December 25, 2009
Sarasota Florida Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Pompano are getting thicker on the Stephen's Point grass-flats just a little
south and off of the Ringling home. Although the fishing has been improving
throughout December, we had a slow start Wednesday afternoon. Due to the
wind, I opted to fish the east side of the bay for a slower drift and less
chop. We fished with live shrimp on and around the Stephen's Point
grass-flats for two hours and hardly lost any bait. Then the wind slowed
just a little and the fish started to chew. Pompano, large Spanish
mackerel, 3 to 4 pound bluefish and some nice seatrout made our afternoon.
We also caught some large ladyfish in the mix. I am sure that my D.O.A. and
Silly Willy jigs would have worked just as well as the live shrimp but I
didn't want to take the time to re-rig or change our luck.
Earlier in the week I found a large school of Spanish mackerel just outside
of New Pass by the small red and green markers. The birds were diving and
the fish were boiling as they fed on the schools of baitfish. The macks
were mostly small but keeper size. We did well with Silly Willy jigs,
especially when we tipped them with a small belly strip from the mackerel we
kept. Of course live bait was also working. Over the past few weeks, some
the biggest mackerel we caught were in Big Pass, some almost 30" long.
There have been reports of some keeper size gag grouper being caught on the
bay. I have not targeted them myself lately but I plan to do so soon. My
favorite bait for them is fresh caught pinfish, not over night baits from
the bait shop. Pinfish will almost always dive to the bottom, so no lead is
needed. Most of the water depths you may fish on the bay are only 10 to 20
feet deep. When a pinfish dances on top of the water it is a good sign of
predators below. If it is grouper below, you will see your bait simply
disappear under the surface, not a surface blast like a bass would do. If
your bait disappears, don't wait more then a few seconds and start cranking
like mad until you feel the weight of the fish. Then set the hook hard and
keep the fish moving away from the structure. I never like to fish over the
structure on the bay. I cast to it so that I don't run off the larger fish.
I may mark a structure by dropping a marker to the side or behind it, out of
my way but still giving me a reference point for casting. To have any
consistency at bringing keeper size grouper to the boat, you need to use at
least 20lb test line, 60lb test mono leader, stout 4/0 to 6/0 hook and lock
down your drag. With grouper, you don't have the option to let them run.
Remember, this is for large bay grouper and not deep water offshore grouper.
This is a good starter method but not the only method for grouper on the
bay.
Enjoy & Protect
Thank you!
Capt. Bob Smith
Phone: (941) 366-2159 Cell: (941) 350-8583.
Email: capt.bobsmith@verizon.net
My Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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