Sarasota kayak, Steve Gibson

I really enjoyed the fishing in March — on the fresh and saltwater side of things.

Saltwater action picked up nicely, with spotted seatrout, snook and pompano leading the way. Oh, and for you fly fishers, there usually were plenty of ladyfish around to stretch lines and make acrobatic leaps.

In fresh water, we fished a number of places including Lake Manatee, Alligator Alley and Shell Creek.

Dr. Mac  Steiner of Ohio joined me for an outing on Sarasota Bay and Buttonwood Harbor. He caught snook to 22 inches, redfish to 20, spotted seatrout to 24 and flounder on Gibby’s Glass Minnow and MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jigs.

Len Tavormina of Sarasota caught snook to 24 inches, spotted seatrout to three pounds, pompano and ladyfish on MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jigs around Buttonwood Harbor.

Dr. David Breckenridge and son Micah had a good outing around Buttonwood Harbor, catching eight snook to 25 inches, 25 trout to 23 and ladyfish on MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jigs and MirrOlure MirrOdines.

Terry Byce of Lakewood Ranch had a fairly slow day, catching only a few trout and ladyfish on Gibby’s Glass Minnow and a Clouser Deep Minnow. However, one of his trout was a 5-pounder which was caught on the edge of a grass flat in Buttonwood Harbor.

Melvin Johnson of New Mexico and Tom “Gator” Kayser of Ohio joined me for a pair of trips — one in fresh water and the other in the salt.

First day out, the two professional trout guides (Tom guides in Montana; Melvin in New Mexico) faced tough conditions but did well on Lake Manatee. They caught a dozen speckled perch to two pounds, 15 hand-size bluegill and several largemouth bass to three pounds on Gibby’s Snymphs and Ruby-Eyed Leeches under strike indicators.

Second day, they did well around Buttonwood Harbor, catching 30 spotted seatrout to 22 inches and loads of ladyfish on Gibby’s Glass Minnows.

John  Weimer of Sarasota joined me on several freshwater outings. We fished Shell Creek and had a fair day, catching six largemouth bass, 18 bluegill and 10 stumpknocker on Myakka Minnows, popping bugs and Gibby’s Snymphs under a strike indicator.

Next time out, we fished Lake Manatee and caught 12 oversized bluegill, eight largemouth bass to two pounds, four speckled perch to 2 pounds and a four-pound channel catfish on Gibby’s Snymphs under a strike indicator.

We had one banner day at Lake Manatee, catching a record (for us) 30 speckled perch to two pounds, 20 hand-sized bluegill, five largemouth bass and a stumpknocker on Gibby’s Snymphs under a strike indicator. Our previous best day on specks was 17.

I did some scouting trips and had good action. On one trip, I caught 35 spotted seatrout to 24 inches and four pompano to three pounds on MirrOlure MirrOdines and MirrOlure Lil Johns on light jigs. On another, I used Gibby’s Glass Minnows to catch snook to 26 inches and spotted seatrout to 25 around Buttonwood Harbor.

APRIL FORECAST: After experiencing pretty good action in March, I can only predict better fishing April. Spotted seatrout should continue to hit a variety of lures and flies around Sarasota Bay. I also anticipate good action on snook before daylight, ladyfish and pompano. Redfish action hasn’t been the best, but could improve in April. In fresh water, I look for good action in Lake Manatee on bluegill, channel catfish and largemouth bass. I think speckled perch action will slow down and the popular panfish move back into deeper water. Fly fishing along Alligator Alley should continue hot until the rainy season on oscar, Mayan cichlid, largemouth bass, bluegill and stumpknocker.

April can be a fun month, and I anticipate it being busy. Please book your trips early to assure you of the days you want.

Book trips by calling me (941-284-3406) or email (steve@kayakfishingsarasota.com).

I look forward to leading you on an exciting kayak-fishing adventure.

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

941-284-3406