Sarasota Bay action very good with Capt Jim klopfer!
Capt. Jim Klopfer
May 19, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Once again, fishing was excellent on a variety of species, mostly using live bait. Snook, redfish, speckled trout, silver trout, jack crevelle, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, sea bass, and snapper were among the species landed this week. The flats and shorelines along Siesta Key were the best spots. The pattern has been to hit the trout flats early then finish up targeting snook, reds, and jacks later in the morning. The pilchards are very large and perfect for snook and reds.
Marci Jenke from Colorado fished with me on Monday and Thursday. On Monday she brought along her brother Joe, who lives here in Sarasota. They caught a nice mess of speckled trout and a couple of Spanish mackerel on shrimp near Big Pass. We finished up working docks along Siesta Key and both caught a snook along with a nice trout. Marci wanted to target more challenging gamefish on Thursday, so we concentrated on mangrove shorelines and docks on Robert's Bay. Marci landed a pair of nice jacks near Phillippi Creek to start things off. The morning got quite still with little wind or tide, and fishing was a little tough. She finished up with a snook and 2 decent trout, along with a mystery fish that broker her off on a dock.
Repeat clients Joanne and Jim Meyer from Valparaiso, IN went out for a morning trip on Tuesday. Action was steady on speckled trout using shrimp and pilchards. Joanne caught a 21" redfish on a pinfish to finish up the trip. Great people and great fun!
Kim and Paul McStowe from Stratham, NH went out on Wednesday. The silver trout bite was terrific near the Twin Bridges, for whatever reason these tasty fish are still quite plentiful. They put several in the box and released a dozen more along with speckled trout and four Spanish mackerel. Paul mentioned that he would like to try for some more challenging fish, so after netting up some bait we headed for the mangroves. Paul caught several snook, even "calling his shot" once, promising a snook, then moments later catching a 24" fish. Not to be outdone, his lovely bride Kim completed an "Inshore slam", landing a snook and a pair of reds to go along with her trout.
Peter and Jeanette Goldsbrough took out their son and daughter Claire and Ian on Friday. They are very casual anglers and wanted a few fish for dinner, so we concentrated on the deep flats using live shrimp. Action was steady and they put 4 speckled trout, a nice silver trout, a Spanish mackerel, and a bluefish in the box. Jack crevelle, flounder, sea bass, ladyfish, and catfish were also caught and released.
Bob Theis, his wife Sally, and son Pete fished on Saturday morning. They wanted to try for snook, reds, and jacks, so I got some hand-picked shrimp and hit some docks and mangrove shorelines in Robert's Bay. They landed a big mangrove snapper, a couple of slot trout, and got broken off twice by big fish. we finished up on the deep flats catching trout to 18", a shark, and ladyfish.
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