Fishing Reports by Capt. Jim Klopfer

Snook and jacks hitting in Sarasota creeks and rivers - Clients caught two species this week, snook and jack crevalle. The only pattern that I had that was producing was casting lures and flies in rivers, creeks, and residential canals. Fly anglers caught snook and jacks on Clouser patterns. Spin anglers more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Jacks providing fast action in Sarasota - Weather was a factor this week, it is winter even though it is Florida. It was cold and windy early in the week, improving later in the week. The bite was hot on Friday as we fished just before a severe front moved through. My best pattern is a typic more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Winter patterns emerging in Sarasota - Fishing has fallen into traditional winter patterns after a couple of fronts dropped the water temperature quite a bit. Anglers casting 4 chartreuse Bass Assassin Sea Shad baits and Rapala X-Raps caught decent numbers of jack crevalle to 6 pounds an more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Wind slowed the bite in Sarasota - Fishing was fair this week, a pretty strong front moved through Tuesday and breezy conditions persisted through the week. Before the water got dirty in Big Pass, ladyfish were there in decent numbers and hitting jigs. The best bite for me this week w more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Steady action in Sarasota - Fishing was pretty good this week for a variety of species in several locations using different techniques. Speckled trout average size was better this week, with quite a few slot fish being caught, and released, by anglers casting jigs and flies. more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Holiday fishing can be a challenge - Fishing during holiday seasons can be challenging. The boat traffic was insane as we had great weather and a lot of visitors. Also, we tend to get more families and inexperienced anglers. Bent rods is the goal. Speckled trout, mackerel, bluefish, jac more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Cold front hinders fishing in Sarasota - Weather was an issue this week for clients on my fishing charters. A severe front moved through Monday, shutting down fishing for a couple days. Post front fishing can be tough, and it was. Still, persistent anglers caught ladyfish, bluefish, speckle more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Good action on fly in Sarasota - I experienced an interesting and diverse variety of fishing charters this week. 4 of my trips were fly anglers, two in the bay, two in the rivers. I also ran a spin trip inshore. Speckled trout were plentiful, though many were small. The fly trip on more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Spanish mackerel arrived in Sarasota! - Spanish mackerel showed up in Sarasota this week! My clients encountered them in the middle of Sarasota Bay near New Pass on Mon and Tuesday. We went in the afternoon to avoid the fog and very low tides in the morning. Spin anglers caught them on Rap more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota

Winter patterns producing in Sarasota - Once again, the best bite was fishing creeks and residential canals. Jack crevalle were plentiful, with a few snook also being caught. Clouser Minnow flies and #8 Rapala X-Raps fooled them. The action in the passes slowed a bit, but there were still more...
Capt. Jim Klopfer - Sarasota