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 trout, Spanish mackerel and bluefish in Sarasota Bay; tripletail in the coastal gulf; trout, blues and redfish in Gasparilla Sound and snook and trout in the ICW near Venice at night on flies, top water plugs and CAL jigs with shad tails during the past couple of weeks.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, and Jack McCulloch, from Lakewood Ranch, FL fished Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Monday, 2/3. They had steady action catching and releasing numerous trout to 19", bluefish and a 23" red on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Sarasota winter resident, Martin Marlowe, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning, 2/4. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where he caught and released trout and several Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs. Despite a good tide and warmer water, snook fishing was slow on Tuesday's night fly fishing trip. Dense sea fog rolled in just before our night snook trip on Wednesday evening and caused us to reschedule that trip.
The best trip that week was when Joe Brinkmeyer and Jim Brady, from Cincinnati, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday morning, 2/6. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released numerous trout, Spanish mackerel and bluefish on CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs. They finished strong with 6 or 8 mackerel and a blue in the 4 to 5-pound class, including a couple of double hook ups on top water plugs. They had numerous exciting strikes as mackerel skyrocketed on their plugs!
The snook bite was better when Mike Perez and Harry Shubeck, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me on Thursday evening. We fished lighted docks in the ICW near Venice where they caught and released 7 or 8 snook and a 20" trout on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. Snook were being picky so we had to finesse them with different presentations and stripping speeds to get them to bite.
Jeff Syring, from MN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday afternoon, 2/7. It was his first saltwater fly fishing trip and he did well, catching and releasing trout and ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies at Stephens Point. I did some private fly casting instruction with a teenage student on Saturday morning, 2/8. He made good progress and was loading the fly rod and shooting line by the end of the session.
Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, and Ben Ford, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me on Monday, 2/10. With near perfect conditions, we hunted tripletail in the coastal gulf in the morning . We covered a lot of water, found several and they landed 2 out of 3 tripletail to 6-pounds on a DOA Shrimp. Just as the sea breeze came up, we headed into the bay where they caught and released trout, Spanish mackerel and bluefish on CAL jigs with shad tails along the west side of the bay.
Anna Maria and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning, 2/11. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they had steady action catching and releasing numerous Spanish mackerel, a few trout and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Burt Benjamin and Elyse Kuhn, both from CT, fished the ICW near Venice with me on Tuesday evening. They had good action catching and releasing more than 15 snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
A front pushed through on Wednesday evening, 2/12, with lots of wind and lightning, forcing us to cancel that night's snook trip. The wind switched to the northwest after the front and blew more than 20 mph on Thursday, 2/13, so we rescheduled that trip.
Richard Dunn and Steve Garrett, from CO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 2/14. They alternated with one fly fishing and the other spin fishing and had steady action with Spanish mackerel to 4-pounds, trout and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.
Fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay for trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano and more should continue to be a good option. Night snook fishing in the ICW should be good especially during peak tidal flows. Tripletail should also be a good option in the coastal gulf when conditions are good.
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
