Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action recently with trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and flies on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. In addition, we also caught a few snook, pompano, blues and reds.
Fly angler Paul Dixon, from MI, and Todd Banner, from Bradenton, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 4/13. They had steady action with trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos along the west side of the bay near Buttonwood Harbor. The next day fly angler Terry Rychlik, from CT, fished the same area with me. He caught and released several trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on an intermediate fly line. A front was bearing down on us and forced us off the water by 10 AM. My new Garmin 545s GPS/Sounder combo unit with XM weather is great! We monitored the approaching front on the radar screen on my boat and were safely on the trailer as the front punched through. What a valuable tool!
The next day's trip was blown out as a strong northwest wind churned the area of the bay we had planned to fish. I was back on the water on Thursday with Marc Chiapperino and his son, Marc, from NJ. They had steady action with trout and a bluefish on Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. Marc caught and released a big red on my Grassett's Flats Minnow fly along a mangrove shoreline north of Long Bar.
Howard and Jason Rosenbecker, from Bradenton, FL, fished with me on Friday morning. Wind was an issue as it has been most of this spring, but they still had some action. They caught and released several trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and Clouser flies along the east side of the bay from Stephens Point to Bayshore Gardens. Jason used his new Orvis TLS fly rod and Battenkill Mid Arbor reel and christened it by catching a few fish. Detlev and Stephen Korff, from Germany, fished the same area with me that afternoon. The wind dropped a little and the action picked up. They caught and released numerous trout to 21" and a pompano on CAL jigs and Clouser flies. Longtime friend and customer Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday. The action was slow to start but it finally picked up when the wind shifted to the west and allowed us to fish the west side of the bay. We caught and released several trout on CAL jigs and Clouser flies near Buttonwood Harbor.
We found reds and snook on the flats to be very challenging last week. Fly angler Jim Strouth, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. We caught a few trout on Clouser flies near Buttonwood Harbor, but couldn't get reds and snook to bite. Fly angler Denis Clohisy, from WI, and his friend, Brian McInnis, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me for the next 3 days. We fished Little Sarasota Bay on Tuesday afternoon and evening. They caught and released trout, jacks and ladyfish before dusk on flies and jigs and 6 or 8 snook after dark on my Grassett's Snook Minnow fly. We fished hard for reds and snook the next couple of days, but just couldn't get it going. They caught and released mostly trout with a few other species (jacks, ladyfish and blues) along the way.
My friends Mark Nichols, owner of DOA Fishing Lures, and his wife, Jenny, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, we participated in the 14th annual Sarasota "All Release Challenge" fishing tournament. This is a fun, low stress tournament that also raises money for conservation. DOA has been a sponsor or donor, since the beginning of this event. You couldn't fish any harder for reds and snook than we did, but they didn't cooperate. We caught and released trout to 21 ½", jacks, ladyfish and bluefish on CAL jigs with grubs, jerk worms and shad tails.
Next week's two tide days are strong early next week and will get weaker by the end of the week. Trout fishing has been strong and reds and snook will have to begin eating sometime. Keep your eyes open for the first tarpon of the season, which should start showing around Sarasota Bay any time now.
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
