Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with reds during the past week. Large reds are schooling in Gasparilla Sound where anglers connected with MirrOlure Top Dog, Jrs, CAL shad tails, jerk worms and my Flats Minnow fly. In addition, trout and snook were also caught and released.
My son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton, fished with me on Monday. We found a large school of reds in Gasparilla Sound and hooked up repeatedly to reds to 32" with Mirrolure Top Dog, Jrs. When the school finally disappeared, we waded a sand bar where Andy caught and released his personal best redfish on my Flats Minnow fly.
Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers secretary, Melissa Littlewood, fished the same area with me on Wednesday. Melissa will be participating in a tournament in the Keys in October and wanted to sharpen her skills with both spin and fly tackle. She hooked several snook and landed one on my Grass (Snook) Minnow fly before daylight along Little Gasparilla Island. We didn't find and school reds that day, but found plenty of them scattered on various flats and sand bars. She landed a pair of reds on CAL jigs with shad and grub tails and then spent a couple of hours wading and sight casting to reds on a sand bar. We had plenty of good shots with a fly but no takers.
The next day, I was the guest of Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers member, Ron Whitely, on his Maverick Mirage flats skiff. We started before dawn and caught a couple of snook before switching to the flats. With rain bearing down on us, we drifted a couple of deep grass flats in Gasparilla Sound where we caught and released several trout and ladyfish on Ron's Estaz Marabou and Clouser flies before the rain chased us off the water.
The action should continue next week with reds in Charlotte Harbor and Sarasota Bay. Snook before dawn and trout, bluefish and more on deep grass in the same areas should also be an option.
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
