Right rigs produce hot spotted seatrout action
With an abundance of spotted seatrout being caught, fishers are swarming on the grass flats in the bays to cash in on the action. What helps make them a favorite among anglers is the number of ways to target the tasty yellow-mouthed fish.
A good way to get started is to choose the proper gear to target these fish. A medium-power, fast-action rod, paired with a 400-size reel spooled with 10-pound braided line is sufficient. A lot of guides like to use a smaller reel, but a 400 is versatile for targeting more than trout.
Now that we have rod, reel and line, let’s address leader and baits. Most of the guides will use 3 feet of 15- to 20-pound fluorocarbon tied to a braided line. But do they prefer live bait or artificials?
When using live bait, shrimp shiners and small pinfish are popular. Simply tie a No. 2 hook on a fluorocarbon leader and start fishing. We call this live-lining a bait. Choose the bait, put it on the hook and cast to the area where you think there are trout. If you like to watch a bobber, add a popping cork to the rig.
For those who like to use artificials, there are a variety of bait choices. The three most popular baits are soft plastics on a jig head, suspending jerk baits, and, of course top-water plugs. The advantage of a lure is to cover more area than a cast of live bait to one spot. With artificials, a slow drift over the flat is recommended. If you drift upon an abundance of fish, drop anchor and get to work. There is nothing more rewarding than finding a lot of fish in one spot and a catch on every cast.
With these pointers, you should be able to go out and catch seatrout with some success. Remember, spotted seatrout have a slot size of 15-20 inches. You can keep four fish and one of the four can be over 20 inches. Also, there is no longer a closed season, so you can fish for trout year-round. Good luck and happy fishing.
Jeff Medley at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge South Fishing Pier is seeing good numbers of silver trout, averaging 15 inches in length, caught this past week. Most are hooked on small silver spoons fished slowly toward the lower part of the water column. There are no size or bag limits for this tasty fish, but they don’t freeze well, so take only what you can use.
Next on the list at the Skyway are Spanish mackerel and bonito. Fishers using live greenbacks on a long shank hook are having good success on both species. Also, although it’s a little early in the year, fishers using greenbacks are catching a few schooley kingfish. The kings are keeper-size — 24 inches — although none have been much larger, Medley says.
Sheepshead are still gathering around the pilings and artificial reefs at the south pier. Fishers are using a variety of baits to catch these tasty striped fish. Sand fleas, fiddler crabs, tubeworms and even live shrimp are producing good numbers of sheepies. Remember, use a small sharp hook to aid in catching and dehooking these fish. Sheepshead have an extremely boney mouth, which can make both setting and removing the hook difficult.
Capt. Mark Howard reports sheepshead, redfish, spotted seatrout, black drum and a few pompano have been landed on his recent charters. Select live shrimp and Berkley Gulps in pearl and off white have been the bait of choice for Howard.
“Work your bait very slowly through the sandy potholes and try to feel the thump of the fish inhaling your offering,” Howard suggests.
Howard predicts low tides will present some excellent opportunities for tailing redfish and gator trout in ultra shallow water, and sheepshead fishing will improve as the water cools.
Capt. Rick Gross of Fishy Business charters is working Sarasota Bay for an assortment of inshore species. Gross is using a variety of techniques to keep bent rods on his charters.
To start, Gross is using MirrOlure Lil John soft plastics on a 1/4-ounce jig head to target spotted seatrout on shallow grass flats.
“We’re catching good numbers of trout,” says Gross, “but most are under the minimum limit.”
Gross also is producing bluefish, ladyfish and a few pompano for his charters. Using jigs on the flats is highly effective, he says, because you can catch a variety of species on the same lure.
Once the tide has risen, Gross is moving to docks and canals to target redfish and sheepshead with a knocker rig and live shrimp for bait. A knocker rig is made by letting your egg sinker slide down directly to the eye of your hook. Reds in the 24-inch range are being caught as well as keeper-size sheepies.
Capt. Sam Kimball of Legend charters has been targeting species for the deep fryer on his offshore charters. By using live shrimp or live shiners for bait, Kimball’s clients were catching enough Key West grunts, porgies, sheepshead and hogfish to fill the box. “When we get back to the dock, it’s taking more than an hour to clean fish,” says Kimball. “My clients will be frying fish for days.”
Kimball is fishing ledges and artificial structures in water depths starting around 40 feet catch some fine-eating fish. With an abundance of fish on the reefs, now is the time to get out there and fill the cooler — fish fry potential is at its peak.
Capt. Warren Girle fished offshore when the winds were calm, finding catch-and-release red grouper, scamp and Key West grunts abundant in water depths around 40 feet. Girle is using live shrimp or fresh-cut shiners to entice his targets to bite.
Moving closer to shore in around 20 feet of water, Girle is catching keeper-size flounder and sheepshead in the 3- to 5-pound range. Girle likes to use a 1/4-ounce jig head baited with a live shrimp to target both species.
On the flats of southern Sarasota Bay, Girle is still hooking up pompano. Small pompano jigs tipped with a piece of fresh-cut shrimp are getting the bite. Mixed in with the pompano are plenty of ladyfish, Spanish mackerel and small jack crevalle. If you’re looking to catch a variety of species, you may want to get in on this action.
On the shallow flats in north Sarasota Bay, Girle is targeting redfish and spotted seatrout with good results.
Girle is using top-water plugs, such as Rapala Skitterwalks and Bomber lures, for both species. Redfish up to 31 inches are pouncing on top-water baits, which provide great action for flats anglers. The same applies for the spotted seatrout, which are averaging 20 inches in length.
Jonny Keyes at Island Discount Tackle fished offshore this past week with good results on amberjack. While fishing with Capt. Mac Gregory, Keyes caught amberjack in the 30- to 40-pound range on live shiners and pinfish. “The hardest part about catching AJs,” says Keyes, “is trying to keep the big bull sharks and barracuda from eating them at the side of the boat.”
For gear, Keyes is using a heavy spinning outfit spooled with 50-pound braid. By adding some 60-pound fluorocarbon for leader, tied to a 6/0 circle hook.
Keyes and Gregory also found plenty of catch-and-release gag and red grouper and good numbers of mangrove snapper offshore. For the snapper, Keyes bottom fished with live shiners. Fish in the 5- to 6-pound range were the norm.
Moving inshore, Keyes says there was an abundance of small spotted seatrout on the grass flats around Key Royale in Anna Maria Sound. Berkeley Gulp shrimp on a 1/4-ounce jig head and suspending jerk baits, such as the MirrOlure Mirrodine 17MR in the greenback color, are getting the bite.
Bob Kilb at the Rod & Reel Pier is seeing sheepshead being reeled up daily, although the bite has been sporadic. “They’re quite a few fish under the pier,” says Kilb, “but they aren’t biting good yet.”
Pier fishers targeting sheepies are using oyster and fiddler crabs, sand fleas and tubeworms. Sheepshead in the 12- to 15-inch range are the norm, although bigger fish are lurking under the pier.
Black drum still are being caught under the pier on live shrimp as well as any of the baits used to target sheepshead. Keeper-size fish are being caught with the biggest around 20 inches.
Remember, if you take black drum home for dinner, eat them fresh. Freezing results in a fishy flavor.
Last but not least, flounder are being caught on live shrimp fished around the edges of the pier on the sandy bottom. You can use either a hook with a live shrimp weighted with a split shot, or a jig head baited with a live shrimp.
Send fishing reports to fish@islander.org.