Sarasota fishing report Capt Jim Klopfer 12/26/2015
Capt. Jim Klopfer
December 26, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
The red tide is gone, the water has cleared up, and fishing was good this week in Sarasota Bay! Big Pass was good for ladyfish and the flats nearby at Bird Key and Marina Jacks were productive for speckled trout, gag grouper, black sea bass, flounder, ladyfish, and a shark. Bass Assassin jigs and live shrimp were equally effective. Docks in Robert's Bay held sheepshead, snapper, and flounder. Anglers fishing the Myakka River caught snook on Rapala plugs and flies this week.
On Monday The Piestun family from Brazil went out on a morning charter. Despite very little fishing experience, they did quite well. The first fish was a bonnethead shark caught on a live shrimp. Flounder, sea bass, snapper, and plenty of large ladyfish kept the rods bent throughout the morning at the Bird Key flats. We finished up with great action in Big Pass. Most of the fish hit live shrimp.
John Quinn from Chicago and his 13 year old son Nolan experienced good action on Tuesday morning. The jig bite was hot with a red/gold Bass Assassin 4" Sea Shad being the most productive lure. Gag grouper, black sea bass, speckled trout, and a lot of ladyfish were caught at Marker #5 and the Marina Jack flats.
I fished the Myakka River on Wednesday with Ben Freeman from Windham, Maine. Ben is an excellent fly angler and did quite well, landing a half dozen snook to 27" on various Clouser patterns.
Kathy and Jay Burner from Beaufort, SC spent the morning with me on Thursday. The charter was productive with a lot of action on a variety of species. Jay mostly cast a Bass Assassin Sea Shad on a jig head while Kathy fished with live shrimp. Big Pass and the nearby flats yielded speckled trout, gag grouper, a lot of ladyfish, along with other species. Docks in Robert's Bay gave up mangrove snapper, flounder, and sheepshead. Friday was Christmas, a day off for me.
I finished up my week on Saturday with Mike Starr and his 18 year old son Adam. Fishing was very slow, it was sunny with no breeze, not the best situation. River snook fishing is a bit dependent on conditions.
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