Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout, reds and snook in Gasparilla Sound; redfish, trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, pompano and sheepshead in Sarasota Bay and snook and jacks in the ICW at night near Venice on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails during the past couple of weeks. The best action was with Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats and snook at night.
Anna Maria and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple, fished with me on Monday morning, 2/17. We fished deep grass flats at Stephens and near Bishop Point where they had steady action catching and releasing numerous Spanish mackerel, a few trout and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.
Beale Ong, from St. Michaels, MD and Wright Elliott, from NY, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning, 2/18. They had good action with Spanish mackerel to 4-lbs, pompano and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails on deep grass flats near Bishop Point. Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland and Roy Glah and Diane Muhlfeld, from Sarasota, FL, fished the same area with me that afternoon. The action heated up as they had fast action catching and releasing numerous Spanish mackerel to 4-pounds, bluefish and a couple of pompano on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL and Tony Merlis, from NH, fished with me on Wednesday, 2/19. We fished deep grass flats and drop offs on the west side of the bay where they had good action catching and releasing numerous Spanish mackerel to 4-pounds and pompano on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.
Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY and his sons, Frank and John, fished with me on Thursday, 2/20. We fished deep grass flats at Stephens and near Bishop Point where they had steady action catching and releasing Spanish mackerel and trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.
I was out of town for a few days and returned on Tuesday night in time for Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, to fish Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Wednesday, 2/26. We fished hard in shallow water, hunting reds with some success. Keith caught and released a pair of slot reds, several trout and a snook, to complete his slam, on CAL jigs with shad tails. We also fished a sand bar where he caught and released a few jacks and a 36" blacktip shark also on a CAL jig with a shad tail.
Anna Maria and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday morning, 2/27. We fished deep grass flats on the east side of the bay where they caught and released numerous trout and a couple of Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, snook fished with me in the ICW near Venice that evening. It was cool (50's) and drizzling rain all night, but the snook bite was hot! He caught and released more than 20 snook to 25" and several jacks in the 3 to 4-pound class on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL and Mike Perez, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 2/28. We waded a shallow grass flat on the west side of the bay where they had good action catching and releasing several trout to 4 1/2-pounds, an 8-pound red and a sheepshead on Clouser and my Grassett Flats Minnow flies. A good day!
I gave a presentation, "How to Catch More Fish on a Fly", at the "Outdoors Expo & Boat Show" (formerly the Frank Sargeant Show) at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa on Saturday, 3/1 and also spent some time with my friends at the DOA Fishing Lures booth. If you're interested in learning how to fly fish, there's still time to sign up for the next CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School, which will be on 3/8. The class will cover fly casting basics, shooting line, roll cast, leader construction and saltwater fly fishing techniques. Contact CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 to sign up.
Snook season reopened on Florida's gulf coast on 3/1 and will remain open through 4/30. Bag limit is one fish per angler per day, which must be in a slot from 28"-33". Fish should be measured horizontally from the tip of the nose (mouth closed) to the pinched tip of the tail. The majority of fish will be undersized, so handle them gently and release them as quickly as possible. If you want a digital image of your trophy, be ready with your camera and support the fish horizontally with two hands for a quick shot. There is a great article on fish handling, including photography tips, on the Florida FWC web site at the following link, http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/fish-handling/. Personally, I will continue to ask clients to release all snook while the population rebounds from the devastating freeze of 2010.
Look for reds and big trout on shallow flats or edges of bars in Sarasota Bay as we head away from a new moon next week. Fishing deep grass flats for trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano and more should continue to be a good option. You may also find tripletail in the coastal gulf when conditions are good.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
IFFF 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.snookfin-addict.com
