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.