Fishing Siesta Key Products Page
Capt Jim Klopfer has been a full time fishing guide in Sarasota since 1991. These are the products and equipment that he uses to catch fish every day. While he does make a small commission on each sale, he created this Fishing Lido Key products page so that anglers who are interested in purchasing the rods, reels, and lures that he uses can find everything in one location.
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Rods and Reels
2500 Daiwa Black Gold/St Croix Triumph inshore spinning outfit
For the majority of inshore saltwater fishing charters, Capt Jim uses a Daiwa 2500 Black Gold reel on a 7′ St Croix Triumph medium light spinning rod. This is a quality combination that works well for most saltwater inshore game fish at a reasonable price, selling for around $240. This outfit has landed many large fish including big snook, jack crevalle, and false albacore. It is spooled with 10 lb monofilament or braided line.
Penn 3000 Conflict/St Croix Premier combo
This is a bit more expensive outfit, one Capt Jim uses on his snook fishing charters. He spools the reel with 20 lb braid. It has a little extra power for larger fish, but is light and easy to cast for several hours.
Penn Conflict 3000 reel
PS66MF St Croix Premier Fishing Rod
Capt Jim uses the PS66MF St. Croix Premier spinning rod with the Conflict 3000 reel. This is a high quality rod at a very reasonable price. It has a “fast” action which means a stout butt section with a limber, sensitive tip. These are best for most inshore fishing applications. PS66MF is one piece, PS66MF2 is a 2 piece rod.
Jig and Grub Combo
No other artificial lure catches more fish for inshore saltwater anglers than does the venerable jig and grub combo. It is simple, yet very effective. Jig head weights and grub tails can easily to be changed to match conditions and forage. Capt Jim primarily uses a 1/4 ounce head for most of his fishing. The Bass Assassin grub head comes in 3 colors, several sizes, and has the correct hook size for speckled trout and other species found on the deep grass flats in Florida and beyond.
Gulp Shrimp
Capt Jim uses a 3″ Gulp Shrimp on a 1/4 ounce jig for most of his jig fishing. Gulp Shrimp are almost like using live bait with the advantage of covering a lot of water. Pearl white/ chartreuse and New Penny are his two favorite colors. He finds that the shrimp lasts longer; small fish will bite off the curly tails on the other Gulp products
Bass Assassin Shad Tail Grubs
There are applications where Capt Jim uses a shad tail style grub. These have excellent action and works well when fishing in clear water for aggressive fish such as bluefish and Spanish mackerel. The 4 1/2 inch bait fished on a 1/4 ounce jig head is the combo that Capt Jim uses most often. Glow/charteuse is the top color with red/gold shiner and New Penny working better in murky water.
Rapala X-Raps
Capt Jim uses the #8 Rapala X-Rap Slashbait to catch a variety of species. They are very productive when either trolled or cast. Ghost and olive are the top colors in clear water while gold works best when snook fishing in the darker river waters.
Capt Jim used a #10 gold Rapala X-Rap for river snook fishing in the darker tannin-stained water.
Mustad Hooks
Mustad Hooks have been around a long time and work well in most angling applications. Capt Jim uses the #1/0 size on 90% of his Sarasota fishing charters. He will drop it down when snapper and sheepshead are fussy.
Fishing Line
Capt Jim uses Suffix monofilament fishing line on his outfits. He uses 10 lb line most of the time.
Capt Jim uses Suffix Performance Braid line on his outfits that use braided line. He uses 20 lb line as a good all round size.
Seaguar 30 lb Leader