What’s hot around Sarasota this week is the offshore bottom bite. The nearshore Gulf has laid down into a light-wind pattern, water in 60 to 100 feet is clean, and boats making even a modest run are coming back loaded. Inshore, the bay is hot and slow after eight in the morning, so the inshore game has become a dawn game — and a productive one for anglers willing to launch in the dark.
What’s Hitting
Gag grouper and mangrove snapper are the standouts on the offshore ledges and artificial reefs. Spotted seatrout are eating well on the deeper grass flats in the first two hours of light. Redfish are holding tight to the mangrove roots and running the shoreline on the high tide. Snook are on the passes and the bridge shadow lines at night, catch-and-release for a few more days on the Gulf coast. Nearshore, Spanish mackerel and a few kingfish are working the bait schools just off the beaches.
Where to Find Them
Run to the ledges and public artificial reefs in 60 to 110 feet for the bottom fish — the M reefs and the ledges off Venice have been consistent. Inshore, the deep grass in 4 to 7 feet from Bird Key south through Roberts Bay is the trout water. Redfish are along the Sarasota Bay mangrove shorelines and the bars near Whale Key and Buttonwood. Big Pass and New Pass hold snook and tarpon on the strong outgoing tide, especially after dark.
Tides & Conditions
A waxing moon into the first quarter gives moderate tidal range this week — the strongest current is the late-morning fall. Bay water is 86 to 89 degrees, Gulf water low to mid 80s. Morning winds are light and the sea breeze fills in from the southwest around noon. Afternoon storms build inland and drift back toward the coast most days between two and five. Nearshore visibility is very good.
Tackle & Tactics
Offshore, a conventional outfit with 50- to 65-pound braid and an 80-pound leader on a knocker rig with a live pinfish or a fresh threadfin is the grouper program. Drop lighter — 30-pound leader and a smaller bait — and you will pick up better snapper numbers on the same spot. Inshore, a 2500- to 3000-size spinner with 15-pound braid and 20- to 25-pound fluorocarbon covers trout and reds. A soft plastic on a quarter-ounce jighead worked slowly along the deep grass edge is hard to beat at first light; switch to a live shrimp under a popping cork if the wind gets up.
Local Intel This Week
Ken Thompson Park on City Island is the most convenient ramp for Big Pass and the north bay, Turtle Beach ramp on Siesta Key handles the south bay and Midnight Pass area, and the Higel Marine Park ramp in Venice is the practical launch for the southern ledges and the Venice jetties. Shore anglers are catching snapper and mackerel off the Venice jetty and the New Pass bridge. Fish are concentrating on structure and current edges rather than open flats in this heat. Check current FWC regulations and seasons — grouper, snook and redfish rules all vary by zone and time of year — before keeping any fish.
This Week’s Tip
When the bottom bite slows on a good offshore ledge, do not run. Move up-current 50 yards and reset. Grouper push bait to the up-current edge of structure and it is common to be anchored 30 yards past the productive corner. A short reposition often restarts the whole spot.
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