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Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 3/29/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
March 29, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sheepshead were definitely the savior on my charters this week. We have had quite a bit of unsettled weather with wind and rain of late. This results in "dirty" water, which means the wind has the sand all stirred up. Most fish do not like this, but the sheepies don't care. In fact, sometimes it even improves the fishing as they become less shy of leaders and terminal tackle. Whatever the reason, under these conditions I target them and this week clients had great success putting these tasty saltwater panfish in the boat. They are fun to catch, fight hard, are interesting looking, and taste great! This has been a VERY good year for sheepshead! They can be caught using shrimp (live, fresh, or frozen) fishing on the bottom near structure. Both Big Pass and New Pass have been quite productive. Clients also landed speckled trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, gag grouper, jack crevelle, and ladyfish.
I started the week fishing with Bill and Judy Whisler from Long Grove, IL and their children Karen and David. To say the sheepshead bite was on would be an understatement; it was perhaps the best I have ever seen! We were anchored up on a ledge in Big Pass and every bit that entered the water got crushed. After filling the box we were still releasing 2-3 lb sheepshead two at a time. They also caught several nice mangrove snappers, a pompano, and a Spanish mackerel. We left them biting, as much to catch our breath as anything, and moved to the Bird Key flats where they landed ladyfish, speckled trout, and another mackerel. A fantastic morning of fishing!
Windy and rainy on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday morning was cold with winds at 25 knots, so we bumped the trip back to 1:00. Being flexible this time of year is advantageous. Tom Stark, his wife Cindy, and son Michael met me at Ken Thompson Park. The water was stirred up and it was still breezy, so I ran to Marina Jack seeking a little shelter from the wind. We made several drifts and caught some ladyfish using jigs. A move to Robert's Bay resulted in a couple of jacks, a Spanish mackerel, and more ladyfish. We finished up in Big Pass catching several sheepshead and snapper. Fair fishing, but considering the conditions, it was a pretty good trip. They were from Iowa and just happy to be out on a boat in the Florida sunshine!
Henry DeYoung and Rich Ruis fished with me on Thursday morning. This is the 5th year in a row they have been out, and every trip has been different. They wanted a few fish for dinner, so we targeted sheepshead under docks in Big Pass. The bite was steady and we put a half dozen keepers in the box in an hour along with catching some snappers and small grouper. A move to the deep grass flats resulted in speckled trout to 17", pompano, jacks, and ladyfish using free lined live shrimp.
Siesta key resident and long-time client Carl Guse took his son John and grandson Tommy out on a charter at the end of the week. We fished in a light drizzle for most of the trip, but the bite was steady. With dirty water and an outgoing tide, we caught sheepshead and mangrove snapper in Big Pass using fresh and live shrimp.
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