Hey! Hey! Hey! Fat Albert! It's the time of year when little tunny, a.k.a. bonito, false albacore, LT's, albies or fat alberts, are beginning their fall inshore blitz. In addition to little tunny, Spanish mackerel are also plentiful in the coastal gulf. Anglers fishing with me on my flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, little tunny and snook during the past couple of weeks.
Marty Cyr, from Orlando, FL, and his brother-in-law, Rob, from Tampa, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 9/20. They caught and released numerous trout to 18" and a couple of blues to 4-pounds near Long Bar on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos. We had numerous shots at reds but they ignored our lures. Steve Cohn, from Castlecrag, New South Wales, Australia, snook fished with me in the ICW near Venice that evening. He caught and released about 6 snook to 24" on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
I was in Delaware visiting family from 9/21 through 9/28 and had a chance to fish a day in Chesapeake Bay for stripers and blues while I was there. My brothers, Kirk Grassett from Middletown, DE , Joey Grassett, from Seaford, DE and I fished the middle Chesapeake near Tilghman Island, MD out of Kirk's Jones Brothers 20' Light Tackle boat. We had fast action with stripers to 24" and blues to 4-lbs on Clouser and Crease flies and fly poppers.
Back at home, Greg Stepanski from Tampa, FL, claimed the trip that he purchased at the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club banquet with me on Friday, 10/1. We fished near the mouth of Tampa Bay and had fast action with little tunny and Spanish mackerel. The action was a little slow to start, but as the sun got higher in the sky, bait schools worked their way to the surface where predators made an easy meal of them. Greg scored with Clouser and Grassett Snook Minnow flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms and Mirrodine plugs. We caught and released 8 or 10 little tunny to 8-lbs and about a dozen or more mackerel to 2-lbs. The action peaked just before the bottom of the tide as predators grabbed a meal before the water stopped moving. A great trip!
I was a guest at Mosquito Creek Outdoors (www.mosquitocreekoutdoors.com) in Apopka, FL on Saturday, 10/2. Their "Discover Fly Fishing" event was very well planned and organized as vendors, fly tiers and fly anglers from around the state displayed their wares and shared their knowledge of fly fishing and fly tying to introduce new anglers to the sport. I was there to help promote a donated fishing trip with me and legendary fly angler and author, Chico Fernandez, which will benefit the Snook Foundation. Look for more info on this trip, which will be offered in a silent auction at a future event at www.snookfoundation.org or contact me if you are interested in bidding.
We are at one of my favorite times of the year. The coastal gulf is coming alive with little tunny, Spanish mackerel and more. Flats fishing is also heating up as the water cools down. Reds and snook should be feeding in skinny water and trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano should be plentiful on deep grass flats.
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
