Fishing Sarasota

Capt. Bruce Burkhart

I am happy to say that we did not get the freezing temps this year and the weather has been almost perfect, except for the wind.  Even though we have had some windy days we have managed to catch some pretty decent fish.

Spanish Mackerel and bluefish are starting to show up and there are a lot to be caught. We have been averaging 25-30 mackerel on some days.  They have been running about 15-20 inches but the big boys should be showing up any day now.

Trout have been being caught in good numbers as well.  They have been from 15-22 inches and many days have produced up to 30 trout.  We have been catching them on the silver CAL jigs and the gold CAL jigs.

On the higher tides we are free lining live shrimp under the docks and catching decent redfish up to 22 inches.

We have caught a few small snook on live shrimp with same method as the redfish catches.  With the water temp rising I expect to be getting into the bigger snook.

As the water continues to warm up over the next few weeks we will see kingfish and little tunney showing up off the beaches.  If you have never caught one of these you are in for a ride!

Mid May brings the tarpon in off the beaches so don't forget to book your trip now!  Talk to somebody that has boated a tarpon and they will surely tell you it was probably one of the best experiences of their lives.

Last season I took Second Place in the "80th Annual Sarasota Tarpon Tournament." The tournament lasts six weeks and is a real challenge.  Looking forward to being in it again this year.

Thank you to all of my great clients for keeping me going and allowing me to continue to do what I like to do best!