Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing reds, trout, bluefish and jacks in Sarasota Bay during the past couple of weeks. The best action was with a variety of species on deep grass flats.
I spent a couple of days early in the week of 8/26, scouting both shallow and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay, catching and releasing trout and bluefish on DOA Deadly Combos, CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs. I also spent a few hours in the coastal gulf one afternoon, saw a few tarpon and had a couple of shots with a fly. The best action was when Seth and Lauren Jaeger, from Louisville, KY, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday, 8/29. We fished lighted docks before dawn where they caught slot trout and redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails. They also had good action fishing deep grass flats on both sides of the bay, catching and releasing a variety of species including trout, blues, mangrove snapper and black sea bass on DOA Deadly Combos, CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs.
Capt. Andy Cotton, also out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters, was scouting that day and called to let me know he'd found a large school of over slot reds so my clients could get in on the action. Most fish in the school were 30" and larger, mixed with large blues and jacks. Seth and Lauren caught and released numerous fish including redfish to 11-pounds, blues to 5-pounds and jacks to 10-pounds. A great way to end the trip!
Snook season reopened on the west coast of Florida on Sept. 1, after being closed since a devastating freeze in Jan 2010. Anglers may keep one fish per person, per day between 28"-33" from Sept 1st through Nov 30th. With so many other edible fish available on any given day in our waters, I'm going to continue to ask my clients to catch and release snook on my boat. They are one of our premier gamefish species and an important part of Florida tourism. Regulations for all saltwater species can be found at www.myfwc.com .
My son, Bryan Gibson, and a coworker, Mike Phoenix, both from St. Pete, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 9/3. We fished deep grass flats along the west side of the bay and caught released trout, blues and jacks on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails. The largest fish of the day was a 4-pound trout that Bryan caught and released on the combo.
With a TV show shoot to do on Thursday and my boat in the shop for maintenance, I fished with Capt. Andy Cotton in his boat on Wednesday, 9/4 to do some scouting. We found lots of bait with a few Spanish mackerel and false albacore (little tunny) feeding in them in the coastal first thing in the morning. We caught and released trout, blues and jacks on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos on deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay. We found a school of big reds and caught and released redfish and bluefish out of the school before they disappeared.
"Reel Animals" TV show hosts, Capt. Mike Anderson and Capt. Billy Nobles, fished with me on Thursday, 9/5. We fished out of their Yellowfin 24 bay boat, an awesome fishing machine! We fished the coastal gulf off Sarasota first thing in the morning and had a couple of hookups on jigs and plugs. One was a jack that was hit by a shark and the other fish was probably an albie that was cut off before it could be landed. We also fished deep and shallow grass flats on both sides of Sarasota Bay and caught and released trout, blues and jacks on a variety of lures.
Action in the coastal gulf is about to get hot! Baitfish are becoming plentiful and predators will be close behind them. Reds are schooling in Sarasota Bay. Look for nervous patches of water or large wakes to find them. Beat the heat by catch and release snook fishing before daylight and then look for reds, trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, tripletail and more in Sarasota Bay.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB's Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com
