Sarasota fishing report Capt Jim klopfer 4/11/2015
Capt. Jim Klopfer
April 11, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing varied from good to excellent on the deep grass flats this week. Flats in 6' to 8' of water provided steady action for clients using Bass Assassin jigs (Red Gold Shiner) and live shrimp, with shrimp producing the best. Both free lining and popping corks were effective techniques. Numerous slot trout to 21", Spanish mackerel to 5 pounds, bluefish to 3 pounds, jacks, sharks, ladyfish, sailcats, and more were landed on charters this week. Stephen's Pt., Buttonwood, and the Middlegrounds were the best spots. Big Pass also has a fair amount of ladyfish with a few mackerel mixed in. I ran my last Myakka River trip of the year, catching a few small snook and some gar, it is too warm and the snook have moved out.
Fishing was VERY good on Easter Sunday for Killian Hunt from New York and his sons Shane (16) and Ciaran (19). We basically spent the entire trip near Stephen's Pt, with the boys lading a bunch of nice speckled trout to 21", Spanish mackerel and bluefish to 3 pounds, jack crevelle, ladyfish, sail cats, and more. Most of the fish hit live shrimp.
On Monday George Hein and his grandson Davis also experienced decent action at Stephen's Pt., though it shut down around 8:30. A move to the Middlegrounds resulted in steady action on ladyfish and trout. Both jigs and shrimp worked well.
I fished the Myakka river on Tuesday with Eileen Gerle and her friend Jan Porinchak. I don't usually fish the river this late in the "season", but they wanted the experience and we gave it a try. Fishing was pretty slow, with just a few gar and small snook hitting Rapalas. It was a good year, but this will be my last charter on the river until October.
Rob Piptkowski from atlanta, Ga and his father Thad went out on Wednesday. We hit the mouth of Phillippi Creek at first light in search of snook; no luck. After that we worked Big Pass and the nearby flats and had steady action on Bass Assassin jigs, mostly ladyfish with trout and jacks mixed in.
Kyle Jenkins from Michigan took his son Alex and friend Eric out on Thursday. We ran up the east side of Sarasota Bay and found steady action fee lining live shrimp. They did not land big numbers but did catch some quality fish. Several bluefish and Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, speckled trout to 18", sharks, jacks, big sailcats, and ladyfish came to the boat. We finished up with some larger ladyfish at the Middlegrounds on jigs.
Fishing was even better on Friday morning for Lou Caravella, his son Joe, and a friend. We started off at Stephen's Pt, but it was a bit slow. A move up north near Buttonwood proved to be a good choice, as the speckled trout bite was HOT! The boys had great action on speckled trout, with a lot of them in the 16" to 20" range. They also caught several Spanish mackerel, including a huge fish near 5 pounds! Ladyfish, jacks, bluefish and catfish were also landed; they used live shrimp the whole trip.
I finished up my week on Saturday with the Dumford family from Indiana. We started off in Big Pass with good action on ladyfish, then the tide and wind quit. So did the bite! we moved to some nearby grass edges and did very well, catching speckled trout to 19", Spanish mackerel to 3 pounds, and loads of ladyfish free lining live shrimp.
More Fishing Reports:
