Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 3/30/2013
Capt. Jim Klopfer
March 30, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Weather continued to be the story. Strong winds and unseasonably cool temperatures resulted in less than ideal conditions. The ability to adapt to those conditions was the key to success. Still, plenty of nice fish were caught on charters this week. As Capt Ed would say, "You aren't going to catch them sitting on your couch!". The weather did improve late in the week. Sheepshead fishing was very reliable and provided meals for anglers. Speckled trout and ladyfish were steady on the deep flats, with a decent number of slot trout. Silver trout hit jigs in the deeper dredge areas around Bird Key and Golden Point. Spanish mackerel, flounder, and black sea bass were also caught on trips this week.
I took Sunday off and Monday it was blowing 25+ out of the northwest, so I moved my trip to later in the week. Long-time client Dave Buckley from Gettysburg, PA went out on Tuesday. The morning started off nice, cool, but with a 10 knot wind out of the northeast. We caught some silver trout on jigs near Marina Jack and then caught ladyfish and trout free-lining shrimp near Bird Key. A move to the docks resulted in a bunch of sheepshead, several of which were solid 3 pound "chunks", and a nice black sea bass. The wind picked up and we hit a couple of protected spots behind Bird Key, catching more speckled trout and ladyfish.
Kevin Lyons and his son Jackson from Chicago, IL faced cool, breezy conditions on Wednesday, but still had a very good fishing trip. We left at 11:00 and hit the Radio Tower flat where they caught speckled trout to 16" and ladyfish on jigs and shrimp. We moved over to the Marina Jack area and put a half dozen silver trout in the box. A move to the Bird Key docks resulted in a trio of 2 lb sheepshead on ice and several more released. The breeze picked up and we finished up with steady catch and release action on trout, flounder, Spanish mackerel, and ladyfish hiding behind Lido Key and Ken Thompson Island free lining live shrimp.
David Wahba from New York and his 11 year old son Charlie had a very good trip on Thursday. Again, we let it warm up and went later in the morning. We started off catching ladyfish and speckled trout in Robert's Bay using shrimp and jigs. Fish was on the menu for dinner, so I ran to some docks in Big Pass and they did not disappoint. Five decent sheepshead and a flounder went in the cooler with more released. We hit some deep grass edges and caught more speckled trout, ladyfish, and a flounder.
I had two trips on Friday, and both were similar. Michelle and Randy Boller from MI and their two boys worked the docks near Big Pass for sheepshead to 4 pounds. They also caught several silver trout on jigs. We finished up with an insane ladyfish bite using jigs. In the afternoon, Dave Buckley and his son Brady from Gettysburg, PA caught ladyfish and trout using Gulp! Shrimp and caught some nice sheepies under docks. Brady finished up the trip with a 2 1/2 Spanish mackerel at the Radio Tower on Gulp!
Gil Fitzgerald and his son Gilly from Chicago had a vert good trip on Saturday morning. Action on the deep flats was steady using jigs and free lined shrimp. Most of the fish were ladyfish, some quite large, but Gilly caught two Spanish mackerel, including a nice 3 1/2 pound fish. We also hit some docks and put a half dozen sheepshead in the boat.
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