Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim klopfer 6/28/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
June 28, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was excellent this week on a variety of species in Sarasota Bay, with spotted sea trout once again being the high point as several fish over 24" were landed. Anglers on charters caught Speckled trout to 25", mangrove snapper to 14", gag grouper, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, sea bass, jack crevelle, ladyfish, and sharks were caught at Marker # 5, Bird Key, and the Radio Tower flats. I only used live bait this week, once the bait shows up thick, using them to chum the fish behind the boat is extremely effective and easy for novice anglers. I have been finishing up most trips with a little shark fishing. Basically, I anchor up on the edge of a flat and drift out cut ladyfish under a float. They are great sport on light tackle and everybody likes sharks!!
The week started off with an excellent trip with Doug Knoblett, his children Chase and Autumn, and her friend Calee Fulling, all from Palestine, IL. We left Centennial Park at first light and I ran straight to the bait. Two tosses of the net resulted in a full well. After that, we sat in one spot for 2 1/2 hours, catching speckled trout to 18", Spanish mackerel to 2 pounds, gag grouper, mangrove snapper to 14", black sea bass, and ladyfish. The action was very steady. We decided to finish up trying for a shark, and Chase landed a nice 40" blacktip on a chunk of cut ladyfish.
I had Bill Kippel and his son on the boat on Tuesday. Action was steady on the deep flats, the Spanish mackerel were particularly aggressive, though none were larger than 1 1/2 pounds. Trout, ladyfish, sea bass, snapper, and grouper were also caught. For whatever reason, the bait was smaller that day, making fishing a bit more difficult. We finished up with a shark near Big Pass.
The bait was better on Wednesday, and so was the fishing, for Lori and Fred Koppold from Noblesville, IN and their 19 year old son Seth. The speckled trout bite was hot with the crew putting a couple of 16" trout on ice and releasing several more up to 25"; gotta let those big ones go back!! Gag grouper, mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and sea bass kept the rods bent. The shark bite was also on; we hooked three and landed on in less than a half hour on cut ladyfish.
Kyle Moyer and his buddy Greg fished with me on Thursday. Action was fairly steady though there wasn't a lot of "quality" fish and the bait-stealers were more of a nuisance. Still, they put two speckled trout, a mackerel, and a half dozen mangrove snapper on ice as well as catching gag grouper, ladyfish, sea bass, and other species. Once again, the deep flats near Big Pass produced the action. We finished up hooking a nice shark and having it eat through the 100 lb leader after a couple of blistering runs.
Action was very good on Friday for Bill McClain, Bruce Colon, and Bruce's 13 year old son Hayden. Bait was easy and decent and the flats near Big Pass and New Pass produced a bunch of mangrove snapper, sea bass, speckled trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevelle, gag grouper, and one ladyfish, but it was probably the biggest one I have ever seen. Hayden had the hot hand, catching the big ladyfish and a pair of 25" speckled trout. All of the fish hit live pilchards and sardines.
I finished up the week with a good charter with buddies from Rhode Island Steve Jensen and Rob Fleming. Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, sea bass, snapper, grouper and ladyfish came to the chum on the deep grass near Bird Key. Rob caught and released a beautiful 24" trout. We finished up with a shark and another one that ran off and came unbuttoned
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