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 reds, trout and flounder in Sarasota Bay and Spanish mackerel in Gasparilla Sound on lures and flies during the past couple of weeks. I also fished the 10,000 Island area of the Everglades out of Everglades City on a short family vacation where we caught and released reds, trout and snook on lures.
Mike Perez, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 3/26. It was a cool and very, windy day but reds were in an eating mood. We fished shallow water in north Sarasota Bay and caught and released a pair of reds, each 27" and about 8-pounds, and hooked another red on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Scott Heidler, from OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday, 3/28. We fished both shallow and deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where he caught and released trout and a couple of flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Anna Maria Island and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 3/29. We fished deep grass flats along the west side of the bay where they caught and released trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on sink tip fly lines. Gary also caught a flounder on a Clouser fly while fishing the edge of a sand bar.
Bill King, from Osprey, FL fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Monday, 4/1. He caught and released Spanish mackerel along a bar on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and had shots at big reds, trout and snook with flies in shallow water.
Cliff Ondercin, from Sarasota, FL, and his dad, Dennis Ondercin from OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 4/2. We focused on shallow water in north Sarasota Bay where they caught and released a pair of reds and several trout on CAL jigs with shad tails.
My wife, Karen, daughter, Dawn and son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton and I trailered my boat to Everglades City for a long weekend of fishing and relaxation on Thursday afternoon, 4/4. We purchased the package, a 3-night stay at Miller's Glades Haven Resort (www.gladeshaven.com), at a CCA auction. What a great place!
It rained hard Thursday and most of Friday as a front passed through, so we were anxious to get on the water when the weather improved on Saturday. Capt Andy and I fished together on Saturday, 4/6 and for a few hours on Sunday morning, 4/7 and had good action. Andy had a "slam" catching and releasing a red, snook and several nice trout CAL jigs with shad tails on Saturday. I caught and released a red, several trout and a snook over the 2 days on the same baits.
Action should pick up with Spanish mackerel, tripletail, cobia and false albacore in the coastal gulf. Look for reds 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 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
