Fishing Report 02/19/2009 – Capt. Terry Frankford
Angler's aboard the Reelin and Chillin picked up some nice redfish around structure in Sarasota Bay. A couple broke off, a few were over the twenty-seven inch limit, and several made the eighteen to twenty-seven inch slot. Also, trout have been around in deeper areas near grass flats. I believe their staying deep for warmth. We found them in six to eleven feet of depth and caught them on live shrimp and Billy Bay Halo shrimp. We also caught a fair amount of pompano at Steven's point jigging live shrimp - great fight, and great table fair.
A fish tail enjoyed aboard the Reelin & Chillin:
Don Bourdon with son Robb, grandkids Chloe, and Jake enjoyed a great trip with trout, and redfish on line. Jake broke the ice with the first trout then all angler's kicked in ending up with seven nice keepers within the slot of fifteen to twenty inches. We caught all seven in two different locations, like I said above, in deeper water near grass. Then we took off for some structure fishing with redfish in mind. Chloe broke the ice with a big red measuring out at twenty-six and three quarter inches. It had to be one of the fattest reds I have ever seen. Pa Pa Don helped a little to keep it from breaking Chloe off in the structure. With not much casting area for four angler's Chloe took a back seat so the guys could have a chance at a big one. As luck would have it the three guys have their hand picked shrimp tucked up in the structure perfectly and Chloe cast way off to the side in a somewhat grassy area - BAM she hooked up again, this one measured in at twenty-six inches on the nose. Like all good fishermen say "they would rather have luck over skill any day". Chloe had the luck for today, two reds, and three of the seven trout.
Captain's Tip - Winter Trout
Trout are looking for warmer water during the cold months and with the surface temperature being between 60 and 65 degrees for the last couple of weeks that's where we found them. I did find them in clean deep water not to far from the pass, however it was a body of water that didn't have much current movement. Yes the tide moved, however not fast enough to cause the colder surface water to mix with the deeper warmer waters. I also had my clients slow down on the retrieve if moving at all. Just a little twitch of the rod and a crank or two on the reel to catch the eye of a trout. It worked for us on our trips so give it a try, think warm dark bottom, clean water but not moving, and slow the retrieve.
Tight Lines & Good Times, Capt. Terry Frankford
Reelin & Chillin Charters Inc.
941-228-7802
terry.frankford@verizon.net
www.charterfishingsarasota.com
