snook, jacks, trout, and blues in Sarasota this week.

I started to transition from using live bait to casting jigs on the deep flats throughout the area, though chumming will still work on snook for a couple more weeks. As the water cools off into the low 70s, bait becomes more scarce and fish are more active and willing to chase a lure. Bass Assassin 4" Sea Shad baits in glow/chartreuse and Red Gold Shiner produced speckled trout, silver trout, bluefish, gag grouper, and ladyfish at the Middlegrounds, Stephen's Pt., and in Big Pass for clients this week. (08) Rapala X-Raps in gold fooled snook and jack crevelle in Robert's Bay and pilchards caught snook, jacks, and snapper thee as well. {%image_id=50687%} Sarasota residents Doc Dojutrek and John Englander fished with me during the week and experienced steady action. We started off at first light casting gold Rapala X Raps in Robert's Bay, catching snook and jack crevelle. That bite slowed after a couple of hours so we moved to Big Pass and caught a few ladyfish. We finished up at the MIddlegrounds and Stephen's Pt., landing speckled and silver trout along with some ladyfish on Bass Assassin jigs. {%image_id=50686%} Frank Regnery from NYC took his son-in-law Mike Cribbs and grandson Keegan out on Saturday. A mild cold from had just moved through and it was a tad breezy. We started off catching bluefish, trout, gag grouper, and ladyfish at the Middlegrounds on jigs before it got a little too windy to fish. A drift in Big Pass produced a couple of ladyfish. I caught some bait and we finished up near Siesta Key catching jacks, snook, and snapper.