Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 3/16/2013
Capt. Jim Klopfer
March 16, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing the deep grass flats was very productive early in the week as a severe front was approaching. Fish are usually VERY active as they sense a big change in barometric pressure. The bite continued after the front passed, though we had to deal with cool, windy conditions. The deep flats near Big Pass were quite productive for anglers casting jigs and live shrimp this week. Pompano, speckled trout, silver trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder, and ladyfish were caught on the deep grass this week. The sheepshead bite was on! I had several clients wanting enough fish for a meal. Fishing shrimp on the bottom near docks in Big Pass put enough sheepies in the box in short order. We also caught gag grouper, mangrove snapper, and flounder.
Pat Richardson from Indiana and his buddy Charlie Booth who lives in Homassassa, FL had a good morning of mixed-bag fishing on Sunday. Using Cotee jigs they caught ladyfish and a pompano in Big Pass. A move to the flats in the Yacht Club Channel resulted in more ladyfish and a Spanish mackerel on jigs. I saw some macks jumping so I switched to Rapala X-Raps and we put several more in the boat. We finished up at Marker #5 as the wind picked up catching ladyfish and speckled trout.
Action was virtually non-stop for Steve Cook and his son Drew and Drew's buddy Phil who were in town from Canada. A front was approaching and it was blowing hard out of the south. Casting gold Cotee jigs and Glow Gulp! Shrimp at Marker #5, Marina Jacks, and the Radio Tower produced plenty of big ladyfish, along with speckled trout to 16", a couple of keeper flounder, and a 2 lb Spanish mackerel. Tuesday was a no-go as it rained early then blew 20+ knots in the afternoon.
Joe Walsh from Dayton, OH and a couple of friends did well on Wednesday despite breezy conditions. The boys wanted enough fish for a meal, so I headed into Big Pass in search of pompano and mackerel. It was a bit too windy and no bites, so I moved into the Yacht Club Channel where they caught ladyfish and short trout using jigs. We then hit some docks along Bird Key where they put a half dozen sheepshead and a mangrove snapper in the box using live shrimp. We finished up with a hot bite near Marina Jacks, catching big ladyfish, small trout, and a Spanish mackerel using Cotee jigs and Gulp! Shrimp.
John and Amy Lorenz from St Paul, MN took out their two boys Mitch (10) and Nick (10) out on Thursday. It was cool and very windy, so we left CB's at 11:00 in the morning. A stop at the Field Club flat produced several ladyfish. The wind eased up and we made a couple of long drifts at the Marina Jack flat, catching speckled trout (one keeper), ladyfish, and a nice bluefish. They wanted a couple more fish for dinner, so we hit a dock on Bird Key and quickly put 4 sheepshead in the cooler, and released several more along with 4 flounder. All the fish were caught using shrimp.
Tim Sledz and his father Bill from CT caught speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and a pair of big silver trout casting gold Cotee jigs and Gulp! Shrimp on the flats near Big Pass on Friday.
Bob Siemering, his son John, and a couple of friends did very well on Saturday. We started off in Big Pass at dead low tide; no bites. As the tide started moving, we caught ladyfish, speckled trout, and a nice silver trout and a Spanish mackerel near Otter Key. The boys needed enough fish for dinner and the sheepshead were chewing! They put 6 keepers in the box in 15 minutes. We finished up with steady action at Marker #5 and Marina Jacks, catching ladyfish and trout on jigs and shrimp.
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