Monday, April 04, 2011

Sarasota Fishing Report 4-4-2011

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota Fishing Report for 4/2/2011

The best action last week was with trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. 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 to 19” and a couple of reds on jigs and flies.

Sarasota winter residents, Nick Reding and Mike Perez, waded Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They caught and released a few trout and a pair of reds on Clouser flies on the west side of the bay. Sarasota winter residents, Tom Schalk and Harry Beaty, fished the same area, only in deeper water, with me on Tuesday. They caught and released trout, including 5 or 6 in the slot to 18”, and ladyfish on CAL jigs with grub and shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos.

A strong front with high winds and heavy rain pushed through on Thursday. Fly anglers Bill Morrison, from Holmes Beach, FL and Gary Marple, from Sarasota, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. It was breezy out of the northwest in the morning due to Thursday’s front, but fish were feeding. They caught and released about 20 trout to 18” on Ultra Hair Clouser flies near Bird Key. Fly angler George Fitzwater and his wife, Cookie, from Manasota Key, fished with me that afternoon. George was a recent student of mine in a CB’s Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school. He caught and released his first saltwater fish, a nice trout, on a fly!

If you are interested in learning to fly fish or improving your skills, I will be the instructor for a CB’s Saltwater Outfitter’s Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on April 9, 2011. This will be the last school until fall. Located at 1249 Stickney Point Rd., on Siesta Key in Sarasota, FL the school will cover fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. I will also cover leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. The course, designed for beginning and intermediate fly casters, will focus on basics but also work with intermediate casters on correcting faults and improving casting skills. Cost for the school, which will run from 9 AM to 3 PM, is $150 per person and includes the use of premium Orvis fly tackle, a text book and lunch. Contact me or CB’s Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or info@cbsoutfitters.com to make reservations.

Next week’s tides are good early in the week for fishing the flats and in the evening later in the week for night snook fishing, as we head away from a new moon on April 3rd. Fish flies and jigs on deep grass flats for trout, Spanish mackerel and more or in skinny water for reds and big trout. Small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow and Gurglers, CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA shrimp should work well for snook at night.


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






George Fitzwater, from Manasota Key, FL, caught and released this nice trout, his first saltwater fish on a fly, on an olive Clouser while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

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