Sarasota Florida fishing report archives

January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

The Pompano in Big Pass (marker 13) have been our main attraction on the bay. By drifting and bouncing yellow pompano jig on the bottom and tipping them with a piece of shrimp, we were able to catch a fair amount of fish. Most of the pompano averaged around a pound and a half but went to as much as four pounds. In with the pompano were bluefish, mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel and some large cobia. One cobia tried to eat a bluefish on the way into the boat. The bluefish went ballistic on the surface and all I could see at first was the water swelling up under the bluefish. At this point, I thought it might be a shark but it turned out to be about a forty-pound cobia. I had a larger rod ready but he was gone by the time I baited it with a large live shrimp. I would not call it a cobia run but they are cruising the passes and if you are fishing light for pompano, it is a good idea to keep a heavier backup rod handy. You want at least 12-pound test line and 40-pound test leader with a sturdy 3/0 hook for cobia.

Offshore fishing has brought in snapper, grouper and kingfish but we needed to run at least 8 miles to start getting fish. The kings were small and usually caught by trolling the forty-foot depth around the (M) reefs. The snapper fishing started to get good at forty feet and the grouper at fifty. Let's hope the seas calm down. It has made the 8 to 12 miles offshore a long ride and the inshore (I) reefs very silty.

Offshore fishing has been the best bet for us although the wind and rough water did make
it difficult at times. Due to the silty water inshore, I found that I had to run about twelve
miles offshore to find fish and clean water. In fifty feet of water around [M-7], we found
some nice keeper size grouper. We fished the natural bottom around the artificial reef,
ledges and breaks. One of the keys is to catch fresh live bait before you head out. We
found plenty of pinfish and grunts on the grass flats by using a small hook, split shot and a
small piece of shrimp or squid for bait. You can also buy your bait, but pinfish get beat-up
very bad in the bait tanks over night. Grunts do better but there is nothing better then
fresh caught bait.

For keeper size grouper, I like to fish with nothing less than twenty pound test line, sixty
pound leader and a 5/0 hook. The size sinker to use will vary. Here we used a two ounce,
in-line sinker. When anchored, lightly hook the live baitfish on the back, just under the
dorsal fin. When drifting, hook them through the lips. To find the fish in this area, you
can use your fish finder or drift. When we hook a good fish while drifting, I throw a
marker buoy over or use my “Man-overboard” function on my Loran so we can return to
the spot.

Inshore fishing has started to get better as the water clears. Cobia action has improved
along the beach and some redfish, trout and pompano are being caught on the bay. Jacks
and ladyfish have supplied plenty of action throughout the week and the cool weather
should improve the bay fishing.

Kingfish, cobia, grouper, flounder and snapper were the reward for the offshore fisherman this past week. With the high winds and lack of large baitfish, trolling seems to be the preferred method for the kings. Capt. Paul Torin has been able to boat plenty of kings trolling spoons and Bombers around the M-6 artificial reef. He was using a #2 plainer with the spoons and the Bombers on his downrigger. He was also able to find some nice gag grouper in the same area by trolling the bomber close to the bottom. Most of the kings have not been very large (under 12 pounds) but this is the best size to eat.

I have spent most of my time fishing close to the beach in 18 to 24 feet of water. Using large live shrimp, we caught cobia to 30 pounds, flounder to 4 pounds, mangrove snapper to 2 pounds and a few keeper gag grouper. We also caught a good number of spotted seatrout to 3 pounds in 18 feet of water. All the fish we caught were feeding heavily on the small whitebait that has been schooling along the beach.

Redfish have been the main attraction along the docks for bay fishing. Although action has been good, most of the reds have been under size. Flounder fishing has been better than average and you can find plenty of small snapper, just keeper size. Black seabass, pompano, Spanish mackerel and black drum were just some of the other fish caught while fishing the bay's grass-flats and reefs this past week. Keeper size gag grouper are also on the bay at this time but you must use at least 20-pound test line to get them out of the structure. You also need pinfish or grunts for bait and plenty of patience for bay grouper.

The cobia have been on the bite all week! Although the wind has been high, it has been out of the NE and we have had calm water within a couple of miles of the beach. Most of the cobia that we hooked were over keeper size (33"). The largest cobia that we caught and released on Friday was 45 pounds.

We anchored over the rocks and artificial reefs in 18 to 25 feet of water. We fished a free-line or on the bottom using large live shrimp for bait. We used 40-60 pound mono leader on 12-pound test line, a 3/0 hook and no more than a 1/2 ounce of lead when fishing the bottom. Spanish mackerel and cobia preferred the free line. The bottom rigs found snapper, flounder and grouper. The grouper were mostly short.

Although we ended most of the trips with good catches, plenty of patience was needed. Sometimes we would go an hour or more without loosing a bait or a good bump and then have as many as two dozen cobia around the boat at one time. It was the same for the bottom fish.

The kings have started although they are not everywhere and the wind has kept the Gulf in an uproar some of the time. Don Mason had one of the best days for last week that I know of. Monday he found plenty of kings just inside of “M1”. He said most of the kings were from eight to ten pounds and three could make 18 pounds. They were eating the thread herring well and you could find plenty of them on “M1”. He also caught some kings on Green Back King Spoons and Orange Bottom Bombers.

Grouper, Spanish mackerel and cobia have filled-in for most of the other offshore action but it has not been very fishable. Most of the grouper action has been well offshore from the 50-foot depth to the 90-foot depth. The Spanish mackerel can show up anywhere form the beach out. Cobia have been feeding along the beaches but nothing very hot.

Trout and redfish action has held on in the bay but we are still waiting for the weather to stabilize. Remember that it is catch and release on the spotted seatrout since Nov. 1.

We do expect the fishing to get good this month as it has for the last few years.

We found plenty of action along Longboat Key in eighteen feet of water! Cobia and flounder were also on the bite. We ended up with two keeper cobia and a nice string of flounders up to three pounds. A friend boated an eight-pound tripletail while working the crab trap floats in the same area. We also caught Snapper and mackerel. The fish were feeding heavily on large schools of small whitebait but we were fishing with large live shrimp and did very well. We free lined for the cobia and fished the bottom for the flounder and snapper.

This past week still left us in a fall pre-run mode! This was probably due to the weather change and Full Moon. Yes, we caught Spanish mackerel but you had to work hard for them and a good trip would average only two to three fish per person. Three of the best methods that worked were chumming with small live white bait, chasing the fish and casting small Diamond jigs into them and last, by trolling a small spoon on a plainer. The little tunny are still feeding on the schools of small anchovies and are not interested in much else.

By late Friday morning, some schools of cobia had started show up. The cobia were schooling just off Longboat Key around the rocks in 18 feet of water We also saw some cobia caught earlier in the week on the (I) reefs in 24-30 feet of water. We are still looking for the kingfish and the king tournament started today. Probably the best place to start looking would be Egmont Key.

Red grouper have been on the bite in 80-85 feet of water. This is about 20 miles offshore and has been a long hard ride for a small boat in this wind. If you do not know the area, you need to do your homework. No one is going to give you numbers. Get out in the area and look for other boats catching fish. Don’t crowd them, but look for other spots in the same area. Record a compass bearing and distance from a spot you saved and maybe you will get there first the next time. You should be able to find other good spots to fish at the same depth.

Redfish have been good on Little Sarasota Bay but you need to catch plenty of whitebait for chumming. A few snook have also been caught. Harts reef has been holding some very nice black seabass. Use live shrimp and fish the rock piles east of the marker. We have also found flounder on Harts and the coastal (I) reefs.

Fall fishing is here! During the middle of the week, we found plenty of Spanish mackerel and little tunny along the beaches in 20 to 30 feet of water. Some kingfish were also seen and caught in the same area. The baitfish was thick. As we left the New Pass dock on Tuesday morning, we received a call via VHF that the Gulf was having a Mac-attack and that the birds and mackerel were everywhere. We were soon on the scene and armed with Diamond jigs. We spent the morning catching mackerel up to three pounds and little tunny to 12 pounds on 8 pound spinning tackle. The fish are feeding mostly on the large schools of anchovies that are too small for us to catch but the ¼ to ½ ounce jigs work will.

The kings prefer the larger baitfish (Threadfin herring) and we found plenty of them using a gold hook bait rig. You can also find plenty of smaller baitfish (Pilchards) on the bay using a cast-net. Numerous sharks have been seen and one was estimated by a reliable source to be a sixteen-foot hammerhead. This guy was hanging around the “M” reefs. Some nice grouper, snapper and an occasional cobia have been caught in 40 to 50 feet of water on both natural and artificial bottoms.

By Friday, the mackerel action had dropped off and this was probably due to the front that came through. Because of all the baitfish along the coast, I am sure the kingfish action will get hot soon and will be in close to the beach.

As we headed out Saturday morning, I was thinking of our limited options due to the Red tide and twenty-mile an hour East wind. I knew the beaches were feeling the effects of the Red tide and if we made a long run offshore, we would find the water very rough. Friday we had found a few snapper and grouper on Hart’s reef in the middle of the bay. The snapper were nice sized and although we never put a grouper over eighteen inches in the boat, we did hook in to a couple of big ones. The redfish action had been slow on Friday so I opted to go back to Hart’s reef.

We anchored over one of the many rock piles and fished the bottom with live shrimp. To my surprise, we had a very exciting day with a large variety of fish. We caught cobia, pompano, black seabass, snapper, red and gag grouper, flounder, ladyfish, jacks, blue runners and much more. The action was fast and we lost a few big fish. We spent our four hours on the reef and due to the direction of the strong wind the seas never got over a foot.

We got back to the New Pass dock at 11:30 a.m. and could see some small dead fish coming in on the tide. We never know where the Red tide will go or how bad it will be. I feel that Hart’s reef might be a refuge for some of the fish at this time.

Although the fishing in general has not been hot, the offshore fishing has begun to simmer. Yellowtail snapper has been the best bet for food fish and on light tackle can be a lot of fun. You can find yellowtail over any good bottom or reef. They love live shrimp but will also take a small pilchard. Today we fished about a mile inside of M-7 in fifty feet of water. We were able drift and bounce a shrimp along the bottom due to the lack of wind during the morning hours. Yellowtail are schooling fish so when you catch one, mark the spot and go back as soon as they stop biting.

Grouper were also plentiful in the same area but you need to fish with larger live bait like Herring, pinfish and grunts. Most of the grouper were short reds but some boats did get a few keeper gags and blacks. Small schools of permit are still coming around the (M) reefs but you need to free-line live shrimp or crabs for them. The barracuda are still stacked up on the (M) reefs and are a little fussy but they will jump all over a Spanish mackerel.

Bay fishing has produced a few keeper trout and flounder and some snook at night. We have been able to find plenty of action but not much in keeper fish. Ladyfish, jacks and short trout have made up most of the action.

Although we have not had a direct hit from the tropical storms, the closeness has been enough to shut down the fishing. It is another September with too much dirty water and windy weather but October is coming.

Last year we had plenty of good fishing by mid October. The kings came in close to the beach and the action was hot. We also had some cobia and tarpon along the beaches. The bay had pompano, permit and Spanish mackerel. If history repeats its self, we have plenty to look forward to in October.

As soon as the water starts to clear up, we can expect to find fish but only Mother Nature knows when that will be. I find this a good time for tackle and boat maintenance. Stocking up on wire kingfish leaders and gold hook bait rigs is one of my priorities. The solid wire leaders with a Haywire twist are on the market now but you can save a lot if you make your own. For kingfish, I like to use #6 brown solid wire. I cut the wire in 12-inch lengths to make 6-inch leaders. I add a 5/0 hook using a Haywire twist and sometimes an extra stinger hook below that. I attach the wire to the monofilament leader with an Albright special. The monofilament must be at least 50-pound test to keep the line from cutting itself against the wire. You could use a swivel but I find the Albright faster and less visible, especially to a second following fish.

A solid wire leader with a Haywire twist is much better than a stranded wire with crimps but you must replace the solid wire when it kinks.

Except for the unstable weather, we had a good week of fishing. Offshore it was grouper, snapper, tunny, barracuda and cobia. Inshore it was trout, redfish, mackerel and cobia.

The offshore artificial (M) reefs are still holding plenty of little tunny and barracuda. We found some nice gag grouper on the natural reefs in 40 to 50 feet of water. For the grouper, we used large live baitfish (herring, sardines, pinfish and grunts) and fished on the bottom. Mangrove and yellowtail snapper are on all the reefs but you need to use smaller bait. Large live shrimp and pilchards will work well for the snapper.

Most of the cobia action has been on the inshore (I) reefs and rock piles from 18 to 30 feet of water. All sizes of live bait will work for the cobia and they will take it on the bottom as well as the top. I fish both ways until they set a pattern. Cobia also like large brightly colored plugs (Chugs) fished on the surface. I have seen cobia up to 30 pounds in the bay this past week but you will find more along the beaches.

Seatrout are over all the grass-flats on the bay and we found ours on the grass-flats just north of Country Club Shores. Using large live shrimp, we caught trout up to 20 plus inches and some Spanish mackerel. You can use a popping cork but we free-lined ours. Redfish have been on the bite! Some of the hot spots have been around Zwicks channel flats and north of Sarasota bay. Snook have been best at night around some of the bridges and docks. Tarpon are still rolling around the New Pass bridge but will not bite during the day. At night, I would fish them the same way you fish for large snook. When I was growing up on the southeast coast of Florida, it was always a problem keeping the tarpon off your line when fishing for snook at night. Especially when fishing for snook around channel 2 and 5 in the upper Keys. That was a long time ago ?

We found plenty of little tunny and barracuda on the “M” reefs. Although the variety is a little less than normal, the action is as fast and nonstop as it could be. On Thursday, the water was glassy calm and we had no trouble finding baitfish (Threadfin herring) on the surface about halfway out to “M” 5. The reef it self was covered with small baitfish but we found large sardines about 300 yards off the reef. There is plenty of life to see on the reefs at this time, sea turtles, spotted rays and sharks to name a few.

Mangrove snapper on the bottom are building up and should be good through September. Large live shrimp is the best bait but small fish and cut-bait will work just fine. Live shrimp will produce the largest variety of fish and can be fished free-lined or on the bottom. Grouper have been better further offshore.

There are plenty of tarpon around and you can see them rolling on the bay and along the beach at Point of Rocks. You can watch the tarpon roll all day under the New Pass Bridge but they are seldom on the bite. Spotted seatrout are the main food fish at this time and are scattered throughout the bay on most of the grass flats. The bay is also producing a few redfish, snapper, bluefish, pompano and jacks to eight pounds. Live bait is best but lures are working well for the experienced angler. Getting out early at first light is the most important thing if you want catch fish during the calm summer days.

We spent most of our time at artificial reef M5 catching barracuda and tunny when we could get out this week. Drifting live thread herring over the top of the reef has produced plenty of action during the morning hours. Occasionally, other species of fish or shark would grab the bait and give you a little surprise. The bait has been reliable for me about four miles offshore. The bait has not been on top that early in the morning, so you need to use your chart recorder to find them. Using a size ten Gold-Hook bait rig, you need to work fast. You will not be on the bait long, so just drift or cruise until you see them again.

Some nice grouper have been caught further offshore in about eighty feet of water. This is an area of hard bottom called the Swiss Cheese and is about nineteen to twenty miles offshore from the New Pass Bell. If you run a compass course of 245 from New Pass and look for eighty feet of water, you should be close enough. This is a place that you drift and mark when you catch a good fish. You will not see much on most recorders. Depending on the wind, I like to use three to six ounces of lead here. Do not forget to bring the marking buoys.

The spring that is forty-one miles offshore from New Pass at a 249 compass course has been holding yellow tail snapper, amberjack and school dolphin.

Bay fishing has been OK for seatrout and some snapper, flounder and mackerel. Occasionally, someone will hook a tarpon and you can still see the tarpon rolling around the bridge fenders. The live shrimp are getting bigger now and are good bait if you can get the hand picks.

If you read last week’s report, you will find things have not changed that much. This week is almost a carbon copy except for the weather. We had more rain and choppy seas all do to unstable weather conditions. A few anglers got seasick. The Spanish mackerel and little tunny are still on the bite at the “M” reefs in 40 feet of water. The catch is that you need to net your own bait before leaving the bay to do well with the Spanish mackerel. The pilchards are in the passes and just big enough to use a castnet on. If you don’t need the Spanish mackerel, you can still find plenty of action on the “M” reefs using the larger bait (herring) that you can catch with a gold hook rig on the way out. Little tunny, barracuda, jacks and some large sharks have been feeding as fast as you can get your bait in the water. Only an occasional shark, but we did see a 9’ hammer head! You need to drift over the reef and free-line your bait out. Close will not work! I have been jumping from “M1” to “M5” for most of my action.

Permits up to 30 pounds have also been caught on the “M” reefs. You will need to use large live shrimp or small crabs for them. Do not use a steel leader, a 40-pound mono leader works better. Cobia have also been caught but they do not stick around the reefs very long.

I have seen some good catches of seatrout come in from the north end of the bay using live pigfish and fished on a float. An occasional pompano, bluefish, mackerel, snapper, redfish and flounder has been found in some of the day’s catch. Live shrimp or pilchards will work. The fish are on the bay but you need to work at it.

You can usually find a school of tarpon rolling on the in coming tide around the New Pass Bridge fender during mid-morning. It is very hard to get them to eat at this time of day however, they are nice to watch and cast to.

The best action has been offshore at the “M” reefs. Spanish mackerel, little tunny and barracuda have kept anglers busy. Limiting out on large Spanish mackerel has not been hard, especially if you are using small, live pilchards for bait. You can find these bait fish along the beach and in the passes. A castnet will work best in the shallow water. 12 to 15 pound test line is working well for this size fish but there are still some big guys around. In fact, one sailfish was caught this week in the same area. Free-lining your bait out and letting it run as fast as it can will get results but you can also slow pull your bait when the wind stops. For the small pilchards, I like to rig with 6” of light wire and a 3/0 hook. If you do not use wire, use a long-shank wire hook (202, 4/0). For the larger baitfish, I use a 5/0 hook. I back it all up with a 40-pound mono leader and double my line with a Bimini twist. You can still find a few nice grouper on the bottom but it will take a lot of bait to run through the shorts.

The best action inshore has been snook at night but remember they are out of season until Sept. Some spotted seatrout, redfish and occasional pompano have been the fish of the day. The most fun has been the large schools of 3-6 pound jacks in the passes. Except for the pompano, a live pilchard has been the most productive bait on the bay. At this time of year, due to the difficulty of accessing good live-bait, it is a good time to hone your artificial bait skills. Do not be afraid to tip your jigs and spoons with shrimp and strips of fish or squid.

Fishing offshore, we have found most of the action between 40 to 60 feet of water on both the artificial “M” reefs and natural bottom. Over the past week, I have seen Kingfish caught to almost 40 pounds, large Spanish mackerel, doormat size flounder, mangrove snapper, Keeper size gag and red grouper and many little tunny. Although we are getting some nice fish, the action is spotty and best in the early morning or late afternoon. Our biggest problem was catching enough large live bait! The Spanish mackerel and snapper have been taking small pilchards and you can catch the pilchards in the bay with a cast net. I have been taking some nice fresh frozen squid along for backup when fishing the bottom. We have been finding most of our large live bait in 20 to 30 feet of water on the way out, but it has been hard to find early in the morning. By noon, when we were heading back, we saw plenty of bait on top that we could have caught easily. I have been using pinfish, grunts, and squirrelfish on the bottom and the herring, sardines and pilchards free-lined on top. Of course, all the baits work well on the bottom for grouper and flounder.

Inshore, the bay has also been best early and late. Spotted Seatrout have been on most of the grass flats, along with flounder, pompano, and mackerel. Tarpon have been jumped around Ringling Bridge. Redfish are in the channels and around structures close to the bridges. The fish are not jumping in the boat and you need to work hard to get them, but they are being caught.

Oceanit has come out with a Ciguatera test kit that may be of interest for those who fish the islands south of Florida. “http://www.cigua.com “ (Cigua-Check).

Although most fish can be mentioned in this week’s report, the fishing has been on the slow side. At this time of year, catching your own bait is the key to catching some nice fish. On the bay, pilchards have worked well but they are still a little small. We have been able to cast net them in New Pass along the south side at the mouth of the pass. Trout, redfish, snook and small cobia to 30” have been the prominent fish on the bay and they all love the pilchards. Most of the action has been on the grass flats but some nice fish have been found on the sandbars and channels too.

Offshore we are working harder to find bait than fish. Although the grouper got slow towards the end of the week, the little tunny were hot on the “M” reefs, that is, if you had live bait to feed them. The action has been even better in 70 feet of water for little tunny and Spanish mackerel. A 240-250 heading from New Pass will get you there. Out there, the fish have been taking cut bait almost as well as live bait. Artificial bait has also worked. The weather has been a little unstable this past week and that probably had something to do with the fishing.

I have been getting most of my bait about 1.5 miles north of the New Pass Bell Buoy, in 20 feet of water. Using a gold hook bait rig, I have been able to catch Thread fin, pilchard, sardines, pinfish and grunts, all in the same area.

Offshore fishing was very good all week but not always easy. We found plenty of little tunny, barracuda, some kingfish and very large Spanish mackerel on “M3”. The hard part was catching bait. If you could catch a herring or sardine and free-line it out, you would soon have a fish on. We found most of our bait on the way out but they were in small schools and moving fast. As the week went on, we found them getting closer to the beach and today we hit the jackpot.

I had Albert Jeffers and his wife on board this morning. Al said he would prefer bottom fishing on the natural reefs for grouper and snapper. I was able to get plenty of large Gulf shrimp from the bait shop and they are usually hard to find this time of year so I felt we had a good chance for snapper. As we left New Pass, I could see some boats catching bait just north of the bell buoy. We went over and found acres of bait, mostly herring with some sardines and pilchards. It took no time at all to catch all we needed using the gold hook rigs. We went to a ledge that I call Hope. Hope is in 40’ of water and about 6 miles offshore at 240 degrees. There are plenty of ledges in this area that will hold fish. Knowing the exact spot is not necessary. We anchored over the ledge drop-off. Al used an open face reel with 20-pound test line. I rigged it with a 60-pound mono leader, 3/4-ounce lead and 7/0 hook. Al had no trouble getting his limit of gag and red grouper and released many fish. The fish ran up to about 10 pounds and inhaled the live baitfish we had caught. The shrimp did not produce any keeper grouper or snapper.

This is the time of year to get some good bottom fishing in but you need to catch the live bait for the best results. A bottom recorder and marker buoys are also needed for better results. At least take a marker buoy along so you can drift and mark the spot where you hook a fish and go back to it. Jewfish are also on the artificial reefs and large ledges and will quickly eat a nice size snapper or small grouper before you can get it up.

Offshore fishing has been very good! Whether you are looking for sport or food, you can find plenty of action in the 40 to 50 foot depths. On the “M” reefs, we have caught kingfish in the 25 to 40-pound range and Spanish mackerel to 8 pounds. We are not having a heavy run of mackerel but a mixed bag of barracudas, little tunny, black tip sharks, kings and Spanish mackerel. We have been free-lining Threadfin herring for most of our fish. Threadfin herring have been plentiful on the reefs. The pilchards we have gotten on the reef are not as strong as the Threadfin but they will work.

There are plenty of mangrove snapper from the bay out into the gulf. The deeper you go the bigger the snapper. M-7 has produced some large yellow-tail snapper. My favorite bait for snapper is large live shrimp. Snapper will eat all baits fished on the bottom; you can also chum them up to eat off the top.

The Three-Mile reef off Longboat pass has had some good permit action using live shrimp and small crabs. Further offshore from 20+ miles and out, you can find dolphin and larger grouper for the most part, but this time of year you never know what you may find. Look for the grass lines and any other floating objects. Your own boat will attract fish.

Tarpon fishing has been OK. Some days they are eating better than others. Therefore, you still need to be prepared to do a lot of hunting and waiting but that’s tarpon fishing.

The bay fishing has been active with large trout, jacks and small snapper. You had better take a ruler along if you are going to fish for snapper on the bay.

The most exciting fish for the week were the black tip sharks that were up to eighty pounds and spun like a top above the water when hooked. It was an awesome sight and compounded with high-speed runs, that makes it one of the top game fish in my book.

The much needed rain has slowed our fishing a bit but the rest of the week looks good. Tarpon have started to move into the bay and are back in those old familiar places. You can look for them around bridges, reefs, passes and the deep water around docks, islands and sandbars. I like to fish them at first and last light and after dark on a moving tide. No one is going to give you the exact spot but if you are out there and watching others, you can build up an inventory of possible spots for your future trips. Live bait is best but in the right hands, fly and plug fishing can do as well.

Sea trout are on the bite and are on most of the grass-flats. Many have been over 20 inches. Along with the trout, we have been getting some pompano, mackerel, bluefish and flounder. Free-lined large live shrimp have worked best but again, jigs in the right hands have done a good job and have worked best for the pompano. Snook and redfish are still around the docks but not as good as in past years.

Offshore the fishing is still hot in the 40-foot depths. Kingfish to 25-pounds, barracuda, little tunny, Spanish mackerel, dolphin and permit, just to name a few. We have found more action around the large schools of thread herring than the artificial reefs but the reefs are holding plenty of barracuda and mangrove snapper. The few permits that have been taken are in the 20-pound range and are in small numbers. I have not seen the smaller ones in the 8-12-pound range that school around the artificial reefs in large numbers. Permits only eat crustaceans. Live shrimp and small crabs work for them.

You can pull a keeper grouper almost any place you fish in the gulf but the deeper water is much better at this time. Some good catches of grouper have come in from 80-feet of water. It is common to find dolphin during the summer at this depth and the further you go the more common it gets. Look for grass lines or any floating objects. School dolphin will eat most any thing floating in the water, dead or alive. Remember to keep one fish in the water until you hook the next fish and that will keep the school around your boat.

Inshore fishing has been very good for large seatrout! All of the grass-flats have been holding large seatrout up to 25 inches along with some pompano, bluefish, flounder and mackerel. You may need to change flats from day to day and you will catch a lot of short trout but there are plenty of keepers in with them. I use two methods when fishing the grass flats while free-lining shrimp. For the more experienced anglers, I have them sight cast with the wind and then retrieve the line as we drift towards the bait. Most of the time I use the drift and drop method and it works very well. You let your line out into the wind and let the drift of the boat take your line out. You must periodically put plenty of extra slack in your line and let the drift of the boat take out the slack. I call this a Drop-Back and that is when you will get most of your strikes as the shrimp drops. Pompano have been taking jigs best. It is not what I call a run but some have been over three pounds. You may find some of your small trout bitten in two; this is mostly due to the bluefish.

Tarpon are along the beaches and are doing better but I would rate it as only a “Possible” for now.

Offshore, the fishing has been good from the forty-foot depth and out. The “M” reefs have plenty of barracuda, sharks, little tunny and a few kings on top. On the bottom, you can find snapper and an occasional jewfish or grouper. Some nice catches of grouper are coming in from 80 feet of water and this is where you can find some school dolphin.

Artificial reefs M1, M2 and M3 have all been hot this last week! We were able to limit out on mangrove snapper in a short period fishing with live shrimp on the bottom at M3. You can also find a few grouper down deep if you use live sardines, which are plentiful around M3. On M1, we have been getting kingfish up to twenty pounds, Spanish mackerel to eight pounds, little tunny, barracuda and an occasional shark, (Black tip and Hammerhead). M1 has plenty of herring but not much in sardines, so we have been catching the sardines on M3 and using them on M1 to pick up the action. Threadfin herring will catch fish but the Spanish sardines are just little better at this time. On M1, I have been drifting or slow pulling the bait along the surface and rigging with a six inch #6 steel leader, 5/0 hook and four feet of sixty pound mono. For the snapper on M3, I have been rigging 40-pound mono leader, 3/0 hook and a half-ounce of lead while anchored.

Tarpon are still plentiful along the beach but for the last few days, they seem to be off the bite.

On the bay, trout are still being caught up to six pounds just north of the bay and west of the ICW. The trout were caught on large live free lined shrimp. Snook are around the docks and are on the bite, but remember that they are out of season now. I found a few large pompano on the grass flats but not a run.

Artificial reefs (M1) and (M2) have been the hot spots for offshore fishing all week. Kingfish, Spanish mackerel, little tunny, barracuda, sharks and even a few school dolphins have been caught on the forty-foot deep reefs. There has been plenty of baitfish on the reef and on the way out. So take some live shrimp along for the Spanish mackerel and a possible permit. We have been free lining while drifting or pulling the baits at idle speed. For the Spanish mackerel, we have been casting smaller baits.

Tarpon have been along the beach most of the time, but around the pass on the out going tide.

Inshore, we have found the sea trout action very good just north of the bay and west of the ICW and on the south side of Cannons Marina channel. Snook are building up around the docks but seem to have lockjaw.

If you want to get the most out of the offshore fishing now, make sure you take some gold hook bait rigs along and use about six inches of #6 steel leader when rigging. You are sure to hook some screamers but be ready to lose a few good fish to sharks and barracudas.

Tarpon are the big fish in this area for now. We have been running north along the beach from New Pass to Longboat Pass and finding pods of tarpon. Wednesday was a slow starter but ended with my largest fish for the week. Pat Hayes of Missouri and his wife were on their first saltwater fishing trip and Pat wanted to fish for tarpon. We cruised along the beach for two hours and never saw the first pod of tarpon. From the VHF and boats we passed, I could see that not much was going on. The one small pod found along the beach would not eat. I felt that our chances were getting slim, but then I saw a friend’s boat about a quarter mile up the beach and they were casting to a pod. I stopped the boat and waited. Soon I got a call from them over the VHF that a large pod was coming our way. They had thrown live blue runners and pinfish at them but they would not eat either. Now it was our turn, so I moved the boat into position and hoped the fish would come up within casting distance. I gave Pat a light rod with twenty-pound line and eighty-pound leader because the tarpon seemed to be picky this morning. I baited it with a live crab. The tarpon came up just off the starboard bow and Pat was able to cast in to them. He hooked up on his first cast but the fish did not jump as tarpon usually do. The fish ran around the boat twice and then headed offshore. The tarpon had run off 200 yards of line before he jumped. We could see he was a big one and I knew we had a long fight ahead of us. The first half-hour was spent dodging crab traps. When we had him in open water, he moved us north towards Longboat Pass. The last half-hour we had him close enough for his wife to take plenty of pictures. After two hours of hard fighting with Pat not stopping once, he got the fish to the boat and we popped the line without pulling the fish into the boat for a good live release. The tarpon was about 150 lbs. and I do not think Pat wanted to pick him up for pictures. Pat said that one of them a day was enough for him.

Further offshore on the artificial reefs (M1-2), the kingfish, barracuda, little tunny and some permit have been on the bite. On the natural bottom, we are still getting grouper and snapper.

Inshore fishing has been good for snook around the docks when they are on the bite. That’s how snook are. Trout, redfish and Spanish mackerel are also coming in off the grass flats.

This is the time to go fishing! If you can get the weather on your side, you can pick your fishing. Tarpon, Permit, Kingfish, Barracuda, Grouper, Snapper and Cobia are just a few of the many species you can find offshore from the beach to the 60 foot depths. The fastest action has been around the (M) reefs. The reefs have been holding plenty of baitfish and all you need is a set of gold hooks to keep you fishing for most of the species. However, you will need large live shrimp or small crabs for the permit. The permits are just starting to build up and have not reached their peak but should last through June. We mostly free line our baits except for grouper and snapper. When fishing around the (M) reefs for permit and for bottom fishing, we use mono leader. For all others, we use only 6 inches of number six steel leader wire.

When using live fish for bait, change them as often as you can and do not wait until they are almost dead. You only get a few good runs on a new bait and then you should put a fresh one on. Let them run away from the boat as fast as they want on free spool and watch your line for any changes in the run that could mean you had a hit. If the line stops, reel in all your slack as fast as you can and feel the fish before you strike. If your line picks up speed, you only need to close your free line and the fish will set the hook, most of the time. Your best bet for grouper is live fish, fished on the bottom. Pinfish, grunts and sardines will all work. For the snapper, I like live shrimp or small sardines.

Tarpon are in and along the beaches but it is still more hunting than seeing. The tarpon action will pick up and a little less surf will help. Live crabs or live fish will work and sometimes one will work better than the other will, so I keep both on hand. The trick is to get your bait in front of the tarpon as they move along the beach.

On the bay, the snook are beginning to stack up around some of the docks and will peak in June. This is a good time of year to work the docks for snook and redfish, especially on those windy days. Live shrimp or pilchards are good baits. Chumming with pilchards will get them on the bite but you need to take a lot of bait with you if you like to chum. I do not practice this myself, but it works.

Sailfish at the Cuda Hole! This is a rare catch for Sarasota and the first on my boat while fishing in the area. It proves that there are two words that you cannot use in fishing, “Never” and “Always”.

Last Tuesday Mike Wolfer of Riverside OH and I had a six hour trip planned. It was a foggy morning but the Gulf was calm, so we decided to fish offshore. We found plenty of bait-fish close to the New Pass bell buoy and we soon had enough Threadfin herring in the bait well to get started. We went to the artificial reef (M-3) in forty feet of water and found some other boats that had gotten an earlier start and had already put some small kings in the boat. The action was still hot for about another thirty minutes. We brought one large fish to the boat, which got off and we dropped a few others but then it went dead for everyone. We caught some of the smaller sardines with the gold hooks that were around the reef and then went further out to (M-7).

M-7 is about 12 miles offshore in 50 feet of water. We found plenty of baitfish and barracuda that would not bite. From the VHF and other boats around us, I could see that it was a shut down all over. We fished for some time and only had a few little tunny for action. Although this was a catch and release trip, we decided to do some bottom fishing to pickup the action. We moved about a mile and a half east of M-7 to a five-foot ledge in fifty feet of water and anchored. We soon had some nice red and gag grouper on the baitfish and snapper on the shrimp. I put a live herring out the back on a large popping cork and forgot about it. Just as it was time to head back, Mike noticed a large fish around cork and he picked up the spinning rod and waited for the fish to take the bait. I still could not see what kind of fish it was but I said, “It's taking the bait like a bill-fish”. Then it hit the popping cork knocking the pin out and took off with the bait leaving the cork behind. Mike set the hook and saw the fin come out of the water and the fish headed north on a hard run. The fish did not jump and I knew this could be a long run on 20-pound test line. Mike focused on the fish giving me a count down of the line. I focused on the anchor, pulling it in as fast as I could while listening to the reel scream. The anchor jumped over the rollers and into the boat. The adrenaline was up. We were off after the fish but he soon turned and was coming at us. Mike kept the rod pointed at the fish while I moved the boat and we soon had it under control. Twenty minutes later, Mike landed a 72” Sailfish. We took some quick pictures and released the fish.

Thursday I had an eight-hour trip and spent all day on M-3 catching kingfish one after another. The kings ran from 22” to 48” (35 lbs.). We also caught some little tunny and had some cuda eat our kings. We drifted live sardines for most of our fish. The reef held plenty of bait but it was a little hard to catch due to all the predator fish running it around.

Kingfish and Spanish mackerel have stolen the show offshore and spotted seatrout have done the same inshore. Most of the action offshore has been between 40 and 60 feet depths on both the artificial reefs and natural bottom. The fish have been caught on both artificial and live bait by trolling, drifting and anchoring. Large schools of baitfish are all over the Gulf and are easy to catch on gold hook bait rigs. For the kingfish, I have been free-lining the Thread herring rigged on a 5/0 hook with 6” of number six steal leader and backed up by sixty pound test mono. For the Spanish mackerel, I have been using live shrimp rigged with a 3/0 hook and only 40 mono leader, no wire leader. The reefs are loaded with barracuda and some large jacks. Bottom fishing offshore has been producing some snapper, grouper and flounder but it is not hot.
Sailfish have been spotted around the Cuda Hole, so watch out.

Seatrout have been hot on the bay and many have been over 20”. One of the hot spots has been the grass flats just north of New Pass known as The Middle Grounds. Along with the trout, we have been getting some mackerel and bluefish. One of my favorite rigs is live shrimp on a #202 gold 4/0 hook with 30# mono leader. I just free line the shrimp over the grass.

PS: Today, Monday was not that good but that’s fishing and I wouldn't have it any other way.

King mackerel have been on the bite all week! We have been catching plenty of kings, some up to 40 pounds and they are just about a mile south of Big Pass in 25 feet of water. The kings have been feeding on the large schools of thread herring that are holding in the area. Along with the kings are large Spanish mackerel up to 7 pounds and keeper size cobia. It has been very easy to catch the herring on the gold hook rigs. In fact, you need to be fast to keep them from destroying your gold hook rig. Do not let them load up! Drift or slow drag the herring around the schools of baitfish. I use 6 inches of number 6 steel leader and a number 5/0 hook. Above the wire, I add 4 foot of sixty-pound mono leader and no less than twenty-pound test line. There are too many crab traps and boats for lighter line. The herring are a little large for the Spanish mackerel, but live shrimp and jigs will work on them. No problem for the cobia and little tunny, they will eat it all.

There have been plenty of mangrove and Lane snapper on the artificial reefs and ledges with an occasional keeper size grouper. The inshore reefs have held some large schools of cobia and Spanish mackerel. The fishing has been so wild at times that I had to fish the anglers one at a time.

I would like to apologize for the lack of reports. Between all the good weather and good fishing, I have been out every day and most of my days are 12 to 14 hours long. Fishing and fixing.

The coastal water is very clear now and that is probably due to the drought that we are having. This could also be one of the reasons the kings are running so close to the beach, but whatever the reasons, we are having a banner year. Don't forget the run of large gag grouper we had on the bay a few weeks ago, they can still start up again.

The (M) reefs in 40 to 60 feet of water are covered with barracuda and lots of bait-fish. Schools of large jacks are moving around the reefs and are real tackle testers. Next month we start looking for tarpon along the beach and schools of permit on the reefs. The snook have already started to stack up around the docks and passes and sea trout have been good north of the bay.

Sorry for the long gap in my reports but I had just too much fishing and fixing to do!

Large gag grouper on the bay is the big news. We have had no trouble limiting out on Harts reef in the middle of the bay and many of the grouper have been well over 30 inches. Using twenty pound test line with fifty to eighty pound mono leader, a 5/0 hook and live pinfish, we would free-line (no sinker) the pinfish out over the rock structures. It is very unusual to have this many large grouper on the bay. The grouper also running good offshore as well in the 40 to 60 foot depths. Make sure you lock your drag when fishing for grouper over structure. You have no other options but to stop and pull grouper out of structure. Harts reef has also produced some nice Spanish mackerel up to 20 inches, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, trout and black seabass on live shrimp.

Cobia have been moving along the beach and all of the reefs taking live bait on top or bottom. Some of the cobia have been up 28 pounds this last week but I have seen larger. We also had some Spanish mackerel runs and lots of large sheepshead around the (I) reefs. Flounder, snapper and grouper are some of the other fish being caught on the (I) reefs.

The (M) reefs and any good bottom you can find have been holding gag grouper up to 36 inches or better. When fishing natural bottom, you will need to find the grouper clusters and anchor on them. Kingfish were hot off Venice but has been spotty lately off Sarasota.

Long offshore fishing at the 150-foot springs has produced some large yellowtail snapper and blackfin tuna. We are talking about an over 40-mile run to the spring.

I have been catching plenty of pinfish for bait on the grass flats just north of Country Club Shores. I use a single #6 hook, small split –shot and a small piece of shrimp or squid. Sometimes you can buy pinfish at the bait shops. There have been plenty of sardines offshore that you can use the gold hook bait rigs on.

Offshore and inshore fishing has been excellent! New Pass inlet has been holding pompano, permit, flounder and a few bluefish for the last two weeks. Drifting the pass and bouncing the bottom with yellow jigs tipped with shrimp or sand fleas has been very productive most of the time. Of course there are times when it slows down, but if you come back in an hour or so, you may find them going full blast. Some of the permit have been over 5 pounds, so hang on to your ultra lights.

We have found most of our large sea trout (over 20 inches) north of Country Club Shores. We drifted along the edge of the sand bar fishing the grass with live shrimp. This area was best with a north to northwest wind and remained good with winds over 20 knots and two-foot seas. The largest trout was 26 inches. Whiting are also plentiful in the passes and along the beach.

We did not need to go offshore very far last Saturday to find some very good fishing. Flounder, gag grouper, cobia, hogfish, snapper and plenty of sheepshead were on the bite. Fishing within 3 miles off the beach and in 25 feet of water, we fished on the bottom with large live shrimp. Pinfish and grunts would also work but large live shrimp give a larger variety of fish. Flounder were the most prevalent and went up three pounds. Some of the grouper were up to 8 pounds. The mangrove snapper were small but keeper size and the cobia will show up when they feel like it. On Saturday, we did not put any in the boat but we were blasted good. They need to win sometimes too.

Further offshore on the “M” reefs in 50 to 60 feet of water, you can find larger mangrove snapper with an average of two to three pounds each and an occasional keeper grouper. “M-6” has been hot! Kingfish have been in but not very plentiful but it will not be long. You can also find jacks and barracuda on the “M” reefs. Most of the Gulf is good now and you can find fish in all of the regular spots. We just need the weather to hold so that we can get to them, but it is March.

When fishing the “I” reefs that are in 20 to 30 feet of water, use only a ¼ to 3/8 ounce of lead to fish the bottom. Never cast out but fish straight down and just off the bottom. This will save you many rigs and get more fish in the boat instead of losing them in the structure. The average hook size is 3/0 and leader size is 30 to 60 pound mono.

The artificial reefs and rock piles along Longboat Key and Lido beach kept us busy all week. We found large schools of cobia, keeper gag grouper, small flounder, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel and some bluefish in the 18 to 25 foot depths.

Live shrimp and sardines were the baits to use and there was plenty of baitfish to net around New Pass. In fact, it was better to use a small castnet to prevent over loading of the bait well. We used large live shrimp most of the time so that we would be open to a larger variety of fish.

Some of the most fun we had was Thursday when I lost my best spots to other guide boats who had gotten out earlier than us. Hence, “The earlier bird gets the worm” ?. This was Lost reef and as I said last week , Lost reef is not lost any more. I decided to go 4 miles north of New Pass to a rock pile about 100 feet long in 18 feet of water, another unrecorded dump of concrete rubble off of Longboat key. We found no one there, just a large school of cobia on top. We were able to drift the reef over and over for about two hours while trying to cast to the largest cobia in the pack. Sight fishing is always a rush for me.

I did jump out to thirty feet of water and tried to fish some small natural ledges for grouper but found swarms of trigger fish on them. Trigger fish are very good eating and give a good fight for a small fish but will take the edge off your knife quickly when cleaning due to the rough skin. You need to fillet and skin this fish. In some of the Islands they let the skin dry and use it to scrub pots and pans. The local name on some islands is “Pot Scrubber”.

The “M” reefs in 50 to 60 feet of water are loaded with Barracuda and they are taking Tube Lures. Casting Tube Lures to cuda is something I love to do. A striking cuda is loud and wet. When hooked, the acrobats can be anything from backwards cartwheels, tail walks to long forward leaps. If you haven't tried it, you need to. And remember I said casting Tube lures, not trolling them. Both will work but you will see and feel more when sight casting.

As the sun was coming up and the sea was calm, I let the boat slide over one of the unrecorded artificial reefs I call Lost. Lost is off of Lido Key in about 25 feet of water and is about 100 yards long running north to south. I was looking for a spot just fifty feet off of the north end that I call Twin Peaks. I called it Twin Peaks due to the way the two pylons looked on my paper recorder. I marked the end of Lost and then the Twin Peaks with a float. I anchored the boat so that the Peaks would be just astern of us and tied a block of frozen chum off the bow to float on top.

After about fifteen minutes, the first cobia of the day was on. Then after a few runs around the boat and back and forth under the anchor line, we landed a nice 25 pounder on 12 pound test line. This was the largest fish we put in the boat but we lost some big ones. The cobia kept coming back for the full six hours we fished and some times all three passengers would have fish on. At one time, two passengers had one fish on under the boat and didn't know they both had the same fish hooked. Where's the Camcorder when you need it? When the cobia action slowed, I moved the boat to my other marker at the end of Lost. We caught some nice flounder up to four pounds along with keeper gag grouper, snapper and sheepshead. The cobia came back following the chum slick along with some schools of Spanish mackerel. The Spanish mackerel were taking live shrimp free-lined in the slick but would also take a small jig. The cobia and all the other fish were caught on the bottom with live shrimp, or should I say just off the bottom by two to six inches. This day we used ¼ to ½ ounce weights on 12 to 20 pound test line and 50 pound leader. Saturday we didn't see the cobia on top but some of the other days we saw some nice schools of about dozen fish from 10 to 40 pounds.

The Twin Peaks is one of my favorite spots for cobia due to the high profile that will draw cobia, but you will also lose a lot of fish on the pylons as they cut you off. I found the reef when I first came to Sarasota about twenty years ago. I called it Lost because none of the other local guides knew of it and it was not on any charts. It is not lost anymore and you can see boats fishing it from any of the other artificial (I) reefs. The reef is made-up of concrete ruble and that was probably dropped by mistake when making one of the other reefs.

Longer offshore trips are doing very well with grouper. I like the natural bottom for grouper. The 40 to 80 foot depths are working well and along with the grouper you can expect plenty of mangrove snapper action. Take or catch live bait if you can but cut bait will work.

You can find some bluefish, trout, redfish on the bay but the weather has been so good and the fish so close offshore that I haven't spent much time inshore.

Except for a few afternoons on the bay, the fishing has been excellent both offshore and inshore. Spotted seatrout have been plentiful in the channel north of Ringling Causeway and Plymouth Harbor. Large live shrimp drifted along the grassy edges has produced some of the largest trout. Pompano and bluefish have frequented the passes and we also found a few on the grass flats. Although I use mostly live shrimp to give my clients the edge, artificial lures are working well in the right hands. Soft baits, spoons, jigs and plugs have been taking fish on a regular basis. Redfish are also on the bite around the docks and the North Bay area, Longbar.

Offshore fishing has produced Grouper, snapper, flounder, sheepshead, cobia and a few tripletail. Fishing the natural bottom in forty to sixty feet of water has been good to excellent at times. The Icebox area off of Venice to the Cuda Hole area off of Sarasota has held grouper to 15 pounds and Mangrove snapper over 5 pounds. Live shrimp, pinfish, grunts and sardines fished on the bottom has worked well. Discreet chumming adds to the action but don't over do it unless you're looking for grunts and triggers. Closer to shore in 20 to 30 feet of water, we found smaller snapper and grouper with a few nice keepers. The artificial reefs held mostly sheepshead and an occasional cobia. Flounder could be found most any place we fished. Check the crab trap floats for tripletail and if you see one, flip it a live shrimp on a free line.

For those who would like to try sheepshead fishing, you can find the largest fish along the coast on the artificial reefs, up to 8 and 10 ponders. Use a strong hook. I like the 318 live bait hook in a 2/0 or 3/0 size. Sheepshead feed on shrimp, crabs, clams, and sea worms (Crustaceans).

Snapper and grouper will take cut bait, but live bait will give you an edge if it is the right size. Chumming is excellent but you need to know how much and how often to chum. Practice and experimenting is your best teacher for this.

During the week, we had plenty of good fishing! There were snapper, flounder and a few nice grouper offshore. Inshore, there were trout, bluefish, redfish, flounder and a few pompano on the bite. Friday morning the wind started to blow hard and that was the end of our fishing. Although the wind would get up to 20 mph Friday, I felt that the bluefish would hold in the passes but we only caught one bluefish and a few jacks in New Pass. Another guide boat was in Big Pass and reported only one pompano. As the morning progressed, the flats south of Bird Key produced a few keeper trout and flounder but not much else.

As soon as the weather calms, I expect the fishing to be back to normal. The trout have been holding up in Zwicks channel and taking live shrimp along the east bank. If the wind is right and I can drift along the east bank free lining live shrimp along the edge of the grass until I find a good feeding point, then I anchor and fish that spot. If the wind is not helping you, anchor your boat so that you can fish the edge of the grass and move around until you find the fish.

In the passes I will be looking for bluefish and pompano. Bouncing jigs or live shrimp along the bottom will work for both. The bluefish and jacks have been closer to the docks and the pompano along the open sand bottom.

Offshore, I will be mostly fishing the bottom with live bait but keeping an eye open for cobia and little tunny on the surface. I have been finding fish on all the structures both artificial and natural from the 20 foot depth out to the 50 foot depth. More snapper as you go out and more sheepshead as you fish closer. The grouper may be out or in but more plentiful on the natural bottom, breaks, ledges and hard bottom. Cobia like the coastline and hang around the artificial structures. You may see Little tunny breaking the surface anywhere.

The snapper prefer live shrimp and the grouper will eat anything, but the live pinfish and grunts will last longer on the bottom. Cobia will take any live bait both on the bottom and on the surface. I like to keep a live bait off the back and on a float for cobia, little tunny and mackerel, preferably shrimp or sardines.

Over the last two weeks it has been hard to find good weather due to the cold fronts and wind but for the few nice days we could fish, we had some good results. The second day after the cold front we found the flounder stacked up around the artificial reefs just a mile offshore. The flounder were taking live shrimp and seemed to be the only fish on the bite. The flounder were not real large but all were keepers.

About everything I can think of has been caught during the last couple of weeks, but the truth is, it has been very hard to fish because of the weather. Cobia, pompano, Spanish mackerel, bull reds, trout, grouper, snapper, sheep head and flounder are all about the reefs and grass flats both inshore and offshore. Although water temperature may make some species move out of an area, wind and rain may only slow their feeding pattern down until the water condition improves. Yes, fish are cost conscious of how much energy they might spend to catch their prey in difficult conditions and may wait for things to settle down. They are also very leery of quick changes in their environment and need time to adjust.

The best action on these windy days has been along the coast with an east wind, north east, being the best. You want to find and mark some structure, then anchor over it. There is plenty of natural and artificial reef bottom to fish between the beach and the 30 foot depth about three miles out. This should keep you in the calm water. Fish the bottom for most of the action but also free line and/or float some live bait such as shrimp, white-bait, sardines out the back. Pinfish and grunts work better on the bottom than the top but all the live bait will work well on the bottom. A strong north or south wind will find me fishing in the passes and around protected docks. I find that once the wind gets to 20 mph, the fishing drops off most everywhere but you never know for sure ?.

Pompano, trout and redfish have showed up around most of the bay but the numbers have been down except short periods of time. The coming week looks good if the wind will stay under 20 mph. It goes without saying that long offshore fishing will greatly depend on that.