Anglers fishing with me the past several weeks had good action in Sarasota Bay with trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and pompano on flies and jigs. Anglers fishing Charlotte Harbor scored with trout and reds. Despite water temperatures being up and down with the passing of several fronts, fishing has remained fairly consistent.
Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, and Brian Green, from Ontario, Canada fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, Feb. 25th. They had steady action with bluefish in Big Pass and trout, Spanish mackerel and blues at the Middleground Flat and at Stephens Point on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad and grub tails. Mike Perez, from Richmond, IN, and Jeff Hanna, from MI, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday, Feb. 26th that week. They caught and released trout, ladyfish and a red with CAL jigs and flies on deep grass flats and around sand bars. Mike also fished Sarasota Bay with me later that week. We found the action a little slower, but the best action was on deep grass flats with Ultra Hair Clouser flies.
I attended the Florida Guides Association's annual meeting and did a Saltwater Fly Fishing seminar at the Frank Sargeant Show on Sunday, March 2nd. Sarasota winter residents, Harry Beaty and Tom Schalk, fished Sarasota Bay with me and had fast action with blues in Big Pass and bluefish, Spanish mackerel and trout at the Middleground flat and Stephens Point on CAL jigs on Monday, March 3rd. Dick Reece fished the next day with me in Sarasota Bay before heading back north. The action was a little slower but included trout, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs. Fly anglers Nick Reding and Jim Ewoldt, both from St. Louis, MO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday and Thursday that week. The best action was on deep grass flats near Buttonwood Harbor, Stephens Point and the Middleground flat where they caught pompano, Spanish mackerel and trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Friday's trip got blown out after only 2-hours when 25-30-mph winds swept in ahead of a front. That meant good weather for a fishing show that weekend as I spoke at the Sarasota Florida Sportsman Show and helped DOA Fishing Lures out at their booth on Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9.
I was back on the water on Monday morning with fly anglers Jeff Wagner, from UT, and his uncle, Chub Bortz from PA. They caught and released trout, ladyfish, bluefish and Spanish mackerel on a variety of flies in Sarasota Bay. Firman Schlabaugh and Junior Miller, both from Sarasota, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday. They had a banner day catching about a dozen trout to over 20", with most fish in the upper end of the slot, around sand bars in Gasparilla Sound. We spent the afternoon targeting reds and they caught 7 reds to 30" along mangrove shorelines and sand bars in Turtle Bay. All fish were caught on CAL jigs with shad or grub tails.
Joe Scotti and Bill Crowley, from Nokomis, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me the next day. The best action was with trout on deep grass flats from the Radio Tower flat to Buttonwood Harbor. They caught and released 25 or 30 trout, including several over 20", bluefish and Spanish mackerel with CAL jigs and shad or grub tails. Trout action came on strong in both Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor last week. I have been asking clients to release all trout in Sarasota Bay to help their recovery. Following the red tides of 2005 and 2006, trout were just about wiped out in Sarasota Bay. It was only last fall that they began to recover and are now on their way to a healthy level. Mike Stehlik, from MN, and his brother Dennis Stehlik, from Chicago, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on Friday. They caught and released about a dozen trout to 18" in Gasparilla Sound and 4 reds to 24" in Turtle Bay on CAL jigs with shad and grub tails.
Tides will improve next week as we head toward a full moon on Friday. Fishing deep grass flats for trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and pompano in Sarasota Bay and reds and trout in Gasparilla Sound should continue to be good options.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com
