 |
Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 8/18/2012
Capt. Jim Klopfer
August 18, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing the deep grass flats near Big Pass and New Pass was very good this week. Strong incoming tides helped the bite. Baitfish are thick on the bars and grass flats, mostly threadfin herring with some pilchards mixed in. I went to live bait early on most trips, the artificial bite was a bit off this week. Speckled trout were cooperating, with a good ratio of keepers to short fish. Spanish mackerel were also reliable, we averaged ten or so each trip. Ladyfish and jacks also kept the rods bent. Some good sized mangrove snapper were also caught, along with black sea bass.
Jim Kollar, his 16 year old son Garrett, and his friend Josh from Latrobe, PA had a good day on Sunday. The cormorants made things difficult early; they shut down the early bite and after I caught bait they were eating all the chum. We had a dozen around and ended up leaving. All in all, we probably caught 100 fish, putting 2 speckled trout, six Spanish mackerel, and six mangrove snapper in the box, destined for Clayton's that evening.
Rick Scroggs from North Carolina bought my donated CCA trip and we went out on Monday. Action was steady, though the first light bite produced smaller trout that we have been catching. However we did very well using live bait, catching a bunch of trout, 10 Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and more. We left them biting to try for snook and reds, I hit several docks but not much action.
Brian Schilling, his wife Michelle, father John, and nephew Ethan had another productive morning on Tuesday. It was calm first thing, not great conditions for using artificial baits, so we went right to using live bait. The birds were once again a nuisance and caused some problems, but by the end of the trip we caught over 100 fish and had a box full of fish for dinner including speckled trout to 18", Spanish Mackerel to 2 1/2 pounds, mangrove snapper, and black sea bass. We also caught a bunch of short trout, ladyfish, and jacks. The grass flats on the north end of Siesta Key were the best spots.
The bite was a little off on Wednesday, though John Heiser and his grandson Nick Zimmerman still caught 50 fish or so and put 3 slot trout and several Spanish mackerel in the box fishing live bait near Bird Key. The fish were biting and then bad weather chased us off. For the next hour it was a little tough, but then we finished with a flurry near the Ringling Bridge including 8 Spanish mackerel.
Monte Clithero and his girlfriend Dana from Springfield, MO had an excellent morning on Thursday, although we did have to dodge a little weather and sit out a brief shower. But, we persevered and the caught speckled trout to 18", Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, mangrove snapper to 13", jacks, ladyfish, and more. We caught a few early on Gulp! Shrimp but most of the fish were caught on threadfin herring. Marker #5 was the best spot.
David Lasley and his friend Tom Jung from Raleigh, NC did very well on Friday morning. The early morning Gulp! bite was good, they landed a bunch of trout including five or six keepers at the Radio Tower before it slowed down. We fished two spots near Bird Key with live bait and the action was virtually non-stop for a couple of hours. Trout, jacks, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, and snapper kept the rods bent constantly. We finished up catching a redfish, decent jack, and snapper on a mangrove shoreline in Robert's Bay.
After ten straight days of excellent fishing, I took Saturday off. Back at it next week!
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
