Sarasota fishing report 12/19/2015
Capt. Jim Klopfer
December 18, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
I did all of my fishing this week in the Myakka and Manatee Rivers in search of snook, with other species providing action as well. The water temperature is still higher than it should be, resulting in less snook (and more gar) than normal, but the cold front this weekend should cool the water off nicely. Rapala X-Raps are my bait of choice with the jointed BX Minnow in Firetiger eliciting most of the strikes. Gold and white X-Rap Slask baits in size #8 and #10 also produced a few fish. Snook to 30", tarpon to 10 pounds, largemouth bass, snapper, and gar hit plugs cast by clients this week.
On Monday afternoon Jeff Brown and his brother-in-law Gary fished the Manatte River with me. We met at Ray's Canoe Outpost around noon and headed down river as the tide was low and coming in. My plan was to go almost to Ft. Hamer and fish our way back with the wind and tide. At the first spot the boys jumped two tarpon and landed a nice mangrove snapper. More snook attacked plugs and Jeff had the hot hand with the gar. We finished up with 8 snook, several gar (one of which was over 4'), two snapper, jumped the two tarpon, and a bass. Great afternoon with two good anglers!
Later in the week I fished the Myakka River. The tide was high, so we headed way up river and drifted back down. Several gar and a few snook were hooked as we worked our way back. The Myakka generally produces more and larger snook while the Manatee is a better choice for anglers seeking variety
More Fishing Reports:
