Sarasota fishing report Capt Jim Klopfer 5/10/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
May 10, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
This week was similar to the last couple in that numbers were down, but the quality fish were there. Odd fish of the week was a barracuda that hit a topwater bait in a residential canal. Snook to 25" (clients landed snook on four of my charters this week), speckled trout to 21", black drum to 5 pounds, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevelle, mangrove snapper, black sea bass, flounder, silver trout, and ladyfish hit Rapala plugs, Gulp! Shrimp, live shrimp, gold Johnson spoons, and DOA CAL jigs in Big Pass, the surrounding flats, and Robert's Bay on charters this week. It pays to be versatile and use different baits and techniques.
I started the week off on Sunday with Todd Grandin, his dad Chuck and buddy Mike Jacobs. I expected the conditions to be tough as we had 6 inches of rain the previous two days, but the water looked pretty good. We hit the middlegrounds, Radio Tower, and Marina Jack flats and caught speckled trout of 21", 20", and 18" along with a couple more in the slot, bluefish, jacks, ladyfish and more. Live shrimp and DOA CAL jigs were equally effective.
Fishing was a bit slower on Monday for Evan Lacey from Buffalo, NY and his girlfriend Kristin. Action was steady early, though nothing very large; trout, jacks, and ladyfish. Then, the tide and wind quit and action came to a halt. Oh well, that's fishing.
The "catching" picked up on Tuesday for Kurt Smith from Chatham, IL and his 12 year old son Austin. Ladyfish kept the rods bent in Big Pass, then we moved to the nearby flats and landed speckled trout of 21", 18", and 16", along with jacks, sea bass, and ladyfish. We finished up near selby Gardens where Austin caught a big whiting.
Sarasota resident Doc Dojutrek fished a full day with me on Wednesday. He charters a full day every year on his birthday, Wednesday he turned 67. It was a day that illustrated how versatility can pay off. We caught fish on topwater plugs, weedless gold spoons, Gulp! Shrimp!, DOA CAL jigs, and live shrimp. We started off early, casting topwater baits, a Rapala Skitter-prop, along the mangroves. Doc missed a nice snook, caught a jack, then landed a nice snook along with a smaller one. Action slowed as the sun came up, so we changed to gold spoons and jigs. Snook, flounder, mangrove snapper, and jacks hit gold Johnson spoons and rootbeer Gulp! Shrimp in Robert's Bay. A move to Big pass resulted in a nice bluefish on a jig, and the nearby flats yielded speckled trout to 20", silver trout, Spanish mackerel, and ladyfish. We finished up working docks on Longboat Key, seeking a red for the "inshore slam", but instead found a nice school of black drum. Great way to end the day. Happy birthday, Doc!
Repeat clients Laura Ritchie who lives in Sarasota and her dad Bill in town from Akron, OH, went out on Thursday. Fishing was fair, they did not catch a lot of fish, but did get some variety and a few "keepers". Bill also caught his first snook. We started off in Big Pass, catching a few ladyfish and jacks before moving on to the flats. A long drift yielded a few fish, but anchoring up on an edge resulted in several nice mangrove snappers and a slot trout. The Radio Tower had some ladyfish, then we moved a to dock in New Pass where Bill caught his snook. We finished up at the New Pass Bridge with a couple of small snapper and a 2 lb Spanish mackerel.
Randy Dow and his son-in-law Kevin Knuteson, both from Wisconsin, fished with me on Friday. Like most of the week, they did not catch great numbers, but did land some quality fish, including a snook, speckled trout of 21" and 18", a nice bluefish, a Spanish mackerel, and some jacks and ladyfish. Kevin caught the snook on his second cast using a Rapala Skitter-prop and the rest of his fish on a Gulp! Shrimp on a 1/4 ounce jig head. Randy mostly used shrimp, and caught the largest trout. Marina Jacks and Country Club shores were the best spots.
My charter on Saturday started off well for Carl Maggard and his son Jeff. Carl caught his first ever snook on a Skitter-Prop and Jeff brought a nice snook alongside the boat, and landed, of all things, a 2' barracuda! After a bit we moved to the deep grass where the action was pretty slow. We just picked at them, hitting all of my reliable spots, just not much action; it happens sometimes.
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