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, bluefish and jacks on DOA Lures in Sarasota Bay, hooked up with tarpon on spinning tackle and also had some shots at tarpon with a fly in the coastal gulf during the past couple of weeks.
Normally there is good tarpon action as they school up ahead of full and new moons to spawn, however there were fewer tarpon than expected as we approached the full moon on 5/14. A fly angler tarpon fishing the coastal gulf with me on Monday and Tuesday, 5/12 and 13 had some shots, but fish weren't that plentiful and were deep in the water column making it tough to get a fly into the strike zone fast enough.
Bill Moore, from Libertyville, IL, fished with me on Thursday and Friday, 5/15 and 16. Our plan was to tarpon fish in the coastal gulf but a late season cold front roughed up the gulf and changed our game plan. We fished deep and shallow grass flats on both sides of the bay where he caught and released trout, bluefish and jacks on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos.
The front dropped the water temperature from 81 to 75 and there continued to be fewer tarpon than normal as we headed towards the quarter phase of the moon on 5/21. Most of that week was spent fly fishing for tarpon, but we spent a couple of mornings spin fishing. We drifted live baits while waiting to cast to schools with live crabs and DOA Baitbusters and made a few casts. An angler connected with a tarpon on a live crab out of a happy school of fish on Thursday only to have the hook pull.
Fly anglers tarpon fishing the coastal gulf with me had a fair amount of shots a couple of days and only a few shots a couple of other days. Hooking up with tarpon on a fly is usually a matter of the right cast to the right fish. With many variables, including visibility, tide and sea conditions, it is a numbers game. It usually requires numerous shots for it all to come together to be successful.
Tarpon should be more plentiful in the coastal gulf as we approach a new moon next week. Look for reds and big trout on shallow flats or edges of bars in Sarasota Bay. You should find snook in the surf, in passes and around docks and bridges close to passes. Fishing deep grass flats for trout, blues, flounder and more should also be a good option.
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
