Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 3/22/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
March 22, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sheepshead continued to bite well this week on live and frozen shrimp, providing action and dinners for clients. Plenty of ladyfish were landed on the deep flats at the Radio Tower, Marker # 5, and Bird Key flats using jigs and shrimp. Clients did not catch very many Spanish mackerel, but did land a couple very nice ones at Stephen's Pt. Weekly fronts have kept the water in the inshore Gulf of Mexico cool and stirred up. A week of east winds should clean things up and get the action out on the beach fired up.
Lou Marcy took out his family for a trip on Sunday. A severe front was approaching and we did well the first couple of hours, catching Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, and ladyfish on the deep flats and several sheepshead under docks. Then, it started to blow. With winds at 20 knots + out of the south, the fishing was tough. We headed in with a nice mess of fish for dinner. I did not get out Monday or Tuesday due to bad weather.
I ran two trips on Wednesday. David Johnson, his daughter Linda and her husband Jim Kreider had a good trip in the morning. They caught Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and a gag grouper first thing as the tide was falling. Heavy fog moved in, keeping it a bit cool. Fishing picked up with the incoming tide. Speckled trout to 18", jacks, ladyfish, and more hit free lined shrimp on the deep flats near Big Pass. The afternoon was a bit slower as the tide brought in a bunch of stained water from the Gulf. Ladyfish bit good in Robert's Bay and we caught a couple of sheepies near Bird Key. we finished up trolling in Phillippi Creek, hooking a nice jack and losing it on a channel marker.
I ran two trips again on Thursday, with similar results. Sheepshead bit VERY well under the docks in Big Pass. Nothing huge, but plenty of keepers, making for some tasty fish dinners! Clients also caught ladyfish, trout, a pompano, and a huge Spanish mackerel using live shrimp and jigs.
John Englander, Bill Kish, and Doc Dojutrek fished with me on Friday. We started off hitting the docks and putting several sheepshead and snapper in the box. I then moved to Big Pass in search of pompano, but they caught more sheepshead and snapper along with ladyfish and jacks on shrimp-tipped jigs. A move to the flats at Marker #5 and Marina Jack resulted in more jacks and ladyfish. I ran up to Stephen's Pt. where the action was not great, but several quality fish were landed, including a 3lb and 4 lb Spanish mackerel and a nice 23" speckled trout.
The bite was a bit off on Saturday for JoEllen and Shaun Fahey from Stone Lake, WI. Slack tides may have been the cause, but for whatever reason we worked hard, but did catch a nice 18" speckled trout, a 2 pound Spanish mackerel, and some jacks and ladyfish.
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