Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 12/22/2012
Capt. Jim Klopfer
December 22, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was very good once again this week in both fresh and salt water before a severe front shut things down on Friday. Grass flats throughout the area held pompano, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, jack crevelle, bluefish, sea bass, and a lot of decent sized ladyfish. Marker #5, Radio Tower, middlegrounds, and flats further south near Midnight pass were all productive this week. Gold Cotee jigs caught most of the fish, along with a few on Gulp! Shrimp and Rapala X-Raps. Oyster bars and docks in the same area are producing sheepshead to 3 pounds, redfish, and black drum.
Myakka River trips continue to be extremely productive. This week we caught snook, bass, tarpon (yes, tarpon), tilapia, and bream using Rapalas and black spinnerbaits. The cold front should push more snook up into the river.
Ladyfish, speckled trout, and pompano are scattered throughout the area from north Sarasota Bay to Blackburn Pt. Jigs have been productive and allow anglers to cover a lot of water. The key is to keep moving until action is found, then concentrate on that flat. Gold and chartreuse Cotte jigs worked well for me.
Dave Vins and his 18 year old son had a busy morning on Thursday. The bite was good at Marker #5 until several dolphin moved in and shut it own. We picked at them in Big Pass, the Yacht Club Channel, and the Radio Tower, catching trout, sea bass, ladyfish, and bluefish on gold Cotee jigs. A move to New Pass resulted in Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and big ladyfish. The wind cranked up so we finished up with a ladyfish flurry are Marker #5.
John Brennan from Brookfield, WI and his 3 girls Laura, Cari, and teresa went out on Saturday. We went in the afternoon to let it warm up a bit. We did not catch a lot in terms of numbers, but did get a lot of variety and a nice bag of filets for dinner. Fishing bars near Stickney Pt with live shrimp resulted in 5 keeper sheepies, a half dozen "shorts", 2 redfish to 20", and a 15" black drum. We moved to the flats just south of Point Crisp and caught ladyfish, trout, and a Spanish mackerel on jigs and live shrimp.
On Tuesday I ran way up the Myakka River and the 18" snook could not resist a tiny black Beetlespin. This is my "go to" lure for bluegill, but a couple dozen snook, four bass, a big tilapia and a pair of small tarpon could not resist them. Even a small snook or tarpon is a handful on ultra light spinning tackle. I trolled a Rapala on the way home and caught several more snook.
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