Sarasota Florida Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The Middle Ground grass flats are holding some nice pompano, cobia, and bluefish. Towards the end of last week, we found that the large mackerel and kings had moved off the beach and we were inundated by small Spanish mackerel and large ladyfish. They were feeding on large schools of glass minnows in about twenty feet of water. We used ¼ ounce Diamond jigs to catch the mackerel. You need to move them as fast as you can for the macks. Other boats told me that the kingfish action was only moderate out on “M” reefs but the groupers are chewing well further off shore.
Moving on to the middle ground grass flats, we would see an occasional pompano skipping the water and that is when starts to get good for pompano. We found a good variety of fish on the grass but the bite was on and off. The off could last for some time but was worth the wait. We caught small cobia but another boat caught a 26 pound fish on 8 pound test line that took about 45 minutes to land. We caught pompano over three pounds, bluefish around three pounds. In the mix were flounder, mackerel, trout, whiting, jacks, and ladyfish. We also found pompano on the south side of the twin bridges. Live shrimp, DOA shrimp, pompano jigs all worked well. White bait also worked but not well for the pompano.
Enjoy & Protect
My Website: http//www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
