Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 2/15/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
February 15, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well, our winter "pattern" returned on charters this week. Gorgeous weather early, then a severe front moved through mid-week shutting things down. Before the front, action was steady both on the deep grass flats and around docks near both Big Sarasota Pass and New Pass. Spanish mackerel were plentiful, hitting jigs, white Rapala X-Raps, and live shrimp at Marina Jacks, Radio Tower, and Middlegrounds. Speckled trout, bluefish, grouper, flounder, and ladyfish were also caught. Docks in both passes are holding good numbers of fat sheepshead. These tasty saltwater panfish prefer a live shrimp fished near the bottom. Snook were caught both in Robert's Bay and in the Myakka River.
Long time client Bill LaPiere from Massachusetts ran a 6 hour charter with me on Monday. Six hours is a nice trip; it gives us the chance to do several different things. We started off at Marker #5 and Marina Jacks, just picking at them. There was very little wind and we did not drift much at all. We caught a few Spanish mackerel and ladyfish casting jigs. The Radio Tower was a bit better, though mostly ladyfish. A move to the middlegrounds resulted in more mackerel trolling white (08) Rapala X-Raps. We ran to New Pass and made a drift; no luck. But, mackerel were flipping on the surface and we caught a half dozen trolling. I hit a deep grass edge near Bird Key and Bill caught several trout and a keeper flounder free lining live shrimp. A quick stop at a dock along Bird Key resulted in a couple nice sheepshead on live shrimp. We finished up at a dock in Robert's Bay where Bill landed a couple of snook on shrimp.
Patti and Ken Wanous from Aitkin, MN fished with me on Tuesday. They wanted a few fish to eat so I went right to a reliable dock in Big Pass and in short order 5 fat sheepies went in the box. We then caught ladyfish, trout, mackerel, and grouper in the Yacht Club channel, Radio Tower, and Marina Jack flat free lining shrimp and trolling Rapalas.
Ray Moreland from the Chicago area fished with me on Wednesday and Thirsday. On Wednesday we fished Sarasota Bay with his father-in-law Deke and his brother-in-law Richard. We started off at the Middlegrounds and Radio Tower catching Spanish mackerel, trout, and ladyfish using jigs and live shrimp. We moved to nearby docks and caught several sheepshead, then, it started to blow. A severe front was approaching. We trolled white Rapals X-Raps in the Grand Canal on Siesta Key and in Hudson Bayou and caught several jack crevelle to 5 pounds and a mackerel.
On Thursday Ray fished the Myakka River. With winds at 25 + knots out of the northwest, I was probably one of the very few guides to fish that day. The river offers protection from the wind, but it was still breezy. Fishing was fair, Ray landed a decent snook early then we caught a small snook, a gar, and lost a "mystery fish" that we never saw.
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