Fall Feeding Frenzy continues

Fall Feeding frenzy continues

As winter approaches, the fish in Sarasota are feeding heavily and fattening up for the colder weather ahead.

             The nearshore reefs are holding Kingfish, Spanish Mackerel , False Albacore , Flounderand a variety of Sharks. The Passes are intense with Snapper, Pompano, more Flounder and some Grouper. Finally, Sarasota Bay is alive with Redfish, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Flounder, Pompano, Grouper  and some Snook. This is one of my favorite months for fishing !!!! But importantly, you must be flexible to the constant weather changes. If the wind is from the East, the gulf is the place to be and with any other wind ,then fish Sarasota Bay.

Gulf fishing explodes !!!!!!!!

The Gulf of Mexico has exploded with bait in the form of Glass minnow schools that are being attacked by Jack Crevalles, Ladyfish , Little Tunny ( False Albacore) and Spanish Mackerel. In turn, Black Tip Lemon and Bull Sharks are feeding on the smaller fish. Finally Tarpon are in the area to clean up whatever is left. We are averaging 10-15 Sharks , 50 or so Mackerel. 3-5 Little Tunny and 2 or so Jumped Tarpon per trip. This is really exciting fishing and will only last for a few more weeks. I'll let the pictures do the talking........

Sarasota September Fishing

With the arrival of late afternoon Summertime rain in full force, fishing in Sarasota has exploded. The water temps have lowered from a high of 92 degrees to 85 in the bay and many species of fish have responded.  Baitfish are all over the bay and are easily netted for bait and chummed fish into a feeding frenzy is now a daily occurrence.

In Sarasota Bay, the Passes continue to hold Mangrove snapper to 20” with most fish in the 16-18”range. Snook have returned after their Summer Spawn and as an added bonus some seriously big Flounder have been caught. Also , Spanish Mackerel and Ladyfish have been crashing bait in the Passes daily. The  Passes involve livebait fishing as artificial are tough on such a current. Large whitebait works best. On the flats , Redfish are schooling on the flats and near oyster bars and potholes.The Redfish are really hitting both small live Pinfish and cut Ladyfish and Pinfish. My favorite tide is a very , very low tide that has just started to turn into an incoming. This is really the time to fish those potholes. For artificial anglers , early morning topwaters can produce and a after the sun has come you can’t beat a gold spoon ot Jig with a GULP trailer. In 4-6’ of scattered grass, anchoring and chumming with small white bait has turned on the Bluefish, Sea Trout and Mackerel. Using this method,  you bring the fish to you and can create a feeding frenzy very quickly. Tarpon are moving to the inside waters of Sarasota Bay. Look for them rolling on the surface at dawn or feeding in bait schools in the morning. If you see schools of Lady fish crashing bait very early in the am, there should be Tarpon close by. Large topwaters, like Skitterwalks or Spooks will get them to strike.

Just off the beaches , Spanish Mackerel ,Little Tunny,  Jack Crevalle and Ladyfish are schooling and feeding on whitebait. All you have to do is to find Birds working and pull into that area and very, very soon the fish will show up by smashing anything thrown in the water. This type of action is just beginning and will last until the Cold weather gets here in December.  This is a fly fisherman’s dream as all of these species are fly friendly and huge numbers can be caught. Last week in my Gulf fly trip, We caught 14 Spanish, about 20 Jacks 1 little Tunny and a couple of juvenile Kings . Very soon, the Sharks ( Blacktips , Lemons, Nurse and Bulls) that follow the Mackerel schools will be here. Also look for a Kingfish run in a few weeks as there are already juvenile Kings here.

Sizzlin Summer in Sarasota

After having the best Tarpon season in 15 years, action now moves into the bay for the remainder of the summer. So far 50 Tarpon have been boated by the Lucky Dawg and well over 100 have been jumped. The best day was Brian Anders of Boston who jumped 8 and landed 4 . He was so tired that on the last hook up (Tarpon #9) that he handed the rod to me and I landed the fish(#5). The Largest Tarpon was caught by Rob Erdesky of Sarasota @ 180+ lbs followed by Zach Hartman @155lbs and Tony Dilworth @150lbs. The Tarpon are still here and still feeding as my last trip we hooked 3 and landed 1. If this season follows the others in recent history, the Tarpon will be here for about 3 more weeks.

In the Bay and Passes, Snook are feeding heavily in preparation for the spawn. Mangrove Snapper are schooling big time on the rocks and Spanish Mackerel are starting to gorge themselves on glass minnows. Redfish are beginning to show up on the area mangrove channels, docks  and Sea trout can be found in large numbers in clean water. With the afternoon rains we have had, the most important thing in Sarasota bay is clean water. If your favorite area is off color… move until you can find clean water. Yesterday I went to one of my best Trout areas in the north bay and for 30 minutes all we caught were small trout. By moving only 300 yards, I found clean water and big trout.  On the nearshore reefs, bait fish are schooling and it will not be long before Little Tunny, Mackerel and Sharks show up for a feast.

As I close let me thank  my sponsors once again. Minn Kota, TFO spinning rods and fly rods, Bayou Buck lures, and Polar boats

Tarpon... Tarpon.... Tarpon

Sorry for the delayed report but,for the past few weeks all I have been doing is Tarpon fishing. The schools are showing in great numbers at North Longboat Key and there are scattered fish for the patient angler off Lido and Siesta Key. The best baits have been pinfish with a good number also hitting crabs.
For those interested my tackle of choice is an Terramar Rod with an extra fast tip, Shimano Baitrunner 6000 spooled with 50lb Diamond Braid line and an 80 lb shock leader. For those of that know me well, you are probably surprised that I have moved away frpm Power Pro line, but  after a few line failures early in the season, I felt a new line was in order.The best Tarpon so far is an 180 lber caught by Rob Erdesky of Sarasota after a grueling 1 hour 15 min fight and most Tarpon in one day (by 1 angler) goes to Matt Stewart of  Indianapolis who landed 3 Tarpon (90,110,120 ) in 1 morning. I am so busy and whipped from fishing Tarpon that my report is going to be very short.... I'll let the pictures do the talking
See you on the water
Capt Jack

Sarasota Slam time !

April  19  Fishing Report

Big Spanish Mackerel , The biggest Sea Trout we have seen in Years, Big Blues, Mangrove Snapper beginning to show up in numbers, Redfish starting to school, Snook  making their presence known, Flounder, Kingfish, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish and even a few Pompano …. Yes… it is springtime in
Sarasota !!!
 The Spanish Mackerel are on the grass flats , artificial reefs and just off the beaches on their annual migration. They are suckers for white bait which is here in huge numbers. Netting good bait at daybreak is about as easy as it has ever been in recent history. Big Sea over 20’ is an everyday event and most days we catch several over 20” . The bigger Trout are targeting top water plugs like the Chug Bug, Deadly Combo, a big white bait freelined  or a hand picked Shrimp under a popping cork. Mixed in with the Trout and Macks are some Pompano, Flounder, Ladyfish, Jacks and some Big Bluefish.

James Pound from the UK joined me and caught a “Sarasota Slam” .That is, Sea Trout Snook, and Redfish all in the Same day. James caught 5 Redfish to 25 “ , 3 Snook to 23” and Sea trout to 19” His best luck was throwing a freelined Shrimp under docks on the east side of the bay. The next day Tate Miller from Ohio and his son Zack and daughter Hannah and Father in law Greg. Let me tell you this crew was fun and they really can fish ! We lost count of how many fish they caught around 10 am . Tate sent me a Text message saying the fish fry was fabulous that night.

That afternoon, Russ Zuege brother Wayne and his daughter Jalissa and family friend, Hannah continued the hot bite. The guys had a great day, but the girls were really on fire. Again , I have no idea how many fish were landed .
Friday, Brent Smith and son Quinn  had a really nice am bite from 7:30 to around 10am catching numerous trout and mackerel. At 10 the wind stopped and so did the bite . after about 30  minutes of inactivity, the wind picked up and the bite continued. James Starks from the UK  started out by using topwaters and caught 3 reds in the 25+ range along with 3 Snook with one going to 26”. After the topwater  bite slowed, we went to deep grass and he caught a 29” and 30 “  Sea trout , 2 Pompanos and a 15” Flounder. A super Sarasota Slam !
Sunday John Buckley from Sarasota and brother Steve and brother in law Bill joined me for John’s 70^th birthday fishing party. Man oh man, what fun ! These guys all can fish and caught many Sea Trout in 20 inch range, Huge Mackerel , Big Bluefish and others. Nick Rinaldi and buddy Bill from Longboat Key continued the hot bite in Sarasota Bay. Nick wanted to learn the techniques of bay fishing Sarasota Style and he proved to be a great student.  He really did well and with his friend ,Bill caught a lot of Trout Blues and Macks.Ron Slovick and son Ben ,age 6, had a fabulous day . While Ron was busy fly fishing, Ben was catching huge Trout , one after the other. Soon, after a fly change Ron joined the fun catch Large mackerel and Trout. The following day Ron‘s dad, Ron fromSarasota joined us . After a slow start, We caught  big Blues, Trout and Mackerel.
  Steve Perkins from New Jersey joined me for a morning of  a mixed bag of Trout , Flounder, Mangrove snapper, Redfish, and small Snook. It was by far the slowest day of the week ,but overall he had a great time throwing topwaters and jigs.  Dan Dunn from RI fished Friday am and caught 6 reds, Sea Trout including a 26 “ monster and Mangrove Snapper. He hooked 3 or 4 huge Reds only to lost them around dock pilings.
The final 2 trips of the report period were with 2 great families. First, Carl Almeter and Sons Taylor and Andrew along with daughter Kate had a super day catching big Trout, Mackerel, and bluefish. These were novice fishermen  who became pretty darn good by days end. Of course, Kate had to show the guys up as she caught the most and biggest fiah of the day. Finally the Katz family from NYC  ( Ben, Sam, Garrett, and Eli ) fish on a windy day. They were rewarded with Pompano, Trout and Macks

Shrimpee Fly catches everything in Sarasota Bay

I do not pretend to be the best fly fishing guide or fly tying expert , but I work to get better and better at my craft every day. I have discovered a fly that is hot right now in Sarasota Bay and has been for the past few years in the water cooler temperatures . A few years ago, I was playing around and trying to design a Shrimp fly .  Most prototypes failed , but the Shrimpee fly was an immediate success . The fly only works when the water is cold to cool ; approximately from November to mid May. The first time this fly proved it's worth was with my son, Zach, in Zwick's channel. We were catching small Trout almost every cast with CAL jigs when Zach decided to try his fly rod . Since the Trout were hitting dark shrimp like jigs , he grabbed the Shrimpee. Zach then proceeeded to catch bigger , fatter Trout for the next 30 minutes until the tide stopped. Just last week, Ron Slovick from Appleton Wisconsin started out using a Clouser in an area that was full of feeding fish ( his son Ben age 6 was catching loads of big Trout Macks and Ladyfish) . After a few minutes of futility, Ron changed to the Shrimpee and immediately began to catch Big Trout and Spanish Mackerel. The Shrimpee has caught Snook, Sea Trout, Flounder, Spanish Mackerel, Gray Trout , Ladyfish and Jacks so far. But I am sure that Redfsih or Pompano will hit it if given the chance.

It can't get any better than this.....

April 4 Fishing Report

                It just doesn’t get any better than fishing in Sarasota in Late March and April. Redfish can be found on low stages of the tides waiting for rising water to get them on the flats and all of my favorite docks are holding reds. A few Snook are starting to show on the flats and mangroves. Flats from 3-6 are full of Huge Spanish Mackerel, big Sea Trout, scattered Pompano and Bluefish. The Passes are still holding Sheepshead , Mangrove snapper have begun to move in , Spanish Mackerel are thick, and pompano can be jigged up in the early stages of the tide. Best of all white bait is here in greatly increasing numbers.

                Best baits for Redfish have been GULP! baits rigged on a 1/16 jig head or weed less and for docks, nothing beats a chunk of whitebait.  On the deeper flats , CAL jigs in gold, new penny and greenie colors along with a Deadly combo (Gold fleck DOA) have produced a huge variety of fish. For Pompano lovers the paddletail gold seems to really turn them on. For live baiters , a freelined shrimp or white bait have really worked. Be sure drift your live way, way behind the boat for best results. Last week I had a father and son fishing and I was casting the shrimp for the son. He was catching fish after fish while dad was not even getting bite. The dad was only fishing his bait 20 feet behind the boat and the son 40’ or more. With a slight adjustment, dad began to catch a lot too. On calm days a shrimp rigged 3 ‘ under a deadly combo cork is the best bet for Pompano and really large Sea Trout. In the passes , a small diamond jig works quickly can result in monster Mackerel , while a silly Willy with a fly trailer is the ticket for Pompano. For  the Sheepies and snapper nothing beats a SMALL shrimp drifted near the rock piles.

Recent trips

Joe Wasserman and family  from Michigan had a very fun trip with numerous Sea trout and Spanish Mackerel .Kevin and his 2 sons Will and Chase Caught some huge Trout to 25 “ . John Slekins and sons Brock , Mason  and Peyton from Indiana caught Redfish to 14 LBs , beautiful Pompano and nice Sea Trout.

Mark and Emily Harper from Texas caught 8 Pompano,  a few Snapper to 15” , about 50 Sea Trout to 22” and a flounder that measured 19” . Ken Stieger and wife Betty from Ohio caught a few small reds, huge Spanish mackerel and nice Sea Trout. Pat Evans and son Daniel had a great morning until the wind got so bad we had to cut the trip short. They had were lucky enough to get a serious Sea Trout before the front bite that resulted in no stop action for about 3 hours. I have no idea how many they caught, but it was enough for a great fish dinner. After a couple of days canceled due to high winds.

 Pat and Daniel joined me again in windy but very fishable conditions. They Caught  4 or 5 Redfish, flounder and a few Sea trout. Jim and Barbara Cook caught a about 60 Sea Trout including the biggest of the year at 30”, a few Spanish Mackerel and 1 flounder that measured 17”. Finally Valerie and Sonny Fagen and friends Jack and Mary Jo caught numerous Sea Trot to 24”, some Spanish mackerel and others.

Springtime explosion in Sarasota

March 22 Fishing Report

           Anglers aboard Sarasota Fishing Charters caught Redfish, Pompano, Sea Trout, Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel , Flounder , Grouper, and Huge Ladyfish. Most Fish were caught on the Gold Paddletail CAL jig followed by Shrimp fished under a Bayside Thunder float. These fish are so concentrated that if we fished an area for a few minutes without great success ,It was time to relocate. Almost all of the fish were found in the scattered grass areas of the bay in 4 to 7  ‘ depths.

                Dr Jon  Donaldson and son Luke from Charleston SC fished on a windy and blustery day where I thought about cancelling due to the winds, but knew of a few places to hide that could be very productive. They caught 13 Redfish and a bunch of  nice Sea Trout that were obviously feeding in before the Cold Front hit on Saturday.

                Saturday and Sunday were out as winds were up and temps were down. On Monday,  Bryce , Peter and Bill Methven From the Twin Cities Area had a great day with Pompano to 5 lbs,  Sea Trout to 21” , Spanish Mackerel  and Bluefish. Next Glenn Silvers and son Mark  and Grandson Seth From Sarasota and Colorado had a nice day with numerous Sea Trout, 4 Redfish and some Spanish Mackerel. Fishing with the Silvers family is always fun and lively.

                Wednesday Terry Ellenberger , son Jaryd and friends Darrel Goebel and Cody Aherns form Wisconsin  had a fabulous day with Pompano to 5lbs, Spanish Mackerel to 4 lbs , 3 Redfish, and so many Sea Trout we lost count. Thursday morning Dave Martin and friend Wayne from Toronto  tried fly fishing on a somewhat windy day. They were able to catch a few Mackerel ,Sea Trout and Ladyfish in conditions that just were not good for throwing flies. That afternoon the winds stopped and  Brian Martin and wife Elaine from Ontario joined me for a super time catching huge Sea trout to 22’ , Spanish Mackerel to 4 lbs and various other fish.  Honestly, they probably caught well over 60 Trout that afternoon .

                Friday , Jeff , Nancy and Meredith from Wisconsin caught huge Mackerel and Sea trout on a day that the wind again prevented a very good day from becoming a great day. Saturday dawned with calm winds and warm temperatures. Jim and Nanci Goodwin from Indiana caught 6 Redfish , some big Sheepshead, Black Druin and a 23 ½ “ black Grouper  fishing near old docks and then caught Pompano to 3lbs , Sea trout to 24” Mackerel to 6 lbs and flounder to 16” on the grass flats to end  the best trip of the time period .

                Monday,  Curtis and Cassie from Madison, Wisconsin had a great time catching large Mackerel and Sea Trout . Tuesday, The Fuqua family from St. Louis caught numerous Mackerel to 6 lbs and a few Sea Trout on a beautiful day

                Next Week’s tides are prime for fishing

Spring time angling in Sarasota

March 7 Fishing Report

Fishing is still great in the bays as the water temperatures  continue to rise . Sarasota Bay is now 72 degrees and the flats are warmer as the sun heats the shallow waters quickly. Anglers aboard the Lucky Dawg have been experiencing an unusual variety of Sarasota gamefish. Sea Trout are very abundant and are found anywhere in 4-6 ‘ of water or really shallow late in the day. has been about 35-40 trout and t These Trout are fat and and have measured up to 25” with a lot of fish in the 18-20” range. In deeper water, the bait of choice has been CAL jigs worked very quickly with small jerks. In the shallows a weedless  GULP !  jerkbait with a small worm weight has realty turned on the largest fish. The Trout are very concentrated, so, drift the grassy areas and throw out a marker when you catch your first good one. Spanish Mackerel, Pompano, a few Flounder and nice Bluefish have been mixed in with the Trout. If you get into Ladyfish, move slightly as they are on the edges of the Trout schools. As the water continues to warm be on the   alert for the first Cobia . Today, we saw our first Cobia as it chased a small hooked trout and then disappeared. A handpicked Shrimp put in front of a Cobia will result in an immediate strike. Snook and Redfish are being found on the lower tides and beginning to school.

Recent catches of note: James Almonter from Wisconsin used a 5wgt TFO fly rod with Gibby’s Big Eye Baitfish fly and a Shrimpee fly to catch 25+ Spanish Mackerel to 4lbs and 20 or more Sea Trout to 18 “. Tom Whitehurst of Sarasota caught 50 + Trout to 19 “ on CAL jigs and 2 Redfish on GULPS. Scott Tunis from Kansas and his golfing buddies Trent and Mike caught numerous trout to 20”, 4 Redfish to 23” Mackerel to 4 lbs and several nice Bluefish. Dan and Pete Morgan form Georgia caught 3 Pompano, Flounder to 15”, Grouper to 18” , several big Sheepshead to 5 lbs and finished out the day with numerous Spanish Mackerel and Sea trout . Dave Bressan from PA and son Mike from Sarasota had a great day catching Sea Trout and Spanish Mackerel on CAL jigs and Deadly Combos. Honestly I couldn’t tell you how many fish they  caught , we lost count by 10 am . Jamie Douglas from NJ caught 30+ Sea Trout to 16 “ on a very windy day. Alan Woczynski from Wisconsin and son Graham and his friend Aaron caught Spanish Mackerel to 5 lbs , numerous Tout and finished the day with 4 Redfish .

Warm water = Hot Action in Sarasota

Fishing Report Feb 20 2011

Anglers aboard Sarasota Fishing Charters caught Pompano, Sea trout, Redfish, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish , Flounder, Sheepshead and some very large Ladyfish this past week or so.  We have quickly gone from winter type of Fishing to spring in matter of a few days due to rapidly rising air and water temperatures. The areas we have been fishing are deeper grass patches in 6 + ft of water and we are using CAL jigs and Deadly combos most of the time. 10 days ago catching 20-25 fish in a day was pretty good, but now those numbers have increased to 50 + due to the feeding frenzy of spring. Thanks to Steve Gibson, a local guide, for pointing out that our Sheepshead is very Different from Northern Sheephead. Our Sheepshead are good fighters and are delicious table fare, Northern Sheephead are considered trash fish.

                On chilly Friday morning, Steve and Barb Miller from Michigan joined me for a round of Sheepshead, redfish and Sea trout in channels and near docks due to the cooler weather. Some of the Sheepies ran to 5 or more lbs and let me tell you, these fish fight very hard and are delicious to eat.

                Curt Vagos from  Birmingham joined me or a solo angler trip. It was 38 degrees when we departed and fishing was slow until the sun began to warm the water up. He caught 4 small reds, a ton of Sheepshead to 4 lbs, and about20 trout to 16 “. Actually fishing was best from 10:30 to 12, as he caught 80% of his fish in the last hour and ½.

                Rob Erhart and sons Will and Kane from Connecticut caught Sheepshead, Sea Trout and Ladyfish on a cool day that never really warmed up. They had lots of fun and believe me, they could have caught 50 trout, but finding bigger ones proved to be impossible.

                Tim Voegeli  from Ohio joined me for my 1 angler special and he have a very fun day. Beginning in a cool morning , he caught Sheepshead . Then as the day warmed he caught Redfish in the backwater and then he caught nice Trout and Blues on Artificals. This was a gratifying trip for me as he learned the techniques of jig fishing very, very, quickly.

                Ross Fisher and Bill Sullivan from Ohio fished with me on a wonderful, beautiful Sarasota Spring day. It started warmed and stayed warm.  The fish really responded as the water temps went from 58 to 66 in 2 days. They caught Pompano, Spanish mackerel, Bluefish, Flounder, Sea Trout and large Ladyfish. Honestly I have no idea how many they caught, but it had to be more than 70 fish. The CAL jig again was the ticket to success, but also the DOA deadly combo produced some very large trout to 19”.

Finally Old friends and clients, Glenn Silvers and Dave Martin from Sarasota enjoyed catching Sheepies, Sea Trout, Spanish Mackerel Bluefish and Ladyfish. Dave loves to catch Pompano, but they had moved away from the grass flats, but we caught a good amount of quality fish anyway.

Next week’s tides are good and the warming trend will out the fish in a feeding mood.