November 26, 2006

The offshore fishing around the artificial “M” reefs has been hot for kingfish and Spanish mackerel.  Deep trolling with small spoons has worked best in the bumpy seas.  “M-9” has been extra good for the past week. There has been plenty of baitfish around all of the artificial reefs, if you can use them.  It was just too rough for me to comfortably fish very far offshore and I don’t troll with planers.  Some grouper have been caught in 90’ feet of water about 25 miles offshore.

Closer to shore on the “I” artificial reefs, we had plenty of Spanish mackerel, some bluefish and little tunny.  Again, it was trolling deep with small spoons that worked best, but some days live bait or Diamond jigs worked as well.

On the bay, it has been large schools of marauding ladyfish that have given us most of the action for the past few weeks.  Live bait or jigs work well.  Friday and Saturday found most of the ladyfish south of Stickney Point Road.  Redfish, snook, mackerel, bluefish, pompano, triple-tail and an occasional flounder were caught on the bay last week, but not a lot.  Harts reef is holding lots of small gag grouper, some snapper and sheepshead.  I like to anchor close or over a rock pile and fish the bottom with live shrimp and a small splitshot.  Without the ladyfish on the grassflats, it has been very slow fishing the flats on Sarasota Bay.  That might all changes in a day.

The fish are moving around!  So it won’t be a bus run to find fish but at least most of the species are returning to the bay.

Enjoy & Protect

September 15, 2006

The grass flats off of Stephens Pt. and north of the Ringling home are still hot!  Today at first light, we found Tarpon all over the flats in small pods feeding on the larger bait fish, like ladyfish.  The average size looked to be about fifty pounds.  I have never seen so many tarpon in one place on Sarasota Bay.  The tarpon were cruising the flats all morning.

We have also been catching blacktip sharks to 36” on DOA 3” shrimp and large live shrimp.  Most of the steady action has been jacks, ladyfish and small gag grouper.  If you have the time and the bait, you may hook-up with a nice size pompano, sea trout, Mangrove snapper, and Spanish mackerel.  Schools of small redfish have also visited us from time to time.

Redfish have been caught on a regular basis along the Rim Canal and Buttonwood Harbor.

Offshore fishing has had a problem with the Redtide.  Finding and keeping baitfish alive while passing through patches of red tide has been the problem.  Using an aerator system instead of an intake system may work better.

Although we have dead fish floating through the passes, most of the north east side of the bay has been clear of the R-tide.

Enjoy & Protect

September 03, 2006

For the last few weeks we have found plenty of action on the bay.  Yes!  We have a Redtide along the beaches and in the passes, and that has not been good.  I was able to find plenty of non-stop action on the grass-flats off of Bishops Point, the John Ringling Home area.  Using DOA 3” shrimp lures and starting at first light, 6:30am, we would drift over the grass and had fish on for most of the four hours we fished.  The fish were mostly under legal size or non eaters, but the variety of fish caught was outstanding.  The Spanish mackerel were all a nice size and you could increase the numbers by using live pilchards, if you could find them.  The area is loaded with bait-fish but none of it much bigger than a dime.  School reds sometimes came to the flats and boiled the water.  But most of the time it was bluefish, ladyfish, or jacks boiling the water. It was all fun.  Some of the fish we caught were trout, small grouper, flounder, and pompano.

Redfish have been caught along the west side of the bay from Country Club Shores north to Buttonwood Harbor and beyond but are moving around so you will need to hunt.  Snook are also possible in the same area.  That’s all history and what I find tomorrow morning is a new page.

I think the fish are being pushed up the bay by the Redtide but the bait fish have been there all along.  Watch the birds to see where the fish are feeding.

Offshore fishing at the “M” reefs has produced porgy, white grunt, and small snapper.

July 13, 2006

For the last few weeks, we have been enjoying some good action along the beach and on the bay.  The artificial (I) reefs in 25 to 30 feet of water have been holding plenty of nice size Spanish mackerel.  We are also catching barracuda, bluefish and sharks both large and small.  Live pilchards or sardines have been the best bait for the macks and the mackerel are good bait for the cuda and sharks.  We have been finding plenty of live bait both inshore and offshore.

On the bay, the Ringling home grass flats have been hopping at first light.  The flats are covered with baitfish most of the day, but at first light, 6:30AM, the birds and fish are tearing them up.  Most of the fish are ladyfish but in with them you will find bluefish, mackerel, trout, small grouper, jack and snapper.  Live shrimp or pilchards have been working well.  D.O.A. shrimp is doing the job for me and with all of the pinfish returning to the bay, it is hard to keep live bait on the hook.  Redfish and snook are also being found around the bay by more patient anglers.

The bay is now loaded with baby gag grouper, snapper and hordes of pinfish.  This is a very good for the bay but may coast you more bait.  It is well worth it seeing the bay come back.  Only the sea trout and flounder seem to be scarce at this time.

June 11, 2006

Spanish mackerel have been hot along the beaches and best in thirty feet of water!  The Lynn Silvertooth (I-1) reef is stacked up with large barracuda that are feeding on the mackerel.  I have never seen so many large barracuda in this close and this hungry.  We jumped four cuda in a row by pulling just the head of one mackerel.  Dragging whole mackerel seemed to work best.

For the mackerel, I used live sardines or Diamond jigs on light tackle.  If you are just looking for groceries or bait, small planers and spoons on heavy tackle will limit you out quickly.

Tarpon are looking good along the beach for both anglers and sharks.  Some tarpon have moved into the bay and I have seen them along the Country Club Shores grass-flats.

Bluefish and ladyfish have been good on the bay middle ground grass flats.  I am starting to find some seatrout on the Ringling flats but very few keepers.

Long runs offshore, 30/50 miles, still seem to be working for bigger fish, but that could change any time.

We had a visitor on the bay last week that hung around the boat for about a half hour.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Spanish Mackerel up to four pounds have moved in along the beach reefs and are on the chew.  Live sardines are working well for bait and are easy to catch.  In fact, most small lures and live shrimp will catch Spanish mackerel.  Cobia and tripletails have been caught in the same area, but are spotty.

Barracuda and sharks are thick on the artificial “M” reefs in forty to fifty feet of water.  Some king mackerel are being caught, but it is hard to get past the cuda.

Long runs offshore have been hot thirty to fifty miles out.  Sail, Wahoo, dolphin, big kings and amber jacks and all being caught.

Tarpon seem to be OK as tarpon fishing goes.  Most of the action has been on live crab and from Big Pass to well south of the pass.  Every day is a new page in fishing and it can all change.

On the bay, the best action has been on the Middle Ground grass flats just north of New Pass.  Plenty of ladyfish and bluefish up to three pounds were caught on live shrimp or whitebait (pilchards).  I also caught some seatrout on the east side of the bay, just off of the Ringling home.

The bay fishing is coming back but is still short on some species.  The good news is the bay is full of baitfish, shrimp and crabs.

April 9, 2006

For the past couple of weeks, the magic numbers for King and Spanish mackerel have been 12 to 33 foot depths and a water temperature of 72 degrees.  Large schools of anchovies have been holding the fish close to the coast line.  Trolling small spoons and jigs on flat-line or with planers have worked for the Spanish mackerel.  The kings want larger spoons, plugs and live bluerunners.  Both on flat-line and planers have worked.  White bait is not working well at this time.  Sardines and threadfin have been hard to find.  Some cobia and LTs are also in the mix with the mackerel.  LTs are hard to catch when feeding on anchovies.  Tripletail is also being caught around the crab-pot floats with live shrimp and small crabs.

The anchovies have been moving into the bay bringing some Spanish mackerel and bluefish with them.  The ladyfish have been thick along Country Club Shores and the Middle Ground grass flats.  The water will boil with feeding fish but it has been hard to pick a mackerel out of it so far.  Jigs and live shrimp have been working well on the bay.

There have been some nice catches of pompano and permit, but they won’t stay in one place long and may be found on the flats or the passes at any time.  Some nice snook are being caught but mostly by chumming with whitebait.  This method is very productive but I won’t use it on snook and I do not call it Sportfishing.  Snook are primarily nocturnal and feed best one hour before and after a change of tide.  They also like first and last light.  If fishing in a lit area at night, the snook will feed in the darker surrounding areas, like shadows from the bridge.

Enjoy & Protect

February 28, 2006

We have been able to keep the rods bent for the past week but most all of it has been ladyfish.  Large schools of ladyfish have been held up in the channel just south of the Siesta Key Bridge.  Using live shrimp and pompano jigs for bait, we produced a few pompano in the mix.  Pompano are on the bay but moving around and it is hard to get a fix on them, one here and one there.  It has been the same with the redfish around the docks and cobia along the beach.

Anchoring or drifting along the ICW is keeping us busy with the ladyfish.  Watching the porpoises feed on them next to the boat is also a blast.

Sheepshead fishing has been getting better around the docks and reef structures and is a probable food source if needed.  We can expect the fishing to improve as we move into March.

Enjoy & Protect

February 3, 2006

The bad news is that the high winds over the past week have kept most boaters off the water.  The wind is expected to continue over most of the weekend.

The good news is that before all this wind, the artificial reef, “Allen Fish” (I-2), was loaded with fish.  Last Sunday found lots of sheepshead, redfish, black drum, bluefish, sea trout, and Key West grunts on the reef.  Large schools of baitfish could be seen on the bottom.  Live shrimp fished on the bottom worked well and produced a large variety of fish.  The other inshore reefs should be holding fish as well.

When the water starts to clear up from this wind the fish should chew!

The Redtide seems not to be a factor any more.  Most of the fish are back, we just need some decent weather!

Enjoy & Protect

January 25, 2006

Fishing has been a very quiet for the past three weeks!  Moving around the bay would produce at best only a stray bluefish or ladyfish for most of the guide-boats in radio contact with me.  The “I” reefs just offshore were dead and the water was very silty.  We couldn’t lose bait.   The weather has been perfect for the last week and we started to get some nice sheepshead on Harts reef, in the middle of the bay.

The water is very clear on the reef and you can see all the piles of structure on the bottom in six to ten feet of water.  Drop your anchor in a sandy spot and let the boat drop back to the structure.  You can fish straight down with a split shot or use a float and let your line drop back to the structure.  Casting a weighted line into the structure will get hung-up.  Sheepshead don’t eat fish, so I use live shrimp.  The live shrimp are very large now, so you will need to break them up.  A very sharp 2/0-3/0 hook on 30-40 pound mono leader works well.  The fish have been running 2-4 pounds with a few shorts under 12”.  Don’t confuse this fish with the freshwater sheepshead in the north.  This fish is good to eat and not related.

Offshore, the snapper have been good at about 18 miles out.  A few grouper have been found in the same area.  The bad news is that the area is overrun with Tomtate grunts.  They will eat a lot of your snapper bait, live shrimp and I don’t like to use them for grouper bait either.

The silty coastal water is due to the high winds we have had this month. I feel that as it clears, the fish will move back closer to the coast and into the bay.

Enjoy & Protect

January 2, 2006

Happy New Year to you all!

The fishing on the bay has started to stabilize with snook, redfish, bluefish, and sheepshead being the top contenders.  Some pompano in the passes and even a few seatrout have been caught.  Fishing the docks south of the Siesta key bridge has been the most productive for snook and redfish.  I like to drift along the docks casting to and just a little under the dock but never behind a pylon.  That could be instant death if you hook-up.  When using live shrimp, I like to leave plenty of slack in the line and let it sink to the bottom.  Sometimes I use a split-shot to help it sink.  When I think it is on the bottom, I will take just enough slack so that I can tell if something moves or taps the shrimp.  If nothing happens, I retrieve the shrimp slowly, stopping every few feet.  When we do get a pickup, I stop the drift and work that area.  Redfish and snook will often feed at only one dock or pylon in the immediate area.  Snook sometimes prefer a free-lined swimming shrimp over a shrimp on the bottom.  Blackdrum and sheepshead are quick to eat if you get your shrimp close to a pylon.  Nothing is carved in stone when fishing but the basics are the place to start.

When fishing under docks and around pylons, letting the fish take line when he first picks up the bait is not an option.  You need to pull the fish away from the structure and see that he is moving away before you can let him take line.  You can just lock down your drag down to start with and then loosen it if needed when you get him out of the structure.  For myself, I prefer a method I call cupping the spool.  I set a firm but giving drag.  Before setting the hook on a pickup, I keep my rod tip pointed at the fish and take out all the slack line.  Then I cup the spool with my left hand and hold it tight when setting the hook while pulling the fish away from the structure.  Often just holding the fish back will cause him to take the path of least resistance and come straight at you.  When the fish is out of the structure, you only need to open your hand to let him take drag, if needed.  Remember not to cast too far under the docks or behind a pylon or nothing will work on a big fish.  Your line may break, but it will break a lot faster if it touches any structure.

I use 12# test line with 30#-40#  mono leader, 3/0 hook and sometimes a #1 split-shot.  If you find some big guys, you’re going to need to beef it up.

Offshore the snapper and grouper have been chewing from the “M” reefs out.  Take live shrimp for the snapper.  It has been a bit too bumpy for me, but if you can handle the ride you will probably catch some nice fish.

Enjoy & Protect