Sarasota fishing report Capt Jim klopfer 8/22/2015
Capt. Jim Klopfer
August 22, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was outstanding this week in Sarasota! The grass flats near the passes have loads of bait over them and they attracted the gamefish. Every charter produced speckled trout to 24". Some large mangrove snapper to 15" were also caught, along with Spanish mackerel, flounder, gag grouper, black sea bass, sharks, jack crevelle, and ladyfish. Most of the fish were caught on live pilchards and threadfins and the Middlegrounds was the top spot for me this week.
On Monday the Derry family from the UK had a very productive trip. Young Lilly had the hot hand, catching the most fish as well as several trout over 20". The rest of the gang chipped in with more trout, Spanish mackerel, black sea bass, mangrove snapper, gag grouper, jack crevelle, ladyfish, and a shark. All of the fish hit live bait fish at the Middlegrounds.
Tuesday's charter was very similar for Ken Janso from New York, his son Jake and his friend Chris. We started off casting jigs into large schools of threadfin herring, catching a couple of fish. With so much bait around, I quickly netted up a bunch and we sat in one spot for an hour and a half, catching fish steadily. The boys each landed a 4 pound trout, as well as plenty more decent ones. Jacks and snapper were also caught. the tide quit and I ran out of bait, so all it took was a few minutes to "reload". The bite turned on with the tide, and sharks, Spanish mackerel, and ladyfish were added to the species total.
Later in the week I had a terrific charter with three baseball players from UF, Ryan Larson, Kirby Snead, and A.J. Puk. We started at first light, casting Bass Assassin Se Shad jigs into the bait schools, catch a few fish including a nice snapper and flounder. The wind quit and so did the bite, so I caught bait and anchored out in the deep grass. The fellas landed some NICE fish! 8 speckled trout between 18" and 24", Spanish mackerel to 3 lbs, mangrove snapper to 15", jacks, ladyfish, sharks, and sea bass kept the rods bent. A.J. finished off the trip in style with a nice cobia. Fun morning with great guys!
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