Sarasota fishing report Capt Jim klopfer 5/16/2015
Capt. Jim Klopfer
May 16, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was better this week as we came off the full moon. Strong incoming tides and south east breezes made for better conditions. Deep grass flats throughout the area are holding speckled trout to 20", bluefish, sharks, jack crevelle, mangrove snapper, sea bass, flounder, ladyfish and more. Live shrimp, Bass Assassin jigs, and Gulp! Shrimp all produced fish for clients this week.
I started my week off with Phil Steward from Pepperell, MA, his wife Debra, and grown daughters Bethany and Kate. Action was very good, with us spending most of the trip at the Middlegrounds. Speckled trout to 20", jacks, silver trout, and ladyfish kept the rods bent. Bethany caught the most using Gulp! Shrimp on a jig head while Kate landed the two largest trout free lining shrimp. Phil caught his share on both jigs and fly. We ran up to Stephen's Pt, where Bethany landed a nice blue. The bite was not as fast, so we finished up back at the Middlegrounds, where the fast action resumed.
Jaime Schackmann and Brian Sauora from Chicago and their kids Mason (7) and Austin (8) had a decent trip on Wednesday. We started off free lining shrimp at Marker # 5 and Marina jacks, catching speckled trout to 18", ladyfish, and grunts. It slowed a bit, so I anchored up on a little hard-bottom ledge near Big Pass and the action was steady as flounder to 17", mangrove snapper to 14", and Key west grunts kept the rods bent.
On Thursday Sarasota residents Doc Dojutrek, John Englander, and Bill Kish ran a 6 hour charter. We started off with decent action at Stephen's Pt. with speckled trout, jacks, sharks, and ladyfish, most of which hit a live shrimp. We moved to the Middlegrounds, where it was a bit slow. I saw some bait and netted up some nice pilchards and threadfins and we went to Robert's Bay in search of snook. Despite the great bait, we only caught one. We finished up near Marina Jacks, catching more trout and ladyfish using jigs.
On Friday I had a 3 man group, guys all down from Pittsburg for a wedding. Action was steady on a variety of species. Trout, ladyfish, flounder, sea bass, and mangrove snapper hit Gulp! and live shrimp on the flats near Bird Key.
I finished up my week with Siesta Key residents Gene and Tammy MacBride and their friend Ray. Once again, action was steady on the flats, with the Radio Tower producing best. Ray threw a Gulp Shrimp while Tammy and Gene used live shrimp under a cork. Bluefish, speckled trout to 20", a 12" snapper, and ladyfish kept the rods bent.
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