3 Important Lessons All Anglers Can Learn From This Sarasota Bay Fishing Report
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Reports, Fishing Tips, Fishing with Otis
Regardless of where you live, if you like inshore fishing, you’ll get something from this post (and video).
As outdoorsmen, we can’t help but to want to explore new areas and to see what’s around the next corner.
But as fishermen, we hate not catching fish when we’re out on the water, so many of us fight to urge to explore and end up going to the same half dozen spots over and over again because we feel that our odds of catching fish are higher…
This at least was my predicament for many years…
I literally revisited the same 6 to 8 spots over and over again and totally lost sight of the adventure aspect of fishing.
But after getting better at the following essential skills:
- Using online maps to find new fishing grounds
- Learning how to quickly identify dead zones so that I no longer waste time in unproductive areas
I now feel very comfortable going to entire regions that I’ve never fished before with little fear of getting skunked.
A recent example of these two skills paying dividends while exploring an entirely new region can be seen in this exploration trip to Sarasota Bay where I caught fish within the first 15 minutes of being out on the water.
Not only was the bite hot right off the bait, I consistently caught fish throughout the rest of the day as I checked out multiple spots that I found from reading the online maps from my house while setting up my pre-trip fishing plan.
Note: I reveal the exact lures I was using in the video below.
The productivity of this trip was very rewarding because not only was I fishing an unknown area, I also had my crazy dog Otis on the boat with me which certainly did not help because he can be extremely loud.
Sarasota Bay Fishing Report
Here’s a video showing the full trip along with the multiple lures that I was using:
Note: Be sure to watch the entire video because at the end you’ll see a very important tip for managing high-wind conditions when using artificial lures.
Enjoy!
If you are interested in seeing more in-depth footage like this, to see all of our best spots, and to get year-round trends, then Click here to learn about our Insider Fishing Club.
It’s the only fishing club that comes with a 365-day guarantee that you catch more fish.
Conclusion
The days of going back to the same spots over and over again can be a distant memory once the map reading tactics for finding promising new fishing spots gets compounded with on-the-water assessment knowledge.
Because once those two factors are in control, you have the recipe for consistently finding and catching fish in any region where your target species live.
If you need help getting there extremely fast, then be sure to join our Insider Fishing Club because it completely guarantees that you’ll be catching more inshore fish that you ever have before.
In it, you’ll get the following:
- A structured course showing the most effective way to find feeding zones from online maps based on the season
- Tutorials showing on-the-water assessment strategies and tactics
- Weekly fishing reports where we share our spots and the most recent trends for you to focus on in your upcoming trips
- Unbiased product reviews so you can get the top gear without wasting any money
Click here to learn about our Insider Fishing Club
Let us know if you have any questions.
Fish On!
P.S. – Please be sure to share this post with your friends who enjoy saltwater flats fishing.
Related Video: This Is How To Catch An Inshore Slam In Under 2 Hours With A Dog (watch it here now)
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Hey Luke with the north and north east winds in the fall or anytime, is it best to face or cast into the wind or with the wind
I prefer to cast with the wind as often as possible… the only time I throw into the wind is when I’m targeting a spot that I’m unable to quietly position myself in an upwind casting point (or if I’m fishing an area with strong current where the current and wind are going the same direction… if a strong current, it’s essential to have your lure retrieve going with the current).
In this video, you mentioned that you assessed the area and saw potholes and a shelf. How did you see that—with the maps or while you were on the water?
Both… potholes are often pretty easy to spot because they are the white spots that are scattered around a grassy bottom. From the online maps, it’s easy to see that potholes are there, but the only way to know if they are good or not is to check them out from the water.
When on the water, I look for depth changes of the potholes as well as bait swimming around them to judge the probability of predators using them for ambush points.
Hey Luke, really helpful tip on keeping the line on the water. Thanks! A question: when the wind picks up to 15 mph, do trout and reds tend to move to deeper water? If it is rough on the surface, do they hunker down or do they move from say the 2-4 foot range to the 3-6 foot range? I frequently fish at Cedar Key, FL where water clarity is always an issue.
Hey Toby, there unfortunately isn’t a one-size-fits all answer to this question. In general, I find that they do go deep on windy days in the winter while they often stay up on the flats on windy days in the summer.
But that’s not always the case so it’s smart to be open to trying both on any day where you’re unable to hone in on where your target fish are holding on any given day.
Great input! I’m heading to IRL (Grant area) on windy (15+ mph N) & cloudy Friday. I’m looking forward to applying knowledge.
Great info!
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Stu!
I learn something from all the video you guys post.