As expected, fishing rebounded quickly following the passing of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hermine. Anglers fishing Sarasota Bay with me, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, during the past week caught and released snook, trout and bluefish on DOA Deadly Combos and flies. I also had a chance to fly fish with a friend one day and we had good action with Mayan Cyclids and a bonus juvenile tarpon!
I had a chance to do some scouting during week of 8/28 when Steve Traves, owner of Anna Maria Island Outfitters, invited Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, and me to fish with him on Monday, 8/29. Steve has a new Beavertail flats skiff that is a great boat; stable and well planned with lots of storage! With a strong east wind, it was too windy to fish Tampa Bay, so we opted to check out the coastal gulf where we found Spanish mackerel feeding in several different areas along the beach.
Steve Cohn, from Australia, fished a pre-dawn snook/bay trip with me on Monday, 9/5. We had rescheduled this trip from the previous week to let the water clear up following the storm. Steve is a CCI (certified fly casting instructor) and a great fly caster. He had good action catching and releasing snook around dock lights before dawn on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We moved to the deep flats after daylight where he kept it going with trout, jacks and blues on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. I also had an instructional fly fishing trip with another angler later in the week.
Collin and Carol Myers, from PA, celebrated their anniversary by fishing Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. 9/6. We fished deep grass flats on the west side of the bay where they had good action catching and releasing trout, bluefish and jacks on DOA Deadly Combos.
I had an opportunity to fish with my friend, kayak fishing guide Steve Gibson of Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing, on Thursday, 9/8. We fished the edge of the Everglades and had good action catching and releasing Mayan Cyclids on 2-weight fly tackle with bead head nymphs. We were both surprised when I caught and released a juvenile tarpon on the same rig. Great fun!
Night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures should be a good option. You might also find a few juvenile tarpon and reds in the lights along with snook. I look for action in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny) and Spanish mackerel to take off as the water cools down and baitfish become more plentiful. In addition, there should also be good action with trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
IFFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide at CB's Saltwater Outfitters
Orvis Outfitter of the Year-2011
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
www.snookfin-addict.com, www.snookfinaddict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.us
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
(941) 923-7799
