Big cobia surprises Sarasota angler!
Capt. Jim Klopfer
August 26, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing on the deep flats was outstanding this week! Clients landed speckled trout to 20", Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, mangrove snapper, gag grouper, bluefish, jack crevelle, sharks, and more. "Catch of the Week" goes to Michelle Moczynski who landed a big cobia on trout tackle at the Middlegrounds. Most of the fish were caught using live bait, though anglers did land fish on Bass Assassin jigs, Rapala X-Raps, and Clouser Minnow flies.
Daniel Groth from upstate New York and his 10 year old son had a good charter on Monday. I caught bait then hit the Middlegrounds and Radio Tower, catching speckled trout to 19", Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, snapper, grouper, jacks, ladyfish, and a shark. I moved to Marina Jacks, saw some breaking fish, and set up on them. For an hour it was virtually non-stop, with some large mangrove snapper joining the party.
Tom Marquardt from Milwaukee, WI and his 13 year old twin sons experienced great action on Tuesday. I loaded up and we basically spent the entire morning at two spots at the Middlegrounds. The boys probably landed 100 fish, including a bunch of trout, a dozen mackerel, ten snappers, ladyfish, jacks, gag grouper, and more keeping us busy.
Sarasota local Anthony Huey and his buddy Tim went out on Wednesday for an introduction to fly fishing. It was more about instruction than catching, but we did land several trout and grouper as they learned to cast and fish.
Michelle and Alan Moczynski from Wisconsin had a great charter on Thursday. Action was fast at the Middlegrounds, with the couple landing speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, jacks, snapper, grouper, ladyfish, and more. Michelle topped off the trip with a big cobia that she landed on 10 lb spinning tackle. Great job, Michelle!!
I finished up my week with Sarasota residents Doc Dojutrek and John Englanded. We started off fishing Big Pass at first light in search of snook. They missed a couple but did land a half dozen nice mangrove snapper. I caught bait and we spent a while chumming, experiencing good action on mackerel, trout, and snapper. We spent the last couple of hours casting Bass Assassin jigs and Rapala X-Raps top breaking jacks, trout, and bluefish at the Radio Tower and Marina Jacks.
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