Anglers fishing with me on my flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action in Sarasota Bay with catch and release trout and blues on CAL jigs with a variety of plastic tails and DOA Deadly Combos and little tunny in the coastal gulf on flies during the past couple of weeks. In addition, we also caught scattered Spanish mackerel and pompano in Sarasota Bay.
A former high school classmate of mine, Tom Clark from VA, and a couple of guests fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 11/15. They caught and released numerous trout and blues on CAL jigs with shad tails on deep grass flats at Stephens and Bishop Point. Bill Moore, from Libertyville, IL, fished with me on Tuesday, 11/16 and Sarasota winter resident, Tom Lamb, and John Freeman, Jr., from Venice, FL fished with me on Wednesday, 11/17 and had similar action in the same areas with the same lures.
The action picked up a little on Thursday, 11/18 when Sarasota winter residents, Dennis Kolarik and Tom Mulder, fished Sarasota Bay with me. In addition to numerous trout, they caught and released blues, Spanish mackerel and connected with a nice pompano along the east side of Sarasota Bay on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and flies.
One of the best trips of the week was on Friday, 11/19 with Stephanie Kieselewski, from Sarasota, FL, who collected her trip, which I donated to Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers. We had tried to take the trip a couple of other times and had to cancel due to poor conditions, but the third time was a charm. We fly fished the coastal gulf off Siesta and Casey Keys where Stephanie caught and released 5 little tunny on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Don and Linda Tase, from NH, fished the coastal gulf off Siesta and Casey Keys on Monday, 11/22. They caught and released 7 or 8 little tunny on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly and a CAL jig with a shad tail. Pete Walocko, from MI, got in on the action on Tuesday, 11/23 as he landed several on flies. Everette Howell, Jr. from Nashville, TN also had a great day on Wednesday, 11/24, landing 7 or 8 little tunny on my snook fly. Most fish averaged about 7-pounds but several were more than 10-pounds. The action was awesome as schools of little tunny turned the surface into white water as they fed on glass minnows!
A front pushed through on Friday afternoon slowing action in Sarasota Bay and making it too rough to fish the coastal gulf. Bill Beauchamp, from Bradenton, FL, and his friend Mark, from Sarasota, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 11/26. A strong south breeze made fishing tough but they caught and released trout to 18" and bluefish on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos. Norm Worthington and his son, Addison, from Siesta Key, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday, 11/27. The action was slow as another round of rain pushed through that morning. They caught a few trout, a blue and some large ladyfish on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos.
If you are interested in learning to fly fish or if you already have some experience but want to improve your skills or correct problems, Capt. Ed Hurst or I will be the instructors for a CB's Saltwater Outfitter's Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010. The school will cover fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. I will also cover leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. Cost for the school, which will run from 9 AM to 4 PM, is $150 per person and includes the use of premium Orvis fly tackle, a text book and lunch. Contact me or CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or cbsoutfitters@verizon.net to make reservations.
Next week's tides will improve towards the end of the week as we head towards a new moon on Dec. 5th. Negative low tides in the morning should concentrate reds, snook and trout in potholes in skinny water. Action in the coastal gulf should also continue until water temperature drops significantly.
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
