Anglers fishing with me on my flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with snook, big trout, Spanish mackerel and scattered pompano and blues on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and flies during the past couple of weeks. The best action was with big trout on the flats and snook at night.
Fly anglers Pete Kazmier, from Lakeland, FL, and Tracy Baker, from Homestead, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sat, 4/10. They caught and released numerous trout, including several large trout weighing 3, 3 ½ and 4 ¼ lbs, and several Spanish mackerel on Grassett Deep Flats Bunny and Ultra Hair Clouser flies. One of the big trout was sight-fished in skinny water.
Jack Sinton and Dave Duerson, from Bend, OR, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Mon, 4/12. They had steady action with trout, including several in the slot, and Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay on Clouser and Deep Flats Bunny flies.
Denis Clohisy, from Hudson, WI and Brian McInnis, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me the next 3 days. The best trip was when we fished the flats of Blackburn Bay at dusk on Tuesday evening. They caught and released 5 big trout from 2 ½ to 4 ¼-lbs on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. We moved to lighted docks after dark and the action was fast. They caught and released more than 20 snook to 26” on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We also caught a nice trout and bluefish out of the lights.
After cancelling several night snook trips in Jan and Feb due to the freeze and subsequent extended cold weather, we were pleasantly surprised to find snook plentiful and feeding aggressively in the lights. We spent the next couple of days fishing both deep and shallow flats of Sarasota Bay where they had steady action with trout and scattered blues, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish on CAL jigs with shad tails and Clouser and Deep Flats Bunny flies.
Keith Peplinski, his wife, Becky and dad, Don, all from MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. They had fast action with trout to 3-pounds, blues, Spanish mackerel, pompano and a flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails at the Middleground flat, Stephens Point and near Long Bar. A 30-pound cobia swam up to the boat and gave us a shot, but it didn’t eat. Matt Murray and his son, RJ, from CT, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. They caught numerous Spanish mackerel, blues and a 2-pound trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and Grassett Flats Bunny and Clouser flies at the Middleground flat and Bishops Point.
John Freedman and Dan Roach, from Venice, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 4/19. They had some action with trout along the east side of the bay on Flats Bunny and Clouser flies fished on intermediate and intermediate sink tip fly lines. Orvis’s Royal Oak, MI store fishing manager, Rich Merlino, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. We checked the coastal gulf off Siesta Key and found beautiful conditions but no action. However, we did find a few snook in the surf along Siesta and north Casey Key. We came back into Big Pass where we had fast action with blues and large ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies for a couple of hours. With the sea breeze up in the afternoon, we worked the west side of the bay near Bishop’s Point and caught and released trout and ladyfish on Flats Bunnies and a variety of other flies.
Long time friends and customers, Les and Kimball Beery, from North Port, FL and Estes Park, CO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. They had a great day with large trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. They caught a few blues and ladyfish in Big Pass to start the day, but the action wasn’t as fast as Tuesday. We moved to deep grass flats along the east side of Sarasota Bay where they had steady action with trout on CAL jigs with gold shad tails. The action got faster and fish got bigger throughout the day. They finished the day with several slot size trout and 6 trout over the slot. Kimball ended the day with a “gator” trout of over 4-pounds on a DOA Deadly Combo.
My son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton, and I fished Sarasota Bay together on Friday to scout for the 15th annual Sarasota CCA Photo All-Release Challenge fishing tournament. We caught several snook, trout to 4-pounds, Spanish mackerel and blues on Clouser and Flats Bunny flies and located some reds to come up with a plan for the next day. On Saturday we fished the tournament and although things didn’t go quite as planned, I won the Fly Fishing division with a snook and a trout. We had 15-20 mph SSE wind by 10 AM, which is straight up Sarasota Bay, causing very rough conditions! More than 120 anglers, in divisions for anglers, youth, fly and ladies fished the tournament. The event is low key and fun for the whole family and also raises money for CCA’s conservation efforts.
Next week’s tides are good as we head towards a full moon on Wednesday, although daytime flats fishing can sometimes be slow as a result. Fishing deep grass flats, snook at night and the coastal gulf for Spanish mackerel, cobia or tripletail should be good options. Keep your eyes open for the first tarpon of the season along the beaches.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com
Kimball Beery, from Estes Park, CO, with a 4-pound plus trout caught and released on a DOA Deadly combo while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.
Denis Clohisy, from Hudson, WI, with a nice snook caught and released at night on a Grassett Snook Minnow fly while fishing the ICW near Venice, FL with Capt. Rick Grassett.
RJ Murray, from CT, with a nice Sarasota Bay bluefish caught and released on a CAL jig with a shad tail while fishing with Capt. Rick Grassett.
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