Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 2/9/2013
Capt. Jim Klopfer
February 9, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was good during the first part of this week then slowed a bit after the front passed. John Lovely has "fish of the week" honors with a big snook he caught on Monday using a small live shrimp. The Middlegrounds, Country Club Shores, Marker # 5, and the Field Club were all reliable spots for mackerel, trout, bluefish, and ladyfish. Gold Cotee jigs produced a lot of fish, as did flies, Gulp!, and live shrimp. Creeks and canals are holding snook, snapper, drum, sheepshead, trout, and flounder.
On Monday afternoon John Lovely and Jay Lalley, both from Chicago, IL went out fishing. The charter went from decent to fantastic on the last cast as John hooked and landed a 38" snook on a live shrimp and 10 lb spinning tackle. The fish almost got back in the mangroves but somehow John turned it and brought it to the boat for a quick photo. Earlier they had sporadic action on bluefish, ladyfish, and Spanish mackerel using live shrimp at the Middlegrounds, Yacht Club Channel, and Field Club flat.
Earl Sharmon and Larry Mothershead from Wisconsin fished a 6 hour trip on Tuesday. We left the dock at 8:00 a.m. and since there was very little wind and tide I decided to give New Pass a try. Action was steady on Spanish mackerel and bluefish using gold cotee jigs. Action slowed after a couple of hours so we moved inside to the Middlegrounds and caught speckled trout to 17", ladyfish, mackerel, and a remora on jigs and Gulp! Shrimp. After a lunch break we worked some canals on Longboat Key and caught a pair of flounder to 15", several more trout, and lost a decent redfish using Gulp! Shrimp.
Ben Ciliberto from Philadelphia, PA did some fly fishing on Wednesday. We did not catch a ton of fish, but action was steady on Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and speckled trout. Chartreuse Clousers caught fish at the Middlegrounds, Marker #5, Bird Key, and Field Club.
Jim Mitchell and his brother John from Minneapolis, MN had a great day on Thursday. We started off catching fish on every cast using Cotee jigs at the Middlegrounds and Country Club Shores. Most were ladyfish, but there were a few speckled trout and jack crevelle mixed in. We moved to the Bird Key flats and caught silver trout, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, whiting, and ladyfish free-lining live shrimp. The wind kicked up so we found some protection from the breeze in canals on Siesta Key catching mangrove snapper to 12" and sheepshad to 2 pounds on shrimp.
Friday morning found me on the Myakka River with Mike Christman from Wisconson. A front had just passed and we were greeted with blue-bird skies and the snook were a bit fussy. We caught a few and missed one nice one. Still, great scenery and company make it a fun trip.
Gil Fitzgerald from Chicago and his buddy Mike fished with me on Saturday morning. A stiff northeast breeze and dirty water made for tough fishing. We worked hard for a pair of bluefish, several speckled trout, a Spanish mackerel, and some ladyfish using jigs, Gulp!, and live shrimp. The Field Club flat was the best spot.
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