Fishing has been hot! Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, reds, trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel and blues the last couple of weeks. The best action continues to be on deep grass flats for trout, Spanish mackerel and pompano. We also caught Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano in Big Pass and Spanish mackerel on the Silvertooth Reef in the coastal gulf off Lido Key. Reds are becoming more active in skinny water and snook are staging on shallow flats.
Bernie Feinberg and David Schofield, both from Sarasota, FL, and David's son, Mike from NY, fished a night snook trip with me near Venice on Tuesday evening, March 3rd. It was a cool, windy night with the temperature in the high 40's by the time we got off the water. However, it didn't affect the snook bite that much. They caught and released about a dozen snook to 24" and a bonus 4-pound trout. All fish were caught on my Grassett's Snook Minnow fly. Michelle Ford, from Nokomis, FL, her dad, Ray Ford from Brogue, PA and a friend, Cathy, fished Sarasota Bay with me the next day. They caught trout and blues on deep grass flats at Stephens Point and near Long Bar and Buttonwood Harbor on CAL jigs with shad tails. Fly angler Seth Jaeger and his girlfriend fished the same areas with me on Friday and caught trout and blues on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.
I was a seminar speaker at the Sarasota Florida Sportsman Show the weekend of March 7th and 8th. I did a Power Point presentation, incorporating Google Earth satellite photos, on "How to Find Fish in Sarasota Bay". The focus of the presentation was on why fish are in certain areas and how to fish those areas, so that anglers can find their own hot spots. The weather got even better the next week and the Spanish mackerel came on strong! Marty and Christine Enger, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me on Monday. They had steady action with trout, blues, and Spanish mackerel in Big Pass and on deep grass flats from the Middleground flat to Buttonwood Harbor.
Sarasota winter resident, Harry Beaty, and a guest fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. They had fast action with Spanish mackerel in Big Pass and trout at Stephens Point on CAL jigs with shad tails. Doug Boardman, and his young daughter, Ashley, fished Big Pass and the west side of the bay in the afternoon. They caught trout and pompano on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.
Mike Sprague, from NJ, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. The action was a little slower, but we finished the day strong with some very nice trout caught on CAL jigs with shad tails near Long Bar. Dick Hume, from MN, and his son-in-law, Chris Leu from TX, fished Big Pass, the coastal gulf, the Radio Tower and Middleground flats and near Buttonwood Harbor with me on Thursday. They had steady action with Spanish mackerel, trout and pompano on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. My brother, Kirk Grassett from Middletown, DE, came in for a few days on Thursday. He fished on his own and with our friend, Rusty Chinnis from Longboat Key, for a couple of days in Sarasota Bay and had great action with trout to 25", pompano and Spanish mackerel on flies. We all fished together on Friday after noon and had a good bite with trout and pompano near Buttonwood Harbor. Kirk finished the day with a nice red on a Crab Clouser fly (olive, tan and white with gold flash) near Long Bar.
I was the instructor for another CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed fly casting school on Saturday. It's a lot of fun for me when the students "get it" and start having success with their casting. There is one more school left for the season on Saturday, April 4th. Cost for the school, which runs from 9 AM to 3 PM, is $150 and includes an instructional video, a textbook, the use of premium Orvis fly tackle and lunch. Contact CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 to sign up.
Next week's tides are not the best (2 tide days with one high and one low) but fishing should still be good. Fishing is exploding as we head into spring. Look for more Spanish mackerel and little tunny to move into our area, fishing for reds and snook should get better as snook stage on shallow flats and reds get hungrier. Deep grass flats should be hot with trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel and more. Also, keep your eyes open for tarpon as the first fish of the season should begin to show up.
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
