Marshall Dinerman, from Atlanta, GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 1/5. He had good action catching and releasing trout, blues and Spanish mackerel on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on deep grass flats on the east side of the bay.
Keith McClintock and Victor Feldman, both from IL, fished Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Tuesday, 1/6. Action wasn't fast but they caught and released trout, flounder and a couple of snook on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Cooler air settled in on Wednesday, 1/7 as a reinforcing front moved through, when Anna Maria Island and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple fished Sarasota Bay with me. They caught and released trout, bluefish and ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies over deep grass flats on the west side of the bay.
Thursday 1/8 was cool and windy, 50's with wind gusting in the mid 20's, so that trip was rescheduled. By Friday morning, 1/9 the water temperature had plummeted to 58 degrees in skinny water and it was much cooler and windy than forecast, so we cut the trip short after a couple of hours of scouting.
Marshall Dinerman and his son-in-law Alex Medeiros, from Atlanta, GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday, 1/11. They caught and released trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats on both sides of the bay on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly and a CAL jig with a shad tail.
Keith McClintock and Victor Feldman, both from IL, fished the Terra Ceia area with me on Monday, 1/12. They caught and released trout, flounder and several snook on CAL jigs with shad tails. Dean Fields, from Indianapolis, IN, snook fished with me in the ICW near Venice on Tuesday evening, 1/13. We fished lighted docks and he caught and released a few snook and a trout on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Marshall Dinerman and his son Michael, from Atlanta, GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday, 1/14. They had some action with trout, including one that was more than 3-pounds, on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on deep grass flats on both sides of the bay. Martin Marlowe, from NY, snook fished with me on Wednesday evening in the ICW near Venice and caught and released 8 or 10 snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland and Roy Glah, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday afternoon, 1/16. Despite a slow tide, action was steady. We fished deep grass flats on the west side of the bay where they caught and released several blues, Spanish mackerel and trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Shrimp.
I was the instructor for a CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School on Saturday, 1/17. The next class will be on Feb 21st. Cost is $150 per person and includes the use of Orvis fly tackle, a text book and lunch. Contact CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or info@cbsoutfitters.com to make reservations.
Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, pompano and more should be good options on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Look for reds and big trout mixed with mullet schools on shallow flats and edges of bars. Afternoons may fish better than mornings when water is cool. Catch and release night snook fishing may also be a good option depending on conditions.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
IFFF 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.snookfin-addict.com
