Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 2/23/2013
Capt. Jim Klopfer
February 23, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Once again, fishing was good in a variety of locations, using several different techniques. This week I did some live bait bottom fishing, casting lures on the flats, fly fishing, and a river snook trip. The most consistent action was found on the grass flats in five to seven feet of water near both passes. Jigs, flies, and live shrimp produced Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, pompano, buefish, and ladyfish. The flats south of Midnight Pass have plenty of ladyfish and some speckled trout scattered about. Bottom fishing with shrimp around docks and structure in both passes has been very productive for sheepshead, gag grouper, and mangrove snapper. A Myakka River trip resulted in a half dozen snook on Rapalas.
Keith Williams and his son Thomas from the UK fished with me on Monday. It was breezy and it was the day after a front, so we opted for an afternoon trip down south, in Osprey Bay. Action was steady on ladyfish with a few speckled trout and a flounder. Gold jigs out-fished live shrimp on this trip.
On Tuesday Brenda and Tom Van Dyne from Mayer, MN took their 12 year old girls Jaymes Marie and Sarah out on their first saltwater trip, and they did great! We started off catching ladyfish and trout near the Field Club, then moved to Marker # 5 and had steady action on ladyfish, speckled trout, and a Spanish mackerel. Tom caught his fish, including the mack, on a gold Cotee jig and the girls all free-lined live shrimp. Jaymes caught a nice 17" trout. The breeze picked up so we worked docks along Bird Key and Sarah and Jaymes caught several nice sheepshead to 3 pounds. We finished up back at Marker #5 catching some big ladyfish.
Peg Heaslip from Osprey, FL had her son Ben and his friend Jeff in visiting from Canada, so she took them fishing. We started off catching trout and ladyfish at Marker #5. Peg loves sheepshead, so we hit some docks along Bird Key. Action was sporadic on grouper, snapper, and sheepshead; there was no tide or wind and it was just too still. I made a move to Big Pass in search of deeper water and hopefully a little tide. The move paid off as we finished up with a flurry with a dozen sheepshead to 3 pounds and several decent bluefish.
Ryan Medford from Brinkley, AR experienced steady action at the Middlegrounds, Country Club Shores, and the Moorings on Thursday. The dolphins kept chasing us off of spots, but each time we moved the "catching" resumed quickly. Gulp! Shrimp, Trigger-X Shrimp, and Cotee jigs were all productive, fooling Spanish mackerel, pompano, speckled trout, bluefish, and ladyfish.
Dan Vukmer from Columbus, OH spent the morning fly fishing on Friday. Action was steady at Marker #5, the Yacht Club Channel, and the Radio Tower flat. Dan caught a couple dozen fish including speckled trout, ladyfish, and a nice Spanish mackerel. He also got cut off several times and had numerous fish on. Clousers in white and chartruese/white did well. Dan read about guys catching trout in Florida on a "Grey Fred", which is a variation on a Wooly Bugger, and darn if he didn't catch the mackerel on it! The last hour was tough as the wind really cranked up and it was difficult to find any protection.
Bill LaPierre from Massachusetts wanted to try the Myakka River on Saurday. Action was fair, we landed 6 snook, lost a couple, and missed a couple. The water temperature in the river is 72 degrees, which is a bit high for this time of year.
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