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

Ft Lauderdale Offshore Fishing Is Good

Ft Lauderdale Offshore Fishing Is Good

Springtime fishing continues to be good offshore of Fort Lauderdale. Anglers fishing with me aboard the Reel Work have been catching sailfish, kingfish and blackfin tuna. During the few times the surface bite has slowed down we have have had good luck bottom fishing.

On April 5th the weather was kind of rough making it difficult to spot bait fish pods. Our anglers and crew hung in there and were rewarded with a big king mackerel. Later in the afternoon we set up on some wrecks and other bottom structure and had a great afternoon of bottom fishing. Last Tuesday we had a fun day. Our anglers caught several kingfish and a nice blackfin tuna in between the 6 sailfish bites we had. Anglers and crew did a great job managing to land 4 out of the 6 sailfish.

The South Florida weather is starting to heat up and so is the fishing. Book your Fort Lauderdale fishing charter today and get in on the action.

Reel Work Sport Fishing Charters
301 Seabreeze Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-522-9399
1-877-524-9377
Email: lauderdalefishing@gmail.com
Website: lauderdalefishing.com
Fort Lauderdale Fishing Charters

A Great Day Of Sailfish Fishing

We had a really good day catching sailfish off of Fort Lauderdale yesterday. Between the two charters I took out we ended up hooking 7 sailfish and landing 5 of them. Anglers and crew fishing with me aboard the Reel Work out of Ft. Lauderdale did an outstanding job getting that many fish o the boat. Our morning charter landed 2 out of the 3 fish we hooked. Several other sailfish were spotted but did not bite. Our afternoon charter was even better with 3 out of the 4 sailfish hooked making it to the boat. Again, we saw several other sails but were unable to get them to bite. Our sailfish bite has been outstanding for over a month now. I expect the fish to stick around for at least another month. Give us a call or use the contact form in the sidebar to set up your Fort Lauderdale sailfish charter today.

Sarasota Fishing Report 4-14-13

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/14/2013

            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, Spanish mackerel and redfish in Sarasota Bay on lures and flies during the past week.
            Mike Perez, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me early in the week. He had some shots at several tripletail with a fly in the coastal gulf off Siesta Key before we moved into Sarasota Bay when conditions deteriorated. With the sea breeze up, we fished potholes in shallow water on the west side of the bay where Mike caught and released several nice trout to 20” on a Lefty’s Deceiver fly.
            Sarasota winter resident, Gary Marple, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. We fished deep and shallow grass flats on both sides of the bay where he caught and released several trout and Spanish mackerel on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly. I’ve recently had a chance to try Carbon Marine’s new Line Lair mat for managing fly lines on a boat. Works great!
            Bill Beauchamp, from Bradenton, FL, and Doug Manning, from Largo, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. They caught and released a red and trout to more than 20” on CAL jigs with shad tails near Bishop Point. I was the instructor at a CB’s Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on Saturday. Students in the one day course learned fly casting, leader construction and saltwater fly fishing techniques.
            This is a great time of year to find “gator” trout in shallow water. Since most big trout are females that are full of roe, I ask that all trout over 20” be released on my boat. They are delicate, so handle them gently and release them quickly. 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 as the water continues to warm and baitfish become more plentiful. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should also be a good option next week.

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