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 snook, trout, jacks, tripletail, Spanish mackerel and a cobia on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms in Sarasota Bay and tripletail and false albacore (little tunny) in the coastal gulf on flies during the past couple of weeks.
Mike Storey, from Bradenton, FL, and Bob Stack, from GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 10/12. We worked deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released trout and a tripletail on Clouser and shrimp fly patterns.
My son, Bryan Gibson and Sam Green, both from St. Pete, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 10/13. We worked docks before and after daylight where they caught and released a few snook and jacks on CAL jigs with shad tails. We fished deep grass flats close to passes after daylight where they had steady action with a variety of species including trout, jacks, mangrove snapper, gag grouper and black sea bass on the same lures.
Nick Thompson, from the UK, fished with me on Thursday, 10/15. Our plan was to fish the coastal gulf for tripletail and false albacore, but it was rougher than anticipated. There was a big swell out of the northwest and we also ran into some red tide south of Sarasota. We fished the east side of Sarasota Bay instead where he had steady action catching and releasing trout on Clouser flies. We also sound found some surface activity and he had good action catching and releasing jacks and ladyfish on the same flies.
Patrice Camillieri, from France, fished the coastal gulf with me on Friday, 10/16. It was rough and windy when we started, so we fished Sarasota Bay for a while. The wind dropped and the sun popped out at midday, giving us a window of opportunity to fish the gulf. We found good conditions; clear water, not much swell or chop and no red tide off Manatee County. He caught and released several tripletail on a shrimp fly pattern.
Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, had good action on a couple of days in the coastal gulf with me. It was very windy on Monday, 10/19 and tough to get too far offshore. However, we found plenty of tripletail and he caught and released 7 or 8 on a shrimp fly pattern. Conditions were much better on Thursday, 10/22 and he had good action with false albacore hooking up several times on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Massimo Giardina and Tatiana Migliaretti, from Switzerland, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 10/20. We worked deep grass flats on both sides of the bay and they had steady action with trout and a couple of Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad tails. Tatiana caught and released the fish of the day, a 26" cobia that put on quite a show for us including numerous jumps! Jim Festa, from Sarasota, FL, and a friend, Dennis from MI, fished the same areas with me on Wednesday, 10/21 and had steady action with trout on CAL jigs with shad tails.
John Freeman, from WI and Dave Willer, from MN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 10/23 and John and his wife, Barbara, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday, 10/24. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they had steady action with trout and Spanish mackerel to 18" on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Action with tripletail, false albacore and Spanish mackerel should be a good option now in the coastal gulf when conditions allow it. Tripletail fishing combines hunting fish and sight casting to them. Although they've been running small, due to their body shape and fighting tactics they are still fun to catch on fly or spinning tackle. You may also find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and jacks on deep grass flats. Snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges close to passes with flies and DOA Lures should be a good option. Look for reds, snook and big trout mixed with mullet schools on shallow flats and edges of bars.
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
