Anglers fishing with me, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing snook, trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay, snook and blues in the ICW south of Sarasota and snook, trout and redfish in Gasparilla Sound on flies and DOA Lures during the past week. The best action was catching and releasing snook in the ICW and in skinny water.
Mike Ward, from Asheville, NC and David Ufer, from Ann Arbor, MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 1/2. We worked deep grass flats on the west side of the bay where they had good action with trout, blues and a Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad tails. Marshall Dinerman, from Atlanta, GA, fished the same areas with me on Friday, 1/6. Sea fog was heavy when we started, but it dissipated quickly allowing us to move around. He had good action with trout on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and flies.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL and his son-in-law Rick Anderson, also from IL, fished the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Tuesday, 1/3. They had good action with numerous trout to 20", several snook to 24" and a nice red on CAL jigs with shad tails. The trout action was very good with the majority of the fish falling in the upper slot. Rick scored a slam, with numerous trout, a few snook and a red at the end of the day to complete his slam!
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday, 1/4. We waded a couple of sand bars and caught a few quality fish. Nick caught and released a 26" snook and a couple of nice trout on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly. Larger trout are typically found in shallower water this time of year and with water temperatures still around 70 degrees, there are also still plenty of snook on shallow flats.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL and Victor Feldman, from Champagne, IL, fished the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Tuesday, 1/10. They had a great day with numerous trout to 20", more than a dozen snook to 29" and a red on CAL jigs with shad tails. Victor scored a slam, with numerous trout, a few snook and a red to complete his slam!
Martin Marlowe, from NY and Tim Hearon, from Siesta Key, FL, had a great trip with me in the ICW south of Sarasota on Wednesday evening, 1/11. With a strong incoming tide, snook gorged themselves on glass minnows and my Grassett Snook Minnow fly, which imitates a glass minnow. They had nonstop action catching and releasing snook to 29", blues to 4-lbs and jacks. Dean Fields, from IN, fished the same area with me on Thursday night, 1/12, also had great trip catching and releasing numerous snook and blues on the same fly. Tony Merlis, from NH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 1/13. We worked deep grass flats on the west side of the bay where he had some action catching and releasing trout to 18" on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly.
I was the instructor for a CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School on Saturday, 1/14. Students received instruction in fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. We also covered leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. Contact CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or info@cbsoutfitters.com to make reservations for the next school on Feb 25th.
Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more should continue to be a good option on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Catch and release night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures should also be good. Also look for snook in shallow water along with larger trout and reds when conditions are good. There may be some action in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny) and tripletail depending on sea conditions.
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
