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 false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel, tripletail, flounder, snook, reds and trout on flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos in Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor and the coastal gulf waters during the past couple of weeks.
Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers members Mike Kwasny and Ken Babineau fished the coastal gulf off Sarasota with me on Monday, 10/20. With stone crab season now open, there is plenty of structure to hold tripletail. We found several tripletail and caught and released 2. This is a great sight fishing opportunity! Later in the morning, we found some false albacore feeding on the surface and they each caught and released their first one on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL and Dale Vollrath, from Sarasota, FL, fished the Terra Ceia area with me on Wednesday, 10/22. They caught and released 7 or 8 snook to 27", 4 reds to 26", numerous trout and a big flounder on top water plugs and CAL jigs with shad tails. A good day!
Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, fished the coastal gulf near Boca Grande with me on Thursday, 10/23. Our plan was to fish the backcountry for reds and snook, but I checked the coastal gulf before heading in that direction and found the action with Spanish mackerel and false albacore too hot to leave. Frank caught and released 4 or 5 albies to 10-pounds and numerous Spanish mackerel to 3-pounds on Clouser and Grassett Snook Minnow flies. The fall bite in the coastal Gulf of Mexico is on!
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 10/24. We waded several bars and caught and released trout and jacks on Grassett Flats Minnow and Gurgler flies. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL and I fished the 10th annual CCA Florida-Sarasota Chapter and Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge" on Saturday, 10/25. Anglers fished for a variety of species in the catch, photo and release, fly fishing only tournament. Capt. Chris Hargiss, from Sarasota, FL was the winner of the Open division and Justin Hamblet, from Sarasota, FL was the winner of the Fly Angler division. Thanks to Orvis, CB's Saltwater Outfitters, Economy Tackle, Andy Thornal Company, Simm's, Craig Smothers (saltflys.com) and Capt. Jeff Olsen for donating awards or raffle prizes. In addition to good people, good food and good fishing, the event also raises money for CCA's and MCFF's conservation efforts.
Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, fished the coastal gulf off Sarasota with me on Monday, 10/27. Our goal was false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel and tripletail on fly. Albies were elusive that day only showing themselves briefly a few times so we caught and released a few mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and moved on to tripletail. Conditions were good and tripletail were plentiful that day. He had numerous shots and caught and released 2 on my Grassett Flats Minnow and EP Shrimp flies. Fish were being picky but we showed them different flies and presentations and he did a great job finessing them into eating!
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL, fished the coastal gulf with me on Tuesday, 10/28. Despite an east wind, there was a big chop coming straight up the beach out of the southeast making conditions tough. We had shots at a couple of tripletail and decided to fish the bay starting at the bottom of the tide. We waded a shallow flat, hooked 3 reds and caught and released 2 on my Grassett Flats Minnow and Flats Bunny flies. A great afternoon!
Mike Clancy and Mik Mikitik, both from Olympia, WA, were the successful bidders on a trip that I donated to the International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF) for their 2014 International Fly Fishing Fair in Livingston, MT. They fished the coastal gulf with me on Thursday, 10/30 and had good action with tripletail, getting numerous shots at them and catching releasing 2. Although tripletail haven't been big lately, it's great way for fly anglers to hone their sight casting skills!
Outdoor writer, Jan Maizler and photographer, Allen Williams, both from the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area, fished with me on Friday and Saturday, 10/31 and 11/1. A front passed through early Friday, so fishing the coastal gulf was not an option. I poled a shallow flat in Sarasota Bay on Friday and they caught and released several snook on CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs. We also drifted a deep grass flat and caught and released trout, flounder and bluefish on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails. With 25 to 30-mph winds and cool air rushing in on Saturday morning, conditions were extremely tough. We fished oyster bars, mangrove shorelines and docks in Little Sarasota Bay and caught and released several jacks, a couple of snook and a nice flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Tripletail, Spanish mackerel and false albacore in the coastal gulf should be one of the best options now depending on conditions. Look for bait schools, diving birds or breaking fish to find albies and mackerel. Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, flounder and more should be good options on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Snook fishing should be good around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW at night or on shallow flats of Sarasota Bay. You might find reds and trout along with snook on lighted docks this time of year. Also, look for reds on shallow flats mixed with mullet schools.
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