Sarasota Fishing Report Capt Jim Klopfer 12/14/2014
Capt. Jim Klopfer
December 14, 2014
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
It was breezy and cool for most of this week, which hampered the saltwater fishing. A pretty severe front moved through on Wednesday. I did get out late in the week and found steady action on the deep grass flats at Marina Jacks, Radio Tower, and the Middlegrounds, which was the best spot, especially for variety. Bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and ladyfish hit Glow/chartreuse Bass Assassin jigs and trolled Rapala X-Raps. There were a lot of birds along with some surface activity. Snook numbers are increasing in the Myakka River and the speckled perch are moving from the channels to the shallow flats to spawn.
On Monday Sarasota resident Bonnie Czepiel and I hit the Myakka River. It was a good "river day", overcast with a little wind as the front was approaching. Action was good with over a dozen snook and one nice bass being hooked. Most of the snook were in the 18"-22" range, with one nice one that threw the hook boat side. Gold Rapala X-Rapes were the best bait.
The weather forced a cancellation and I hit Upper Myakka lake (very slow, despite the water being up) and Lake Manatee. The crappie are still staging on the channel edges, though their numbers are diminishing as they move shallow to spawn. Still, I caught a dozen, several nice ones, in 3 hours trolling chartreuse Rod Runners.
I finished up my week with a Sarasota Bay charter with Todd Stainbrook, his son John (13) and a couple of friends. Action was steady on ladyfish at the Radio Tower and Marina Jack flat using Glow Bass Assassin jigs with a chartreuse tail. I ran to the Middlegrounds in search of some variety, where the boys caught several bluefish and a Spanish Mackerel casting jigs and trolling X-raps. Despite a cool, breezy day, they caught a lot of fish and had a good time!
More Fishing Reports:
