Merry Christmas! Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, redfish, Spanish mackerel, blues, flounder, pompano, trout and ladyfish on flies and jigs the past couple of weeks. We’ve been catching some of the biggest blues (up to 5-pounds) that I’ve seen in years. The best action continues to be on deep grass flats along the east side of Sarasota Bay from Stephens Point to Long Bar.
Bob Harness, from St. Louis, MO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. He caught and released several trout, Spanish mackerel and blues on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line. Great fun on 6 and 7-weight rods! CB’s Saltwater Outfitters manager, Doug Forde, and outdoor writer, David Brown from Tampa, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. With a negative low tide, we focused on potholes and sand bar edges for most of the morning. Doug caught and released a mid 20” snook and we caught numerous trout including several in the 18”-20” class on CAL jigs with shad tails. In the afternoon, we had decent action with Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails on deep grass flats.
Norm and Francie Boardman, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. With a strong front approaching, I thought fish would be feeding heavily, but they weren’t. It was slow, but they caught several trout, ladyfish, bluefish and a Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.
A front pushed through over the weekend causing cool, windy conditions for a few days. On Monday morning it was 45 degrees with a brisk north wind, but by afternoon conditions were better. Eric Everett and his wife, Julie, from VA, and brother-in-law, Antone, from Ireland, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday afternoon. They caught and released several trout and bluefish on CAL jigs with shad tails on the east side of the bay. Rob Thompson and his dad, Jeff, from the Baltimore area, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. They had fast action with blues, trout and Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails at the Middleground flat. John Shoup and his friend Mark, from the Detroit, MI area fished with me in the afternoon. The action slowed, but they managed several trout, ladyfish and a nice pompano on flies near Stephens Point.
John and Susan Weiss, from GA, fished the same areas with me on Wednesday. We found the action slower, but John managed a few blues and Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad tails. Scott and Scottie Heidler, from Hudson, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Christmas Eve day. The morning was slow, but they finished strong. They caught trout to 18”, blues to 4 ½-pounds, Spanish mackerel, flounder and a nice red on CAL jigs with shad tails along the east side of the bay.
Sadly, I learned that a longtime close friend and customer, Pat Campbell from Toronto, OH, passed away at the age of 84 on Dec. 10th. You may have seen Pat’s name in my fishing reports over the years. He was a left-handed fly angler who often shared the boat with other customers and was one of my first fly customers. In addition to fishing with me in Sarasota, Pat traveled with my groups to destinations in the Bahamas and Montana. He caught everything with me over the years from snook, reds, trout and tarpon in Florida, bonefish in the Bahamas and brown and rainbow trout in Montana. He particularly enjoyed fly fishing for snook at night. According to his wife, Patricia, “he was never happier than when he was fishing”. This is obvious in the attached photo of Pat on his last fishing trip with me on April 30th. He will be missed.
Tides will improve as we head towards a full moon next week. Action may be better later in the day if it is cold in the morning. I’d like to thank all of you who have fished with me this year and over the years. Hope everyone has a happy and prosperous New Year!
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
Bob Harness, from St. Louis, MO, caught and released this Spanish mackerel on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on a 6-wt fly rod while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.
John Shoup, from MI, caught and released this nice pompano on a Clouser fly while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.
Eric and Julie Everett, from VA, and brother-in-law, Antone from Ireland, waith a Sarasota Bay bluefish double caught and released on a CAL jig with a shad tail while fishing with Capt. Rick Grassett.
Scottie Heidler, from Hudson, OH, with a nice Sarasota Bay trout caught and released while fishing with his dad and Capt. Rick Grassett.
Scott Heidler, from Hudson, OH, caught and released this red in a pothole on a CAL jig with a shad tail while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.
William "Pat" Campbell
Thanks for the post & pics Capt. Rick! I'm looking forward to some fishing in the Sarasota area soon -it's good to hear that there are still fish in the bay. We'll look you up if we get out to Siesta Key.
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