    
Capt. John Sackett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 | | Posted on Thursday, December 28, 2000 - 8:38 am: | |
Subject: The latest action from www.AnglingAdventure.com
So many choices, so little time…
Boy, the above statement has never seemed as true as it does right now. Sure, the choices that we have to make in May and June between the Tarpon, Snook, Cobia and Permit can be pretty tough to make too, but right now we’ve got a ton of opportunities with the weather being our only limiting factor.
Offshore…
The offshore fishing has been the most limited of all our options right now, not because of the fishing itself, but the persistent winds that have given us so few chances to get out. If by chance you get a day set aside for offshore action, make the most of it. Since my last report and the Amberjack/Tuna action that I reported on then, I haven’t had a single day that the weather allowed us to get out to the blue water again! The god news though is that you don’t have to go deep right now if you are looking for a big tug of war, or some great fish for supper.
Case in point, one of our rare, calm, days was just yesterday. While I worked Nearshore sightcasting to Cobia (more on that below), my partner Capt. Chris Seger was out in the waters off Sarasota in his big Merrill Stevens Sportfish absolutely abusing the local Grouper population. To say the bite was on out there would be an understatement. While Chris didn’t give me any estimates on the total number of fish caught (normally you’ll land 5 or 6 short fish to every keeper), he did give me the total tally of 24 “keeper” sized ones coming over the rail. The really cool stat he also shared with me was that at least 15 of them were in the 15 pound range! Perhaps best of all for those of you that get a day out there when the wind does give us a break again, is that there was nothing fancy to Chris’ approach yesterday. We’re talking 55 feet of water and shallower, and were talking the fish slammed every type of bait they dropped with equal recklessness. Frozen whole Sardines, frozen Sardine halves, live Pinfish, it just didn’t seem to matter! Just watch your weather closely and get out there soon. If by chance your not equipped with the boat and gear to take advantage of this winter Grouper bite, but you want to experience a fish that can knock you to your knees, just get a hold of Capt. Chris at (941) 362-4032. When it comes to Grouper action, if you visit our website, http://www.AnglingAdventure.com you can arrange a trip there with Chris, myself, or one of the best Grouper guides in the Bradenton area, Capt. Sam Kimball. Anyway you look at it, try and get out soon.
Nearshore…
The only decent thing about the winds over the last week or so has been the direction. We’ve had at least a few days where the wind ran a little too stiff to have comfortable conditions in the waters far offshore, but thanks to the direction of that wind being from the East, Southeast, or even Northeast, we’ve had really decent conditions if you stayed relatively close to the beach. About the biggest challenge that we’ve had in the Nearshore waters has been the cloudiness of the water as a result of all the days with onshore waves.
That cloudiness sure doesn’t make things off the beaches any easier, but if the breeze is blowing from any direction with an “E” in it, get out there because it’s Cobia time. Prime example of just how good a day you can have, even in cloudy water, came just yesterday when I got a call from Capt. Mike Wise from down in Englewood. To make a long story short, I got the call, loaded a couple of my 12 pound G.Loomis spinning outfits and my father in-law in the truck and I headed South toward Boca Grande. In the end, we didn’t find a single pod of 30-70 fish like the ones that Mike was on just a couple of week ago when the water was clear, but we had a blast! This was entirely sightcasting to fish that we would spot cruising just under the water’s surface. What can I say? I love high adrenalin style fishing and sightcasting to Cobia certainly fits the bill. End of the story on yesterday was 6 fish in about 3 hours of “hunting” them, with only one fish that refused a live Shrimp tossed it’s way. If you’d like to get “hooked-up” with Capt. Mike, you can reach him at (941) 475-2687 in the evenings. One other aspect of this fishery that bears mentioning, has to be the fact that these fish are extremely strong candidates for flyfishing enthusiasts! Whether you are looking to pursue these hard fighting fish up adjacent to Tampa Bay in my home waters, off the beaches from Sarasota to Venice where Capt. Chris Seger chases them, or even down Mike’s way from Englewood to Boca Grande, the common denominator for success is going to be hard or rocky bottom in relatively shallow water. Needless to say, every opportunity I get when the conditions are right from now through February, I’m going to be out there doing the Cobia hunt.
Inshore…
It’s till Snook central around here and the clod front that’s passing us by tomorrow should only serve to solidify the winter type pattern we’re enjoying. Whether it’s been anglers aboard my 21 foot Hydra-Sports or Capt. Chris Seger’s 16 foot Talon, the Snook results have been pretty impressive throughout the Sarasota/Bradenton area. No, we’re not talking about finding them on picturesque flats, but we are talking again about a sightcasting situation, and one that will normally produce catch totals of at least a dozen or more fish on a half-day trip. Not bad for the dead of winter eh?! Look for the deepest of residential canals and creeks, peer carefully below docks, boats and mangroves and you’ll find the fish. Flip a live Shrimp, or for artificial fanatics a D.O.A. Shrimp as close to the mangrove roots as you can get it, and try not to lose your nerve as you watch the fish glide toward your offering. You’ll need to set the hook quick as you’ll have to try and keep him out of the roots or the dock pilings, but without a doubt you can expect that a few of the bigger fish will get the best of you.
Now if by chance you think you’d rather spend some time out on the flats themselves, and not in the canals or up the creeks, then my recommendation would be to set aside the whole day and head down South. Obviously, the more temperature tolerant species like our Redfish and Trout will be your focus, rather than the aforementioned Snook, but the experience can be out of this world. Capt. Chris offers full-day trips into the backcountry of Charlotte Harbor, and Capt. Mike offers both full, and half day trips down his way. When it comes to pristine backcountry, the waters that these guys cover down there are just incredible! If you’d like a little more insight into that area and the incredible Redfish potential it offers, be sure to visit the “articles” page within http://www.AnglingAdventure.com and check out the article that I wrote about fishing there with Capt. Chris last winter. That place is incredibly HUGE and absolutely beautiful during the winter months. Well worth the hour drive.
Even though this winter has been fairly extreme in terms of temperature swings, I guess there’s really never a bad time to plan a trip down our way. If you are looking for more information on all the opportunities we’ve got going on, or are interested in booking a trip with one of the finest guides in the area, be sure and visit their individual webpages within our website www.AnglingAdventure.com , or give me a call at (941) 920-4891. Either way, we’ll be out there to let you now what’s going on.
Like our friend Capt. Mark Rankin always said,
“Catch ‘em up”
Capt. John Sackett
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