Get out EARLY for good fishing in Sarasota!
Capt. Jim Klopfer
July 14, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Things are settling down and into our normal summer pattern after the holiday week. I fished 10 straight days and took a couple off for rest and boat maintenance. That never ends!! We are getting nice showers most afternoons but the water quality in Sarasota Bay is still pretty good. The deep flats near both passes continue to be productive. The best technique for me this week was a glow Gulp! Shrimp under a noisy cork. Bait is showing up in the bay but for the mosty part it is pretty small. Spanish mackerel showed up in decent numbers this week!
James Krampe from Louisville, KY took his two boys Clayton (14) and Kendall (12) out fishing. It was a Christmas present that was giver to James. Action was good at the Marina Jack flat for the first hour and a half. Speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, and ladyfish hit Gulp! Shrimp under a noisy cork. We continued to fish the deep flats near Big Pass and the catching slowed a bit, which is normal this time of year. Still, we ended up with a lot of fish and fun was had by all.
Later in the week Rob Gratton from Winter Springs, his dad Bob, and 6 year old son Aiden had a very good trip! We started off catching speckled trout to 17" on Gulp! Shrimp under a cork on the flats near Big Pass. The action slowed around 9:00 a.m., which is not unusual for this time of year. A switch to live bait turned the bite back on. Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, trout, snapper, ladyfish, and mystery fish that I am pretty sure was a shark came to the chum and took pilchards and small pinfish. We hit a dock on the way in and caught a few more mangrove snapper.
I had a rain-out on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning Matt Stinson from Nokomis, FL took his two kids Olivia (12) and Joseph (9) out. I had donated a charter to the Siesta Key Chamber and Matt was the high bidder. We got out there at 6:00 a.m. and fishing was very good for both action and quality. We used Gulp! Shrimp under corks and live shrimp and caught a bunch of trout with four nice fat keepers in the slot, along with ladyfish, two big sail cats, and a couple of cut-offs. Action slowed around 9:00, which is not unusual. My buddy Capt Roy String, another CB's guide, called me and said he had chummed up the mackerel and there were boiling behind his boat. Both Roy and I fish live bait a lot and we do this for each other often. I was less than a mile away and scooted over to him, anchored up, and we finished up the trip with several macks to 3 pounds, ladyfish, blue runner, and bluefish on live bait and Rapala X-Raps. Thanks Roy!!
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