Decent bite in Sarasota, despite the wind
Capt. Jim Klopfer
October 29, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
The key to success on charters this week was dealing with the wind. Still breezes out of the northeast made fishing parts of Sarasota Bay impossible. Working the open flats early when the wind was not as strong, then moving to protected areas as the breeze picked up worked well. Speckled trout, mostly small, Spanish mackerel, gag grouper, mangrove snapper, ladyfish, and other species hit jigs and live bait near Bird Key. Canals on Siesta Key and protected shorelines in Robert's Bay produced snook, plenty of jacks, and some nice mangrove snappers.
Rick Kinning from Colorado treated his dad and two sons to a charter on Sunday. It was still a bit breezy with high pressure after the cold front, and fishing was steady, though unspectacular. The boys cast jigs for an hour or so, catching a few fish at the Middlegrounds, and I loaded up on bait. Chumming at the Radio Towed and Marina Jacks resulted in decent action on speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, snapper, grouper, flounder, and ladyfish.
Steve Owen from Ohio was in town and took his son Stephen, who lives in Sarasota, out fishing. We started off casting plugs for snook, but no luck. I caught bait and fished a shoreline in Robert's Bay, where they experienced non-stop action on jack crevelle, snook, and snapper for an hour or so. The tide peaked high and the rest of the morning was a tad slow, with a few trout and ladyfish providing a bit of action.
I finished up the week with Magnus Olund from Sweden and his wife and two kids. Once again it was quite breezy as we left the dock at CB's Saltwater Outfitters and headed north. I anchored up on the back side of Bird Key to get a break from the wind and we caught trout, gag grouper, and ladyfish free lining shrimp. I saw a bunch of birds working on bait. So I ran over and loaded up on pilchards and threadies. I tried another spot but it was blowing so hard the anchor would not hold. I went into a residential canal and found a school of hungry jacks. The gang landed 25 or so, along with some nice snappers.
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