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, redfish, flounder, bluefish and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and snook and bluefish in the ICW at night near Venice on lures and flies during the past couple of weeks. We also jumped a tarpon and landed another tarpon in the coastal gulf on a fly for the first 2 tarpon of the season!
Terry Mitchell, from OR, and Michael Ruegg from Switzerland, fished the coastal gulf and Sarasota Bay with me on Monday., 4/22 With good sunlight and calm sea conditions we decided to take a look in the coastal gulf for tarpon. We were pleasantly surprised to find 6 or 7 schools of tarpon and get some shots at them with flies, DOA shrimp and Baitbusters. We fished Sarasota Bay in the afternoon where they caught numerous trout to 18", Spanish mackerel, flounder and a redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails at Stephens Point and near Long Bar.
Don and Linda Tase, from NH, and their grandson Ryan, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 4/23. They caught and released trout to 18" on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos at the Marina Jack Flat.
Ron Race, from MI, fished Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf with me on Wednesday, 4/24. He had some action catching and releasing trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies at the Marina Jack flat in the morning before we headed into the coastal gulf. Conditions were great, so we spent some time looking for tarpon, tripletail and false albacore (little tunny) but didn't find anything. However we found a big cobia and he got a shot at it with a fly.
Ron also fished the ICW near Venice with me on Thursday evening, 4/25. He had great action catching and releasing 15 snook to 25" and a bluefish on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. The best action was at the bottom of the tide when snook went on a binge!
On Friday 4/26's tarpon trip in the coastal gulf, we saw 3 schools of tarpon and had 5 or 6 shots at them with a fly. We jumped one on a Lefty's Deceiver fly that gave us a smoking run and several jumps before the fish chafed the leader on something and broke off. What a thrill!
Capt. Ed Hurst and I taught the Orvis Fly Fishing 101 introductory fly fishing class at CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Saturday morning, 4/27. The 2-hour free class, designed to expose new anglers to fly fishing, covered fly casting basics and included casting with premium Orvis fly tackle. If you want to learn to fly fish, contact CB's at (941) 349-4400 to sign up for the next Orvis Fly Fishing 101 class, which will be Sun, May 5th.
Mark Bowler, editor of the Scottish magazine Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, and his guests Ron and Rick, all from Scotland, fly fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday, 4/28. The best action was fishing deep grass at Stephens Point where they caught and released trout (both spotted and silver trout), blues, jacks and ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on intermediate sink tip lines. Ron also connected with a good snook while we were wading shallow water and they had some shots at reds on top of a bar when the tide was high.
Ross Shedden, from Bradenton, FL, fished Sarasota Bay on an instructional fly fishing trip with me on Monday, 4/29. He was casting 40-feet or more in short order and was able to catch and release several trout and bluefish fishing deep grass flats on the west side of the bay with an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line. Very good!
Patrice Camillieri, from France, fly fished for tarpon in the coastal gulf with me on Tuesday, 4/30. We saw singles, doubles and several small schools of fish throughout the day. Despite some slow periods, we had spurts of good activity and fish were happy. Patrice caught and released his first tarpon, a young male of about 50-pounds, on a fly. The fish was so aggressive that it slammed its brakes on and went vertical to eat the fly and then jumped numerous times around the boat before being landed in about 15 to 20-minutes. A great first tarpon!
Conditions were poor for tarpon fishing on Wednesday morning, 5/1. With heavy cloud cover and rain looming just offshore, we decided to wait for better tarpon fishing conditions. Thursday, 5/2 was similar, poor visibility and a big swell in the gulf. Seth Koch, from PA, and Bill Miller from MS, fly fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released a few trout to 20" on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on a sink tip fly line.
Tarpon are becoming more plentiful in the coastal gulf and should be a good option next week. Look for reds, snook and big trout in potholes and on the edges of bars when the tide is low or on shallow flats on sunny afternoons when the tide is high. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should also be good.
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
