03-18-2001, 07:34 PM
March 18, 2001<br><br>Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report<br><br>By Capt. Bob Smith<br><br>Saturday turned out to be a pretty good day for most of us. We spent the day bottom fishing offshore on the artificial reef M-1. It was still a bit bumpy and wet when running. Using live shrimp, my three guys managed to fill a large two man cooler with a nice variety of good eating reef fish. Nothing over 5 pounds came in the boat, but we broke a few lines, had some crushed hooks and one 7' G. Looms rod was snapped in half by a fish.<br><br>Further offshore, I could hear via VHF that some of the boats were doing well and some were not. The kings were schooled tight and in 50 to 60 feet of water. Due to the sea conditions, hardware and deep trolling worked best but you had to be on the fish, close was not good enough.<br><br><br>I did not hear much from the inshore boats that were fishing the flats and back water. A couple of good trout here and a couple there, but nothing you could stick with. The water was still a little muddy on the bay and along the beaches. We didn't find much on the (I) reefs in 25-30 feet of water either.<br><br>Enjoy and Protect<br><br>www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com <br><br><br><br>