Steady action in Sarasota, despite breezy conditions
Capt. Jim Klopfer
April 2, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing was productive this week both in Big Pass and on the deeper flats, though some strong winds made fishing the flats a bit more difficult towards the end of the week. Pompano, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, and ladyfish were caught in Robert's Bay, Bird Key flats, Radio Tower, and Middlegrounds. Bass Assassin jigs and live shrimp were equally effective. Bottom fishing continued to be good in Big Pass and the surrounding docks, though the average size of the sheepshead diminished. Mangrove snapper, jack crevelle, Spanish mackerel, and gag and Goliath grouper were also landed.
I started off my week with Eric Prime from Greenwood, IN, his daughter Alden, son Alec, and will Bowling. The bite was steady in Big Pass with good numbers of sheepshead and snapper keeping everyone busy. We moved to the nearby flats and caught small trout and decent sized ladyfish.
Fishing was very good on Tuesday for Lauren and Trevor Green from Reisterstown, MD and their daughters Ashlynn (8) and Caroline (6). I knew that the bite was going to be hot with 2 little girls on board! In addition, we had a weather front approaching, and that usually gets them in the mood to eat. We started off in Big Pass, where everyone caught sheepshead and snapper, while Lauren landed an average Spanish mackerel and Trevor landed it off with a 2 1/2 pound pompano. Ashlynn had an injured hand and could not fish, but used her good one to net all of the fish, and she was quite busy! We moved to the Radio Tower flat and caught some trout and ladyfish, with Lauren landing, and releasing, a 21" beauty. All of the fish were caught using live shrimp.
Bill Better and Jeff Reid along with their sons Michael and Mitchell, both 10, fished with me on Wednesday. We started off in Big Pass bottom fishing for sheepshead and snapper. The action was steady, though none of the fish were particularly large. After an hour or so we moved to the flats and to be honest the bite was a bit off. I attribute it to the wind and high pressure, but we hit several flats and just picked at them. The landed a half dozen trout and ladyfish on jigs, flies, and shrimp, but did top off the trip with a nice pompano in Robert's Bay.
Siesta Key resident Carl Guse, his son in law John and grandson Tommy went out on their annual spring fishing charter. They wanted a few fish to eat and it was a bit breezy, so we spent most of the trip bottom fishing. Snapper, sheepshead, Key West grunts, gag grouper, a juvenile goliath grouper, and more kept us busy. We also caught several Spanish mackerel near Marker #19 in Big Pass.
James Charas from Lexington, KY treated his son and sister to a charter on Friday. We started off at the Middlegrounds and Country Club Shores catching trout, ladyfish, and sailcats on jigs and shrimp. The wind cranked up so we found a break from it in Big Pass and had fast action on sheepshead and snappers. I cancelled Saturday's charter due to high winds and thunderstorms.
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