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.