Tarpon action continues to be hot off Sarasota beaches! Anglers fishing the coastal gulf along Sarasota beaches with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with tarpon during the past couple of weeks.
The best action during the week of 5/30 was in the middle of the week when we averaged 4 or 5 bites per day, jumped 7 or 8 tarpon and brought several to the boat. Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, and his group of 6 other anglers fished with Capt. Kelly Stilwell, Capt. Jack Hartman and me from Tuesday through Friday of that week. The rest of the group consisted of Dave Kinnamon, from Milwaukee, Dan Kinnamon, from Miami, Steve Liska, Sean Moore and Ray Van Hoorebecke, all from NJ, and Greg Short, from OH. Tarpon got happy for a couple of days, working slowly and giving us good shots, however some days they were on a "mission", moving fast and not showing well on the surface. All boats had similar action, jumping numerous fish throughout the week and landing several. Greg had a few shots with a fly and had at least one take and Steve hooked up on a DOA Baitbuster one day, although most of the action was with live crabs.
Dennis Ondercin, from OH, and his son, Cliff Ondercin from Sarasota, fished all week long with me during the week of 6/6. They jumped 13 tarpon and landed 3 of them. We cast live crabs, either free-lined or under floats, and a DOA Baitbuster in the travel lane of the fish. We DNA sampled and measured the 3 fish that we landed. Dennis landed the largest of the fish, which taped out at an estimated 120-pounds (36" girth X 68" length).
Cliff is a good artificial and fly angler and he jumped 3 tarpon on DOA Baitbusters during the week. He also had some good shots with a fly, which was all sight casting to fish in shallow water, on a couple of days. It is exciting to watch a giant tarpon track your fly even when it doesn't eat!
Tarpon fishing should be strong next week as we approach a full moon on June 15th. The best action for spin anglers should be at first light in the morning while fly anglers will do better with some sunlight for visibility to sight fish. There are many parts of the equation including tide, wind and sea conditions, moon phase and angler experience, which is what makes tarpon fishing both challenging and rewarding.
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
