Sarasota Fishing Report 5-1-2013

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/3/2013

            Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout and blues in Sarasota Bay on flies during the past week. We also landed the first tarpon of the season in the coastal gulf on a fly!
            Mark Bowler, editor of the Scottish magazine Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, and his guests Ron and Rick, all from Scotland, fly fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday. The best action was fishing deep grass at Stephens Point where they caught and released trout (both spotted and silver trout), blues, jacks and ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on intermediate sink tip lines. Ron connected with a good snook while we were wading shallow water and they had some shots at reds on top of a bar when the tide was high.
            Ross Shedden, from Bradenton, FL, fished Sarasota Bay on an instructional fly fishing trip with me on Monday. He was casting 40-feet or more in short order and was able to catch and release several trout and bluefish fishing deep grass flats on the west side of the bay with an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line. Good job!
            Patrice Camillieri, from France, fly fished for tarpon in the coastal gulf with me on Tuesday. We saw singles, doubles and several small schools of fish throughout the day. Despite some slow periods, we had spurts of good activity and fish were happy. Patrice caught and released his first tarpon, a young male of about 50-pounds, on a fly. The fish was so aggressive that it slammed its brakes on and went vertical to eat the fly and then jumped numerous times around the boat before being landed in about 15 to 20-minutes. A great first tarpon!
            Conditions were poor for tarpon fishing on Wednesday morning. With heavy cloud cover and rain looming just offshore, we decided to wait for better tarpon fishing conditions. Thursday was similar, poor visibility and a big swell in the gulf.  Seth Koch, from PA, and Bill Miller from MS, fly fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released a few trout to 20” on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on a sink tip fly line.
            If you want to learn to fly fish, there will be an Orvis Fly Fishing 101 introductory fly fishing class at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Sun, May 5th. The 2-hour free class will cover fly casting basics and participants will have an opportunity to cast premium Orvis fly tackle. Contact CB’s at (941) 349-4400 to sign up.
            Tarpon are becoming more plentiful in the coastal gulf and should be a good option next week. Look for reds, snook and big trout in potholes and on the edges of bars when the tide is low or on shallow flats on sunny afternoons when the tide is high. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should also be good.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB’s Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com


Ross Shedden, from Bradenton, FL, caught and released this bluefish on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on a sink tip fly line while fishing a Sarasota Bay grass flat with Capt. Rick Grassett.



Patrice Camillieri, from France, caught and released his first tarpon on a fly while fishing the coastal gulf with Capt. Rick Grassett (below with landed tarpon).


Bill Miller, from MS, caught and released this 20" trout on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Amelia Island Fishing 5-6-2013

It looks like Spring Break is over and we're now going into the May lull. There's not too many people on the water so now's the time to fish! I report every trip on the Amelia Island Fishing Report so check it outto see what's biting! Get away from it all and...Let's Go Fishing on The Angler's Mark!
April Report/May Forecast:

In April we had some outstanding fishing trips, catching some very large Slot Redfish near structure when the water was still cool. We were getting good Trout action early in the month with the fish schooling deep. As the weather warmed the Redfish catch fell off but we picked up some larger Seatrout as they began to fatten up. A larger variety of fish are being caught too. In May the Redfish will not be so concentrated and we'll need to get back in the marsh to catch them. This is great because we can get away from the crowds and enjoy a great day out on the water. Get Away From it All, give me a shout and we'll go fishing!

Capt. Lawrence Piper
The Anglers Mark
Amelia Island, Florida
904-557-1027
lwpiper@comcast.net
theanglersmark.com   

Sarasota Fishing Report 4-28-2013

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/27/2013

Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout, flounder and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and snook and bluefish in the ICW at night near Venice on lures and flies during the past week. We also jumped the first tarpon of the season in the coastal gulf on a fly!
Terry Mitchell, from OR, and Michael Ruegg from Switzerland, fished the coastal gulf and Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. With good sunlight and calm sea conditions we decided to take a look in the coastal gulf for tarpon. We were pleasantly surprised to find 6 or 7 schools of tarpon and get some shots at them with flies, DOA shrimp and Baitbusters. We fished Sarasota Bay in the afternoon where they caught numerous trout to 18”, Spanish mackerel, flounder and a redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails at Stephens Point and near Long Bar.
Don and Linda Tase, from NH, and their grandson Ryan, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They caught and released trout to 18” on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos at the Marina Jack Flat.
Ron Race, from MI, fished Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf with me on Wednesday. He had some action catching and releasing trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies at the Marina Jack flat in the morning before we headed into the coastal gulf. Conditions were great, so we spent some time looking for tarpon, tripletail and false albacore (little tunny) but didn’t find anything. However we found a big cobia and he got a shot at it with a fly.
Ron also fished the ICW near Venice with me on Thursday evening. He had great action catching and releasing 15 snook to 25” and a bluefish on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. The best action was at the bottom of the tide when snook went on a binge!
On Friday’s tarpon trip in the coastal gulf, we saw 3 schools of tarpon and had 5 or 6 shots at them with a fly. We jumped one on a Lefty’s Deceiver fly that gave us a smoking run and several jumps before the fish chafed the leader on something and broke off. What a thrill!
Capt. Ed Hurst and I taught the Orvis Fly Fishing 101 introductory fly fishing class at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Saturday morning. The 2-hour free class, designed to expose new anglers to fly fishing, covered fly casting basics and included casting with premium Orvis fly tackle. If you want to learn to fly fish, contact CB’s to sign up for the next Orvis Fly Fishing 101 class, which will be Sun, May 5th.
Tarpon are becoming more plentiful in the coastal gulf and should be a good option next week. Look for reds and big trout in potholes and on the edges of bars when the tide is low or on shallow flats on sunny afternoons when the tide is high. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should also be good.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB’s Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com


Michael Ruegg, from Switzerland, caught this nice flounder on a CAL jig with a shad tail while fishing a shallow Sarasota Bay sand bar with Capt. Rick Grassett.


Ron Race, from MI, caught and released this 25" snook on a Grassett Snook Minnow fly while fishing the ICW near Venice at night with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Ft Lauderdale Offshore Fishing 4-25-2013

Anglers fishing with me aboard the Reel Work out of Fort Lauderdale have been treated to a good week of fishing. We began catching a good number of bonito over the last week. They usually don't begin to show up in our offshore waters until sometime in May. Bonito are not very good to eat but they are a lot of fun to catch. They are fast, can grow up to about 20lbs and produce great runs. When you find a school the action is non stop until they decide to move on. Bonito are not the only fish we have been catching. Our anglers are also catching some blackfin tuna, king mackerel and sailfish.

The fishing is good and should stay that way for quite a while. We have a few charters available for the next few weeks but you should book early to make sure to get the day you want. Give us a call at 1-877-524-9377 or fill out the form on our Contact page to set up your Fort Lauderdale deep sea fishing adventure.

Sarasota Fishing Report 4-21-2013

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Gasparilla Sound, Venice & Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/21/2013

Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, reds, trout and flounder in Sarasota Bay, snook, reds and trout in Gasparilla Sound and snook and bluefish in the ICW at night near Venice on lures and flies during the past week.
Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Monday. He had good action catching and releasing 3 reds, a pair of snook and about a dozen trout on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Anna Maria Island and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple fished the ICW at night near Venice with me on Tuesday evening. They had steady action catching and releasing about 15 snook and a nice bluefish on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Peter and Nini Seaman, from CA, fished the same area with me on Wednesday afternoon and evening. They also had good action catching and releasing a couple of snook on a Clouser fly before dusk and more than a dozen snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly in the ICW at night near Venice. We were pleasantly surprised when we encountered a “laid up” tarpon of about 75-pounds or more while I poled a mangrove shoreline in Little Sarasota Bay. The fish floated to the surface only a few feet from the boat along the edge of channel. We spotted each other at the same time and the big fish splashed us and waked the boat as it left!
I tied flies and gave a presentation on fly fishing bay and backcountry areas in the spring at the Suncoast Fly Fishers club in St. Petersburg, FL on Thursday evening. The club is very organized and the meetings are well attended. They meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month at Walter Fuller Park. A great fly fishing club to belong to if you live in that area!
Mark Nichols, owner of DOA Fishing Lures, and I fished with Capt. Andy Cotton on Friday and Saturday. We scouted Sarasota Bay on Friday in preparation for the Sarasota CCA “Photo All Release Challenge” on Saturday. We had a good day catching and releasing snook around lighted docks and on the flats on DOA shrimp baits on Friday. Andy caught and released a big flounder on a DOA shrimp and a big red on the new DOA Airhead. A front came through on Friday evening and the wind switched from south to north, changing our game plan for Saturday. We had good action with snook around lighted docks, but nothing measured for the tournament. We worked a bar where we caught and released a red and numerous trout, including a 25” trout that Mark caught and released. This a great event; laid back, low stress family fun with a nice dinner after fishing on Saturday evening that helps support conservation!
Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should be a good option next week. Look for reds and big trout in potholes and on the edges of bars when the tide is low or on shallow flats on sunny afternoons when the tide is high. Action should improve in the coastal gulf with Spanish mackerel, false albacore, tripletail, cobia and more as the water continues to warm and baitfish become more plentiful. Look for “laid up” tarpon along bars and on deep grass flats and in the coastal gulf.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB’s Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com