Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 12/29/2012
Capt. Jim Klopfer
December 29, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Mother Nature kept us on our toes this week. Conditions were constantly changing and several trips had to be canceled, but it is winter after all. The trips I did run were fairly productive on a variety of species including Speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, mangrove snapper, and bluefish. Jigs, Rapalas, and live shrimp all caught fish this week.
On Monday Jim Lebow from Kansas City, MO took out his sons Derek and J.D. and J.D.s wife Amanda. Action was steady at Marker # 5 and the Yacht Club Channel using gold Cotee jigs and Gulp! Shrimp. They caught between 40 and 50 fish, and lost about as many. Most of them were large ladyfish, but J.D. and Amanda both caught several speckled trout and each caught a Spanish mackerel. Amanda landed a 1 1/2 lb mack on a Rapala and J.D. caught the biggest fish, a 3 lb mackerel on a jig. Fun morning with great people!
Tuesday was Christmas and Wednesday it blew 25-30 knots, so no fishing. Thursday morning Darrell Williams from Siesta Key took out his son in law Thomas Miles and his grandson Ryan Miles who were visiting from CT. Action was good on the deep flats near Bird Key for big ladyfish, speckled trout, and flounder. Free lined shrimp worked best. We hit a dock on Siesta and caught a black drum and missed a couple more fish. We finished up in Phillippi Creek where Ryan caught a redfish and a decent sheepshead wile Tom and Darrell caught a few mangrove snapper. Thursday afternoon was bit slow for Craig Stechman and his son Graham. Craig lost a pompano on the second cast and it was just picking at ladyfish after that. The best spot was Marker # 21 near Nokomis.
Jeff and Maria Manby from Brookfield, WI and their 3 daughters went out on Friday. It was chilly in the morning, so we went from ten till two. Fishing was steady with close to 50 fish being landed and a bunch more lost. It was about an even mix of speckled trout and ladyfish with a nice flounder mixed in. Maria caught a huge ladyfish and they ended up with trout and a flounder in the box for dinner. All of the fish hit free lined shrimp and the Moorings was the best spot. Saturday was a rain-out.
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