Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had great action jumping and catching and releasing numerous tarpon up to 110-pounds on flies and live baits in the coastal gulf during the past couple of weeks. In addition to tarpon, anglers fishing with me also caught and released trout to 3-pounds and blues and Spanish mackerel to 2-pounds on DOA Deadly Combos in Sarasota Bay.
Domenick Raschella and Dave Reinhart, both from VA, fished with me on Monday and Tuesday, 6/3 and 4. They jumped and landed 3 tarpon on live crabs in the coastal gulf off Sarasota with me on Monday. We bumped into a big, happy school of tarpon as I was easing into my spot with my trolling motor. They were moving slowly which allowed us to get back on them several times and catch all of our fish out of the same school. A couple of the fish were young males, full of energy that put on quite a show jumping around the boat! All fish were measured to estimate weight, DNA sampled and successfully released.
Unfortunately the gulf was unfishable for tarpon in my boat on Tuesday morning. With a big swell out of the south as Tropical Storm Andrea brewed, conditions were unsafe for fishing there. We hit a tarpon spot in Sarasota Bay for a couple of hours and had a few shots with DOA TerrorEyz and Airheads while we drifted a couple of live baits under floats but didn't hook up. However with the wind out of the south, we were able to fish the west side of the bay. They had good action catching and releasing blues and Spanish mackerel to 2-pounds and trout to 3-pounds on DOA Deadly Combos on deep grass flats near Bishop Point and Buttonwood Harbor.
Weather went downhill on Wednesday and Thursday 6/5 and 6 as Tropical Storm Andrea went from a tropical depression to a tropical storm and passed off shore from us with a lot of rain and wind. By Friday, 6/7, the sun was back out and the winds down but the coastal gulf was still very dirty and rough for tarpon fishing so we didn't fish. Sometimes tarpon will push offshore for a few days following a weather event and it may take a few days for them to return to their normal patterns.
Following Tropical Storm Andrea sea conditions improved and tarpon resumed their normal patterns early in the week of 6/10. Fly anglers had numerous shots, jumped 4 tarpon and had long battles with a couple of them with Lefty Deceiver and Tarpon Bunny flies on Wednesday, 6/12. A great day!
The Notari family, Terry Notari, from Longboat Key, FL, his son Craig Notari and grandsons James, Peter and Christopher, all from Winnetka, IL tarpon fished with me and Capt. Jack Hartman on Thursday and Friday. Craig and Christopher fished with me on Thursday, 6/13 and had good action, jumping 3 tarpon and catching and releasing 2 of them. Christopher caught and released an estimated 50 to 60-pound tarpon on a live pinfish and also had a bite from a tarpon that surprised us at the side of the boat on a DOA Baitbuster. We moved to shallow water later in the morning where Craig hooked up and later caught and released an estimated 100-pound fish on a Deceiver fly. Capt. Jack also had great action with Terry, Peter and James on Thursday, jumping 5 fish and landing 1, on live pinfish! James caught and released a 120-pounder and Peter jumped an estimated 160-pound fish and got the fish close to the boat after a long battle.
It was windy out of the west on Friday, 6/14 but still fishable. Terry hooked a hot fish with me that day on a pinfish but it broke off at the end of a smoking run. Capt. Jack's crew, Peter and James, jumped a couple of nice tarpon also on pinfish. With 11 tarpon jumped and 3 caught and released, including one on a fly, it was a great couple of days for the family group. "This was our best tarpon season in 15 years of fishing with Captain Rick!"-Terry Notari.
Depending on conditions, tarpon fishing in the coastal gulf should be good next week. Tarpon may not show well on the surface if it is rough. However if conditions aren't good for tarpon in the gulf, there should be good action with trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Look for reds and big trout in shallow water early in the day. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW near passes should also be a good option.
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
