Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 4/30/2011
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, tarpon, trout, Spanish mackerel and reds on jigs and flies during the past week. The best action continues to be catch and release night snook fishing and tarpon are becoming plentiful in the coastal gulf.
Kurt Tenenbaum and his father-in-law, Don McGovern, both from NY, fished Sarasota Bay with me last Saturday, 4/23. We fished deep grass flats at Stephens Point and on the west side of the bay where they caught and released trout on Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. Bill Morrison, from Anna Maria Island, and Gary Marple from Sarasota, snook fished with me on Monday evening in the ICW near Venice. They caught and released more than a dozen snook to 22” on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
I scouted the coastal gulf for tarpon on Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised. We saw numerous tarpon, mostly singles, doubles and small schools, moving both north and south. Anglers on my boat had 8 or 10 shots at fish and landed an 80-pounder on a black Deceiver fly.
First fish of the season!
Ed and Louise Martin, from Ontario, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on Wednesday. With a south wind gusting to 20-mph, the water in Gasparilla Sound and most of the backcountry was very dirty. It was tough to find a place to fish, but Ed caught and released a couple of trout and jacks on a Clouser fly
Keith Mcclintock, from Lake Forest, IL and a guest fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday morning. It continued to be very windy, but they caught several trout to 18”, a Spanish mackerel and a red on CAL jigs with shad tails on the west side of the bay. Seth Koch, from MD, and Bill Miller, from MS, snook fished with me in the ICW near Venice that evening. The wind dropped a little and with the approaching front, snook fed aggressively. They caught and released more than 20 snook to 23” on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We were met by rain and wind at the boat ramp the next morning, so after waiting it out for about an hour we cancelled the trip.
Tides will be good early next week, particularly the outgoing tide in the evening, as we approach a new moon on May 3rd. Night snook fishing, tarpon in the coastal gulf and trout and Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay should all be good options.
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
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Mosquito Lagoon May 2011 Fishing Outlook
Mosquito Creek Outdoors Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Forecast
May 2011
By Captain Tom Van Horn
Upcoming Seminars and Events
Saturday, May 21st Near-shore Tarpon Fishing
10: 00 - 12:00 "Free Seminars", instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers, and John Kumiski," Summer Tarpon and Beach Fishing Tactics Spin & Fly Fishing ", located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com
Saturday, June 11th Summer Kingfish
10: 00 - 12:00 "Free Seminars" instructed by Rapala Pro Staffer Rodney Sahr, "Summer Kingfish", located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com.
May's Fishing Outlook
As the days grow longer, angling enthusiasts along Florida's Space Coast take pleasure in spending their afternoons after work relaxing on the water. Warming coastal waters draw streams of baitfish north followed by warm water predators, as our prevailing easterly winds give way to summers genially shifting sea breezes.
Offshore, dolphin fishing will be the focus of blue water anglers this month. April and May are the time of year when the larger bulls are taken off the Florida Space Coast. The early season dolphin bite has already yielded fish in excess of 60 pounds. Also, as a bonus, the potential of taking a blue marlin or sailfish are good. Near-shore, the kingfish bite is starting to heat up on the near-shore reefs and wrecks and some cobia are still around. When seas settle down, the bait schools move in close to the beach, look for the kingfish action to move in also.
Spanish mackerel, snook, redfish, jack crevalle, bluefish, flounder, sheepshead and black drum are just some of the species available in the Lagoon inlets and beaches this month. As the baitfish migration moves north, this type of fishing will only get better.
Lisa's First Tarpon
Inshore, the bait pods, Atlantic menhaden (pogies), have shown up along the beach, and now is the best time to target the ocean predator shadowing these schools. It's not uncommon to catch large redfish, large jack crevalle, blacktip sharks, cobia, and tarpon from within these pods of bait. To locate bait pods, simply look for feeding birds, flipping and jumping bait, muddy water along the beach, and busting fish.
Becky's Mega Jack
On the Lagoon flats, redfish and spotted sea trout will provide the majority of action for light tackle and fly anglers. The water has warmed up to the point where jack crevalle, ladyfish, snook, and tarpon are showing up in good numbers. I like to target redfish and sea trout at night and at first light or at dusk, with top water plugs like the, Rapala Skitterwalk or Storm Chug Bug. As the day heats up, change your focus to the deeper edges of the flats (2 to 3 feet deep) jigging with a DOA CAL Tail on a ¼ ounce DOA jig head.
Captain Chris Myers
As always, if you have any questions or need help, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
(407) 416-1187 on the water
Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!
May 2011
By Captain Tom Van Horn
Upcoming Seminars and Events
Saturday, May 21st Near-shore Tarpon Fishing
10: 00 - 12:00 "Free Seminars", instructed by Captains Tom Van Horn, Chris Myers, and John Kumiski," Summer Tarpon and Beach Fishing Tactics Spin & Fly Fishing ", located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com
Saturday, June 11th Summer Kingfish
10: 00 - 12:00 "Free Seminars" instructed by Rapala Pro Staffer Rodney Sahr, "Summer Kingfish", located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, www.mosquitocreek.com.
May's Fishing Outlook
As the days grow longer, angling enthusiasts along Florida's Space Coast take pleasure in spending their afternoons after work relaxing on the water. Warming coastal waters draw streams of baitfish north followed by warm water predators, as our prevailing easterly winds give way to summers genially shifting sea breezes.
Offshore, dolphin fishing will be the focus of blue water anglers this month. April and May are the time of year when the larger bulls are taken off the Florida Space Coast. The early season dolphin bite has already yielded fish in excess of 60 pounds. Also, as a bonus, the potential of taking a blue marlin or sailfish are good. Near-shore, the kingfish bite is starting to heat up on the near-shore reefs and wrecks and some cobia are still around. When seas settle down, the bait schools move in close to the beach, look for the kingfish action to move in also.
Spanish mackerel, snook, redfish, jack crevalle, bluefish, flounder, sheepshead and black drum are just some of the species available in the Lagoon inlets and beaches this month. As the baitfish migration moves north, this type of fishing will only get better.
Lisa's First Tarpon
Inshore, the bait pods, Atlantic menhaden (pogies), have shown up along the beach, and now is the best time to target the ocean predator shadowing these schools. It's not uncommon to catch large redfish, large jack crevalle, blacktip sharks, cobia, and tarpon from within these pods of bait. To locate bait pods, simply look for feeding birds, flipping and jumping bait, muddy water along the beach, and busting fish.
Becky's Mega Jack
On the Lagoon flats, redfish and spotted sea trout will provide the majority of action for light tackle and fly anglers. The water has warmed up to the point where jack crevalle, ladyfish, snook, and tarpon are showing up in good numbers. I like to target redfish and sea trout at night and at first light or at dusk, with top water plugs like the, Rapala Skitterwalk or Storm Chug Bug. As the day heats up, change your focus to the deeper edges of the flats (2 to 3 feet deep) jigging with a DOA CAL Tail on a ¼ ounce DOA jig head.
Captain Chris Myers
As always, if you have any questions or need help, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
(407) 416-1187 on the water
Visit www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com for your outdoor adventure needs, its Where the Adventure Begins!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Amelia Island Fishing Report 4-28-2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Gator Trout?
Josh Jenette was in town with his grandparents, visiting Amelia Island from Kentucky, and took in an Amelia Island light tackle fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday afternoon. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock with some brisk winds out of the southeast so we headed to Tiger Island in hopes that it would shield the wind, and it did! Josh caught a nice Redfish before we ventured back in to the wind to fish the outside of Tiger where we came across a nice school of Sheepshead feeding near shore around the oyster beds. We shortened our leaders so that our live shrimp would float over the oysters, but we couldn't get the Sheeps to eat! Our next stop was up in Jolley River and it wasn't long before Josh was reeling in Trout after Trout, then he had a good hookup and a nice battle with a 2' long Shark! He caught a couple more shark and a few more Trout and nice Whiting then we headed back to Tiger Island to catch the first of the outgoing tide. It was a good move because Josh was a able to catch a couple of keeper sized Trout for his Grandparents dinner. We had almost decided to call it a day when a "nibbler" took our float down unimpressively, then the rod bent over and the line ripped out! FISH ON! We both took turns battling this monster and after a good battle we boated a huge 27" 7lb Gator Trout! Wow, what a fish! That helped wrap up another great day to be on the water!
Capt. Lawrence Piper
The Anglers Mark
Amelia Island, Florida
904-557-1027
lwpiper@comcast.net
theanglersmark.com
Posted by Cpt. Lawrence Piper at 9:47 AM
Gator Trout?
Josh Jenette was in town with his grandparents, visiting Amelia Island from Kentucky, and took in an Amelia Island light tackle fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday afternoon. We left the Atlantic Seafood dock with some brisk winds out of the southeast so we headed to Tiger Island in hopes that it would shield the wind, and it did! Josh caught a nice Redfish before we ventured back in to the wind to fish the outside of Tiger where we came across a nice school of Sheepshead feeding near shore around the oyster beds. We shortened our leaders so that our live shrimp would float over the oysters, but we couldn't get the Sheeps to eat! Our next stop was up in Jolley River and it wasn't long before Josh was reeling in Trout after Trout, then he had a good hookup and a nice battle with a 2' long Shark! He caught a couple more shark and a few more Trout and nice Whiting then we headed back to Tiger Island to catch the first of the outgoing tide. It was a good move because Josh was a able to catch a couple of keeper sized Trout for his Grandparents dinner. We had almost decided to call it a day when a "nibbler" took our float down unimpressively, then the rod bent over and the line ripped out! FISH ON! We both took turns battling this monster and after a good battle we boated a huge 27" 7lb Gator Trout! Wow, what a fish! That helped wrap up another great day to be on the water!
Capt. Lawrence Piper
The Anglers Mark
Amelia Island, Florida
904-557-1027
lwpiper@comcast.net
theanglersmark.com
Posted by Cpt. Lawrence Piper at 9:47 AM
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report 4-26-2011
Mosquito Creek Outdoor's Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report,
April 26, 2011
By Captain Tom Van Horn
Upcoming Seminars and Events
Saturday April 30th Free Hook Kids on Fishing Program
10:00 - 12 Noon Hook Kids on Fishing Program
Mosquito Creek Outdoors and Anglers for Conservation presents a free fishing kids seminar. After completing five learning stations all kids will receive a free fishing rod and tackle box (limited to the first 100 kids registered. Located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, http://www.mosquitocreek.com
This Weeks Fishing Report
Summer is arriving on the heels of spring and the wings of the love bugs. As the weather heats up on Florida's Space Coast, so dose the fishing on all fronts, near-shore, inshore lagoons and the St John's River.
This past week I had opportunities to fish in the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River and here are the results:
My first charter was an early morning trip to the north Indian River Lagoon with Thrish and Bruce Reid from Orlando, and my plan was to work the flats throwing top-water Storm Chug Bugs and Rapala Skitterwalks, and Bruce was rewarded with two respectable fish. The first was a hansom 36-inch redfish followed by a 26-inch seatrout. Along with these two fish came an assortment of slot seatrout which Thrish and Bruce took home for dinner.
John Kumiski's Morning Monster
Captain John Kumiski's River Monster
My next adventure was a night fishing trip with my good friends Scott and John. As summer heats up, I often fish at night to avoid the heat. I've learned over the years that fishing in the darkness of night often results in more quality fish and a more enjoyable experience as long as you can tolerate the mosquitos. The conditions are usually cool and quite, there are no boats on the flats to compete with, the fish are happy and hungry after being chased all day by impatient anglers, and the sky is full of constellation and shooting stars.
Other than fun and adventure, this mission's goal was to take some quality fish photos for and article Captain John has written on night fishing the lagoon for the June edition of Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando, and I would say we accomplished all of our goals, watched a beautiful sunrise and were off of the water at 7:30 am.
Larry Carter's Seeing Strips
Larry Carter's Top-water Sunshine
After postponing my near-shore charter due to windy conditions and high seas (3 to 6 feet) my next adventure was a bass and catfish trip with my good friend Larry Carter on the St Johns River. By the way, water levels on both the St Johns and the Lagoon are extremely low, so please operate your boat with caution. We launched the boat just as the sky was starting to grow light and soon located a school of busting sunshine and largemouth bass and wore them out on top-water plugs, ending the morning with eighteen bass altogether. The bass were schooled up feeding a on shad and the bite was over once the sun cleared the horizon.
Lastly, we have the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour scheduled for Friday afternoon, so all of the security zones are in place including the south end of Mosquito Lagoon. God's Speed Endeavour!
As always, if you have any questions or need help please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charter
www.irl-fishing.com
(407) 416-1187 on the water
Visit www.mosquitocreek.com for your outdoor adventure needs, it's where the adventure begins.
April 26, 2011
By Captain Tom Van Horn
Upcoming Seminars and Events
Saturday April 30th Free Hook Kids on Fishing Program
10:00 - 12 Noon Hook Kids on Fishing Program
Mosquito Creek Outdoors and Anglers for Conservation presents a free fishing kids seminar. After completing five learning stations all kids will receive a free fishing rod and tackle box (limited to the first 100 kids registered. Located in the Outback at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, 170 South Washington Ave., Apopka Florida, http://www.mosquitocreek.com
This Weeks Fishing Report
Summer is arriving on the heels of spring and the wings of the love bugs. As the weather heats up on Florida's Space Coast, so dose the fishing on all fronts, near-shore, inshore lagoons and the St John's River.
This past week I had opportunities to fish in the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River and here are the results:
My first charter was an early morning trip to the north Indian River Lagoon with Thrish and Bruce Reid from Orlando, and my plan was to work the flats throwing top-water Storm Chug Bugs and Rapala Skitterwalks, and Bruce was rewarded with two respectable fish. The first was a hansom 36-inch redfish followed by a 26-inch seatrout. Along with these two fish came an assortment of slot seatrout which Thrish and Bruce took home for dinner.
John Kumiski's Morning Monster
Captain John Kumiski's River Monster
My next adventure was a night fishing trip with my good friends Scott and John. As summer heats up, I often fish at night to avoid the heat. I've learned over the years that fishing in the darkness of night often results in more quality fish and a more enjoyable experience as long as you can tolerate the mosquitos. The conditions are usually cool and quite, there are no boats on the flats to compete with, the fish are happy and hungry after being chased all day by impatient anglers, and the sky is full of constellation and shooting stars.
Other than fun and adventure, this mission's goal was to take some quality fish photos for and article Captain John has written on night fishing the lagoon for the June edition of Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando, and I would say we accomplished all of our goals, watched a beautiful sunrise and were off of the water at 7:30 am.
Larry Carter's Seeing Strips
Larry Carter's Top-water Sunshine
After postponing my near-shore charter due to windy conditions and high seas (3 to 6 feet) my next adventure was a bass and catfish trip with my good friend Larry Carter on the St Johns River. By the way, water levels on both the St Johns and the Lagoon are extremely low, so please operate your boat with caution. We launched the boat just as the sky was starting to grow light and soon located a school of busting sunshine and largemouth bass and wore them out on top-water plugs, ending the morning with eighteen bass altogether. The bass were schooled up feeding a on shad and the bite was over once the sun cleared the horizon.
Lastly, we have the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour scheduled for Friday afternoon, so all of the security zones are in place including the south end of Mosquito Lagoon. God's Speed Endeavour!
As always, if you have any questions or need help please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charter
www.irl-fishing.com
(407) 416-1187 on the water
Visit www.mosquitocreek.com for your outdoor adventure needs, it's where the adventure begins.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Central Florida Sight Fishing
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
Capt. Chris Myers
April 24, 2011
The flats fishing has been excellent this month here in Mosquito Lagoon. The weather has been about as good as it gets as well. Schools of redfish have been roaming the flats and trout have been working mullet schools in slightly deeper water.
A couple weeks ago, Mike and his son Steven took a day of their spring break vacation to target some redfish. Both landed several nice reds with the 3" DOA CAL getting the most bites.
Josh and his father Tony enjoyed some great redfish action using a DOA CAL with a spinner blade.
Clouds moved in and made the sight fishing tough so we got out the Deadly Combos and ended the day catching multiple trout.
After having to cancel our trip several times this year due to bad weather, Robert and his son Matthew finally hit some perfect weather for sight fishing the flats. We saw hundreds of redfish throughout the morning and both guys landed their biggest one to date.We spent the last hour or so trout fishing in 2-4 feet of water and had some non stop action with the Deadly Combo.
Larry enjoyed some excellent sight fishing last week landing numerous redfish and trout on both DOA shrimp and CAL baits. We encountered huge schools of reds both tailing and cruising.
This week, Greg and Toby started off the morning with a big school of happy and aggressive redfish. Greg hooked up on his first cast as a fish chased down his DOA shrimp as he skimmed it along the surface. Seconds later, Toby had a bite as well but missed. He was soon hooked up, however, and they caught double digit redfish. A dozen or so seatrout were also caught and released before we called it a day.
Chad and Larry saw hundreds of redfish during their day on Mosquito Lagoon. Some were tailing single fish and some were big schools of 200+ fish. It took a while to get the casting dialed in but both guys were able to catch redfish as well as plenty of trout.
Chuck and his son Zach found the sight fishing more challenging than they expected. We saw reds all throughout the morning but none had been landed by noon. Their luck changed at the end of the trip with an action packed stretch of multiple fish over 15 pounds coming to the boat.
Yesterday was the toughest day of the month. After getting a late start, we found boats in all the spots that had been producing redfish consistently. After searching for an unoccupied flat, we encountered some small groups of reds but none of the casts quite hit the mark. We changed gears and moved out to the deeper water for some trout fishing. While we managed to catch a few in each spot we went, it was far slower than it had been on every other day this month.
While April was outstanding for redfish and trout, May should bring some additional variety to the Lagoon. The first tarpon will begin to appear and some schools of ladyfish and bluefish will show up as well. Watch for schools of glass minnows in deeper water to signal the arrival of the other predators. Trout fishing will remain consistent with most of the fish found in areas where mullet are present in 2-4 feet of water. Many of the schools of redfish over twenty pounds have been missing in action. The few that are around get fished from dawn till dusk by multiple boats each day. Fortunately, there have been plenty of 10-15 pound fish which put up and excellent fight on light tackle.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com/
321-229-2848
Capt. Chris Myers
April 24, 2011
The flats fishing has been excellent this month here in Mosquito Lagoon. The weather has been about as good as it gets as well. Schools of redfish have been roaming the flats and trout have been working mullet schools in slightly deeper water.
A couple weeks ago, Mike and his son Steven took a day of their spring break vacation to target some redfish. Both landed several nice reds with the 3" DOA CAL getting the most bites.
Josh and his father Tony enjoyed some great redfish action using a DOA CAL with a spinner blade.
Clouds moved in and made the sight fishing tough so we got out the Deadly Combos and ended the day catching multiple trout.
After having to cancel our trip several times this year due to bad weather, Robert and his son Matthew finally hit some perfect weather for sight fishing the flats. We saw hundreds of redfish throughout the morning and both guys landed their biggest one to date.We spent the last hour or so trout fishing in 2-4 feet of water and had some non stop action with the Deadly Combo.
Larry enjoyed some excellent sight fishing last week landing numerous redfish and trout on both DOA shrimp and CAL baits. We encountered huge schools of reds both tailing and cruising.
This week, Greg and Toby started off the morning with a big school of happy and aggressive redfish. Greg hooked up on his first cast as a fish chased down his DOA shrimp as he skimmed it along the surface. Seconds later, Toby had a bite as well but missed. He was soon hooked up, however, and they caught double digit redfish. A dozen or so seatrout were also caught and released before we called it a day.
Chad and Larry saw hundreds of redfish during their day on Mosquito Lagoon. Some were tailing single fish and some were big schools of 200+ fish. It took a while to get the casting dialed in but both guys were able to catch redfish as well as plenty of trout.
Chuck and his son Zach found the sight fishing more challenging than they expected. We saw reds all throughout the morning but none had been landed by noon. Their luck changed at the end of the trip with an action packed stretch of multiple fish over 15 pounds coming to the boat.
Yesterday was the toughest day of the month. After getting a late start, we found boats in all the spots that had been producing redfish consistently. After searching for an unoccupied flat, we encountered some small groups of reds but none of the casts quite hit the mark. We changed gears and moved out to the deeper water for some trout fishing. While we managed to catch a few in each spot we went, it was far slower than it had been on every other day this month.
While April was outstanding for redfish and trout, May should bring some additional variety to the Lagoon. The first tarpon will begin to appear and some schools of ladyfish and bluefish will show up as well. Watch for schools of glass minnows in deeper water to signal the arrival of the other predators. Trout fishing will remain consistent with most of the fish found in areas where mullet are present in 2-4 feet of water. Many of the schools of redfish over twenty pounds have been missing in action. The few that are around get fished from dawn till dusk by multiple boats each day. Fortunately, there have been plenty of 10-15 pound fish which put up and excellent fight on light tackle.
Capt. Chris Myers
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters
http://www.floridafishinglessons.com/
321-229-2848
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