Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 10/12/2013
Capt. Jim Klopfer
October 12, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was very good this week on a variety of species. Snook, Spanish mackerel to 3 1/2 pounds, bluefish to 3 pounds, speckled trout to 18", jack crevelle, black sea bass to 14", keeper mangrove snapper, sharks, small gag grouper, ladyfish, and more. Most of the fish were caught on live pilchards, threadies, and pinfish, but we did catch a few on Gulp! Shrimp and Rapala X-Raps. The deep flats at the Radio Tower and near Big Pass were best this week on my trips.
I want to mention something here. I had several clients this week who expressed an interest in eating the fish they caught, but did not want the hassle of cooking them. A great solution is to take the fish to Clayton's Siesta Grille, http://claytonssiestagrille.com/ located right behind CB's Saltwater Outfitters. Chef Dimitri does an unbelievable job preparing all species of locally caught fish. Just drop the fillets off and make a reservation, then show up and eat!
I started off the week with a regular client, Scott Pearce from Memphis, TN and his buddy Sean. The tide was falling so we decided to leave Centennial Park at 6:45 and run down to the Intracoastal near Phillippi Creek and try and catch a snook. They were casting Rapala X-Raps and Scott had 2 nice fish on for several seconds, but they got loose. A bit later, he caught a big bluefish that struck ferociously right at the boat! Sean and Scott landed 8 jack crevelle and the bite quit. I ran back towards Big Pass, caught some bait, and they had steady action on trout, mackerel, ladyfish, jacks, grouper, and snapper.
On Tuesday Mike and Gina Rymer from Petersburg, MI had a good trip. We left the ramp and it was blowing pretty good out of the west. This makes catching bait a bit more difficult, but I loaded the well and off we went. The best spots were deep grass just off of Bird Key. They landed Spanish mackerel to 3 1/2 pounds, speckled trout to 18", jacks, ladyfish, several keeper mangrove snapper, gag grouper, sea bass, and sail cats.
Jonathan Daniels from Mentor, KY took out his son Jonathan and his buddies Kyle Dullaghan and Seth Hounshell on Wednesday. We started off casting Gulp at the Radio Tower, catching a few ladyfish and trout. I ran to New Pass and in one throw of the net caught all the bait I could use. Chumming back at the Radio Tower resulted in a nice bluefish, a couple of mackerel, a nice sea bass, a couple of slot trout along with some shorts, ladyfish, jacks, gag grouper, and sail cats. The bite slowed and the cormorants were so bad that I couldn't chum, so we picked up and ran a short way to Bird Key. The Spanish mackerel bite was on! The boys put ten or so in the box and released a dozen more. With fresh fish secured for Clayton's Grill on Siesta Key to cook up for them, we decided to try for a snook. I went up in behind Selby Gardens to give it a try. We did not wreck them but we caught two snook and a couple more mackerel. Great trip with good guys!
Dr Bill Ritchie was in town from Akron, OH visiting his daughter Laura who lives here in Sarasota, and decided to squeeze in a fishing trip. We started off casting Gulp! at the radio Tower, and although we had a bite on nearly every cast, but a lot of it was small stuff like grunts and puffer fish. I went to catch bait and just as I was finishing up I got a call from my buddy Capt Roy String, another CB's guide. He knows that I also use bait and he said he had them cranked up and was leaving, so I ran over to him and took over where he left off. Thanks, Roy!! We caught Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, speckled trout, ladyfish, gag grouper and several nice keeper mangrove snapper. They discussed keeping a few fish and I suggested Clayton's, and they were all over it. So, with dinner in the box, we decided to try for snook and reds. Again, not gangbusters, but they landed a snook, a jack, and a 14" mang.
On Saturday Steve Hess, Mike Baio, and Rick Sueitzer, all from the Niagra Falls, NY area, had a very good trip. We started off casting Rapalas near the mouth of Phillippi Creek, but only caught a few jacks and a ladyfish. Bait was thick on the north end of Siesta Key and I loaded the well in a couple of minutes. We spent the next two hours anchored in one spot near Big Pass, catching a bunch of Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, 6 keeper mangrove snapper, jacks, speckled trout, grouper, sea bass, a nice bluefish and a shark. The action varied from steady to non-stop! Another family meal at Clayton's in on the menu.
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