Capt Jim Klopfer's Sarasota Fishing Report 9/8/2012
Capt. Jim Klopfer
September 8, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
The water cleared up this week as the remnants of Isaac moved on. Fishing rebounded, too. Specked trout are thick on the deep flats all throughout Sarasota Bay from Big Pass north to Long Bar. Jacks, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, sea bass, flounder, mangrove snapper, gag grouper, and more hit live bait, Rapalas, and jigs. Snook fishing is improving each week as they move back in the bays. Nothing beats a large live pilchard for line-siders!
The baitfish showed up in large numbers on the beach and the Spanish mackerel were right on their tails. Macks are plentiful at the mouths of the passes, Point of Rocks, and the inshore artificial reefs off of Lido Key. Forecasted west winds will put a damper on that early in the week.
I do a fair amount of freshwater fishing this time of year. This week I went out to Lake Manatee once and Upper Myakka Lake twice. We did best at Manatee using tiny gold Rapalas, catching bass to 2 pounds, crappie (specks) to 12", and bluegill to 6". Black Beetlespins were the ticket at Myakka (though I did catch a few fly fishing with a #8 gold/charteuse streamer) and casting them to the edges of grass beds resulted in bass to 3 pounds, crappie to 12", bluegill, stumpknocker, shellcracker, and warmouth to 8".
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