Anglers fishing Sarasota Bay, the ICW near Venice and Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me during the past couple of weeks, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released reds, snook, trout, blues and pompano on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. Shallow water fishing for snook, trout and reds and trout and blues on deep grass flats is improving as the water cools down.
John and Deb Lamanna, from Bradenton, FL, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a night snook trip in the ICW near Venice on Tuesday evening, 10/25 with me. They had good action catching and releasing a few snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. Congratulations!
Lynn Skipper, from Apollo Beach, FL, fished the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers/CCA "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge", a catch, photo and release fly fishing only tournament for snook, reds, trout and more, with me on Saturday, 10/29. We had decent action catching and releasing snook on flies before daylight in Sarasota Bay. We waded a shallow flat after dawn where Lynn caught and released a couple of over slot trout, including a 3 and a 4-pound fish, on an EP style fly. Conditions were tough, with wind gusting above 20-mph by early afternoon. We hit a trout spot on the way in and caught and released a few more trout and Lynn narrowly missed winning the Trout category of the Open division. A good day!
Congratulations to MCFF members Mick Coulas, from Venice, who won the Fly Angler division with 281.25 points, Capt. Chris Hargiss, from Sarasota, was the Open division winner with a 64.5"slam (snook, red and trout) and Brian Boehn, from Sarasota, won 2nd place with a 49.75" slam. A huge thank you to donors Orvis, CB's Saltwater Outfitters, Economy Tackle, Andy Thornal Company, Chouinard Outdoors/Simms & Umpqua, Fishing Bandit, The Compound, West Wall, New Pass Grill and Bait, Doug Forde, Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) and all the tournament anglers. Full results and info on next year's tournament are at www.fallflyfishingchallenge.com .
Greg Rogers, from Tampa, FL, fished deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 10/31. Action wasn't fast, but he had steady action with trout, ladyfish and a bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL and Pat Redmond, from Sarasota, FL, fished Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Tuesday, 11/1. They caught and released numerous snook, trout and a red on CAL jigs with shad tails. Action was good with snook in shallow water.
Joe Koss, from NY, fished deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday, 11/2. He had a great day catching and releasing numerous trout, a bluefish and a pompano on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly. We spent some time in skinny water where he caught and released snook and a nice red on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly to complete his slam. Great job!
Anna Maria Island and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple had good action with trout and blues on Ultra Hair Clouser flies while fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. 11/3. With a good tide and an approaching front, fish turned on.
Snook, reds and trout in skinny water and trout, blues, pompano and more on deep grass flats should be good options. Night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures should also be a good option. 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 school up along the beaches. Tripletail should also show up since stone crab traps are now in the coastal gulf, increasing the amount of available structure for them.
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
