Sebastian Inlet Fishing Report 1-09

Whiteys Outfitters Fishing Report Jan, 2009

Sebastian Inlet
Sebastian Inlet is certainly ringing in the new year with some really explosive action. Shore bound anglers are catching black drum, sheepshead, blue fish, pompano, spanish mackerel, jacks, huge red fish and snook from the piers. The big bull reds are with in casting distance from the pier and are putting all the new Christmas tackle to the test. Large 2oz and 3oz silver spoons rocketed out into the ocean are sure to produce a heavy battle at the other end of your fishing rod. Although snook season is closed the bite is still strong and look for a snook to hit live bait fish or shrimp drifting in the current.

Another winter time favorite for many fisherman are the black drum and sheepshead. They move into the inlet during the winter for the warmer water and hang out around the piers. Clams are best used to entice the drum to bite and the sheepshead love the sand fleas Occasional a huge 20-30lb. Black drum will take a small sand flea for dinner and it will leave you scratching your head. You might begin to think why would such a big fish take such a tiny bait? But remember, even elephants eat peanuts!

Some of the pompano and mackerel are hooking around the piers and can be caught throwing light jigs tipped with shrimp or fishing sand fleas on the bottom with pyramid weights. The ocean water is clean and will stay fairly fishable as long as the wind stays down. The surf temperatures are still really warm for this time of year so the beach fishing has been some what slow to date. Look for the surf fishing to turn around this month as a few more cold fronts come through and drop the surf temperatures as the month goes on.

Offshore
With a few good days of weather in a row, the offshore forecast says to go fishing. The Bottom bite has been really good from the 60 ft reefs on out to the deeper water ledges. Good numbers of legal red snapper are inshore and seem to be eager to strike as soon as the bait gets to the reef. Several muttons, lane snapper and trigger fish are striking the hooks and adding a little variety to the fish box. There has been a few reports of large Wahoo cruising the offshore waters. Try high speed trolling large heavy lures for these striped blue demons.

Inshore
The inshore bite has been really hot the last few weeks. Trout season is back open, so it is a good time to hit the flats. Schools of redfish are cruising the east shore along with the occasional Snook. Sight fishing has been possible when the winds are light, or in the lee side of land. Soft plastics, live shrimp and DOA's have been producing good catches in the river.

We are all very thankful to have the grouper regulations pushed back for another year. So get out and enjoy what you love so much about Florida in the winter. Until next time keep your lines tight and hooks sharp. As usual stop by Whitey’s for all the latest action

Whitey's Bait & Tackle
321-724-1440
9030 S Highway A1a
Melbourne Beach, FL 32951
captstovall@whiteysonline.com
www.whiteysonline.com/

Trout, Pompano Take Flys On Flats

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 12/21/08 through 1/3/09

Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with trout, blues and pompano during the past couple of weeks. In addition, we also caught a few reds.

I fished 3 days in Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor during the week of Dec. 22nd with Rick Happle and his family, from Tampa, FL, Damon Dunn, from IL and Harry Davis, from Dalton, GA and Fen Sartorius, from NM. We found the reds to be challenging. Fen connected with a red that was tailing on a bead chain Clouser fly on one trip and we had plenty of other shots. We caught a few trout and bluefish on deep grass flats with flies and jigs. Scott and Scotty Heidler, from Hudson, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday of that week. They had good action with trout, blues and a redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos at Stephens Point and along the east side of Sarasota Bay

Kevin Bonasera, from Bozeman, MT, his dad Tom, from OH and guest, Tim from Sarasota fished lower Tampa Bay with Reid Zoller, of Loop Fly Tackle and me on Saturday, Dec. 27th. Kevin is with Turneffe Flats Lodge and works for them in Bozeman. We had a brief window in the morning for tailing reds and Kevin and Reid had a few shots but no takers. Tom, Tim and I had some action with trout and ladyfish on jigs and flies in the Terra Ceia Bay area.

We had lots of action with trout, blues and a few pompano in Sarasota Bay last week. Brian and Joanne Shenstone, from MI, fished with me on Monday. Brian caught and released trout, ladyfish and a pompano on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly. Ray Hutchinson and his brother-in-law, Craig Kinzer, both from OH fished with me on Tuesday. They caught and released lots of trout, bluefish and a red on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Sarasota winter resident, Nick Reding, fished with me on Wednesday. We waded a flat near Long Bar where Nick caught and released a big trout on a black Grassett’s Flats Minnow fly. In the afternoon, we picked up his two grandsons, Nicholas and Andrew, and they had fast action with trout, blues and ladyfish on DOA Deadly Combos at Stephens Point. On Friday, Jim Essig, his grandson, Chris and Ken Kolinski, from OH, had fast action with trout to 18”, blues and pompano on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos at Stephens Point.

Next week’s tides are favorable towards the end of the week for reds in potholes or tailing on shallow grass flats of Charlotte Harbor. Deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay should have plenty of action with trout, blues and pompano.



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


Craig Kinzer, from MI, with a nice red caught and released on a CAL jig with a shad tail while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Sarasota winter resident, Nick Reding, with a nice trout that his grandson, Nicholas, caught and released on a DOA Deadly Combo while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Brian and Joanne Shenstone, from MI, with a pompano caught and released with an Ultra Hair Clouser fly while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Could this be a sign of a bright future for 2009? A ray of sunshine pops out of an otherwise ominous looking sky to shine on downtown Sarasota, visible to the right.

Reds Roaming Flats

Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters Capt. Chris Myers Fishing Report and Newsletter January 1, 2009
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report
The first day of the new year has brought with it some high winds and cool temperatures. My clients for today decided to cancel and try again tomorrow giving me a chance to catch up on some work at home.

Water levels in the Mosquito Lagoon are lower than they have been all of last year. The warm temperatures as of late have kept the water from the mid 60's to over 70 on most days. This spell of warmer weather has seemed to push many of the large trout off the shallow flats though we have still seen some each day. As soon as the cooler weather returns, look for the trophy trout to reappear.

Redfish are in their winter schooling mode which means there are not as many single fish roaming the flats. Casting at schools increase your chances at a hookup but if you cannot find the schools, you may cover a lot of water and see very few fish. Again, since the water has warmed up, the redfish have not been tailing nearly as well as they were at the beginning of last month. Just because you do not see them tailing does not mean they will not eat a well placed bait or fly.

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I spent several days in the mountains of north Georgia. We took a trip with a guide on the Soquee River to do some fly fishing for rainbow trout, a first for both of us. We landed 8 nice fish and lost many more.



On the 23rd, Dan, a local resident, wanted to show his guest from Louisiana the Mosquito Lagoon. Unfortunately, the winds blew over 20 the entire day and fishing was tough. We saw very few fish and only caught a couple trout.

On Christmas Eve, I was joined by a father and son team from Alabama. We had great weather throughout the morning. Our first spot produced tons of tailing redfish and a few black drum. They did not get a lure in front of the fish but had fun trying. Our next few spots all held schools of redfish and John was able to hook up with his first redfish.


My wife and I made a trip to Mosquito Lagoon this Monday. I used a black crab fly to hook up with a black drum right after Julie landed one on a spinning rod. We checked several spots I had not visited in a while and only found scattered reds and trout. I got two reds on a DOA shrimp and another on a bendback fly. After much searching, we found an area holding numerous large seatrout. While we saw some much bigger than we caught, I was able to complete the slam on fly and a couple more came on DOA CAL's.


Tuesday, Jim and his wife Sandra enjoyed a beautiful Florida winter day on Mosquito Lagoon. We started the day fishing a school of black drum. Sandra brought the first fish of the day to the boat.


Jim hooked up a few minutes later and followed with a second drum after that. The flat became crowded with boats so we moved on in search of other fish. We found an area holding multiple schools of redfish. Jim caught a couple reds but the schools were spooky and tough to keep up with. We made a move and Sandra landed two redfish of her own. Seeking to complete the slam, we went searching for trout. Sandra used a DOA Deadly Combo to catch a few trout before we called it a day.

Wednesday, it was significantly cooler as I headed out with the brother and sister team of Jim and Juanita. A few minutes after we started fishing, Jim landed a black drum. Juanita soon had one on but the hook pulled. We went in search of redfish and had a tough time finding some as the wind began to increase. Both Jim and Juanita caught a redfish before the school vanished.

With the high winds, we elected to try fishing some deeper water fro trout. Using a Deadly Combo as well as 3 inch CAL tails, they caught and released about 15-20 trout.The holiday crowds will be gone in a few days and the fish should get a chance to settle down a bit. The water will cool soon and the redfish and drum will happily tailing on the flats.

In closing, I would like to thank all of those that have fished with me during 2008. I hope you enjoyed your time of Mosquito Lagoon as much as I enjoyed showing you my awesome office. Happy New Year and I hope to see you again soon.

Try something new in the New Year

When fishing this year, why not try something new or different. You may find there are ways of doing things that will help you catch more fish or add new excitement to your trips. For example, I find that many anglers still do not fish with braided line. Not fishing with braid is like using a typewriter instead of a computer. Thinking about trying fly fishing? There is no better time than now. Pick up that rod that's been sitting in your garage and get out and use it. Try fishing with barbless hooks. It might be scary at first but it works and makes releasing fish much easier. Learn a few knots and see if they work better than the ones you are used to. Go fishing without bait. Plastics and flies work just as well once you learn how to use them properly. They are easier to maintain and save money as well.
Winter Flats Kits

Mosquito Creek Outdoors still has some Winter Flats Fishing Kits available. I had them put together an assortment of my favorite lures is a single kit. Buy the kit and save on the cost of purchasing the items separately. Visit the store or call the store at 800-250-5191 and have the Capt. Chris Myers winter fishing kit sent to your door.

Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com/
321-229-2848

Trout Season Open

January 1st 2009

Speckled Trout season is now open in Florida's South region. Trout season remains open in the Northeast and Northwest regions until February 1st. There is a 15"-20" slot limit for speckled sea trout. One fish over 20" may be kept per person, per day. The daily bag limit for speckled trout remains at 4 fish per day in the South region and 5 fish per person in the Northeast and Northwest regions.

New Fishing Regulations For 2009

This is a reprint from the My FWC web site about the new recreational fishing regulations that take effect January 1st, 2009. It is a little complicated, so please, read it carefully.

New Gulf grouper, amberjack and triggerfish rules take effect Jan. 1

December 29, 2008
Contact: Lee Schlesinger, 850-487-0554

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises anglers that new rules to help manage gag and red grouper, greater amberjack and gray triggerfish in Gulf of Mexico waters take effect on Jan. 1.

The recreational daily bag limit for gag grouper is now two fish per person within the five-grouper aggregate limit in all Gulf waters, and the recreational harvest of gag grouper in all Gulf waters is prohibited from Feb. 1 through March 31.

The recreational daily bag limit for red grouper in Gulf state waters is now two fish per person within the five-grouper aggregate limit. However, the recreational red grouper limit in Gulf federal waters is still one fish per person within the aggregate limit. Florida state waters extend 9 nautical miles offshore in the Gulf, and federal waters extend beyond state waters.

The Feb. 15 - March 14 closure to the recreational harvest of red and black grouper in Gulf federal waters is still in effect. This recreational closed season does not apply in Gulf state waters.

In addition, the recreational minimum size limit for greater amberjack is now 30 inches fork length, and the commercial and recreational minimum size limit for gray triggerfish is now 14 inches fork length in all Gulf waters.

More information on Gulf grouper, amberjack and triggerfish management is available online at MyFWC.com/marine/grouper/index.htm and MyFWC.com/marine/AmberjackTriggerfish.htm.