Saltwater Fishing Report for Sarasota, Florida.
Capt. Bob Smith
September 9, 2001
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Red tide may slow things down!
The Red Tide has put a halt to most of our Bay fishing but that can change at any time, for better or worse. The best Bay action was for trout at Buttonwood Harbor marker and north along the grass flats. The NE corner of the bay had plenty of small redfish along the drop-offs. Live shrimp will survive well during a Redtide and should be available at the bait shops.
Offshore, the (M) reefs have been clear of the Red tide and holding fish. That could change but for now the Spanish mackerel, barracuda and mangrove snapper with an occasional keeper size grouper have been the prevalent fish. I found plenty of baitfish (Spanish sardines, cigar minnows)hugging the bottom around the structures. This bait did not always show up well on the bottom recorder but bouncing a Goldhook rig off the bottom produced plenty of nice big baits. Large live shrimp will also work on the mackerel and snapper.
Longer runs offshore of 30+ miles are still producing some nice Blue water fish, but make sure you pickup some live bait on the way out.
Enjoy and Protect
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