Sarasota fishing report Capt Jim klopfer 5/30/2015
Capt. Jim Klopfer
May 30, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was good this week as tides improved and bait showed up in the bay. It is small, but large enough to catch and use. The fish really responded to them when used as chum! Speckled trout to 21", bluefish and Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, black sea bass, gag grouper, lane, mangrove, and yellowtail snapper, sharks, ladyfish, jacks, and ladyfish were caught by clients on charters this week. They did most of the damage on the flats near Big Pass and Stephen's Pt. Tarpon continue to be hooked in decent numbers off the beaches.
I started my week off on Sunday with Steve Jensen and his two sons Brett (23) and Bennett (21). We started off at the Middlegrounds; not much happening. A move to Marina Jacks resulted in steady action, mostly with speckled trout. I stopped for more bait then ran up to Stephen's Pt, where we finished up with trout, mackerel, and sailcats. Most of the fish hit live shrimp. I took off Memorial Day.
On Tuesday Victoria and Joshua Rupli from Michigan took their sons Jacob and James out on a charter. Action was steady on the deep flats near Bird Key, with Victoria landing the most fish and James catching the largest trout, 20", the others pitching in with trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish, sea bass, and snapper.
I took David Schirmer out on a tarpon trip on Wednesday. We got a couple of bites and miissed them both, that's tarpon fishing. The fish were not showing well and moving quickly close to the beach, not the ideal situation.
The Culloo family from Colorado had a great trip on Thursday! Baitfish showed up and I netted a well full. It was not very big, but big enough, and the fish really responded to the chum. Speckled trout to 21", Spanish mackerel, a big shark, sea bass, lane, mangrove, and yellowtail snapper, gag grouper, ladyfish, and more were hooked near Bird Key. The action was very steady.
I had a similar trip on Friday with Mark Adkins from Ft. Myers, who had some relatives in town for his son's graduation. We drifted the flats with shrimp for a bit, not much going on. I caught bait and action was steady, mostly ladyfish but with bluefish, trout, mackerel, jacks, sea bass, grouper, and snapper mixed in.
I finished my week with a nice couple from Minneola, FL, Karen and Bryan Sicklinger. Action was steady near Big Pass, with speckled trout to 17", mangrove snapper to 14:, sea bass, jacks, and ladyfish being caught.
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