Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim klopfer 10/25/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
October 25, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Action is steady on the deep flats for a variety of species, though most of the speckled trout have been small. A few nice Spanish mackerel are being caught, along with ladyfish, jacks, and other species. Strong northeast winds forced us to concentrate on the east side of Sarasota Bay. Live shrimp, Bass assassin jigs, and Rapala X-Raps all caught fish this week. Snook are moving into the backwaters and onto the flats and bars throughout the area. Spanish mackerel and false albacore are becoming more plentiful in the inshore Gulf of Mexico and hit jigs, spoons, plugs, flies, and live bait. That action should really start to heat up with the east winds that are being predicted for the up-coming week.
I had some boat maintenance to do, and as it is the time of year that I start freshwater and river fishing, I did a little "prospecting" early in the week. Summer is over and it is time to get back to some freshwater and river fishing! We did have a LOT of rain in September, and the Myakka was at flood stage for several weeks. The water is receding, however it is still high and fast; not really fish-able. I have spent some time on both Upper Myakka Lake and Lake Manatee this week. Upper Myakka Lake produced a few bream and tilapia, but Lake Manatee was better, giving up some nice bream, small bass, and the big news; the speckled perch (crappie to out northern friends) bite is heating up! Specks are schooled up on the channel edges in 8′ to 15′ of water and are hitting small brightly colored jigs, Beetle Spins, Road Runners, and of course, live minnows. The fish should move up shallow as it cools off. We actually caught a 22″ snook in the lake on a topwater plug! The largemouth bite has been a bit slow but should improve with cooling water temperatures. Snook will start to show up in both rivers shortly.
On Thursday Brandon Bodenhamer, Matt Byers, and Doug Haley, all from Texas and on Siesta Key for a wedding, went out on a 6 hour charter. The trip started off great, with Brandon catching a decent snook on his first cast, free lining a shrimp near the Stickney Point bridge fender. He then caught a jack near Phillippi Creek on a Rapala. We moved to Big Pass where the boys caught several ladyfish on Bass assassin jigs and live shrimp. As the tide picked up, birds and fish began working heavily. Unfortunately, the wind also cranked up, making it too difficult to fish. We spent the rest of the charter casting jigs and live shrimp at Marina Jacks, Radio Tower, and Stephen's Point. Action was good at each spot, though none of the fish were hugs. Matt landed a nice Spanish mackerel, plenty of small trout were caught, as well as gag grouper, sea bass, jacks, sail cats, and ladyfish.
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