Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 5/18/2013
Capt. Jim Klopfer
May 18, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was steady again this week, improving towards the end of the week. Friday and Saturday were both VERY good. Speckled trout to 26", silver trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, sea bass, ladyfish, jacks and more hit live shrimp, Gulp! Shrimp, and flies on the grass flats in Sarasota Bay. The deep grass north of Siesta Key to New Pass were the most productive for my clients this week. Silver trout continue to provide action and meals.
Bob Veierstahler, Larry Foeckler, and Allan Foeckler from Wisconsin had a good mixed-bag trip on Monday. The special caught included speckled trout to 18", silver trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jack crevelle, ladyfish, and sailcats. Gulp! Shrimp and live shrimp worked equally well at the Radio Tower and Marina Jack flats.
Joel Herbert and Sammy Taylor from Pendleton, SC caught a lot of fish on Tuesday morning near Bird Key. We started off at the Radio Tower, where action was fair, with the boys landing a few trout and ladyfish. A move to a deep grass flat near Bird Key and free lining shrimp resulted in non-stop action on ladyfish, speckled trout to 18", and a couple of big mackerel that bit us off. We finished up at a nearby flat, landing several nice silver trout and a 17" speckled trout on Gulp! Shrimp.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Emmaly and Aaron Crouse from Park City, Utah did some fly fishing. Both are excellent anglers and good casters. On Wednesday we hit the Radio Tower, Marina Jack, and Bird Key flats, catching speckled trout, ladyfish, silver trout, and a snapper using chartreuse/white Clousers. On Thursday we header up north; the best spot was Helicopter Shoal, where several slot trout and large ladyfish took dark green/white and chartreuse/white Clousers. We finished up at the Marina Jack flat with several trout, ladyfish, and a Spanish mackerel.
The silver trout bite was terrific on Friday! Denise and Jim Markovic from Atlanta, GA caught a mess of these feisty fish using Gulp! Shrimp near Bird Key. They also caught a bunch of ladyfish, speckled trout, and sea bass free-lining live shrimp and casting Gulp! near Bird Key and in Big Pass.
Phil Steward, his wife Deb, and daughters Kate and Bethany fished with me on Saturday morning and had a great trip both in numbers and in quality. We made a quick drift at the Radio Tower, not much happening. A move to the Bird Key flats resulted in steady action on ladyfish, speckled trout to 18", and a Spanish mackerel. Action slowed, so we moved to a nearby reliable silver trout spot. Bethany had never used artificial lures before, but after a few minutes she started wrecking the silvers using Gulp! on a jig head. She also caught a 25" speckled trout! Kate added a 20" trout and a couple of silver trout. We finished up in Big Pass with non-stop action on ladyfish, mostly on shrimp but Phil caught several on fly.
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