Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing snook, trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper and jacks on flies, DOA Deadly Combos, CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs in Sarasota Bay during the past week. The best action was with snook and a variety of species on deep grass flats. James Stewart, from Inverness, Scotland and his friend Paul Cuthbertson, from Aberdeen, Scotland, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. We started before dawn to snook fish around lighted docks. They had fast action, catching and releasing about 15 snook to 25” on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of Sarasota Bay after daylight where they caught and released trout to 23” on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Their first snook and largest trout on fly! Capt. Bill Miller, from Tampa, FL, fished with me on Wednesday morning to film an episode of his new TV show “Fishing with Bill Miller”. We had the same plan as the day before and the action was good. We caught and released more than a dozen snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly before daylight. Snook and jacks busted baitfish along a seawall at dawn, so we cast top water plugs and caught and released jacks, snook, Spanish mackerel and even mangrove snapper. We also had steady action with trout on DOA Deadly Combos near Bishop Point. Tom Dunn and sons, Ryan and Brad, from St. Louis, MO, fished deep grass flats along the west side of Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday morning. They had steady action catching and releasing blues, Spanish mackerel, trout, jacks and sailcats on DOA Deadly Combos. I took my wife, Karen, fishing on Saturday morning. We had great action catching and releasing blues and jacks to 4-pounds and trout to 18” fishing deep grass flats on the west side of the bay on DOA Deadly Combos, top water plugs and a fly popper/dropper combo. We have a lot of success with trout in Montana with a hopper/dropper rig that consists of a foam hopper with a small nymph about 24”-30” behind it. Lefty Kreh has also described this technique as being one of the best for catching spotted sea trout. I used a foam popper with either a small Clouser or my Grassett Snook Minnow fly behind it and had some great surface explosions. The small fly behind the popper was equally as effective and I had several doubles with fish on both flies! Beat the heat by catch and release snook fishing before daylight and then look for reds, trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, tripletail and more in Sarasota Bay. Reds are schooling in Sarasota Bay. Look for nervous patches of water or large wakes to find them. 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
Paul Cuthbertson, from Aberdeen, Scotland, caught and released this nice snook on a Grassett Snook Minnow fly while fishing a Sarasota Bay lighted dock at night with Capt. Rick Grassett.
James Stewart, from Inverness, Scotland, caught and released this 23" trout on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.
Brad Dunn, from St. Louis, MO, caught this nice Spanish mackerel on a DOA Deadly Combo while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.
Karen Grassett, from Sarasota, FL, caught and released this 4-pound blue on a top water plug while fishing Sarasota Bay with her husband, Capt.Rick Grassett.
