Fishing hot in Sarasota on Thanksgiving!
Capt. Jim Klopfer
November 26, 2011
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Action in the inshore Gulf of Mexico was fabulous early in the week! False albacore and Spanish mackerel were plentiful and hit flies, Rapala plugs, and Cotee jigs. Big Pass and the surrounding deep flats are providing good action on Speckled trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel, flounder, redfish, jacks, sharks, sheepshead, and ladyfish using shrimp and jigs.
On Monday David Morgan from Chevy Chase, MD went out fishing with me. David is an accomplished fly fisherman, so after catching a few speckled trout and mackerel on the deep flats near Bird Key, we went out on the beach hunting albies. David caught several to 8 pounds and lost a couple more on a #4 white Crystal Minnow.
Long time client Tom Hyser from Cambridge, Md spent the day with me on Tuesday. We caught ladyfish, trout, and mackerel on the flats early, then went out Big Pass near the Silvertooth Reef. Spanish mackerel were everywhere! We caught them on every cast until we had enough, then went hunting bigger game. The fish were surfacing, but fussy, Tom caught a false albacore on a jig and another on a Rapala. We finished up with a dozen flounder to 20" on a ledge near New Pass on pilchards.
The Anderson family from Sun Prairie, WI, Noelle and Tom along with their sons Tommy (12) and Brady (9) did very well in Big Pass and the surrounding flats on Wednesday morning. Rapala X-Raps, Cotee jigs, and live shrimp produced 10 Spanish mackerel to 3 lbs, speckled trout, ladyfish, black sea bass, and jack crevelle. They caught 52 fish in all!
Thanksgiving morning I took out 3 families on a pontoon boat. It was breezy, but we had a good morning, catching pompano, Spanish mackerel, flounder, speckled trout, ladyfish, and a couple of bonnethead sharks on jigs and live shrimp.
Bruce, John, and Tim Belicka from Atlanta, GA had a terrific trip on Friday morning. We started off catching a flounder on a Rapala X-Rap near Phillippi Creek. In Big pass they caught ladyfish and a pompano on Bomber and Cotee jigs. Then, a move to the flats behind Bird Key resulted in speckled trout to 20", a silver trout, flounder to 16", sheepshead to 4 lbs, several redfish to 20", a bonnethead shark, and a bunch of ladyfish on Gulp! Shrimp and live shrimp.
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