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Saltwater Fishing Report for Sarasota, Florida.
Capt. Bob Smith
January 24, 2003
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Snapper and Seatrout still strong!
Fishing has been excellent throughout the month of January! The Bay fishing is better than it has been in years. Only the weather has held us down but this is normal for this time of year. The cold snap we are having today and tomorrow could be a problem for some species due to the water temperature dropping.
We have not needed to do much running to find fish. Zwicks channel has been good for pompano, bluefish and trout on a running tide, in or out.
Big Pass has been good on a change of tide before it gets too strong.
The grass flats just north of the Rim Canal’s south entrance has been a good place to limit out on sea trout. Live shrimp and tipped jigs have been working well. The live shrimp have been small but doing the job. You may want to drop a hook size to match the size of the bait. On the flats, we have been using a free-line with the live shrimp rigged with 8# line and 20# leader with a 2/0 long light wire shank gold hook (Eagle Claw #202).
The sheepshead are also getting hot. Look for them around any structure that is growing barnacles. Use only crustaceans or mollusks for bait and a stout sharp hook, (Eagle Claw L253).
Offshore there have been plenty of snapper and some nice grouper in 50’ to 90’ feet of water. The best bait is live shrimp for the snapper and live pinfish for the grouper. You can find plenty of large pinfish offshore but I also like to take some smaller ones caught from the bay. Fresh caught pinfish are much better bait.
Enjoy and Protect
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