being caught in the back waters.
In the mix of bay and coastal fish, you can also find some snapper, flounder, bluefish, pompano, grouper and many other species that live in the area. I find that using an artificial D.O.A. shrimp or live shrimp will produce a larger variety of fish. All our fish eat shrimp, not all eat fish.
Enjoy & Protect
More Fishing Reports:
