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| Sue Swett is a happy camper after landing this fine Sarasota Bay redfish on a topwater plug. |
The fishing pattern changed just as expect.
We transitioned from large trout to large redfish. The reds are on the flats and blasting topwater plugs, D.O.A. CAL Jerk Worms and gold spoons. Best time to hunt for reds is just as the tide begins to rise – either early or late in the day.
We’re still picking up a few large trout, but not nearly as many as in February and March. The largest trout are hanging out in sand holes at low tide and hitting D.O.A. CAL Jigs, Live Target Scaled Sardines, D.O.A. 4-inch jerk worms or topwater plugs.
Top spots include Buttonwood Harbor, Whale Key , White Key and Long Bar in Sarasota Bay.
Veteran angler Jeff Connor of Sarasota had a fair day early in the month. Connor wanted to target redfish. We totaled four reds to 28 inches on topwater plugs and gold spoons at various spots around Buttonwood Harbor. We also caught a few incidental spotted seatrout.
Annie Ewert and Lisi Ewert of Connecticut caught a mess of smaller trout on CAL Jigs and gold paddle tails just south of Whale Key. Annie caught and released a 24-inch red on a gold spoon just north of Whale Key.
The rim canal along Longboat Key has been yielding spotted seatrout, snook, flounder, sugar trout, silver trout, croaker and whiting.
Fly angler Terry Rychlik of Connecticut got in some night snook action near Bowles Creek and managed to release a 22-inch snook. He had shots at several others, but didn’t connect. After daylight, he caught and released a 23-inch snook and 10 spotted seatrout to 17 inches on a Puglisi Fly.
Night snook action has been good when the tides are strong. We’ve been catching and releasing up to 10 snook per out, along with a number of spotted seatrout. At dawn, we paddle out to a nearby flat where we’ve been getting snook to 32 inches and a load of spotted seatrout to 21.
Brad Cox of Sarasota and Sean O’Connell of Minnesota joined me for an afternoon outing at Buttowood Harbor. We caught and released 25 spotted seatrout to 22 inches, ladyfish, small jacks and a couple of flounder.
The next day, Yvette Cooley and Sue Swett of Parrish enjoyed their first kayak fishing trip. Action was slow and we had to work hard. We caught and released 15 spotted seatrout to 19 inches, 2 flounder, several ladyfish, jack crevalle and bonnethead shark. The best fish of the day was a 29-inch redfish that Sue landed. The fish hit a topwater plug in Buttonwood Harbor.
Yvette tried the topwater plug and had a number of fish follow and blast the plug, but she didn’t connect.
I’m offering night snook trips and combined night snook/dawn flats trips. It’s great for those looking for their first snook and for fly anglers.
Also, I’m going to get out on the beach this week to look for snook in the surf. I specialize in guiding anglers to some of the best sight-fishing for snook along Florida’s west coast.
I would like to thank my sponsors: Native Watercraft, D.O.A. Lures, Aqua-Bound Paddles, Temple Fork Outfitters, Economy Tackle/Dolphin Dive and Peak Fishing.
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Steve Gibson
Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing
www.kayakfishingsarasota.com
http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/
(941) 284-3406
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