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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
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Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 16
Registered: 8-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 1:59 pm: | |
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 11/24 through 12/1/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action with reds, trout, snook, flounder and Spanish mackerel early last week. We scored with both fly and spin tackle. Trout accounted for most of the action, but several nice reds and snook were also caught and released.
Fly angler, Mike Delaney from Sammamish, WA, fished Sarasota Bay with me last Monday. With a negative low tide, we waded the flats and cast Clousers into potholes for reds, trout and snook. It wasn’t going on for us in shallow water, so we dropped out to deeper water in the boat where Mike caught and released numerous trout and several Spanish mackerel on Clouser flies. We were also cut off several times by bluefish or Spanish mackerel. The best action was on deep grass flats off Buttonwood Harbor, Bishop Point and near Longboat Key Moorings.
Dave and Carol Polmon, from Southbury, CT, joined me for a Sarasota Bay trip on Tuesday. They started strong with several reds to 24”, a 24” snook, several trout and a flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails near Tidy Island. During the afternoon, we fished deeper grass flats from Buttonwood Harbor to south of Bishop Point where they caught and released numerous trout to 21” on the same lures.
I spent the rest of the week visiting family in Delaware for the Thanksgiving holiday. A planned trip to fly fish for stripers in the Chesapeake Bay had to be cancelled due to a front, which made it windy and then cold. Next week’s tides should be favorable for flats fishing or snook at night.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 15
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2003 - 4:49 am: | |
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 11/17 through 11/23/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, redfish and trout during the past week. The best action was on the flats of north Sarasota Bay with reds and trout.
Randy Goodis and his dad, Bobby Goodis, both from the Miami area, joined me for a snook trip near Venice on Monday evening. The tide was slow and the bite was also slow. There were plenty of snook in most dock lights and around the bridges, but they were not feeding very aggressively. They connected with several snook to 24” on DOA shrimp from the Venice Inlet to Blackburn Point.
I went on a scouting mission with a friend in lower Tampa Bay on Tuesday to check the area out for a trip later in the week. We waded sand bars from the mouth of the Manatee River to north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge with the goal of sight casting to redfish. We only had a few shots at redfish. However, I did catch and release a 6-pound red on a pink/white Clouser fly, blind casting to a grass/sand seam on a sand bar. I also caught and released a jack crevalle out of a school of mullet.
A front passed through our area on Wednesday with brisk winds and dropped our water temperatures into the high 60’s.Steve Heisler, from Bradenton, FL and Andrew Stiles, from Richmond, VA, fished with me on Friday. We fished from Tidy Island in north Sarasota Bay to the Terra Ceia Bay area. The best action was near Tidy Island, where we caught and released 6 reds and missed a couple of others on CAL jigs with Cotee Chubby Grubs. They also caught and released numerous trout to 18” on the same lures near Terra Ceia Bay.
We held another successful fly casting school on Saturday morning at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters. If you’ve ever considered getting involved with the sport, this is a great way to start. We provide the use of Orvis fly tackle in the all day course. We have recently been approved as an Orvis Endorsed fly casting school. Our next school is scheduled for January 17, 2004. Our next school is scheduled for January 17, 2004 and we will have a school each month through April. You can contact me or CB's Saltwater Outfitters for details or to sign up.
Next week’s negative low tides should be great for reds, snook and trout in potholes. Also, the recent cold front, which dropped water temperatures below 70 degrees, should fire up the coastal gulf fishing for little tunny.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 14
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 7:45 am: | |
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 11/9 through 11/17/2003
Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week. Snook, redfish, trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel were caught and released in Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf waters. Strong north winds as fronts approached forced me to cancel a couple of days
Fly angler, John Dorazio from Princeton, NJ, fished a pre dawn trip in Sarasota Bay with me last Sunday. We fished lighted docks near Big Pass before daylight to catch several snook to 24” and a redfish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy flies. After daylight, we fished docks in Roberts Bay where John landed 2 more snook on Clouser flies. We spent the rest of our trip fishing deep grass flats near Marina Jack and at the Radio Tower flat, where John caught and released more than a dozen trout to 18” on Clouser flies.
Cliff Ondercin and Brie Willet, both from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday and had a good day. We searched the coastal gulf waters off Longboat Pass early in the morning and found breaking little tunny just outside the pass, however they were moving so fast we couldn’t get a good shot at them. We moved to the flats near Cortez where they caught and released 3 snook to 28”, 3 reds to 24” and a couple of flounder on CAL jigs with Exude slugs and a chartreuse/white Clouser fly.
Will Booth, from Los Angeles, CA, and his brother, Dan Booth from Cockeysville, MD, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. We fished deep grass flats near Big Pass where they caught and released more than 20 trout to 17” on CAL jigs with shad tails. We briefly fished an artificial reef in the gulf off Lido Beach and caught 1 ½ Spanish mackerel. A large mackerel was cut in half by a ‘cuda or a shark. Since there wasn’t much surface activity, so we opted to head back into Sarasota Bay where they caught and released a small red and 6 bluefish to 4-pounds on CAL jigs and MirrOlure top water plugs near Buttonwood Harbor.
Steve Meyer, from Sarasota, FL, and Ron Ciani, from Cape Coral, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday. It was a beautiful morning with a light east wind, but fish were not feeding early in the day. We fished a couple of deep grass flats near New Pass and caught only a few trout. We decided to take a look for Spanish mackerel and little tunny in the coastal gulf waters, but there wasn’t any surface activity for them to cast their lures or flies to so we headed back into Sarasota Bay. With a rapidly falling tide, I decided to work potholes near Tidy Island looking for reds and snook. They finished strong with 3 reds to 24”, a 25” snook, a 23” Spanish mackerel and a flounder. Ron caught his first red on a fly, a chartreuse/white Clouser. Most of the other fish were caught on CAL jigs with Cotee Chubby Grubs.
Next week’s tides are favorable for fishing the flats or night snook fishing. Hopefully, the coastal gulf waters will explode with activity since the water temperature is now in the low 70’s.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith (Capt_bob_smith)
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Username: Capt_bob_smith
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 5:54 am: | |
November 8, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
This has been a good Fall run for the Sarasota area. Kingfish, cobia, redfish, Spanish mackerel, blacktip shark, spinner shark, barracuda, seatrout and pompano are just some of the fish coming in. Some have complained the kings could be thicker and larger. They are if you use live bait. This year the kings are only three miles off the beach and we have plenty of baitfish in the same area that can be easily caught.
When rigging for the toothy critters, I use 6" of light wire with 4' of forty-pound test mono leader and a 5/0 hook. I would kick it up a notch if looking for the larger sharks but most of the sharks' hookups are on already hooked fish.
The "I" artificial reefs are hot but you would need to move further offshore the "M" reefs and beyond for better grouper and snapper fishing.
Remember that artificial reefs are good focal points but you could find fish at the same depth on any good bottom. This is good to remember if you find the artificial reefs overcrowded with boats. My first question is always "What was the depth of the water where you found fish"? Then I may ask " North or South"? This will give me a chance to try one of my spots at the same depth and not crowd nor advertise the giver's exact location.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 13
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 08, 2003 - 8:25 am: | |
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 11/2 through 11/8/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past week. Snook, trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and ladyfish were caught and released on a variety of lures and flies in Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and “snook alley” in Venice. Most fish were caught with fly tackle, although some were caught with spinning tackle.
Fly angler Cliff Boylston, from Conyers, GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me last Sunday. The action was steady with numerous trout to 18” and ladyfish caught and released on Clouser flies on deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay. The best action was inside Big Pass and near Long Bar.
Dave Lincul, from Sewell, NJ, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday. Since the winds were light out of the east, we decided to check out the coastal gulf waters for Spanish mackerel and little tunny. It proved to be a good choice as we located breaking fish just outside the sandbar of Gasparilla Pass. We caught and released numerous Spanish mackerel and bluefish to 2-pounds and large ladyfish on Diamond Jigs and Chug Bug topwater plugs. Before the tide slowed and the frenzy ended, a group of dolphins and even a tarpon showed up for their share of the meal.
We moved to the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound where Dave caught and released a pair of snook to 27” on CAL jigs with shad tails. He lost a bruiser that we couldn’t turn before it made it to the mangroves and also caught and released numerous trout to 18”.
Sarasota winter residents, Norm and Francie Boardman, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay on Thursday morning. Since conditions were near perfect for fishing the coastal gulf waters, we headed out New Pass and worked south to Point of Rocks. Although there was nothing showing on the surface, we marked some bait and blind cast Cotee jigs with grubs and Clouser flies on an intermediate fly line into the area. They were rewarded with several Spanish mackerel to 2-pounds and bluefish. They also caught and released numerous trout and ladyfish on the same lures and flies on deep grass flats inside Big Pass before heavy thundershowers forced us off the water.
Fly anglers, Larry Ford from Longboat Key, FL, and Pete Molinari, from Sarasota, FL, joined me for an evening snook trip near Venice that evening. The action was steady and they caught and released about 10 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Larry Ford's Fly Night snook
Next week’s tides are favorable for fishing the flats. With the coastal gulf waters still in the high 70’s, we need a good front or two to cool the waters and get things fired up. Cooler water should mean more breaking Spanish mackerel and little tunny making them easier targets for fly anglers.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 12
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 08, 2003 - 7:54 am: | |
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 11/2 through 11/8/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past week. Snook, trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and ladyfish were caught and released on a variety of lures and flies in Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and “snook alley” in Venice. Most fish were caught with fly tackle, although some were caught with spinning tackle.
Fly angler Cliff Boylston, from Conyers, GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me last Sunday. The action was steady with numerous trout to 18” and ladyfish caught and released on Clouser flies on deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay. The best action was inside Big Pass and near Long Bar.
Dave Lincul, from Sewell, NJ, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday. Since the winds were light out of the east, we decided to check out the coastal gulf waters for Spanish mackerel and little tunny. It proved to be a good choice as we located breaking fish just outside the sandbar of Gasparilla Pass. We caught and released numerous Spanish mackerel and bluefish to 2-pounds and large ladyfish on Diamond Jigs and Chug Bug topwater plugs. Before the tide slowed and the frenzy ended, a group of dolphins and even a tarpon showed up for their share of the meal.
We moved to the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound where Dave caught and released a pair of snook to 27” on CAL jigs with shad tails. He lost a bruiser that we couldn’t turn before it made it to the mangroves and also caught and released numerous trout to 18”.
Sarasota winter residents, Norm and Francie Boardman, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay on Thursday morning. Since conditions were near perfect for fishing the coastal gulf waters, we headed out New Pass and worked south to Point of Rocks. Although there was nothing showing on the surface, we marked some bait and blind cast Cotee jigs with grubs and Clouser flies on an intermediate fly line into the area. They were rewarded with several Spanish mackerel to 2-pounds and bluefish. They also caught and released numerous trout and ladyfish on the same lures and flies on deep grass flats inside Big Pass before heavy thundershowers forced us off the water.
Fly anglers, Larry Ford from Longboat Key, FL, and Pete Molinari, from Sarasota, FL, joined me for an evening snook trip near Venice that evening. The action was steady and they caught and released about 10 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Larry Ford's Fly Night snook
Next week’s tides are favorable for fishing the flats. With the coastal gulf waters still in the high 70’s, we need a good front or two to cool the waters and get things fired up. Cooler water should mean more breaking Spanish mackerel and little tunny making them easier targets for fly anglers.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 11
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 11:19 am: | |
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 10/26 through 11/1/2003
Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, redfish, trout and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor during the past week. Although the action wasn’t fast, it was steady. Windy conditions during the week ahead of and following a front on Tuesday made fishing challenging. High winds combined with a negative low tide made fishing in Charlotte Harbor on Thursday particularly tough.
Bob Denny and George Van Tuyl, both from Warwick, NY, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday and Tuesday. They managed 3 reds to 29” and numerous trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms near Buttonwood Harbor on Monday. We opted for a pre dawn start on Tuesday to snook fish around lighted docks. We fished Siesta Key docks near Big Pass to land a couple of snook and trout on DOA Tiny TerrorEyz and DOA shrimp before heading for the flats. Winds were increasing as a front bore down on us and forced us off the water by noon. Bob and George caught and released numerous trout to 18” and a small red on weedless rigged CAL jerk worms and Exude R/T Slugs fishing the same flats that we fished Monday.
Capt. Marcia Foosaner, from Stuart, FL, gave a very interesting slide presentation on fly fishing for giant trout, snook and redfish on the east coast of Florida and on her recent trip to Montauk, NY for stripers, bluefish and false albacore at the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishing Club on Tuesday evening. Capt. Marcia joined me for a Sarasota Bay fly trip on Wednesday along with fellow club director, Roger Williams from Bradenton, FL. We waded and fished the flats near Long Bar and caught and released a pair of reds to 23”, a pair of snook to 25”, numerous trout, a flounder and a Spanish mackerel. While the action wasn’t fast, it improved as the day went by and the tide started to flood. The beast action was with bendback flies, which could be fished more effectively in the very shallow water.
Sarasota winter residents, Tom Lamb and Lee Williams, fished Charlotte harbor with me on Thursday. It was a tough day with 20+ mph winds and a negative low tide. The flats in the backcountry were dry, so we were forced to fish the deeper waters of Gasparilla Sound, which made hiding from the wind difficult. They managed several trout to 18”, ladyfish, a flounder and Spanish mackerel on weedless rigged CAL jerk worms, Exude R/T Slugs and DOA Deadly Combinations.
Next weeks tides should be favorable for flats fishing or snook at night. Each passing front should also stimulate the coastal gulf fishing for Spanish and king mackerel and little tunny.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 10
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2003 - 7:33 am: | |
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 10/19 through 10/26/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, reds, trout, flounder, bluefish and Spanish mackerel during the past week. We fished deep flats in Sarasota Bay for several days and anglers caught a variety of fish including trout to 18”, bluefish to 18”and Spanish mackerel to 24”. The most productive areas were near Big Pass, the Middleground flat, Stephen’s Point and near Buttonwood Harbor. Reds were hard to come by on the flats of Sarasota Bay, but evening and pre dawn snook were more cooperative.
Sarasota winter residents, Dale Spore and Roger Webster, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. Small trout were plentiful, so they had to work hard to get a couple of legal ones. Things got interesting when an estimated 40 to 50-pound blacktip shark ate one of Roger’s trout at the side of the boat near Big Pass. We had the shark on for about 5 minutes before he bit through the 30-pound fluorocarbon leader. It was fun while it lasted!
Jim Festa, from Sarasota, FL, and Bob Moore, from Bradenton, FL, fished an evening trip at “snook alley” near Venice on Tuesday evening. They caught and released about 6 snook to 22” and several mangrove snapper on live shrimp.
Capt. Bruce Burkhart, from Sarasota, FL, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Friday. Bruce caught a slam on CAL jigs with rootbeer and pearl shad tails which included snook to 24”, reds to 24” and trout to 18”. Sight-casting the outside sandbars accounted for most of the fish. Bruce hooked a big snook that ate a CAL jig 15 feet from the boat, but unfortunately it quickly went through his fluorocarbon leader.
Fly angler, John Wolfstaetter, and his dad, Paul Wolfstaetter, both from NY, fished a predawn snook/flats trip with me on Saturday morning. They caught and released 6 snook to 24”, a couple of trout and a nice mangrove snapper on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy flies and DOA shrimp and Tiny TerrorEyz near Big Pass. After daylight we moved to the flats where they caught and released trout, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel on Clouser and Enrico Puglisi flies and Cotee jigs with grubs.
A significant front is expected to push through our area on Monday evening, which should really kick off the coastal gulf fishing. I look for Spanish mackerel and little tunny to come on strong as the water cools. Also, flats fishing should be good for reds, snook and trout. There is still space available in our Nov. 8 fly casting school if you are interested in learning to fly fish. You can call me for reservations or more information.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 9
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 19, 2003 - 8:39 am: | |
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 10/15 through 10/19/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released trout, redfish and Spanish mackerel during the past several days. The best action was with Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf waters and redfish on the flats of north Sarasota Bay. In addition, cobia are showing up in the inshore waters and anglers had several shots at cobia, but didn’t connect.
970 WFLA’s Capt. Mel Berman, from Tampa, FL, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay on Thursday. We caught and released numerous trout on a variety of lures and were cut off several times by bluefish. We fished from Roberts Bay to north of Long Bar and found trout scattered on deep grass flats at the Middleground flat and near the Sister Keys.
The best trip of the week was with Austin and Clark Wright, of Venice, FL, on Friday. We started the day at the Middleground flat and had good action with trout on DOA Deadly Combos. We ventured into the coastal gulf waters off New Pass and found a feeding frenzy of Spanish mackerel and little tunny. The little tunny were moving fast and impossible to get on, but the Spanish mackerel were more cooperative. They caught numerous mackerel on Diamond Jigs, Cotee Jigs with grubs and a DT Special fly. During the afternoon, we fished several sand bars along Longboat Key near Buttonwood Harbor, where they caught and released 5 reds to 27” on weedless-rigged CAL Jerk Worms.
Austin and Clark Wright with Austin's Sarasota Bay Red
John and Barb Freeman, from MN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. The best action was with trout at the Middleground flat first thing in the morning. John and Barb caught numerous trout, ladyfish, small gag grouper and gaftop sail cats on Cotee Jigs with grubs ands DOA Deadly Combos. We fished along Longboat Key up to the Buttonwood Harbor area later in the morning where they picked up an 18” trout and several jacks on Cotee jigs with grubs.
The fall bite should really turn on in the next week or so. The water temperature has fallen to the mid to high 70’s and bait is schooling heavily on the flats and in the coastal gulf waters. I expect good action with snook, redfish and trout on the flats and Spanish mackerel and little tunny in the coastal gulf waters. In addition, cobia could be found either place, so it could pay off to have a spinning or fly rod ready at all times.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
*Check out the new photo gallery on both of my web sites, which contains current and archived photos from past weeks. |
Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 8
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - 8:24 am: | |
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 10/5 through 10/15/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, trout and redfish during the past 10 days. Fish were caught on flies and lures and in addition anglers also connected with a couple of tarpon.
Fly angler, Jim Roat from Shreveport, LA, fished Sarasota Bay with me last Thursday. On his first saltwater fly fishing excursion he caught and released his first redfish near Ringling on an Enrico Puglisi Reds Critter fly. We then moved to the gulf where Jim sight-cast to snook at the north end of Longboat Key. Although they were plentiful, we only had a couple of follows and no strikes. Back in the bay during the afternoon, Jim connected with bluefish, ladyfish and trout on Clouser flies near Whale Key and Bishop Point.
Fly anglers, Sandy Lawrence from Sarasota, FL, and Merritt Carlton, from Amelia Island, FL, fished upper Charlotte Harbor canals for tarpon with me on Monday. We located a couple of nice concentrations of tarpon but they were being very finicky, as they can be sometimes. We tried several different fly patterns and color combinations before hooking up with a chartreuse/white bunny fly. Sandy hooked a couple of fish, but they both came off. Merritt also got a strike after I switched him to a similar fly. We used 350-grain Orvis Depth Charge fly lines and a short leader to get the flies into the strike zone quickly in the 10 to 12-foot deep water.
Mark Hughes and Terry Crews, both from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. Mark hooked up right away with a weedless-rigged CAL shad tail and landed a 26+” snook near Buttonwood Harbor. Although the water we fished after that was very fishy and we saw numerous snook, they didn’t bite. We switched to deeper grass flats near Whale Key and Buttonwood Harbor where they caught and released numerous trout with CAL jigs and DOA Deadly Combinations with a glow shrimp.
Flats fishing should turn on when a front is scheduled to pass through our area later in the week. I also look for cobia to become more plentiful and action in the coastal gulf waters with Spanish mackerel and little tunny to take off.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 7
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 05, 2003 - 10:38 am: | |
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 9/28 through 10/5/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released reds, trout, snook, pompano, flounder and jumped tarpon during the past week. The best action was with reds and snook in Sarasota Bay.
Scott and Sissy Daniels, from San Antonio, TX, collected their trip with me that they purchased at the CCA-Texas banquet in San Antonio on Tuesday. They opted to tarpon fish, so we fished canals in upper Charlotte Harbor. Tarpon were fairly plentiful, but finicky. We jumped a pair of tarpon on root beer DOA TerrorEyz, one of them about 30-pounds, but didn’t land either. They also caught and released a couple of snook to 26” casting the same lure under docks.
Fly angler, John LaManna from Bradenton, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. Being fairly new to the area, he wanted to get a feel for Sarasota Bay and hopefully catch a few fish with a fly. He had a good day catching and releasing several trout to 21”, a 24” red and a nice pompano. The pompano and a few of the trout were caught on a small yellow Ultra Hair Clouser near Big Pass. The largest trout and the red were caught on an Enrico Puglisi Reds Critter while wading a sand bar on the east side of the bay.
Mike Plaia and his brother, Pete Plaia, both from Bradenton, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. They had a great day catching and releasing 5 reds to 30”, 4 or 5 snook to 23”, several trout and flounder. We fished Roberts Bay with DOA Tiny TerrorEyz and CAL jigs, where they caught and released the trout and flounder. A couple of snook were also caught on DOA Deadly Combinations and a larger snook cut through 30-pound fluorocarbon with a single headshake! We headed north in the afternoon where they finished strong with the reds and another snook or two on the east side of the bay. At the end of the day we bumped into a large school of reds, had several hookups and landed a pair of big reds on DOA Deadly Combinations with glow shrimp and a Cotee Flats Spoon. It was exciting watching reds fight over the Cajun Thunder float while a fish was already hooked with the DOA shrimp!
Erwin Edelman, from Sarasota, FL, fished the Mote Marine Laboratory/Snook Foundation Snook Shindig Tournament with me on Friday evening and Saturday morning. A couple of goals for the tournament were to gather data for research and to raise money for the Snook Foundation. Anglers who chose to fish in the research division were issued permits by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, so that any snook could be held in a live well before being turned over to tournament officials to scan them for implanted tags and record data. Erwin caught and released several snook to 22” on an Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy fly (none were tagged) near the Venice Inlet on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, he caught his first pompano ever on fly with a small yellow Ultra Hair Clouser near Big Pass.
Reds are still schooling and snook are beginning to stage on the flats as they move toward the backcountry. Next weeks tides will be favorable for flats fishing and snook fishing at night around lighted docks and bridge fenders.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 6
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 28, 2003 - 12:37 pm: | |
Crane Meadow Lodge, MT Fishing Report for 9/20 through 9/27/2003
I hosted a group of fly anglers at Crane Meadow Lodge near Twin Bridges, MT last week. Nick Reding, Bob Reynolds and Bob Harness, all from St. Louis, MO, young Nick Reding from New York City, Jim Breckenridge, from Greenwich, CT, Dennis Kinley, from Lebanon, NJ, Dick Walden, from Sahuarita, AZ, Rich Walden, from Silverthorne, CO and David Ralls, from Tempe, AZ joined me for a great week of fly fishing on some of Montana’s best trout streams.
We fished the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, Jefferson and Madison Rivers, several spring creeks and mountain lakes. The weather couldn’t have been better with crisp mornings, lows in the 30’s and frost a couple of mornings and high’s in the 70’s. We had bright blue Montana skies and brilliant fall colors.
The wildlife was unbelievable. One morning a pair of bull moose locked horns in the meadow right behind the lodge. Whitetail deer were so thick you had to be careful when walking the riverbanks, particularly on the Ruby River. We also spotted mule deer, antelope, big horn sheep and elk. Waterfowl and pheasants were also thick and were being flushed constantly.
Anglers caught brown trout to 24”, rainbows to 22”, grayling, cutthroats and brook trout on 4 through 6-weight fly rods. It was technical fly fishing that sometimes required reach casts; roll casts and mending to get the proper presentation to fool the fish, but the anglers were up to the challenge. Jim Breckenridge, who had never fly fished before this trip, did very well. After receiving some casting instruction from guide, Gary Avis, Jim moved on to fish some still water on Miller’s Pond, where he caught a dozen or so rainbow and brown trout to 17”. He nymph fished on the Jefferson River on his last day where he finished with an 18” trout! That may not sound big to seasoned saltwater anglers, but put that fish on a 4 or 5-weight fly rod in a fast river and you’ve got you hands full!
Other highlights from the week were when Dennis Kinley and Bob Reynolds fished a high mountain lake at 7400’ on the Meine summer ranch with guide, Jerry Meine. They caught about 100 trout, mostly cutthroats and a few rainbows. As they drove up to the high country they put a few beers in a mountain stream to cool down and enjoyed them as their reward on the way back down. The Ruby River also fished very well. Nick Reding and I had a great day on the Ruby with many trout in the 18”-22” class. Other anglers caught brown trout to 22”, with many fish in the 14”-16” class. Mill Creek, which empties into the Ruby, produced browns and rainbows averaging 16” and as big as 21”. The upper Ruby River was hot for grayling, rainbows and browns, although not as large as on the lower portion. Anglers also had great fishing for brookies on the upper Big Hole and caught browns and rainbows to 24” on the Madison near Ennis. See the photo gallery of my web site for photos from the trip.
We fished a variety of flies and techniques during the week. Some of the most exciting fishing was with dry flies, such as a Parachute Adams, hoppers or Chernobyl Ants. We also fished with nymphs and streamers, usually in tandem or sometimes a pair of streamers. Pepperonis, Yuks and Woolly Buggers worked the best. Proprietor, Cody Meine, does a great job. The variety of fishing on private water, the option to float or wade and the level of accommodations sets Crane Meadow apart from other lodges.
Although the trip couldn’t have been better, it was bittersweet for me. We lost a family member, Bear, our almost 14-year old Brittany on Tuesday. Even though he was elderly, his death was unexpected. He was diagnosed with cancer and had to be put down within 48 hours. He was my shadow at home, following close behind me while I prepared for my fishing trips in the morning, waiting for a piece of cheese or lunch meat as a reward. Every day when I returned his face was in our picture window waiting for me to come home. We’ll miss him terribly, but we’ll meet again.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
Bear Grassett 1989-2003 |
Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 5
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 4:48 pm: | |
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 9/14 through 9/19/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, trout, tarpon and Spanish mackerel during the past week. The best action was with tarpon in upper Charlotte Harbor and trout in Charlotte Harbor and Sarasota Bay.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune outdoor writer, Steve Gibson, fished upper Charlotte Harbor with me on Monday to film a tarpon fishing segment for his “Fishing Paradise” TV spot on Comcast’s SNN Channel 6. They were plentiful, but being finicky. We had several bites, but only jumped one tarpon. Unfortunately, they didn’t cooperate like I hoped they would.
That all changed on Wednesday when Keith McClintock, from Lake forest, IL, joined me for a trip to the same area. He jumped a total of 6 tarpon, landing a pair of them to 15-pounds on DOA Shrimp and TerrorEyz. They were aggressive at first and when the bite slowed we hooked a couple more fish by changing colors and switching to the DOA shrimp.
Bill Roth, from Longboat Key, FL, and Bruce St. Dennis, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. The trout bite was strong as they caught and released more than 15 trout to 18” on DOA Deadly Combinations with a DOA shrimp near Long Bar. In addition, a large area of breaking fish that we encountered while heading north in the bay was thick with ladyfish and had Spanish mackerel mixed with them. They caught several on CAL jigs.
Keith McClintock fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Thursday and also had a good trout bite. He caught and released more than 20 trout to 23”, including about 10 slot size fish between 18”-23” near Three Sisters and in Turtle Bay. In addition, Keith caught and released a 29” snook on a DOA Deadly Combination. His best snook ever!
Keith McClintock's Charlotte Harbor Snook
Next week’s tides should be favorable for snook on the outgoing tide late in the day. In addition, reds will continue to school on the flats and should also be a good option.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 4
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 9:14 am: | |
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 9/9 through 9/14/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict did very well during the past week with redfish, trout and bluefish. Reds are schooling in Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor. In Sarasota we also found hungry big bluefish schooling with the reds.
Tom and Jamie Minnick, from Cincinnati, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. After fishing in the gulf on a head boat the day before and catching small snapper and grouper, they weren’t sure what to expect on the bay trip. Fortunately the trip far exceeded their expectations. We started slowly, catching a small snook on a MirrOlure She Dog and had another one jump off near Big Pass. With a rapidly falling tide that was lower than I had anticipated, I decided to head north to hunt reds.
I poled a bar near Buttonwood Harbor and we began to catch small reds on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms and DOA Deadly combinations. I bumped into a large school of big reds, up to 9-pounds, with bluefish in the 4 to 5-pound class mixed with them. We lost count after about 15 reds and a dozen big bluefish. The fish would rarely show themselves, choosing to stay in deeper water. We would occasionally lose them and then locate them again by probing the deep outside edge of the bar by casting MirrOlure She Dogs or DOA Deadly Combinations out deep to cause the school to show themselves. When the reds and bluefish finally moved on we began to catch trout to 18”, so Tom got his Sarasota Bay slam. A great day!
Jamie Minnick's Sarasota Bay Bluefish
On Thursday evening, I joined Capt. Bill Miller in the studio for his “Hooked On Fishing” TV show, which airs in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties. He showed video clips from our trip last Monday and we fielded questions from the audience. It is a very well done TV show with good instructional segments.
Dale Vollrath, from Sarasota, FL, and Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL, joined me to fish Charlotte Harbor on Saturday. Since we arrived in the dark to avoid the rush at the boat ramp, we fished a couple of docks along Little Gasparilla Island for snook with lures and flies just before daylight. Tim caught and released a small snook on a DOA Tiny TerrorEyz.
Next I headed for an area on the west side of Gasparilla Sound searching for a school of reds that a friend had located the day before. Although we didn’t find them (and they didn’t find us), we caught lots of trout to 18” on DOA Deadly Combinations, MirrOlure She Dogs and fly poppers. Our best action was on outside sand bars near Turtle Bay, where they caught 4 reds to 5-pounds on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms. We got back to the boat ramp just ahead of the afternoon monsoon.
Next weeks tides should be favorable for juvenile tarpon in upper Charlotte Harbor and reds on the flats.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 3
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 08, 2003 - 5:53 pm: | |
Florida Keys & Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 9/1 through 9/8/2003
I spent most of the past week in Islamorada in the Florida Keys participating in the Islamorada-Sarasota Shootout Fishing Tournament. The tournament is a fun, family type fishing tournament that pits members of the Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club against Islamorada anglers. Although Sarasota anglers fished hard and won or placed in several categories, Islamorada won the tournament this year.
Aledia Tush, owner of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters in Sarasota, FL, and I fished with Capt. Duane Baker, an Orvis-Endorsed guide in Tavernier, FL. We fished the ocean side flats near Tavernier on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and experienced some of the best fishing I’ve had in the Keys. Capt. Duane expertly put us on fish after fish and they cooperated very well. Aledia caught and released 6 bonefish, a permit and jumped a tarpon fishing with live shrimp. I also caught and released 6 bonefish on Gotcha flies and had several shots at permit.
Aledia Tush's Islamorada Bonefish
Although they weren’t weighed, some of the larger bonefish were in the 6 to 7-pound class. Not huge for Keys bonefish, but very nice fish to catch! Aledia took second place and I won the bonefish category. It was my best bonefish outing ever in the Keys!
On Monday, Capt. Bill Miller from Tampa, FL, joined me to film a segment for his “Hooked on Fishing” TV show which airs on Thursday evenings on Brighthouse Cable (formerly Time Warner) in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties. I hadn’t fished Sarasota Bay for more than a week and with all the rain that Tropical Storm Henri dumped, I knew it would be a challenge. We managed to catch about a dozen trout to 18” and a pair of reds to 22” on CAL jigs with jerkworms and shad tails, DOA Tiny TerrorEyz and Exude slugs at Stephen’s Point and near Buttonwood Harbor.
This week’s strong outgoing tides in the afternoon should be good for snook. Flats fishing should be best early in the day as the tide is rising.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 2
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 01, 2003 - 10:16 am: | |
Sarasota & Terra Ceia Bay, FL Fishing Report for 8/24 through 9/1/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week in Sarasota Bay. Anglers caught reds along sand bars and mangrove shorelines and trout on deeper grass flats.
Last Saturday, I participated in the “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing” seminar in Sarasota. I manned a skill station to teach spin casting and my first two students of the day were the ladies that had signed up to fish with me the following day. They were enthusiastic and were casting 100’ in no time, as most of the ladies did.
The following morning, Barbara Voyles from Springhill, FL, and Robin Springstead from Brooksville, FL, met me at the Sarasota Yacht Club dock for a day of fishing. They had a great day catching a pair of reds to 26” and several trout to 18” on a MirrOlure She Dog and the DOA Deadly Combination with a nightglow shrimp. The best action was near Buttonwood Harbor with trout on the deeper grass and redfish along the mangroves at the top of the tide.
Since it’s late August, business was a little slower this week. I spent a day scouting Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf waters to stay dialed in to the fish. My next trip was on Friday with, John Deck from St. Louis, MO. John caught and released a pair of reds to 4-pounds near Big Pass and another similar size red and several trout near Buttonwood Harbor and Stephen’s Point. He fished the DOA Deadly Combination all day.
Brian and Joanne Shenstone, from Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, fished lower Tampa Bay with me on Sunday. We located a nice school of reds at first light and Brian cast a Skitterbug fly in front of them. He had an immediate hook up and we were surprised when he landed a jack! The school managed to say just out of casting range before disappearing. It was a tough day of fishing with a strong east breeze and lots of boat traffic plying the waters on the holiday weekend. They caught and released a couple of trout to 18” and a 4-pound redfish on CAL jigs and the DOA Deadly Combination near Terra Ceia Bay before we called it a day.
Next weeks tides with midday lows are favorable for locating reds on the flats. Juvenile tarpon in upper Charlotte Harbor should continue to be a good option.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 1
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 25, 2003 - 8:10 am: | |
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 8/17 through 8/23/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught a variety of fish during the past week. Snook, redfish, tarpon and trout were caught and released on a variety of lures in lower Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay and the Peace River. The hottest action was with tarpon in the 10 to 20-pound class.
Anglers on Monday and Tuesday caught numerous trout to 19” on CAL jigs and DOA Deadly Combinations with glow shrimp. The best action was at Stephen’s Point early in the day when trout fed in and around bait schools over shallow grass.
The best trip of the week was on Wednesday when Rusty Driver and Dave Robinson, both from Sarasota, FL, joined me for a trip in upper Charlotte Harbor. The action was red hot at first light when tarpon fed on baitfish in the Peace River. They jumped 7 tarpon and landed 2 to 18-pounds. The tarpon ate DOA TerrorEyz worked slowly along the bottom.
Reese Bernate, from Bradenton, FL, and Will Evans, from Geneva, IL, fished lower Tampa Bay with me on Thursday. They caught a few trout and a bluefish on Skitterbug and Clouser flies, MirrOlure She Dogs and DOA Deadly combinations. Despite a good tide and plentiful baitfish, fish didn’t bite well.
Dana Field, from Sarasota, FL, and his son, Jeff Field, from Rochester, NY, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. We focused on reds and snook near Big Pass with top water plugs early in the day. They caught a couple of trout and a snook on a MirrOlure She Dog and the DOA Deadly Combination. We switched to CAL jigs with jerk worms and the action picked up. They finished the day with 2 more snook and a redfish before a rain shower cut our day short.
Next weeks tides are favorable for reds on the flats early in the day and snook on the strong outgoing tides late in the afternoon and early evening.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.net
 |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 10:55 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Terra Ceia Bay, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Terra Ceia Bay, FL Fishing Report for 3/16 through 3/22/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, redfish, trout, Spanish mackerel, pompano and ladyfish during the past week. Top water action for snook turned on in Sarasota and Terra Ceia Bays as the flats continue to warm. Fly anglers caught and released snook at night and trout, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish on the flats. Wind and rain plagued the area and made fishing difficult for most of the week.
Joey Schwab, from Sarasota, FL, and Bill Beauchamp, from Bradenton, FL, fished the Terra Ceia Bay area with me on Monday. They action was not fast, but Bill managed a “slam” which included a 4-pound trout caught and released on a CAL jig. Their catch also included several slot-size trout, small snook and a redfish caught on MirrOlure She Dogs and CAL jigs with shad tails.
Nick Reding, from St. Louis, MO, and his son, Nick, from New York City, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. We started the day on a flat in north Sarasota Bay with Nick fly fishing and young Nick throwing a She Dog on spinning tackle. The top water plug was definitely the way to go, as young Nick repeatedly got strikes and several hook ups. He landed one snook and a nice trout but had a large snook take the She Dog away from him. She easily sawed through 30-pound fluorocarbon, which must have been gill-wrapped, with a single head shake. We fished a bar on the west side of the bay where young Nick hooked a red on a fly before we were chased off the water by a downpour.
Bob Kahlor and Al Plejdrup, both from Callawassie Island, SC, fished north Sarasota Bay with me in dense fog on Wednesday morning. Al caught a small red on the She Dog and they landed several trout on CAL jigs and DOA shrimp near Buttonwood Harbor. Fly anglers Bryan Beebe and Ron Burks, both from Sarasota, FL, snook fished near Venice with me on Wednesday evening. Snook were feeding on live shrimp and were very selective with our flies. They caught and released 10 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow, Enrico Puglisi’s shrimp and Skitterbug flies.
Marty Cummings, from Sarasota, FL, and Capt. Bruno Vasta, from Solomons, MD, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. The wind blew hard most of the day making only a few spots fishable. They caught several trout, ladyfish and a pompano on Cotee jigs with grubs near Big Pass and in the lee of Longboat Key.
Bill Misischia, from Schererville, IN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. A strong thunderstorm pushed through the area before daylight but conditions improved as we took to the water. Bill caught 8 or 10 trout including 6 slot-size fish to 18” and several ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs and DOA shrimp near Bishop Point.Conditions deteriorated in the afternoon. Fly anglers, Bill Gamber from Lancaster, PA, and Jim Henly, from Hummelstown, PA, fished with me on Friday afternoon and it poured rain for the first two hours. Although it was very slow, they hung in there and finished the day with a Spanish mackerel and several trout and ladyfish on olive/white Clouser flies caught and released near Bishop Point.
If the weather will give us a break next week, fishing should improve on the flats and at night for snook. Rain and wind from a front that hung just to the north of us affected our fishing for several days, but that should push through the area this weekend.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2003 - 10:53 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Rpt for 3/9 -3/16/03
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past week. Trout, redfish, snook, Spanish mackerel, pompano and ladyfish were caught with lures and flies in north Sarasota Bay and Venice.
Frank Watson, from Canfield, OH, and his grandson, Eric, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. They caught and released trout to 18” and large ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs and DOA shrimp. Dick Reece and Jim Van Tassel, both from Dayton, OH, fished “snook alley” in Venice with me on Monday evening. They caught and released 15 snook to 23” and a lookdown on Enrico Puglisi shrimp fly patterns.
Sarasota winter resident, Merrill Zinder, fished Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor with me on Tuesday. The trout bite was on as he caught numerous trout to 20”, Spanish mackerel and a pompano on Cotee jigs with grubs. Fly angler, Mark Ross, from San Francisco, CA, and Conrad Ross, from Sarasota, FL, fished the same area with me on Tuesday afternoon. Their catch included several Spanish mackerel and nice trout caught on an Enrico Puglisi finger mullet. Conrad also caught and released a redfish on a CAL jig with a shad tail.
Cliff Ondercin and Brie Willett, both from Sarasota, FL, fished with me on Wednesday evening. Snook have started feeding on larger baitfish and shrimp and are more selective than when they were gorging themselves with glass minnows. They scored on about 15 snook with Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Skitterbug flies. Several of the snook were caught on DOA shrimp and white bucktail jigs.
Fly angler, Dan Chudick from Grand Rapids, MI, and his dad, Dick Chudick from Bradenton, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. After spending a couple of hours hunting for cobia in the coastal gulf waters with no success, we returned to the bay. They had fast action with trout, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel and a redfish caught on Enrico Puglisi flies and Cotee jigs with grubs.
Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, got out for one more trip on Friday before returning home and had a great day. We fished a sand bar at low tide where reds were trailing mullet. Dick caught 5 reds, all about 3-pounds, on CAL jigs with shad tails before the bite slowed. We dropped out into a little deeper water where he caught numerous trout on Cotee jigs with grubs and an Enrico Puglisi finger mullet fly pattern. The largest trout, about 3-pounds, was caught and released on a fly.
I teamed with Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, to instruct a fly casting school at the Longboat Key Recreation Center on Saturday. The students all did well and are well on their way to enjoying the sport of fly fishing. Next week’s tides will be favorable for fishing the flats for reds, snook and trout as we head towards a full moon. Spring has sprung and fishing is really turning on!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2003 - 10:48 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 03/15/03
March 15, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Where are the kingfish? The offshore boats are looking but only a few have been caught so far. They are overdue or better said; "It is time for them to show."
That out of the way, fishing has been excellent! The "I" reefs, particularly "I-2", the Allen Fisher in 30' of water is hot. Spanish mackerel have been thick for weeks now and some of the macks have gone over five pounds. We have also lost a few to the barracudas. Some snapper and sheepshead are also being caught on the bottom. The mackerel are taking live shrimp or whitebait free-lined while drifting. Most fast moving jigs are also working.
Long offshore trips have been finding plenty of Amberjacks and some nice size snapper.
Bay fishing is the best it has been in years! We have been finding plenty of spotted seatrout on the grass-flats and by yesterday afternoon, we found as many mackerel with them. We are also finding large and small fish mixed together. At times we have found the pompano thick in Big Pass, south of the Twin bridges and along Country Club Shores. They are spread on the flats out and occasionally we hook one. Add hungry ladyfish to this and you can expect a busy day.
Along the beach, tripletail are being found on the crab trap markers and some cobia have also been seen moving along the beach and passes. The cobia are still not thick but possible.
Snook are being caught more frequently now but it takes a dedicated angler.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2003 - 10:50 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 3/2 through 3/9/2003
Spin and fly anglers connected with nice trout, pompano and ladyfish on the flats of Sarasota Bay during the past week. Trout fishing has been very good with many fish in or above the slot. There are also scattered pompano and bluefish in the same areas.
Mike Sprague, from Hillsborough, NJ, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. He caught and released trout, ladyfish and a redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails, Cotee jigs with grubs and DOA shrimp near Buttonwood Harbor.Fly angler, Dick Stevens from Enfield, CT, fished the same area with me on Tuesday morning and caught and released trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies. Tuesday afternoon was a carbon copy with Jim and Joanne Gustafson, from Geneva, IL, also catching and releasing ladyfish and trout.
Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, fished Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor with me on Wednesday and caught trout to 22” and three pompano on DOA Tiny TerrorEyz and jigs. Fly anglers, Erwin Edelman from Sarasota, FL, and Carl Copp, from Dennis, MA, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday and caught some very nice trout. The largest trout was 21” and ate an Enrico Puglisi olive finger mullet. Carl also caught and released a 4-pound bluefish on an Ultra Hair Clouser at the Middleground flat.
Gene Leverone, from Lynnfield, MA, and his son, Dick Leverone from Rye, NH, fished Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor with me on Friday and had a banner day! Despite 20 mph + winds, they caught numerous trout to 22”, large ladyfish and a pair of pompano on olive/white Clouser flies.
Harry Davis, from Dalton, GA, and Bruce Burns, from River Falls, WI, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on Saturday. It was a tough day with a lot of space between fish, but they ended the day with a pair of reds to 26”, a small snook and ladyfish on CAL jigs with shad tails. Harry had a large red take an Enrico Puglisi Peanut Butter fly first thing in the morning, but didn’t hook up. Most of our action was in the backcountry of Bull and Turtle Bays.
Next weeks strong outgoing tides during the evening will be favorable for snook at night. Flats fishing is improving daily as the water warms into the mid 70’s. I think it’s going to be an early spring, as it seems that everything is getting ready to bust loose.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2003 - 11:18 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 03/08/03
March 8, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The fishing is still improving. The sizes of the Spanish mackerel that are being caught on the Allen Fisher reef have increased. A few of the mackerel have made five pounds but the average is about two pounds. High barometer readings have affected the bite but it comes back. Live bait, jigs and trolling have all worked.
Mangrove snappers have also moved in to the (I) reefs. Nice size snappers are being caught on large live shrimp fished on the bottom. A quarter ounce split-shot attached six inches above a 3/0 hook works best. Small tipped jigs bounced on the bottom are a killer in the right hands. Don't be surprised if you hook-up with a nice gag or flounder while fishing the Inshore reefs. Cobia is also a good possibility and has been caught, but is still not real dependable. That's history and today could be the day they start strong.
The spotted seatrout is still going strong on the bay. Although we catch plenty of small trout, we have had no problem making our limit with fish between eighteen and twenty inches. Large live shrimp is the price we pay for this, but fly and jig fishermen are also doing well. Pompano, mackerel, ladyfish and bluefish are also scattered around the grass-flats and in with the trout. Most of the grass-flats are holding fish and I let the wind direction and speed dictate which flat I fish.
All of the fish are moving around the flats and sometimes in small pockets. When we find the fish in pockets, I will do short drifts over the pockets, making sure to make wide returns so as not to spook them.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2003 - 3:23 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 03/02/03
March 2, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The fishing has gone up another notch! The "I" artificial reefs and especially the I-2 Allen Fisher has been run over with Spanish mackerel and bluefish. Cobia and large sheepshead to 5 pounds are also being caught on most of the other "I" reefs. Generally, the mackerel and bluefish have been small but quick to take a Diamond jig. They will take all small artificial lures but paint and skirts have a short life span with these toothy critters.
The cobia have had good days and slow days but well worth looking for. They may be on the top or on the bottom and prefer live bait. Shrimp or small fish will work. Sheepshead is found close to the structure and only eats crustacean or mollusk.
Spotted seatrout are still going strong on the bay grass-flats. You may be catching shorts and then run into a pocket of keepers with a possible of over twenty inches. Live shrimp has been best bait but artificial lures in the right hands have been a killer. Along with the trout, we have caught Spanish mackerel to four pounds and bluefish to three pounds. Pompano have also been scattered over the grass-flats.
Redfish and snook are being caught but the action is slow compared to the other bay action. If you target them, you will find them but my job is to keep the rods bent so I don't have much input for now.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 01, 2003 - 9:07 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Rpt.for 2/23 -3/1/03
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action on the flats particularly with trout during the past week. The best action was at night as snook and bluefish gorged themselves with glass minnows and ate flies just as readily.
Bernie Feinberg, from Sarasota, FL, and David Schofield, from Elmira, NY fished the ICW near Venice with me last Sunday evening. They caught and released 48 snook to 25”, 11 bluefish to 4-pounds and several ladyfish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies. A total of 63 fish caught on fly, which is their personal best! Also included in the catch was a fat snook, which is species of snook that looks like it’s been on steroids!
Gene Leverone, from Lynnfield, MA, and Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, fished the same area with me on Thursday evening. It was a rain soaked trip but the fish bit well until the tide slowed. They caught and released about 25 snook also on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Several trips in Sarasota Bay produced trout to 20” and large ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs, DOA shrimp and CAL jigs. Bill Roth, from Longboat Key, FL, fished a couple of trips with guests, Tom Klein, Joe Vermeren and Chuck Finlon, catching some nice trout on each trip. Sarasota winter resident, Bill Witt, and his guest, Gary Menna from MD, had a good trip on Tuesday. They caught and released numerous trout to 20”, including 6 slot-size fish, on Cotee jigs with grubs near the Ringling flats and Buttonwood Harbor.
Julian and Betsy Miraglia, from Radnor, PA, also fished Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor with me on Saturday morning. We were on the water shortly after first light to catch the bottom of the tide. It paid off as Betsy landed a nice trout on an olive/white Closer fly right away. Julian followed up with a pair of 6-pound reds caught on a CAL jig with a shad tail. The action slowed after a short period of time, but they did manage a couple of more nice trout before the day was done.
With the water temperature at 70 degrees on the flats, action should really heat up during March. Next week’s tides are favorable for fishing the flats, particularly early in the day, as we head away from the new moon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923 –7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 23, 2003 - 7:29 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 02/23/03
February 23, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Inshore fishing is still excellent and offshore fishing is coming back! Spotted seatrout are the best they have been in years and are being caught over most of the bay. Along with the trout, we found plenty of ladyfish an occasional pompano, bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Natural and artificial baits are both working well but free-lined live shrimp will increase the variety.
Finding a hot spot on the bay at this time is more about wind direction and wind speed. Finding and drifting a grass-flat at a good angle with a fishable drifting speed is a big plus. Anchoring along the edges of the grass between Mote Marine and Bird Key has also been hot. Snook and redfish are being caught, but spotty.
Gag grouper and mangrove snapper are starting to pickup well offshore. No big numbers but some nice fish. The inshore artificial "I" reefs are still loaded with pinfish and small triggers. The Fisher and Roehr reefs are still holding a large school of very small bluefish. Cobia have been spotted and caught from Casey Key to Sarasota but with no consistency. Some of the pods have been reported to be large. Cobia can be on the bottom, out of sight as well as on the top. For now if you fish deep you will need to use a pinfish or grunt if you want to keep a bait on your hook for more then 60 seconds. Live shrimp will work if sight fishing.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 23, 2003 - 8:43 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Lower Tampa Bay Fishing Rpt.
Sarasota & Lower Tampa Bay Fishing Report for 2/16 through 2/23/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action on the flats of Sarasota Bay with trout and redfish during the past week. Reds and trout are becoming more active and snook are making a showing on shallow grass flats as water temperatures rose to the high 60’s.
Bill Walsh and sons, Matt and Andrew, from Winchester, MA fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. They had plenty of action with trout to 24”, ladyfish and a 2-lb pompano caught on Cotee jigs with grubs, DOA shrimp and CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms. They fished north Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor with me on Wednesday and had a great day! The trio landed 15 or 20 trout to 19”, which included 8 slot-size trout and 5 reds. Although all the reds were small, the action was fast!
Fly angler, Charlie Gadbois from Southborough, MA, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. He hooked a big red on a Clouser fly on about his third cast only to have the hook pull. Although we weren’t able to connect with another red, he did have some action with trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies near Buttonwood Harbor.
Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, and grandsons, Daniel and Austin, fished the same area with me on Thursday. After a slow start, they managed numerous trout to 20”, a redfish, bluefish and a nice Spanish mackerel on Cotee jigs with grubs.
Karen and Pete Mattern, from Snead Island, FL, fished the Terra Ceia Bay area with me on Friday. It turned out to be a wind blown day as a front was approaching. Fishing was tough due to the wind, but they managed several trout, ladyfish, a flounder and a small red on Cotee jigs with grubs and CAL jigs with shad tails. Even though the wind cranked to about 25 mph on Saturday, we had another successful fly casting school at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters. Capt. Ed Hurst and I instructed a dozen students that all did well despite the challenging conditions. Students received hands-on fly casting instruction with Orvis fly tackle as well as classroom instruction.
Fishing next week will mostly depend on the weather. Although we only have two-tide days, flats action is getting ready to bust loose if the water continues to stay warm. In addition, Spanish mackerel and cobia are beginning to show up, which could be the start of some hot spring fishing!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 1:39 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
As is typical of this time of year, breaks in between cold fronts have definitely been the best days to hit the shallow flats. Redfish have been in good numbers. Although we've had the best success taking reds on light spinning gear, they've taken flies offered, but have been hesitant about it.
On shallow flats, redfish have been active in North Sarasota Bay and along the East side near Buttonwood Harbor. Singles and small groups, and schools of upward of 30 or more fish have been patrolling deeper edges of bars on lower tide stages. Copper Bendbacks loaded with flash, chartreuse and white Clousers, weedless gold spoons and top waters have been working well.
Action has also been good on the deeper grass flats. We're consistently releasing slot-size trout, up to 4 pounds, ladyfish, bluefish and flounder. Clouser Deep Minnows, soft plastic jigs and live shrimp have worked well around Tidy Island, channels around Buttonwood, around Selby flats and the Radio Tower.
On windy days, sheepshead and jacks have been providing the best action while trying to stay protected. Live shrimp tossed up to docks and drifted past pilings are getting sheepshead to 4 pounds. Docks around the passes, with deeper, fast moving water have been the best.
Canals around Bird and Lido Keys have been loaded with jack cravalle. Most are around 2 pounds, but on windy days, with light tackle, they're a blast. Soft plastics have easily taken the majority and for some reason, they've been hard to get on fly. Not the norm, usually they'll eat anything cast within the radius of a football field.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsngler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 16, 2003 - 12:46 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 02/16/03
February 16, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
We had a week of good fishing on the bay. Sometimes we didn't know if we were going duck hunting or fishing due to the fog and rain but it was a good week. Spotted Seatrout made up most of the action with Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano and ladyfish mixing in.
The fish were mostly on the grass-flats but would move around the flats and to the east or west side of the bay. I found enough fish in just two spots, Steven's Point grass-flats and just north of Country Club Shores or the Rim Canal entrance.
We used only live shrimp, free-lined on eight-pound test line. Some other boats did very well on jigs or fly. Some of the largest trout we found were on the edge of the sandbar just north of the Rim Canal entrance. Redfish, snook and sheepshead are being caught now but are not major players at this time.
Offshore we found the "I" reefs covered with pinfish, triggerfish and other small fish. We did find a lot of bluefish on the Fisher reef,
"I-2" but most were undersize. We caught large blues on the bay, but not many. The boats fishing further offshore found it slow and the current very strong. Remember that this is only history and things can change quickly.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 16, 2003 - 10:50 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Rpt.for 2/9-2/16/03
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action with trout and reds on the flats and snook at night during the past week. Extreme low morning tides as we headed toward a full moon concentrated fish on the flats. Evening tides were also good and snook and bluefish went on a binge.
Mike Bettner, from Sarasota, FL, and Bill Jarosinski, from Indianapolis, IN, fished north Sarasota Bay with me last Sunday. It was a breezy, foggy day with drizzling rain on and off throughout the afternoon. They caught and released trout to 18” and ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs and CAL jigs near Buttonwood Harbor.
Fly anglers, Sandy Lawrence from Sarasota, FL, and Gary Bartell, from Rome, NY, had a great afternoon/evening trip in Little Sarasota Bay and Venice on Monday. The action before dark was slow with only a few ladyfish and trout caught on chartreuse/white Clouser flies. However as soon as darkness fell, the action heated up. We lost count, but they probably caught and released a dozen snook to 23” and 25-30 bluefish to 4-pounds on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies near the Venice Inlet.
Sarasota winter residents, Harry Beaty and Tom Schalk, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They caught about 30 trout, which included 10 trout from 17” to 24”, on DOA shrimp and CAL jigs near the Ringling Mansion and Buttonwood Harbor.
I fished the same area on Wednesday with Paul and Jackie Grosso, from Alexandria, VA. The action was a little slower, but they managed 20 trout to 19”, including 6 slot-size trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies, DOA shrimp and jigs.
Mike and Charlie Penny, from Atlanta, GA, fished “snook alley” in Venice with me on Thursday evening. They caught and released 10 or 12 snook to 23” and a bluefish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies and white bucktail jigs.
My brother, Kirk Grassett from Bear, DE and a friend Capt. Scott Hopkins, from West Grove, PA, came down for a long weekend, arriving on Thursday evening. It gave me a chance to fish a little (actually a lot) for myself, too. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, also joined us. We waded the flats of north Sarasota Bay early Friday morning when the tide was dead low. The extreme low tide had fish concentrated on the edge of a flat. We hit it just right, as we caught and released 10 reds to 29” and 20 trout to 27” on Clouser flies. Kirk had his personal best with the 27” trout and Scott had his personal best with a 29” red. After a short siesta that afternoon, we headed to Venice to night snook fish. Kirk and I caught and released about 25 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies. Rusty and Scott caught and released 6 or 8 bluefish to 4-pounds and numerous snook on small white flies.
We tried to repeat our performance on Saturday morning and although the action wasn’t as fast it was still a good morning. We caught and released 5 or 6 reds, including a couple in the 6 to 8-pound class and about 15-20 trout to 23”, all on Clouser flies. Walker’s Cay Chronicles TV host, Flip Pallot, was the guest speaker at the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers annual banquet on Saturday evening. It was a great event, with good food, good company and lots of fly fishing trips and tackle auctioned off to benefit the club. One of the highlights of the evening was when a fully rigged Hell’s Bay flats boat was raffled off.
Next weeks tides are good as we head away from the full moon, so I expect fishing on the flats to continue to be good.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. rick grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 7:10 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Rpt .for 2/1-2/8/03
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, trout, bluefish and ladyfish on lures and flies during the past week. With the water temperature on the flats and in the ICW back in the low to mid 60’s fishing rebounded, particularly night snook action. Fly anglers had fast action at night with snook and bluefish in the ICW near Venice. Flats anglers had good action with large ladyfish and trout, including numerous slot-size fish caught and released on a variety of lures and flies.
Capt. Rick DePaiva, from Ft. Myers, FL, and Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, joined me for an afternoon/evening trip on Monday. We caught numerous trout to 17” and ladyfish on Clouser flies near Blackburn Point during the afternoon. Sheepshead were tailing hard on oyster bars, but couldn’t be tempted to eat a fly. As darkness fell, we shifted to snook and the bite was on. We caught and released 15-20 snook to 24” and a couple of bluefish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Bob Burns, from Sarasota, FL, and his son, Bobby, from Louisville, KY, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. The action was steady as they caught and released trout and ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs. Jeff Thomas and his son, Jake, from Cincinnati, OH, fished the same area with me on Wednesday afternoon with similar results. Their catch included several slot-size trout to 18” caught on chartreuse/white Clouser flies and Cotee jigs with grubs. Cliff Ondercin, from Sarasota, FL fished “snook alley” in Venice with me on Wednesday evening. He caught and released 12-15 snook to 24” and several bluefish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Bob Parker, from Sarasota, FL, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday afternoon. He caught and released numerous trout and ladyfish on Clouser and bendback flies fished on an intermediate fly line. That evening, Paul and Jackie Grosso from Arlington, VA, and “Doc” and Bobbi Dugan, from Hague, VA, fished with Capt. Ed Hurst and I in Venice. Bluefish moved in on one of the spots that had been strong for snook earlier in the week and pushed the snook out. Paul and Jackie caught and released 20 bluefish to 4-pounds and several snook to 24” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies and white bucktail jigs. The Dugans also had good action with Capt. Ed catching and releasing several snook on DOA Tiny TerrorEyz.
Fly angler, Gene Leverone from Lynnfield, MA, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. We worked potholes near Long Bar hunting reds and trout. Gene caught and released about 15 trout to 18”, including several slot-size fish, on a chartreuse and white Clouser.
Next weeks tides, although only two-tide days for most of the week, are strong tides that should mean good flats and night snook action.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 01, 2003 - 2:47 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 1/24 -2/1/2003
Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released trout, bluefish, redfish, flounder and ladyfish on lures and flies during the past week. The best action was on the deep grass flats of Little Sarasota Bay with trout and ladyfish, including numerous slot-size trout from 17”-19”. They have been plentiful in the ICW channel and deep flats close to the channel edges. Water temperatures on the flats dipped to the mid 50’s early in the week and forced the cancellation of a couple of evening snook trips, although that rebounded by the end of the week.
Kep Phillips, from Harrison, NJ, and Mike Sprague, from Hillsborough, NJ, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. After a chilly start, the action slowly improved. Fish could only be found in the ICW channel early in the day, but by late morning they began to spread out on the flats. They caught and released trout, ladyfish and a couple of flounder on Cotee jigs with grubs and CAL jigs near Blackburn Point.
970 WFLA’s Capt. Mel Berman joined me for a trip in the same area on Tuesday. We opted to fish the afternoon due to the cold water, which proved to be a good strategy. We caught and released numerous trout to 18”, ladyfish and a bluefish near Blackburn Point. Mel did best with a DOA shrimp while I caught mine on a gray/white Clouser fly. Due to water temperature still hovering in the mid 50’s I cancelled evening snook trips for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Outdoor writer, Richard Martin from Shelby, OH, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday and had fast action with trout and ladyfish caught and released on a Cotee jig with a grub. I caught mine on a chartreuse/white Clouser fly fished on an intermediate fly line. Tim Cole, from Sarasota, FL and Sarasota winter resident, Tom Lamb, fished the same area with me on Friday morning with similar results. Their catch included 3 slot-size trout to 19”.
With the water temperature on the flats back in the low 60’s, outdoor writer Don Ecker and his wife Barbara, from Ft. Lee, NJ, joined me for a snook trip in Venice on Friday evening. We opted to get the trip in before the opening of snook season at midnight, which was a good plan. As we pulled out of the water at 11 PM, several other snook anglers were just launching. Even though the water temperature was not a factor, snook didn’t bite that well. There were fish evident in many of the lights and occasionally feeding on glass minnows. A hungry school of large bluefish dominated one of the bridge fenders. They caught and released 3 snook to 23”, a 4-pound bluefish and a legal redfish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Next weeks tides are favorable and as is usually the case, if the weather cooperates so should the fish.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Merrily Dunn
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 1:08 pm: | |
Subject: Wintertime Report Tampa Bay/Bradenton, FL 1/25/03
With water temps hovering around the mid 50's, this is the time of year that I choose to leave the "gamefish" species alone, leave a little later in the morning when there's some sun heating us up and target sheepshead and mangrove snapper around manmade or natural structure. It's often challenging because these fish know where their hidey hole is and once hooked, run right into it to try to cut you off. This past week I accompanied Pat Adams from Bay Colony in Palmetto on her boat, leaving the dock at about 10:30am. She wanted to learn more about the Terra Ceia Bay waters and didn't know about a pile of the old Skyway Bridge material that holds lots of sheepshead and snapper. As usual for winter, the shrimp were a bit on the small side but that's the good thing because sheepshead and snapper only need a tid bit to tempt them. I chose to use a 3/0 gold hook and a #4 split shot. Should I end up getting snagged, the split shot could break loose or the hook bend just enough for me to come free of the debris without breaking my line to 20# fluorocarbon leader. We didn't get into any of the 6 pounder sheepshead that lurk there but we got some nice 3 pounders. The snapper were just above legal and we even caught some juvenile gag grouper. Ed Goulder of Cleveland and I met around noon-ish and fished the limestone edges of the ICW along Siesta Key and caught sheepshead and snapper also using live shrimp. Both days were somewhat windy but the sheltered areas still enabled us to get out and go fishing without being too uncomfortable.
Other fishing options around the New Pass Bridge and Radio Tower holes would be bluefish, jacks and of course the good old standby, ladyfish. All of these fish would willingly take artificials. If at first you don't hook up, either work your jig more slowly and deeper or move around a bit finding the drop offs.
I happened to be driving around on Friday looking for any signs of stressed or even dead snook around the Manatee River, Warners Bayou and Palma Sola Bay but can state that there were none I saw that were dead. A few fish were holding in the lee of the wind and in sunny spots above darker bottom and not moving. In Palma Sola near that neighborhood's marina, I bumped into Howard Wells of the Snook Foundation and a couple of his volunteers doing the same thing. One of the young men with him had just released a 24" snook that took and artificial bait cast into the middle of the basin. We were pleased to see it wasn't stressed and it was hungry. We'll just have to hope more like it found warm enough water to get them through this long cold spell.
Get out and go fishing, it's good for you,
Capt. Merrily Dunn
ReelSaltyLady@cs.com
www.gamefish-her.com
941-750-8135
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 9:56 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 01/24/03
January 24, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Fishing has been excellent throughout the month of January! The Bay fishing is better than it has been in years. Only the weather has held us down but this is normal for this time of year. The cold snap we are having today and tomorrow could be a problem for some species due to the water temperature dropping.
We have not needed to do much running to find fish. Zwicks channel has been good for pompano, bluefish and trout on a running tide, in or out.
Big Pass has been good on a change of tide before it gets too strong.
The grass flats just north of the Rim Canal's south entrance has been a good place to limit out on sea trout. Live shrimp and tipped jigs have been working well. The live shrimp have been small but doing the job. You may want to drop a hook size to match the size of the bait. On the flats, we have been using a free-line with the live shrimp rigged with 8# line and 20# leader with a 2/0 long light wire shank gold hook (Eagle Claw #202).
The sheepshead are also getting hot. Look for them around any structure that is growing barnacles. Use only crustaceans or mollusks for bait and a stout sharp hook, (Eagle Claw L253).
Offshore there have been plenty of snapper and some nice grouper in 50' to 90' feet of water. The best bait is live shrimp for the snapper and live pinfish for the grouper. You can find plenty of large pinfish offshore but I also like to take some smaller ones caught from the bay. Fresh caught pinfish are much better bait.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 9:37 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 1/17 through 1/24/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released trout, ladyfish and redfish during the past week. The best action was on the deep grass flats of Little Sarasota Bay, which is a good wintertime area.
Bob Morgan, from Toledo, OH, returned to Sarasota for the season and didn’t waste any time getting on the water. We fished Sarasota Bay on Monday and after a slow start, we got dialed into a good trout bite. After searching deep grass flats for a couple of hours and coming up empty, Bob caught and released about 15 trout to 17” on Cotee jigs with grubs, CAL jigs and DOA shrimp near the Ringling mansion.
Sarasota winter resident, Harry Beaty and Paul Rotz, both from Ontario, Canada, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They had a good trip, which included 15 or 20 trout to 19” (5 slot-size fish from 17”-19”), a nice sheepshead and a 29” red. The action was fast near the end of the trip as they also caught numerous large ladyfish that were mixed with the trout. They caught their fish on Cotee jigs with grubs, CAL jigs and DOA shrimp near Blackburn Point.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, and Victor Feldman, from Champagne, IL, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Wednesday. The day started off steady with a good trout bite in Bull Bay. The caught numerous trout, including a couple of slot-size fish and a small redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails and Exude R/T slugs and Dart baits. We hunted reds most of the day and found a few that wouldn’t eat. Victor ended the day with a 28” red that he caught and released on a CAL jig with a shad tail.
A strong front blew through on Thursday morning causing the cancellation of my trips for that day. Winds from 25-30 mph and temperatures dropping into the 30’s on Thursday evening threatened snook and other temperature sensitive species such as jack crevalle. We are holding our breath and hoping we don’t have a significant fish kill as record low temperatures will be with us for a couple of days. If you should see a stunned snook, don’t touch it since it may revive if the water warms up within a few hours. Report any snook kill or violations of snook laws, such as gathering stunned or dead snook to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Fishing next week depends on the weather. If we get some sunshine to warm the water back up, fishing should improve within a few days.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 17, 2003 - 1:33 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota and Venice, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota and Venice, FL Fishing Report for 1/12 through 1/17/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released trout, bluefish and ladyfish on deep grass flats during the past week. The hottest action of the week was fly fishing for snook at night.
Phil Rever, from Sarasota, FL, and his guest Eric Dobkins, from NY, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. We worked deep grass flats from 3’ to 6’ to catch about 10 trout to 19” and a bluefish. Phil used a chartreuse/white Clouser fly, while Eric fished a jig. Most fish were in the slot and were caught near Long Bar and Buttonwood Harbor.
Tuesday’s trip was slower. Don and Barbara Ecker, from Ft. Lee, NJ, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me during the afternoon. They caught several trout to 19” and ladyfish on jigs. Water temperatures never reached 60 degrees, which put a chill on the fishing, too.
Fly anglers, Bernie Feinberg from Sarasota, FL, and David Schofield, from Elmira, NY, fished “snook alley” in Venice with me on Wednesday evening. The action was red hot as snook gorged themselves with glass minnows around lighted docks and bridge fenders. At one point, bluefish moved in on the dock we were fishing, biting our flies off on every cast. We added a trace of wire to our leaders and although the blues moved on, snook were still not deterred from eating our flies. They caught and released 59 snook to 24” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy flies.
The following evening was slower, but fly anglers Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, and Victor Feldman, from Champagne, IL, still managed to catch and release 25 or 30 snook to 26” and a pair of bluefish on the same flies. Another front blew through on Friday morning, postponing fishing for the day.
The Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club and the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers will hold their annual Captains Forum and Fly Fishing Expo on Saturday, January 18 from 9 AM to 4 PM at Phillippi Estates Park, 5700 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. Local fishing guides will be on hand with their boats and tackle and will be available to discuss their specialties. In addition, there will be fly fishing and conventional fishing seminars on two different stages. The event will also feature fly tying, fly casting, spin casting and cast net throwing. Local fishing tackle shops and fishing tackle manufacturers will be displaying their products. The event is free and the public is invited. What a deal!
Daytime tides will improve next week as we head away from the full moon. If the weather cooperates, fish should be feeding, particularly during the afternoon when the water should be warmer. Check out the new look of my fly fishing website, www.flyfishingflorida.net. I think you’ll like it!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 - 4:42 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
Even with cold fronts sliding down, we're still having decent catches of redfish, bluefish, snook, trout, pompano, ladyfish and flounder. A few windy days have kept us from accessing some of the shallower flats, but the action on deeper grass, in protected areas, has more than made up for it.
Pompano, trout, bluefish, flounder and ladyfish have been hitting soft plastic jigs, Clouser Deep Minnows and bendback flies at the Middlegrounds in Sarasota Bay, around Marker 8 just inside of Big Pass and in Little Sarasota Bay around Spanish Point. Best colors for the soft plastics has been green and white. Tan and white and chartreuse and white has worked well with Clousers and bendbacks.
Before and between fronts, reds and trout have been pushing up on the grass flats in North Sarasota Bay. Reds to 6 pounds and trout to 3 took Clouser Minnows and gold spoons near Long Bar and around Tidy Island. Snook (catch and release) to 2 pounds, trout to 3 and big ladyfish were hitting Clousers, plastic jigs and spoons around the bars on the east and west sides of the Intracoastal, north of Midnight Pass in Little Sarasota Bay.
Trout are back in season and can be found in deeper water when it's cool. They'll drop off the edges of grass flats, into deeper holes and channels. A slow presentation is needed this time of year, especially after a front moves through. Not just for trout, but for redfish and snook, too. On colder days, a live shrimp, either on a jig head or suspended under a popping cork, or a piece of shrimp on the jig can entice the hit.
The front that just moved through has the water temps down well into the 50's. When the water temp drops suddenly, and their metabolism slows, redfish won't move up onto a flat as readily, especially if it's a severe drop. Best bet is to wait until the sun warms the flat to move in. They can be found staging in potholes or deeper areas, waiting for the water to warm when they will move up.
Just a reminder, snook are out of season until February 1st. This closure is for their protection. Because of their sensitivity to colder temperatures, it's probably best not to target them when the water temperatures are low. If you see snook floating, it's best to leave them alone. They're probably just stunned and will recover as the sun warms them and the water.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
COREY SHANNON
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 1:34 pm: | |
Subject: PITCHING DOCKS
PITCHING THE DOCKS!
This week I concentrated on the lighted docks all over Sarasota and Tampa Bay at night. Flipping live shrimp and pinfishas produced the best results. We have managed snook to 30", but have been outclassed by snook up over 15 lbs. the action has been fast paced and shortlived on 12 lb line. You only have a chance if the fish decides to run away from the structure. |
Capt. rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 10:11 am: | |
Subject: Southwest Florida Fishing Report
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 12/28/2002 through 1/4/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict fished from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor during the past week caching trout, redfish, snook, flounder, bluefish and ladyfish on jigs and flies. Frequent fronts have made fishing tough and narrowed the windows of opportunity between fronts.
Keith McClintock and Barry Slee, both from Lake Forest, IL and Jack Lyons, from Chicago, IL, joined me for a Charlotte Harbor trip on Sunday. Cold water, in the mid 50’s, had fish hunkering down and not feeding very well. However they managed to catch a dozen trout to 2 ½ pounds and a couple of small reds on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms in Gasparilla Sound and the backcountry of Bull and Turtle Bays.
A trip in Little Sarasota Bay on Monday morning was also tough due to cold water, although fish became more active as the sun warmed the air and water. Anglers caught and released ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs in the ICW channel and a small red off an oyster bar near Midnight Pass. Monday evening was a different story. Snook were feeding heavily on glass minnows in water that had warmed to the low 60’s. Brian and Joanne Shenstone, from Gross Point Woods, MI had a great trip catching and releasing about 30 snook to 24”, a couple of 3 ½ -pound bluefish, a flounder and several ladyfish on Enrico Puglisi Micro Minnow flies and live shrimp. We found the snook to be aggressive, fighting hard and swimming away strong after being quickly released.
A strong front blew through on New Year’s Eve (Tuesday) with destructive winds and 6” of rain! Wednesday was a good day to watch football and let things settle down. Thursdays trip was action packed as Keith McClintock and Barry Slee, both from Lake Forest, IL, and Victor Feldman, from Champaign, IL, joined me for a trip in lower Tampa Bay. They caught and released 7 reds, 3 snook, 12 or 15 trout (including 7 slot-size fish) and a couple of bluefish. Victor and Keith both had slams, which included a 24” snook. Most fish were caught on the outside bars or deep grass of Terra Ceia Bay or Rattlesnake Key on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms. Another front blew through on Thursday evening and the wind howled on Friday.
Marty Maher, from Rochester, NY, his son, Mike and nephew, Jake, decided to brave the conditions to fish Little Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. They had been scheduled for an offshore trip that day, which was cancelled due to the wind. They had great action catching and releasing trout, ladyfish and a 9-pound jack crevalle on Cotee jigs with grubs. Even though conditions weren’t great, it was a lot better than the 16” of snow they were getting back home.
Saturday morning was cool and the water temperature had dropped 7 or 8 degrees to the mid 50’s. The north wind had a bite! Terry Notari, from Longboat Key, FL and his son, Craig Notari from IL, waded the flats of north Sarasota Bay with me all day hunting reds. A good part of the day was spent with me providing fly casting instruction to Terry. It paid off as Terry became more proficient at fly casting and caught his first red on a fly! Craig connected with a big “gator” trout on an olive/white Clouser and fought her to his feet. Unfortunately, the hook pulled loose before we could get our hands on her for the photos. They both did a great job and hung in there despite our challenging conditions.
It’s only January, but I’m ready for warmer weather. Next week’s tides won’t be so low, which will allow more access to backcountry areas. Reds, trout and snook may feed on shallow flats during the afternoon after the sun has warmed them.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 04, 2003 - 11:17 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 01/03/03
January 3, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Inshore and offshore fishing has been very good! It is just a matter of getting the weather to cooperate. Offshore at the Cuda Hole area in 45 to 50 feet of water, the Mangrove snapper have been hot. Live shrimp fished on the bottom with a ¼ to ½ ounce of lead on light tackle is what it takes. Don't be surprised if you hook a permit or grouper while fishing with the live shrimp. It is also a good idea to take some live pinfish and a heavier rod for grouper. A few keeper grouper are being caught in the same area. Trolling with Stretch lures has produced little tunny, bluefish, mackerel and an occasional kingfish.
We have started to find plenty keeper size sea trout on the bay. Yesterday I started late, 11:30 AM. Another guide boat had been fishing Zwicks channel on an out going tide that morning and did very well on trout along with a few pompano and bluefish. By the time we started, the tide had changed and Zwicks had filled with silty water. We found nothing but a few catfish. I could see the color change moving slowly east over the grass flats. We needed to get out of this silty water if we wanted to find fish. I just moved a little north to the entrance of the Rim canal and drifted the grass along the sandbar just north of the entrance. Here we found plenty of trout to 18" and an occasional pompano. We spent the rest of the afternoon here and had no trouble making our limit. Most all of the trout were over 15" and were fun on the eight-pound tackle. All we could get was very small live shrimp for bait. The shrimp worked very well when we kept a live one on the hook. We fished the bait free-line, no float no weight.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 1:44 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report for 12/22 through 12/28/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had fast action on deep grass flats with trout and ladyfish during the past week. Pompano are also scattered on the flats of Sarasota Bay. In addition, redfish, snook and a few flounder were caught and released in potholes in lower Tampa Bay. Water temperatures in the high 50’s have put a damper on shallow water fishing, particularly toward the end of the week.
Anglers on Monday fished the Middleground flat and deep grass flats inside of Big Pass for catch and release trout to 18” and pompano to 2-pounds. All fish were caught with spinning tackle on Cotee jigs with grubs. Five-year old, Raymond Turnquist, caught large ladyfish and a pompano on his first saltwater fishing trip. The wind cranked up to more than 20 mph on Tuesday preceding a front later in the day. Anglers fishing north Sarasota Bay with me caught numerous large ladyfish and several trout on Cotee jigs with grubs. Although pompano were skipping near Buttonwood Harbor, we couldn’t get them to bite. The real challenge was just finding a place that was protected enough to fish, which was tough since the wind was from the southeast.
Stephen Dunkelberger, from Houston, TX, and his dad, Jack Dunkelberger from Siesta Key, FL, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday afternoon. Due to cool air and water temperatures, we opted for a later start so we could fish the warmest part of the day. They caught and released ladyfish and trout to 18” on Cotee jigs with grubs near Long Bar.
Friday’s trip was the best of the week. Bill Beauchamp and his nephew, Mark Beauchamp, both from Bradenton, FL, fished the Terra Ceia Bay area with me on Friday. After a slow start they caught and released 8 reds, 6 snook, 20 trout and a couple of flounder on CAL jigs with jerk worms. We found the fish concentrated in protected water over dark, muddy bottom. The water temperature, at 59 degrees, was the warmest we found all day. Although none of the fish were large, the action was fast when we finally got dialed into the fish.
Hopefully, the water will warm up a little for next week. Tides are favorable as we head toward a new moon. Afternoons will probably be the best time of day to fish.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 22, 2002 - 1:45 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report, 12/14 - 22
Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report for 12/14 through 12/22/2002
Snook frenzy! Snook gorged themselves on glass minnows during the full moon tides early in the week and ate flies just as readily. Catch and release slot-size trout have also been plentiful in potholes on shallow flats in north Sarasota Bay, while reds and snook have been scattered.
I am very cautious about targeting snook at this time of the year, but I have found them very aggressive and not stressed during the evening hours with the water temperature in the mid 60’s. They fight hard and swim off strong. The water on the flats and in the ICW is at it’s warmest late in the day, which is why they are most active from late afternoon through the early evening hours. However, if the water temperature dips below 60 degrees and stays there for any length of time, they can become stressed and may not survive being caught and released.
Bill Ludwig, from Warren, MI, fished “snook alley” in Venice with me on Monday evening. A strong incoming tide had snook feeding heavily on glass minnows and they attacked Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy flies. Bill caught and released 25 snook to 23” and called it an early evening after only 3 hours.
The action continued on Tuesday evening for fly anglers, Dick Reece from Dayton, OH, and Al Rudnickas from Millbury, MA. The action was so fast that we lost count, but they caught and released an estimated 50 snook to 25” before the tide went slack and ended the action. Snook were gorging themselves on glass minnows and aggressively taking our flies, which were the same size.
Wednesday was a “chamber of commerce” weather day, so I decided to head for the coastal gulf waters to try out my new Garmin 168 GPS/Sounder, while we searched for tripletail and little tunny. Although the weather was beautiful and the gulf flat, there was no action. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, joined me as I ran south to Grassy Point, offshore to M4 and M5 artificial reefs and to the north end of Longboat Key. We found only one small tripletail, which Rusty briefly hooked on a fly, only to have the hook pull. You don’t know ‘til you go!
Bob Glad, from Tampa, FL, and Steve Rothenbach, from Sarasota, FL, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. The beautiful weather continued and we found trout plentiful in potholes as we searched for reds and snook. They caught and released numerous trout to 22”, a pair of reds to 25” and a 25” snook on Exude Dart baits near Buttonwood Harbor. Steve had the hot hand, catching a slam that included the 3 largest fish.
A strong squall line moved through on Friday morning shutting down our plans to wade the flats with fly rods hunting “gator” trout. We were definitely feeling the effects of the front on Saturday morning. The wind, which was forecast to be 5 to 10 mph out of the Northeast was more like 15 mph and with the air temperature in the high 40’s, it had a bite! The tide was as low as I’ve seen it. How low was it? A –0.6’ tide combined with the stiff north breeze, had the tide about a –1.5’. It tried to launch my Action Craft Hybrid flats skiff, which draws very little water, at 3 different boat ramps before I could get it off the trailer and out of the slip! Needless to say, it was a tough day of fishing. Fly anglers, Peter Mattina from Anna Maria Island, FL, and John Miln, from Tampa, FL, fished with me and managed one redfish on a Clouser fly near Long Bar.
Fronts, wind and rain are more of a factor this season as El Nino affects us. With cold water and negative low tides in the morning, I look for the better bite to be during the afternoon next week. Happy holidays to all!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 14, 2002 - 10:52 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 12/7 -12/14/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-addict experienced good action during the past week, despite cool and rainy conditions. El Nino has brought us frequent fronts with more wind and rain than is normally expected during the winter. However, some species have been plentiful due to these conditions, particularly bluefish. In addition anglers caught and released trout and redfish during the past week.
Saturday’s trip was cancelled due to a cold front, which swept through on Friday evening. However, by mid morning the air warmed and the wind never blew, so I took a couple of visiting friends out to check things out. Randy Inscoe, from Dallas, TX, and Russell Johnson, from Clovis, NM, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay. I went straight to New Pass to see if the little tunny, which were in the passes last week, might still be there. Instead, we found bluefish schooling in the channel and feeding on the incoming tide. They caught 20 or 25 bluefish to 3-pounds on Cotee jigs with grubs.
Monday’s trip was also cancelled due to yet another front pushing through. We were deluged with rain most of the day. Conditions improved on Tuesday and I received an invitation that was too good to pass up, a trial run of an upscale fishing school held at South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island.
The “Master Angler Program” will feature Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Flip Pallot, John Kumiski and Jay “Fishy” Fullum as presenters. Anglers are schooled in fishing techniques, tackle tips, environment, fly casting and fly tying. They will receive classroom instruction in the morning and spend afternoons fishing the flats. Not many times is so much knowledge and skill gathered in one place. Lefty Kreh and Stu Apte were in attendance while I was there on Tuesday. Stu gave a very informative seminar on fighting large tarpon on fly tackle and Lefty worked with everyone on casting techniques. I am looking forward to being a part of the program as a guide, which will be held in the spring and fall.
Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, and Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. We found the bluefish still stacked in New Pass and caught about a dozen to 3-pounds before moving on. They also caught and released trout to 17” on Cotee jigs with grubs and DOA Tiny TerrorEyz at Steven’s Point.
Bob and Leigh Gledhill, from Quincy, MA, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Thursday. It was an overcast, cool day but the rain held off until our day was done. They caught and released a pair of reds and more than 20 trout to 19” on CAL jigs with shad tails, Exude slugs and Dart baits. The monsoon started again on Thursday evening and forced the cancellation of Friday’s trip.
Next weeks tides will be prime for fishing the flats for redfish and lighted docks at night for snook. Hopefully, the fronts will be spaced so that I am able to take advantage of the good tides.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 10, 2002 - 3:20 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
Cold fronts have dropped down on us earlier than expected this year
but, for the most part, we've been able to deal with them and manage
successful days on the water. It's always nice to have uninterrupted
days on the flats chasing the reds and snook in fall, but as is fishing, we
make the best of it.
We've put up with a few windy days and a few days when the fish
just wouldn't cooperate. And, even when the redfish or snook snubbed
us, the trout, bluefish, pompano, jacks, ladyfish and flounder made for
a great back-up plan.
The best action on the flats has no doubt been with redfish and
they've been aggressive. Early low tides and north winds have meant
little water for them to move up into. Hitting the shallow water later in
the tide has produced the best catches. There have been a few redfish
tailing in the ultra shallow water, but not many. There have actually
been more sheepshead tailing on oyster bars.
Top-water baits like the Top Dog Jr. and gurgler surface flies have
worked well along with weedless gold spoons. The water has been so
shallow that weedless or top-water has been the way to go without
picking up too much grass. Trout to 3 pounds have been taking the same
baits.
Snook action on the flats was great until the water temperatures dropped and
sent them back to warmer areas. When the reds were out feeding over the grass,
the snook held in potholes and would eat chartreuse, tan and all white Clouser
Minnows, gold spoons, Bayou Chub Minnows.
Once the temps dropped, we found the snook in canals taking Clousers, Chub
Minnows and Slimy Slugs. Areas near Longbar in north Sarasota Bay and in lower
Tampa Bay around Terra Ceia have been the best bets for reds and snook. Canals
are also holding jacks and flounder and they'll eat the same baits.
Big trout, bluefish, pompano and ladyfish are on the deeper edges of
several flats throughout the area, especially those adjacent to passes.
We've skipped several pompano in 3 to 6 feet of water, but they've been
easier to catch in the passes.
Bluefish and ladyfish have been in the best numbers and readily eat
nearly anything tossed their way. They've provided great action on flies
and soft plastics, whether worked on the bottom, in the column or on the
surface and on a cold front day, you can't ask for more than that.
Just a reminder, snook season closes on December 15th and trout are
out until January 1st.
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 07, 2002 - 9:06 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 12/1 -12/7/2002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 12/1 through 12/7/2002
Hey, Hey, Hey, Fat Albert! Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action during the past week with snook, bluefish and little tunny. Just like early December of last year, we experienced a blitz of fat alberts (little tunny) along the beaches and in the passes like I haven’t seen before. Little tunny invaded the passes, particularly Sarasota’s New Pass, and chased bait schools all the way to the bridge. A large bait ball was trapped along a riprap shoreline as schools of little tunny repeatedly blasted them. Mixed with them were large ladyfish, bluefish and Spanish mackerel. In addition, night snook fishing with a fly was red hot.
Bill and Mary Misischia, from Schererville, IN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. We found fast action on deep grass flats and in Big Pass with large ladyfish and bluefish. They caught and released 6 blues to 3-pounds on Cotee jigs with grubs. The afternoon trip was a little slower due to a slower tide, but anglers still managed nice trout (catch and release) and ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs. A DOA Tiny TerrorEyz accounted for a nice pompano just inside of Big Pass.
Fly angler, Tony Rich from New Smyrna Beach, FL, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. He caught trout, ladyfish and a flounder on flies near Long Bar. While untangling a knot in his fly line, with his Enrico Puglisi Peanut Butter fly in the water, a 3-pound sheepshead ate the fly off the bottom like it was live bait!
The action heated up on Wednesday as 970 WFLA’s, Capt. Mel Berman from Tampa, FL, and the voice of the Toronto Bluejays, Tom Cheek from Oldsmar, FL, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay. We ventured into the gulf to check things out and found little tunny breaking everywhere. After landing several, they decided to go back into Sarasota Bay to try something different. They caught and released several nice trout and bluefish before heading for a relaxing shore lunch. The best trip of the week was on Wednesday evening with Bernie Minor, from Clearwater, FL, and Kent Price, from Apollo Beach, FL. A strong new moon tide and an approaching cold front had snook gorging themselves with glass minnows. We literally lost count (in the 40’s) of how many snook they landed. They easily caught and released 50 or more snook to 25 ½” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies and left them biting.
Don and Marguerite Taylor, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday morning. With a forecast for 15-25 mph wind that never happened, we immediately headed for the gulf to see if the little tunny were still there. I was surprised to find them breaking at the New Pass Bridge as I headed under it. The next several hours provided great action with little tunny to 12-pounds and Spanish mackerel on Cotee jigs with grubs and a tan over white Clouser fly. I have never seen this many fish, so far up in the pass. There were only 3 or 4 boats fishing the frenzy. I have fished Harker’s Island, NC for little tunny for the last several years and it was better than the action there in the hook of Barden Inlet!
A front passed through on Thursday evening, but was still lingering on Friday morning. I began my day in Little Sarasota Bay with Bruce Hall, from Ellenton, FL, and Bill Green, from Bangor, ME, due to the wind forecast. Again it never happened, so we headed north to see if the little tunny were still there. They landed several little tunny to 10-pounds outside of Big Pass and in New Pass on Cotee jigs with grubs. They also caught 6 or 8 bluefish to 3-pounds! What a week!
I hope this action will continue, but I’m sure at some point these fish will move on. In the meantime, night snook action should be hot and deep grass flats should have plenty of variety.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 05, 2002 - 11:51 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 12/03/02
December 3, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The numerous cold fronts moving through the area have knocked the fishing down but not out. We have found plenty of sea trout and ladyfish on the grass-flats to keep the rods bending all day. A few permit, pompano and bluefish have been caught in the passes but the action has been limited. Working the docks has produced some redfish, flounder and sheepshead.
The "I" reefs along the coast are loaded with pinfish and other small fish making it hard to catch something nice. You may find some small schools of bluefish or mackerel around the 30' depth.
The last few weeks have been very good for trolling spoons deep with #3 planers or deep diving lures like Mann's Stretch. The kings, Spanish Mackerel and blues have been eating them up. Most of the fish have been found around the artificial reefs in thirty to sixty feet of water.
Taking some of the easily caught pinfish offshore to the fifty to sixty foot depths around the Cuda Hole have produced some nice gags but it is spotty. Using live shrimp or pilchards have produced some gray snapper in the same area.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 01, 2002 - 1:14 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 11/23 -12/1/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught a variety of fish on the flats during the past week. Although they weren’t the target species, trout were plentiful on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Anglers also caught pompano, bluefish, snook and redfish in both north Sarasota Bay and near the passes.
Tom Schalk and Chuck Gaskill, both from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday morning. We spent a couple of hours fishing docks and oyster bars looking for reds and snook, but only caught one small snook for our efforts. They did catch and release a dozen or more trout including several slot-size fish while fishing deep grass flats. They also managed two pompano to 1 ½ pounds on a Cotee jig with a gold grub and a gold Tiny TerrorEyz near Big Pass. We found them piled in a hole with stingrays and skipping on the flat.
Mike Penny, from Duluth, GA, and Scott Midler, from Longmont, CO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. We started the day on a pompano mission and although we found them skipping where I’d left them on Tuesday, they were reluctant to bite flies, jigs or DOA TerrorEyz. We moved to north Sarasota Bay later in the day to hunt for redfish and snook. We found plentiful trout and scattered reds in deep potholes at the bottom of the tide. They caught and released 30 or more trout to 18”, with a dozen or more slot-size fish and one small red. When fishing an area where trout are plentiful during the closure, I always bend the hooks down on my jigs and use a “J” hook release tool.
Stephen Smith, of Angling Strategies in Bedford, NY, and his son Steamer, from CA, fished lower Tampa Bay with me on Friday. With a low tide and a north wind following Thursdays front, we focused on finding a protected place to fish. It was a tough day with cold water and an extreme low tide. They managed several trout to 18” and a flounder on flies and jigs in the Terra Ceia area. Although we located reds on the outside of bars late in the day, they were reluctant to eat.
John and Peggy Reichert, from Midland, MI, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. Our goal was reds or snook, so we fished oyster bars with CAL jigs with shad tails. They caught and released several nice trout to 18” and a 6-pound redfish. We moved north for the afternoon searching for pompano on the deep grass near the passes. We didn’t find our target species, but had good catch and release action with trout, bluefish and large ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs.
Frequent fronts have made fishing challenging. With cool water and low morning tides, fishing may be better in the afternoon. As we head toward a new moon next week, strong tides should provide good action.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 24, 2002 - 2:30 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 11/24/02
November 24, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
As soon as the water began to clear last week, the Spanish Mackerel were back on the bite. Thursday morning we found the water flat as we came out of New Pass and into the Gulf. The birds were sitting on the water and waiting for the action to start. We sat with them for while and drifted some live shrimp but nothing broke the surface. I decided to move over to one of the (I) reefs in 24' of water in hopes of finding a cobia or mackerel and immediately found a small school of mackerel. We brought a couple to the boat but it was slow. More boats started to move in around us and they also started to hookup but it was still slow. Still hoping for some cobia action, I decided to move up the beach to a pile of rocks in 18' of water. The action was about the same for mackerel. One boat was anchored and was pulling in some sheepshead off the bottom. A report came in via the VHF that the Spanish mackerel were stacked up on the artificial reef M-3. It was a good day to run offshore so we decided to go for it.
The artificial reef M-1 was a little closer and is about the same depth as M-3, so I decided to stop at M-1 first. My motto is "Never run over fish to find fish". I put the boat directly over the structure and turned the engine off. It was non-stop action with Spanish up to about 5lbs. After about an hour of fast action, I felt I should move the boat back over the structure to enhance some barracuda action but when looking at my GPS I found that the boat had not moved. We did not have the first cuda follow or take a mackerel that day. The action continued until about 12:00 noon. By then my two anglers had used up the ten to twelve dozen live shrimp we had and the action was slowing.
Further offshore we heard that the gray snapper action was good around M-7 in 60' of water, but also the jewfish. It was hard to get the snapper up with them around. We decided to head back and do a little trout fishing on the grass flats. We picked up some more live shrimp and had some fun with the trout just above Country Club Shores along the sand bar.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 23, 2002 - 8:57 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Tampa Bay Fishing Report
Sarasota & Tampa Bay Fishing Report for 11/16 through 11/23/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action on the flats during the past week, particularly during the middle of the week. Anglers caught and released snook, redfish, trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel on a variety of lures and flies.
A strong front with lots of wind and rain blew through last Sunday canceling that days fishing. Conditions were a little better on Monday when Capt. Ed Hurst and I headed for the Terra Ceia Bay area to fish with a group of anglers. Dave Smid and Tom Prater, both from Springfield, MO, fished with me and caught several trout to 2 ½ pounds on flies and CAL jigs. A north wind combined with a winter low tide had most of the water blown out of the bays so moving around was tough. Capt. Ed’s group also caught trout, a redfish and several snook.
Sarasota winter residents, Tom Lamb, Lee Williams and Jack Miller, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. We fished Sarasota’s Big Pass and the deep grass flats close to the passes looking for pompano, bluefish or cobia. The action was steady with trout to 17” and ladyfish, but none of the species we had hoped to find.
CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce and Mepps/Mister Twister rep Barry Stockhaus hosted an event on Siesta Key for guides and outdoor writers on Wednesday. Nick Stubbs, from Bitetacker.com, and Capt. Jeff Olsen, from Sarasota, fished north Sarasota Bay with me and had a great day. Our day started slow and ended with a slam! We caught several trout and a redfish during the morning before we decided to fish another area. Things got hot during the afternoon as we caught and released several more reds to 26”, a couple of snook to 25” and a dozen trout to 18” near Long Bar. The hot bait was an Exude Dart bait in the natural shrimp color on a 1/16 oz. CAL jig head. You can check out a video clip of the action on, www.flyfishingflorida.net, early next week.
Ed Schmidl, from Osprey, FL, and his son-in-law, Ed Schinik, from Wachung, NJ, fished the same area with me on Thursday, but found the action slower. They caught numerous trout to 18”, a redfish, Spanish mackerel and bluefish on Exude Dart baits fished on a CAL jig head. Another front passed through on Friday morning as the winds shifted to the northwest and picked up. Ken Barwick, from Montreal, Canada, and Bob Kerr, from Baire d’Urfe, Canada, fished with me on Friday morning. We fished Little Sarasota Bay to the south due to the wind forecast and caught and released several snook and nice trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and Exude Dart baits.
Each front seems to improve the flats fishing as cooler water and low tides concentrates fish. Although the flurry of activity in the coastal gulf has calmed down for now, we should get more of that action between fronts. Snook are plentiful on flats and next weeks strong outgoing morning tides should mean some great linesider fishing.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 10:29 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 11/9 -11/16/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught quality fish during the past week. Snook, trout, redfish, bluefish, little tunny and Spanish mackerel were caught in Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf waters.
Cliff Ondercin, from Sarasota, FL and Todd Hershfeld, also from Sarasota, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. We poked our nose out Longboat Pass first thing to see if fishing the coastal gulf for little tunny and Spanish mackerel was an option, but due to a big swell decided against it. Although we didn’t catch big numbers of fish in the bay, we caught some quality fish. Todd had an inshore slam with a legal snook (26”), trout to 18”and a redfish caught and released on a CAL jig with a shad tail. The best fish of the day was a 40”, 24-pound cobia that Cliff caught and released on a Chug Bug top water plug. Nice fish!
Enrico Puglisi, from Long Island, NY, and Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, joined me for a trip on Tuesday. Enrico was in town to attend the Shallow Water Fishing Expo in St. Petersburg and to do a fly tying demo at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters. Enrico’s line of synthetic fiber flies are sold worldwide and are known for being lifelike imitations of baitfish, crabs and shrimp.
We put them to test in the coastal gulf waters and caught and released a couple of little tunny to10-pounds and Spanish mackerel to 2 ½ pounds. Although they were plentiful, we found the fish very selective and finicky. We connected with Enrico’s Peanut Butter fly, a Crease fly and a Chug Bug top water plug. We moved into Sarasota Bay during the afternoon to hunt reds on the flats. We caught several small trout and ladyfish on a Peanut Butter fly, but didn’t locate any reds
A front pushed through on Tuesday evening and the wind cranked up postponing Wednesday’s trip. Cody Meine, the proprietor of Crane Meadow Lodge in Twin Bridges, MT, and Nick Reding, from St. Louis, MO, joined me for a trip on Friday. Cody was our host in September when I visited his lodge with a group of anglers. Our goal was to fish the coastal gulf waters for little tunny and Spanish mackerel. Although conditions were good, there weren’t many breaking fish and no little tunny at all. We moved to the flats of north Sarasota Bay where we caught and released trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish on Clousers and Enrico Puglisi’s Everglades Special.
Another strong front is pushing through on Saturday with heavy rain and wind. Following the front, flats and coastal gulf action should be good after conditions have stabilized.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 09, 2002 - 8:49 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 11/3 - 11/9/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action, particularly with snook during the past week. The coastal gulf waters got hot on Friday with Spanish mackerel following a mid week front
Bernie Feinberg, from Sarasota, FL, and David Schofield, from Elmira, NY fished “snook alley” in Venice with me on Monday evening. A strong incoming tide due to a new moon had the snook on a feed. They caught and released 21 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Skitterbug flies. Cooler water should stimulate snook fishing, particularly at night with small white flies.
Sarasota winter resident, Tom Lamb, fished the coastal gulf waters with me on Monday morning. Although there were lots of Spanish mackerel and little tunny about a mile off Siesta Key, they were tough to catch. We found them moving fast and eating tiny baits, which were hard to duplicate with spinning tackle. We landed a couple of Spanish mackerel before retreating to the bay where we caught and released several trout and small gag grouper on jigs.
I delivered my Action Craft 1820 to its new owner on Tuesday morning and picked up my new 1820 Action Craft Hybrid from Keith’s Marine in Riverview, FL on Tuesday afternoon. The new boat, made of Kevlar/Carbon Fiber rather than fiberglass, weighs 1/3 less than my previous boat. Wednesdays trip to Charlotte Harbor was the maiden voyage for the new boat. Although our day was cut short by a squall line moving through about noon, the new boat poled and rode beautifully even in a 15-20 mph wind.
Les and Kim Beery, from Estes Park, CO, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday afternoon. Following a front on Wednesday and with an extreme low tide on Thursday morning, we changed our game plan to a late start. They caught a half dozen snook and a couple of trout on Cotee and CAL jigs with pearl shad tails. Kim landed a beautiful 28”, 7-pound snook that was sunning along an oyster bar. Nice fish!
Jim Hazlett, from Sarasota, FL, and several friends from his hometown in MI fished the coastal gulf waters off Sarasota with Capt. Jim Klopfer and I on Friday. Armistead Burwell and Jim fished with me while Eric Sensenbrenner and John Southall fished with Capt. Jim. The group caught numerous Spanish mackerel to 6-pounds, large ladyfish and an 8-pound little tunny. Most fish were caught on flies, although the little tunny was caught on a CAL jig with a pearl shad tail. We found the fish moving fast and not giving us many shots early, but later in the day they were easier to get on. The anglers connected with Crease flies and a glass minnow pattern.
Tides will improve toward the end of next week as we head toward the full moon. Snook and reds should be active on the flats and coastal gulf fishing should continue to be hot.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 03, 2002 - 11:53 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 10/27 - 11/3/2002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 10/27 through 11/3/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action during the past week, particularly with redfish and trout. We also caught and released the first cobia of the fall season on the flats. Spanish mackerel and a nice blacktip shark were landed in the coastal gulf waters.
Phil and Brenda Rever, from Sarasota, FL, fished the coastal gulf off Siesta Key with me on Monday. It was a little rougher than I had anticipated, but still fishable. There were lots of breaking fish just outside the Big Pass bar, which turned out to be mostly large ladyfish with a few Spanish mackerel mixed in. They caught a dozen or so ladyfish on flies and jigs and a couple of mackerel, including a 4-pounder caught on a fly.
Conditions were better on Tuesday, but the action was slower. We saw a few schools of little tunny, but couldn’t get on them before they went back down. A large mud had lots of activity in and around it- breaking fish, free-jumping tarpon and blacktip sharks milling on the surface. Several drifts produced ladyfish, Spanish mackerel and an estimated 25-pound blacktip shark on Cotee jigs with grubs.
The best trip of the week was on Wednesday with Les and Kimball Beery, from Estes Park, CO. We fished the flats of north Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor where they caught 9 reds to 6 ½-pounds on CAL jigs with shad tails and a fly. Les, who is a veteran saltwater angler, caught and released his first red on a fly with an olive over white Clouser- a beautiful 6-pounder! Since our original plan was to fish the coastal gulf waters for little tunny and Spanish mackerel, we almost postponed the trip when we were faced with a 15mph southwest wind that morning. I had a hunch that the flood tide we had that morning, combined with the approaching front, might put the fish on a feed and it did!
What a difference a day can make! Ken Greenway, from Sarasota, FL, fished the same area with me on Thursday following the front. Although it was a good day, it didn’t come close to the action we had on Wednesday. He caught a pair of nice reds to 6 ½-pounds and several slot size trout to 19” on CAL jigs with grubs.
Mark Hughes, from Sarasota, FL, was joined by his son, Matt and dad, Bob for a family outing with me on Saturday. We fished Sarasota’s Big Pass and adjacent flats searching for pompano, Spanish mackerel or bluefish. We didn’t find what we hoped to, but instead found plentiful trout and large ladyfish. The catch of the day was a 28” cobia caught and released by Matt on a Cotee jig with a grub.
Next weeks new moon tides should provide some great flats action. Just a reminder that the season for spotted sea trout is now closed for the months of November and December in the southern region, so they must be released. Since they are a delicate species, be sure to handle them with care to insure their survival. The coastal gulf waters should get hot again following a second front that passed through this weekend.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 02, 2002 - 8:46 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 11/02/02
Nov 2, 2002
Sarasota Florida Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
It is a great time to go fishing! King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, Little Tunny, Sharks and some keeper size Mangrove Snapper are just off the beach in 20' to 30' of water. You can also add an occasional Cobia and Gag to the list. On the bay, it has been Redfish, Sharks, Jacks and some Sea trout.
Live bait works best but most artificial lures have been doing just fine. We have plenty of baitfish schools on the Bay or in the Gulf to easily fill your bait well. The live shrimp are also a good size and the bait shops have plenty. The kings have been taking large live shrimp on the drift.
Drift and free-lining your bait out will catch most of the fish mentioned but you need to fish the bottom for snapper and gags.
I see no need to say much more about the fishing, they are close and they are hungry!
Enjoy and Protect.
For more information see my Web site: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com |
Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 27, 2002 - 2:51 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 10/27/02
October 27, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The Kings are still running along the beaches. That does not mean that they are not running offshore as well. Why run over fish to catch fish? The action seems to drop off about 9:00 AM but you can still pick a fish here and there throughout the day. The kings have been running from 10 to 20+ pounds. We have also been finding Spanish mackerel, little tunny and barracudas in with the kings. Chasing the schools of LTs has been fruitless at this time. The schools scattered when we got close or just wouldn't chew when they came to us.
Our best tactic has been to look for the large schools of baitfish just outside of the pass and drift them with live shrimp on 12 pound test line and a 6" of steel leader. The live herring also works and you can catch all you want. Some boats are trolling until the action slows down and then turning to live bait.
As we moved further offshore to the (M) reefs, we found it hard to get a whole fish to the boat. Just teeth and eyeballs were left at the end of the line. This is due to the large number of resident barracuda on these reefs.
Cobia has been around but not full blast yet. November should bring some new fish on to the (I) reefs and into the bay.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 27, 2002 - 11:24 am: | |
Subject: Florida Keys Fishing Report for 10/22 -10/27/2002
Florida Keys Fishing Report for 10/22 through 10/27/2002
I spent the last several days fly fishing for permit and bonefish in the Florida Keys. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, and I made the trek to Summerland Key on Tuesday. Fishing was good, however catching was not.
We spent the first two days fishing the area west of Key West out of Sugarloaf Key. We had probably 25 or more shots on Wednesday, but no hook ups. The wind diminished to about 5 mph on Thursday, which is not a good thing for permit fishing. You could barely raise your rod under those conditions and the permit would spook. I did catch a barracuda on a Del’s Merkin crab fly. The fish was barely hooked in the lip or it would’ve bitten through the 12-pound test leader easily.
I had an opportunity to meet and chat with Del Brown (the inventor of the Merkin crab fly) at the dock at Sugarloaf Key Marina. His fly revolutionized permit fishing because it not only looks like a crab, but it also behaves like a crab. Del has caught more permit on fly than anyone else, recently passing the 500 mark. He also had a similar day to ours on Wednesday, lots of shots but no hook ups. After talking with Del, it was obvious that this is not an easy task. He has spent the last 20 years on his quest for permit and he will often go for days or weeks with out catching one and then catch several in a day. His comment about his day on the water on Wednesday summed it up well, “The score at the end of the day did not reflect the great day of permit fishing that we had!”
We had a great day fishing for bonefish out of Islamorada on Friday with Capt. John Kipp. He was very knowledgeable, kept us on bonefish most of the day and was a pleasure to fish with. We had shots at large schools of bonefish all morning long and had two hook ups. Rusty landed a beautiful 7-pound bonefish and I had a similar size fish on. My fish ran into the backing and the hook pulled. As I was reeling my fly line back in another bonefish ate the fly and that one came off too, since there was no chance to set the hook. Oh well!
Back on the home front, the best option continues to be little tunny and Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf waters. As long as conditions remain favorable, we should have good action next week.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grasssett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 21, 2002 - 10:20 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report for 10/15 through 10/21/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past week. Both spin and fly anglers in Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay or the coastal gulf waters caught snook, redfish, trout, bluefish, little tunny (a.k.a. false albacore or bonito) and Spanish mackerel. The best bite was on Friday, when anglers fishing the flats of lower Tampa Bay had a great day with redfish.
Dale Spore and Roger Webster, both from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They caught several bluefish to 18” in Sarasota’s Big Pass and trout to 17”, including several slot size fish, near Buttonwood Harbor on Cotee jigs with grubs.
Ed Shultz and Tom Staebler, both from Ohio, fished lower Tampa Bay with me on Thursday. The bite was slow following a front on Wednesday. They caught and released several trout and one snook on flies and jigs.
The action got hot on Friday! Joey Schwab, from Sarasota, FL and Bill Beauchamp, from Bradenton, FL, fished the same area with me on Friday. They caught and released 8 or 10 reds to 26”, 4 snook to 23”, several trout and a flounder on CAL jigs with jerk worms and Cotee jigs with grubs. What a difference a day can make!
Dave Willer and John Freeman, both from Edina, MN, fished Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf waters with me on Saturday. They caught several trout to 17”, including a pair of slot size fish, near Buttonwood Harbor on Cotee jigs with grubs. We fished the coastal gulf waters off Lido Key, where they landed Spanish mackerel to 3-pounds. Dave connected with a false albacore that made a smoking run, but the hook pulled close to the boat before it was landed.
Florida Sportsman Magazine’s Tropical Field Editor, Capt. Alex Suescun, joined me on Sunday to film an episode of his TV show, Tarpon Bay Tales. The show has aired in Southwest Florida for the past 3 seasons and will make it’s debut on the Sunshine network in January. Our goal was snook, Spanish mackerel and little tunny on fly. We started before daylight to fish snook around lighted docks near Big Pass and landed several on a Grassett’s Grass Minnow fly before heading for the gulf. Within a few minutes, the coastal gulf waters turned to whitewater with breaking little tunny and Spanish mackerel, but it wasn’t as easy as it looked. They were very selective and after eating a few Crease flies, they didn’t want to bite at all. We hooked up six more times and landed several to 10-pounds on Abel Anchovies and tan over white Clousers. Although they were hard to keep hooked, we finally had the footage we needed. We also caught several Spanish mackerel to 2 ½ pounds.
Fly angler, Mark Findlay from Edinburgh, Scotland, fished the gulf off Anna Maria Island and Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. Although we didn’t locate the little tunny that I hoped to find, we did land a dozen or more Spanish mackerel to 18” on a tan over white Ultra Hair Clouser. We found them widely scattered and feeding on glass minnows. We moved to the bay for the afternoon where we caught and released more Spanish mackerel, trout and ladyfish on the same fly.
Fall fishing is really heating up and should continue to be hot as we head into November. Next week’s tides should produce some great fishing for reds with low tides at midday.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 20, 2002 - 3:17 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL. Report 10/20/02
October 17, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
If ever there was a good time to fishing, it's now!
Things have been very hot along the beaches and the best area has been about two to three miles offshore. Kingfish, Spanish mackerel, Little Tunny, Barracuda, Cobia and sharks of all kinds were jumping on every thing from shrimp to kings. Just drifting and free-lining out some live bait worked very well. We also would run to the large schools of baitfish when they were being attacked. Once it turned out to be a large school of AJs with as many sharks doing the damage to a school of greenbacks. AJs are not common this close in.
Two large kings inhaled the live shrimp being free-lined by two anglers and started to scream line off the reels. Half a spool down and at about the same time, both anglers were able to stop their fish. Both fish were straight off the stern of the boat. Slowly, the anglers were able to move the fish. The fish were about halfway back at a place where kings normally make a second run, when we started to see large boils in the area of the fish. Immediately my anglers were helpless and could only watch as fins, backs and tails of numerous size sharks swirled and rolled over their fish while sending red tented spray high in the air. Soon it was over and the anglers brought the empty lines in. They were not disappointed because this was a first for both of them and will be long remembered.
You can catch all the live bait you want in the same area with Goldhook rigs or buy live shrimp at the bait shops. Trolling will work but I prefer light tackle fishing.
I hope this will last. Also, we need to get the wind back out of the East for the smaller boats and more comfortable fishing.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 17, 2002 - 10:45 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
It's generally assumed that there are only two seasons anywhere south of the Georgia border. Hot summers and cool winters are the first things that come to mind. Part time residents arrive around November to take advantage of the mild winters we have here, then head for more northerly climes around May to escape the summer heat.
Truth is, we do have four seasons here. Although the changes in weather are sometimes subtle, they're very welcome. About the time a drop in temperature brings on brilliantly colored leaves in some areas, a drop here signals one of the best times of the year to be on the water, fishing, of course.
October is usually the month when the air and water temperatures begin to fall. It puts snook into their transitional period, meaning a movement from their warm weather habits to their cool weather haunts. Snook that are on the beaches and in the passes will begin to move closer to the safety of their winter homes, invading the flats and feeding along the way.
As the tides become lower, redfish will stage more on deeper edges of the flats, waiting for the tide to move in. They'll move up onto the flats with the incoming tide, spread out and feed. Not only is it possible to find tailing reds on the early incoming, the cooler it gets, the clearer the water will be, making it prime time for sight fishing.
Larger trout will take on the same feeding habits as redfish and snook. They'll work the tides and can be found in the same areas, busting the same baits. They'll be spotted over potholes and open grass and are suckers for top-water lures and flies. They'll also be on the deeper edges of most flats, along with Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks, ladyfish and many other species. Cobia will cruise the same grasses, too. sometimes on the backs of big rays. They'll also be out on the beaches along with tripletail, bonita and Spanish mackerel.
The indicators may be different, but as some will wake and find beautiful red, orange and yellow leaves on the trees, we'll find redfish, snook and trout on the flats, and that's not a bad substitute. It's definitely one of my favorite times to be fishing here in southwest Florida and the action should be hot. I'm looking forward to a great fall season.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 10:30 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 10/6 -10/14/2002
Fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action during the past week. Spanish mackerel, false albacore (little tunny) and king mackerel were caught and released in the coastal gulf waters. In addition, trout and jack crevalle were caught and released in Sarasota Bay.
The best action was on Monday when Rusty Chinnis and I set out to scout redfish for my trips later in the week. Following a couple of good days with redfish last week, I wanted to be sure I stayed on top of them. We started at the Longboat Pass Bridge trying to coax some bruiser jacks from under the bridge, but they didn’t want to play our game. I noticed that the gulf was calm and we decided to check it out. It proved to be a good decision as we located Spanish mackerel feeding around bait schools in 25 feet of water off Longboat Key.
Although there was not a lot of surface or bird activity, there was plenty of fish action. We caught Spanish mackerel in the 3 pounds plus class for six hours solid. We watched as a food chain developed before our eyes! False albacore moved in to feed several times, usually pushing the mackerel out when they came in. Four albies to 10 ½ pounds were also caught and released as well as an 8-pound king mackerel. Things really got exciting when blacktip sharks to 60 or 70-pounds and big cudas moved in to feed on our hooked mackerel. This is one of the best fly fishing days in the coastal gulf waters that I have ever experienced! Rusty had the hot hand landing several of the false albacore and the king. The best thing was that all fish were caught on Crease flies (a type of flat popper used in the Carolinas). We got to watch the feeding frenzy as they slashed our flies on the surface!
Fly angler, Larry Ford from Longboat Key, Florida, joined me for a trip on Tuesday. Our original plan was to fly fish for juvenile tarpon in upper Charlotte Harbor, but we changed our plans due to Monday’s feeding frenzy. I couldn’t locate the fish where I left them on Monday, but after searching for a while I located Spanish mackerel and false albacore about 3 miles offshore near an artificial reef. They were tight to some bottom structure and occasionally coming to the surface, which is how we located them. Using a technique called “pop and swap”; I cast a MirrOlure Top Dog plug, with the hooks removed, on a spinning rod to lure the mackerel and false albacore to the surface. Larry landed about a dozen nice Spanish mackerel and one false albacore on Crease flies. I fought a couple of fish on the plug with no hooks! As we headed back to the bay, we decided to give the big jacks at the bridge a try using the same technique. We landed an 8 ½ pound jack after a 15-minute battle. The fish knew how to use the fast current to its advantage! Several other jacks won the battle. Another day of quality fish with a fly!
On Wednesday’s trip, we started by searching the coastal gulf waters hoping to duplicate Monday and Tuesday’s trips. After spending an hour and a half and coming up empty, we retreated to Sarasota Bay. The tides were now reversed from when I had been successful with redfish last week and we couldn’t locate them. We did manage to catch and release numerous trout, including several legal size fish, on Clouser flies and CAL jigs near Buttonwood Harbor.
Coastal gulf and flats fishing should really heat up as we head into fall. We haven’t even had a front yet, but the shorter days and cooler mornings have already made a difference.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict,com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Merrily Dunn
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 07, 2002 - 12:53 am: | |
Subject: Fishing Report for Bradenton/Sarasota, Florida WE
Fishing Report for Bradenton/Sarasota, Florida WE 10/05/02
"The west coast of Florida got spared another one," was what every one I spoke with this past week was stating. Fishing went as planned with yet another hurricane about to enter the Gulf of Mexico. Our weather here was just beautiful and the fishing was productive. Capt. Terry Simmons and I went fishing on Sunday with Capt. Ray Markham to show him where we managed to catch the winning largest redfish Terry landed in the Tampa CCA Catch, Photograph and Release Tournament out of Bahia Beach the previous day. Well, of course, our timing was a little off and we didn't get to see them but Ray hooked into several nice trout and saw a good 5 pounder on the same flats. We did get into a large feeding school of 9 pound Jack Crevalle just to the east of the Passa Grille Bridge. They are powerful fish and on 8# test Fireline and Power Pro, each of us was able to feel every head shake and tail surge. By midweek the National Hurricane Center advised us that Hurricane Lili would be advancing on the Gulf Coast somewhere between New Orleans and Galveston. Fortunately she downgraded from category 4 to 2 by the time she went right over New Iberia, Louisiana. They sure were lucky in that regard. I've been to the McIlhenny Company's famous Tabasco plant on Avery Island, just a bit down the road from New Iberia, and I've seen how low it is there. I sure would have hated to see all those wooden barrels, with a year's worth of Tabasco curing in them, destroyed! What impressed me the most on the drive, to that little bit of nowhere, were the "crawfish fields" along the roads. What a feast the Louisiana redfish must have had after all that water from the storm pushed crawfish all over the place! They have some really fat redfish in Louisiana because of all those crawfish anyway. I was also thankful for it sparing a wonderful little spot called Venice, located in the "toe" of Louisiana. The IWFA (International Women's Fishing Association) held their Specks and Reds Tournament there this past May at the Cypress Cove Lodge and will return for another tournament in 2003.
Capt. Terry and I decided to do some fishing on Thursday around the Bulkhead, Palma Sola, Tidy Island and Long Bar areas of Sarasota Bay. We fished artificials and caught 3 and 4 pound bluefish, plenty of trout, with one up to 3 pounds, some rat reds, a snapper and of course ladyfish. I think the most fun was the trout at the northern opening to Perico Bay while using a MirrOLure Top Dog and a Trader Bay red and white slider/popper. (Pinch down the barbs of the treble hooks when fishing for trout so you can release them more easily.) We got into a drop off downside of the falling tide and had a great time watching the fish hit and miss the lures. Terry had one hit seven times before it actually got the hooks right at the boat. It was determined to eat that lure. The 3 pounder and all but two others of the more than 20 caught were released. Remember that trout will be out of season at the beginning of November through December, so get out there and "get you some for dinner" but don't get too many and freeze them; eat them fresh, they're better that way!
This past Friday and Saturday, Terry and I fished the Snook Foundation's, Fifth Annual Snook Shindig Tournament. Held in cooperation with the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC), anglers helped by catching 194 snook, 11 of which were Snook Foundation hatchery tagged fish. The smallest fish was 15.8 inches and the largest one caught was 35 inches. In addition, Terry caught a wild fish that the Snook Foundation had caught and tagged last year in Bowlees Creek. It was a 25 1/2 inch fish. The angler who caught the most tagged snook (4) was John Schultz, and he also came in Third Place by catching 11 snook; Kathy Smith caught 35 snook and 1 was tagged for Second Place; the angler who caught the most snook was Jerry Claxton with 43 snook and 2 of those were tagged. Congratulations to everyone who caught snook and thanks to the biologists who volunteered to stay up with all of us diehard anglers for 17 hours! I also couldn't have happened without the support of many sponsors, including Aledia Tush of CB's Saltwater Outfitters, Shimano, Shakespeare, New Pass Bait & Grill, the Old Salty Dog, Xplores Lightweight Tools, Mepps - Mister Twister lures, Alisa Utamating, the Oaks BBQ, the FWC officers on duty that night and many other sponsors who Howard Wells and Roger DeBrueller will have to thank!
Ladies, join me and other fisherwomen at the Manatee/Sarasota Chapter of "Ladies, Let's Go Fishing" on Thursday, October 10 at 6:30pm at Christ United Methodist Church, 5512 - 26th Street, West in Bradenton.
Get out and go fishing, it's good for you!
Capt. Merrily Dunn
ReelSaltyLady@cs.com
www.gamefish-her.com
941-750-8135
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 06, 2002 - 9:47 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 9/29 through 10/6/2002
Reds in October! Fly anglers connected with big reds in Sarasota Bay this week, as redfish schools appear to be breaking up. Reds were scattered on the flats of north Sarasota Bay in potholes and cruising grass flats at the top of the tide. In addition to redfish, fly anglers also caught snook, trout, ladyfish, jack crevalle and small gag grouper.
Greg Stepanski, from Tampa, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. Greg is an experienced fly angler and a member of the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club. Our goal was redfish or snook with a fly, so we focused on the shallow grass flats of north Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor. Greg connected with 3 nice reds, landing two of them, a 6-pounder and a 10 ½-pound brute that took him into his backing several times. In addition, he also had a nice snook on that managed to saw through his leader as he tried to muscle him away from the mangroves. Greg was using an olive/white Clouser and a dark green and gold bendback fly.
Jim Hazlett, from Sarasota, FL, fished the same area with me on Saturday morning and slammed with a fly! Being a weekend day, we opted for a predawn start to target snook and then moved to the flats before they got busy. Jim landed 3 snook before daylight on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and an Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy flies, fishing lighted docks near Big Pass. We moved to the flats where he caught and released a variety of fish, including trout to 17”, on a chartreuse/white Clouser. We then moved to shallower water where Jim completed his slam with another snook and a 6-pound redfish caught on an olive/white Clouser. Congratulations Jim!
I think the flats are getting ready to turn on as we ease into fall. Cooler mornings and shorter days are causing fish to be more aggressive. Good tides early next week as we head away from the new moon, should mean good flats fishing. This is one of my favorite times of the year on the flats!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, September 30, 2002 - 8:32 am: | |
Subject: Crane Meadow Lodge, MT Fishing Report
Crane Meadow Lodge, MT Fishing Report for 9/21 through 9/29/2002
Road trip! Cool mountain air, beautiful scenery and quality trout best describe last week’s fishing trip. I was fortunate to host a group of fly anglers at Crane Meadow Lodge, an Orvis-Endorsed Lodge in Twin Bridges, MT, on another of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service’s destination fishing trips.
In previous years, we have traveled to Andros Island, Bahamas and Los Roques, Venezuela to target bonefish. This year I wanted to do something different, so I chose Crane Meadow Lodge to fly fish for rainbow and brown trout. Situated on an 8,000-acre ranch, they are known for the variety of fishing options that they offer and the private water that they have access to. As an Orvis-Endorsed operation, the Orvis staff continually reviews them to meet their rigorous requirements. They pride themselves on their excellent accommodations, home-cooked meals and knowledgeable guides. It proved to be a good choice.
Nick Reding and Bob Harness, from St. Louis, MO, Nick’s son, Nick Reding from New York City, Bob Reynolds, from Chesterfield, MO, Dennis Kinley, from Lebanon, NJ, Dick Walden, from Suharita, AZ, David Ralls, from Tempe, AZ and I rendezvoused at the lodge last Saturday. During the course of the week, we fished the Ruby, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Big Hole and Madison Rivers along with several spring creeks and small ponds. We floated and waded or sometimes did both in the same day. Many quality trout, both browns and rainbows, were caught and released in the 16”-18” class. Several trout larger than 20” were caught and released during the week.
A popular combination was a hopper and nymph, with the hopper also serving as a strike indicator if the strike was on the nymph. One of the most productive dry flies was the Chernobyl Ant with a bead head Prince nymph dropper. It was exciting to see a big brown trout “blow up” on the hopper or the ant, much like a snook would strike a popper or a top water plug!
We also fished a pair of nymph’s under a strike indicator. Two of the hot streamer patterns were the Girdle Bug and the Pepperoni. These streamers were fished alone or with a nymph as a dropper. The Copper John was another popular nymph.
The weather was superb, with frost on the ground most mornings, warming to about 70 degrees by afternoon. However, the fish were usually slow to start as a result. The wildlife that we saw was phenomenal! Crane Meadow Lodge is situated in a meadow that surrounds the Ruby River. Each morning hundreds of Sand Hill Cranes and Canadian Geese would awake and fly out to the surrounding grain fields to feed. Whoever was fishing on the ranch saw hundreds of deer, many of them trophy bucks, each day. The group also spotted moose, elk, antelope, mule deer and bighorn sheep in various locations. I was in awe of the scenery that was the backdrop for every area we fished. We were at an altitude of 5000 feet surrounded by peaks of up to 10,000 feet.
My personal favorites were the Madison River and the Ruby River right at the backdoor of the lodge. The Madison River was floated, but must be fished by wading, in the stretch we fished. It is a beautiful, broad river with many braids and side channels. The Ruby River is a smaller, narrower river with lots of nice pools and undercut banks. Each held some quality fish to 21”.
Back at home; tides will improve later in the week as we head toward a new moon next weekend. If Tropical Storm Lily will stay away, we should have good fishing on the flats.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 21, 2002 - 3:02 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unless Isidore changes course and decides to head our way, it looks like we have escaped the rains, at least for a while. A reprieve from waiting at the dock, wandering if it was going to happen, or being chased around and finally back to the dock.
Best action has been with redfish and snook in North Sarasota Bay. Snook to 4 pounds have been taking Chub Minnows and weedless spoons tossed up under the mangroves and around points and cuts. The higher stages of the tides will produce the best results. As the tide moves out, they'll follow it to deeper water, probably with full bellies.
Redfish to 5 1/2 pounds are taking the same baits worked through potholes and over bars. They're also up under the trees and around open grass and potholes near Bishops Point. Top water flies, like gurglers and poppers, and Clouser Minnows are also effective for flyrodders.
Pompano are roaming the deeper grass flats near Big Pass. Trout, several ladyfish, a few jacks and some big sail cats are hitting at the Middlegrounds in 5 to 7 feet of water. Juvenile tarpon are still hanging around in Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor. There are still snook out on the beaches and in the passes, and they should be there until the water temperature makes a substantial drop.
We're not away from the summer heat yet, but we're getting there. Eventually, dropping air and water temperatures will get the fish moving and feeding, in typical fall patterns. When the action heats up, redfish, snook, larger trout and many other species will be normal catches as they feed-up, heading into the cool water season.
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 20, 2002 - 6:33 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 9/14 through 9/20/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught trout, redfish, bluefish and mangrove snapper during the past week. The best action of the week was with “bull” reds caught and released on flies in Gasparilla Sound.
Bill Poxon, from Sarasota, FL, and his son, Todd, home on leave with the military from Thailand fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday. They had good action with bluefish to 3-pounds and trout to 2-pounds on MirrOlure Top Dog, Jr. plugs, CAL jigs and Cotee jigs near Buttonwood Harbor.
Fly anglers, Quenten Daggett from Beavercreek, OR, and David Frohs, from Vancouver, WA, fished 3 days with me from Monday through Wednesday. We tried a variety of options, but the best action was on Tuesday when we fished the flats in Gasparilla Sound.
We located a large school of reds at first light and were able to stay with them most of the morning. Although it took a while to figure out which fly they would eat, we finally got dialed into them with a MirrOlure fly. This is a red/white deer hair bug that mimics the action of a 52M Mirrolure, diving just below the surface and suspending. They landed 10 or 12 reds to 34”, the largest weighing in at 12-pounds, on the MirrOlure fly. They also landed several others on a MirrOlure Top Dog, Jr. plug.
We fished lighted docks before daylight one morning in Sarasota Bay and although the snook weren’t feeding, they managed several trout and mangrove snapper on a Grassett’s Grass Minnow fly.
Hopefully, Hurricane Isidore will stay away from southwest Florida. After seeing what tropical storm Gabrielle did to us last September, we don’t need any more of that.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 - 9:17 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL. Report 09/17/02
September 17, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Snook, redfish, pompano, sea trout, bluefish, mackerel, snapper and gags are all being caught on the bay and just offshore. This sounds great if I would just leave it there but most of the trout, snapper and gags have been short. The mackerel, pompano and bluefish have been in small, fast moving schools. Snook and redfish have been inconsistent, so yesterday's hot spot could be today's wasteland.
Nevertheless, the bay and coastal waters look very good this year! With the large schools of baitfish packing in, we should have a good Fall run and a large variety of fish. That is, if the Redtide will behave itself. It has taken some time to build up the stocks from the last one. It seemed that the only fish that survived were the triggerfish. I don't know why they put them on the regulations list. I have never heard of a shortage of gray triggerfish nor any one who cared if they didn't see one while fishing.
The snook have been taking large pilchard or greenbacks. They have been caught on both sides of the bay, Hudson Bayou and Buttonwood Harbor to name a couple of spots.
Offshore is still a long run for any good fishing.
Anything can happen in the month of September. It is a month of change and when fish start to migrate.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 14, 2002 - 9:23 am: | |
Subject: Charlotte Harbor & Sarasota, FL Fishing Report
Charlotte Harbor & Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 9/8 through 9/14/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict battled heavy rain for most of the past week canceling or making fishing difficult. Despite uncomfortable fishing conditions, anglers caught and released tarpon, snook and trout. Pompano are present in Sarasota Bay, but were reluctant to take a fly.
Saltwater Angler magazine publisher, Paul Arcos from Tampa, FL, joined me for a trip on Monday. The goal was juvenile tarpon on lures and flies. We fished residential canals of the Peace River and landed 2 out of 3 tarpon jumped. The 2 landed fish were in the 10-pound class and the larger fish, which jumped off, was 20-pounds or more. All fish were caught on a DOA TerrorEyz worked slowly along the bottom. Despite using a similar set up with fly tackle, a small bunny fly on a fast-sinking fly line, they didn’t want it. These fish are challenging but worth it!
Fly anglers, Jim Stewart from Tampa, FL, and Mac Smith, from Plant City, FL, joined me for a bay trip in Sarasota Bay on Tuesday morning. Jim is a well-known fly tier, specializing in deer hair bugs. We fished lighted docks before daylight and the bite was slow. Mac landed a snook on my snook fly, Grassett’s Grass Minnow, and then we moved to the flats. Pompano were “skipping” everywhere, but would not eat a fly. They managed several trout and ladyfish on Clouser and Gotcha flies fished on intermediate and sink-tip fly lines. We spent some time working a shoreline for snook with Jim’s Snookeroo fly. It has an impressive action, but nobody was home.
Wednesdays Charlotte Harbor trip was a rain out as a tropical depression formed in the gulf off Southwest Florida. Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday, although there was a small window of opportunity during the morning. Since my trip had already been cancelled, I decided to do some scouting in the lower Tampa Bay area. Capt. Ray Markham and I got out on the water for a couple of hours and the chance to pole each other around while we cast a fly. Capt. Ray landed a couple of snook on a MirrOlure fly before the rain and drove us off the water.
The weather gave us a break on Friday. Although there were feeder bands of heavy rain associated with now Tropical Storm Hanna just offshore, they remained in the coastal gulf waters. Harry and Carolyn Davis, from Dalton, GA, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on what turned out to be a slow day of fishing. Harry and I focused on tarpon during the morning and located a good concentration of fish. We worked them for several hours with a fly and a DOA TerrorEyz and only jumped one fish.
The weather should improve next week as Tropical Storm Hanna heads away from us. Two-tide days early in the week will progress toward four-tide days as we head toward the full moon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 08, 2002 - 9:50 am: | |
Subject: Florida Keys Fishing Report
Florida Keys Fishing Report for 9/1 through 9/8/2002
I spent several days last week on a busman’s holiday fishing in the Florida Keys. A group of 25 or 30 anglers from the Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club in Sarasota traveled to Islamorada to compete in the Islamorada-Sarasota Shootout, a fun-filled fishing and social event that pits anglers from Sarasota and Islamorada against each other in offshore, reef and back country divisions.
I usually fly fish on the flats for bonefish, permit and tarpon, however this year I did something different. Since I didn’t have a fishing partner for the flats, I joined Sam Chavers, Doug Forde and Jeff Brue, all from Sarasota, on Sam’s 24’ Mako to test the offshore waters. My plan was to back up the other anglers with a fly.
However, I couldn’t travel to such beautiful fly water without spending a day searching for the elusive, big Key’s bonefish, so I spent Wednesday wading the flats of Long Key State Park. Conditions were not great with a big tide and overcast conditions. By the time that the tide dropped to a more wadeable level and the sky brightened, it was midday. I saw only one bonefish and didn’t even get a shot at it.
Thursday was much more productive in the offshore waters. The action was steady as we caught numerous blackfin tuna at The Hump about 11 miles off Islamorada. Although I was standing by with my fly rod in hopes of getting a shot at dolphin that the other anglers were luring close to the boat with their hooked fish, the only dolphin that was landed came to the boat alone. Doug and Jeff each had a fish (dolphin and blackfin tuna) that ranked second in their respective categories at the end of the first day of competition. Unfortunately, the fish didn’t hold up through the second day of competition.
We went with a different game plan on Friday, still hoping to find the mother lode of dolphin. We went out further, about 20 miles south, and found more blackfin tuna instead. Although their numbers were fewer, I landed a 10.9-pound tuna that was good enough to win 3rd place in the tuna division of the tournament. Sam did a great job as captain in putting his team on fish. When the final tally was completed, the score was Sarasota 22 to Islamorada’s 13. We won!
Good tides next week should mean good fishing on the flats. Reds are schooling on the flats of Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor and juvenile tarpon should still be a good option in upper Charlotte Harbor.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 01, 2002 - 8:53 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 8/25 through 9/1/2//2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had decent action during the past week with snook, trout and tarpon. The best action was with snook before daylight and tarpon. Tarpon were scarce, but we managed to locate a small concentration of them that was feeding. With the opening of snook season today, I’m sure there will be a lot more pressure on them.
Fly angler, Rick Happle from Tampa, FL, and Jim Kasser, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. Snook around lighted docks have been plentiful, but very selective in what they will eat. Rick managed several snook on small white flies. We moved to the flats near Buttonwood Harbor after daylight where they caught and released trout to 19” on Clouser flies and Cotee jigs with grubs.
Tuesday morning’s trip was a rain out, so we tried it again on Wednesday. Fly angler, Guy Ortmann from New York City, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday morning. He caught and released several snook on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies and had a few that couldn’t be turned before breaking him off under a dock. Again we were forced off the water by rain and lightning shortly after daylight.
Some of the most exciting action was on Friday when Brian Shenstone, from Gross Point Woods, MI, and Kobi Platt, from MI, fished for tarpon in Charlotte Harbor with me. They were not plentiful, but we found a few that were eating. We targeted them with a small bunny fly fished on a 350 grain sinking fly line and the second angler backed it up with a DOA TerrorEyz. We had one tarpon roll on the fly as it was being picked up, but it didn’t get hooked. They wanted the bait crawling right along the bottom and the TerrorEyz did that best. Four tarpon in the 20 to 30-pound class were jumped with the TerrorEyz and I mean jumped! Some of these fish went 8 feet or more in the air as they somersaulted.
Fly angler, Peter Mattina from Anna Maria Island, FL, fished with me on Saturday morning. Peter caught snook before daylight on Grassett’s Grass Minnow fly and trout on the flats on a pink over white Clouser. I spent some time poling the shallow flats looking for reds, but we ran out of time before locating any.
I’ve had all the rain I care to deal with, so hopefully we’ll get a reprieve from that next week. Good tides should mean good action as we head toward the new moon next week.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 25, 2002 - 12:48 pm: | |
Subject: Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report for 8/17 through 8/25/2002
I spent the past week visiting family in Delaware and fishing the Chesapeake Bay. Although we are usually fishing deeper water than I do at home, the techniques are similar. We fished structure (points, rip rap, pilings, etc.) or breaking fish. Once the fish were located we used intermediate to 350 grain sinking lines to deliver our flies to the fish.
My brother, Kirk Grassett from Bear, DE, and I fished with our friend, Capt. Matt Tawes of Chesapeake Angling, on Monday. We fished in Tangier Sound, where Capt. Matt put us on some nice quality stripers. We caught and released more than 20 fish to 5-pounds on Clousers and Half and Halfs.
My Dad, Dave Grassett from Seaford, DE, joined Kirk and I on Kirk’s boat for a trip in Eastern Bay on Wednesday. Eastern Bay is a side bay off the Chesapeake sandwiched between Kent Island and Tilghman Island on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Although the weather forecast was not great following a weak front, we decided to give it a try anyway. Fortunately the weather forecast was wrong and we had a great weather and fishing day. We caught and released stripers and bluefish all day long.
The stripers and bluefish, which were all breaking fish, were in the 1 to 2-pound class with the occasional larger bluefish. Kirk and I fished Clousers on 225 to 350 grain sinking fly lines while my Dad fished a Clouser behind a bullet weight on spinning tackle. He hooked a large trout jigging his fly below a school of breaking bluefish and it was cut in half by a larger bluefish before it could be landed!
I was the guest of my friend, Capt. Scott Hopkins of Fly’s Down Guide Service, on Thursday and Friday. The weather forecast was wrong again, only this time it worked against us. The forecast was for 5 to 10 mph winds each day but it was actually 15 mph or more. Rough conditions made it difficult to locate breaking fish, but we did catch some decent bluefish on Thursday. Scott’s young son, Tyler, had great success with a jig or a popper on spinning tackle, while Scott and I used sinking lines with Clousers. We added a trace of wire ahead of our flies and lures to keep from being chewed off by the hungry blues.
I’ll be back on my home waters next week. Favorable tides and a good weather pattern should make for good fishing. Snook before daylight, trout or reds on the flats and tarpon should all be good options.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 24, 2002 - 8:53 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Summer Snapper
August 24, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Summer Snapper in Sarasota:
During the summer, you can find plenty of keeper size snapper on the bay and larger snapper as you move offshore. Inshore snapper fishing usually peeks in September. You can find them around most structures and along the beach. A couple of hot spots in the past have been the Twin Bridges just west of Bird Key and the south side of Big Pass. You will need to fish the tides and catch the current before it gets too strong.
Light tackle, live bait or small jigs are a must if you want good numbers of gray snapper. Eight to twelve pound test line is a good match. A small lead or jig of a quarter ounce is best but no more than a half ounce when the current is strong. You must have patience for the slow descent of your bait. I like to use light leader material, twenty to thirty pound test mono with a small hook size 2, 1, 1/0 with a small lead attached just above the eye of the hook. Slowly bounce this on the bottom as you would a jig. Some areas in Florida, like my home town of Hollywood, have much larger Mangrove (gray) snapper along the beach in September, so you would need to beef up your tackle.
With a little bit more skill, using small jigs can be deadly and more economical. You can tip them with pieces of shrimp or small, fresh, dead pilchards or glass minnows. Again, bounce the jig on the bottom. If fishing in heavy structure, you must lock your drag. Letting the fish run is not an option. The exception to this is when fishing with cut bait along the beach or any sandy bottom with little or no structure. Snapper like to drag and drop the cut bait once before taking it. You should let him take line the first time and set the hook when he picks it up the second time.
Of course, snapper may not always be on a particular reef or in that depth of water or maybe they are just not on the bite at that time. Before I move off of a structure, I fish both sides of the structure by adjusting my anchor line. Also, the catching of other fish like grunts may stimulate or draw the snapper in.
I am always glad to see Key West grunts on the structure! Finding Key West grunts on the bite tells me that the structure has potential for snapper or grouper fishing. If I find an abundance of Tomtate grunts, I move out of the area all together. If there is an abundance of triggerfish, I know I will never get a bait down to the fish I want. If I find only sand perch, I know I missed the structure all together and need to remark it.
I need to add that Key West grunts are just as good if not better to eat as gray snapper and that triggerfish and sand perch are also good. It is just a matter of size. On the other hand, Tomtate grunts are just bad news to me.
If you need to go to cut bait, catch your own by using a Gold Hook Bait rig. You can often find schools of cigar minnows, Spanish sardines and other baitfish offshore. Fresh Bait Rules.
Of course if you find larger fish like keeper size grouper on the structure, you will need to beef up your rigging.
Live shrimp is best for snapper but economically speaking, sometimes you would be better off to have eaten the shrimp than what you had caught. Chumming for snapper works very well in some areas but here I find that it may attract too many of the wrong species, triggerfish and/or pinfish etc. Having large clouds of triggerfish under your boat makes it very hard to get a bait to the snapper.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 11:25 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla. Report 08/17/02
August 16, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
For now, sea trout, redfish, bluefish, snook and snapper have the front row on the Bay and along the beaches. Trout are the most plentiful on numerous grass-flats and feeding well on live shrimp, pilchards and small pigfish. Slowly working artificial lures is also a killer if you develop the feel for it. Along with the trout, you may find some bluefish, permit and snapper.
Some nice snapper are being caught around the bay on most of the structures, bridges, docks, rock piles, etc. Fishing the change of tide with a small split-shot and live bait on the bottom should get you some keeper size snapper.
Snook and redfish are mostly in and around the harbors, docks and bridges around the bay. You will find the snook more nocturnal than the redfish. At night, always fish the dark areas around the light for snook or tarpon. Make sure you are fishing for snook or tarpon an hour before and after the change of tide.
Here we are in the middle of summertime fishing and the rule of First Light, Last Light fishing is a major key to success. Both are usually followed by about four hours of feeding activity inland and along the coast. A magic time for me in fast moving tidal water is when I can find a change of tide at or close to first or last light.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 1:53 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Everyone's talking about the "dog days" of summer with accuracy. Man, it's been hot, but the fishing's been good despite. Hitting the water early is still the best approach unless your going out at night, or at the very least, early in the evening. It's just not fit for humans or fish during the afternoon and you'll probably get chased off the water by thunderstorms anyway. Better safe than sorry.
Juvenile tarpon are still in good numbers and they will eat. It sometimes takes some patience, and a painfully slow retrieve, but they will eat. Best baits are Reaction Lure's Bayou Chub Minnows and D.O.A.'s TerrorEyz. White and Pearl have been the best colors, but others will work.
For fly anglers, white is definitely the color, too. Though we're fishing brackish water, you have to forget about the "dark lures for dark conditions, light lures for light" school of thought. As said before, other colors will produce, but not with the same consistency.
Like with most other backcountry species in our area, I've tried to get these tarpon to take top-water lures, but have had little success. Redfish, snook, trout and several others will blast them into the air, but with tarpon it's another ballgame altogether. On two occasions this year, what looked like mud minnows crawling across the surface, were gulped up, one with enough ferocity to start the fire burning again.
I fished the area with Bill Hopper, from Sarasota and Leo Fieser, from Venice and Bill brought along a bunny fly that he had tied to work on the surface, just like the minnows I had seen. It looked great in the water, and though they would have nothing to do with it on that day, it's not over yet... He did put a nice one in the air with a 1/4 oz. soft plastic bait from Storm Lures called the Wildeye.
Redfish and snook action has been decent, too. There have been some nice snook mixed in with the tarpon on the east side of the harbor and taking the same baits. Reds are taking gold spoons and gurgler top water flies on the west side while casting up under the mangroves on the higher stages of the tide. Surface flies have worked best early in the morning.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 8:04 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 8/11 through 8/16/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good fishing during the past week. Action was steady with lots of variety. Trout, bluefish and redfish were caught on the flats of Sarasota Bay and juvenile tarpon were caught in the Peace River.
John Michel, from Sarasota, FL, and Jim LeFevre, from Stuart, FL, fished the Peace River in the Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte area with me on Tuesday. Tarpon were not thick, but were eating. John jumped a nice fish of 20-pounds or more and Jim landed a feisty 15-pounder, both on a DOA TerrorEyz.
The best action was on the deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay from the Middlegrounds to Buttonwood Harbor. Trout to 2-pounds, bluefish to 2-pounds and redfish to 8-pounds were caught on Cotee jigs with grubs and CAL jigs with shad tails.Dave Lincul, from Sewell, NJ, and Bill Lamlin, from Conshohocken, PA, had one of the better trips of the week on Wednesday. They caught 15 or more trout and a pair of reds.
The following day, Danny Broughton and his party Kerry and Camilla, all from the UK fished the same area with me. They caught numerous trout to 17” and a pair of bluefish on Cotee jigs with grubs and CAL jigs with shad tails.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 11, 2002 - 10:33 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 8/4 through 8/11/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week. There was a lot of variety on the deep grass flats; trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, pompano and ladyfish. Snook fishing improved and a day wading the flats of Charlotte Harbor was also productive.
The Story family, from Anna Maria, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. They had a great day catching 6 bluefish to 2-pounds, a 2-pound pompano, numerous trout to 3-pounds and ladyfish. All fish were caught on Cotee jigs with grubs at the Middleground flat.
Scott Heidler, his young son, Scottie, both from Hudson, OH and father-in-law, Roger Roy from Sarasota, FL, fished a pre-dawn/flats trip in Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They started off the day strong with several snook, a redfish and numerous mangrove snapper caught on live shrimp around docks near Big Pass. Fishing on the flats after daylight was slow. A small front had pushed through that evening and we had a northwest wind at 10-15 mph, which affected the fishing on the flats.
Ken Trotter and Larry Levenberg, both from Sarasota, FL, snook fished in Venice with me on Wednesday evening. With a strong outgoing tide, we had a good bite going before dark. They caught and released 6 snook to 25” bouncing DOA TerrorEyz along the bottom of a bridge channel. After dark, snook were feeding heavily on tiny shrimp and baitfish but were extremely finicky.
Snook bit a little better for fly angler, Larry Ford from Sarasota, FL, on Thursday afternoon/evening. Larry fished a flats/snook trip with me in Sarasota Bay and caught lots of variety. Before dark, Larry caught and released Spanish mackerel, trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies at the Middleground and Radio tower flats. A big bluefish was hooked on a popper, but bit through the leader before it could be landed. After dark, the snook bite started slow and got stronger as the night progressed. He caught and released about 10 snook to 24” and unintentionally broke several more off that couldn’t be turned. Enrico Puglisi’s Micro Minnow was the hot fly!
The Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers had a club outing in Charlotte Harbor on Saturday. A group of 6 boats and 16 or 18 fly anglers waded the flats with great results. Todd Eshbrook, from Sarasota, fished with me and caught and released 5 reds on an Enrico Puglisi Bay Anchovy fly. I had a pair of reds and a 24” snook on an olive/white Clouser. Although the reds were small (3 to 4-pounds), the action was great. We had a big tide, so wading became tougher as the day went by. Several other members of the group caught redfish, trout and jack crevalle. We all met for a late lunch at The Fishery restaurant, where the fishing stories grew.
Good tides next week should make for good flats fishing. Schooling reds may be easier to locate on the low tides at midday.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 04, 2002 - 8:18 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 7/28 through 8/4/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict experienced decent action during the past week with tarpon, snook, trout and ladyfish. The best action continues to be on the deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay where trout and ladyfish are plentiful with scattered bluefish and blacktip sharks. Snook at night are plentiful and feeding on tiny shrimp, but have been finicky with lures and even live shrimp. Tarpon are plentiful in the Peace River and will bite if you are persistent.
A trip in Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor on Tuesday produced only one redfish, which took a CAL jig with a shad tail. Visibility is poor in the backcountry, but the outside bars offer some visibility even though the water is tannin stained.
Tim McNamee, from Winterhaven, FL, Stephen Bucken, from Sarasota, FL and Christian Schleif, from Germany, fished with me in Sarasota Bay on Wednesday morning. They caught and released trout, ladyfish, bluefish and a small blacktip shark at the Middleground flat on Cotee jigs with grubs. Dennis Doane, from Columbus, OH, fished an evening snook trip in Venice with me that evening. He caught and released 6 snook to 24” and several jack crevalle on a Chug Bug, DOA TerrorEyz and live shrimp.
Mike Cole, from Sarasota, FL, fished tarpon in the Peace River with me on Friday. We dodged thunderstorms all morning but had good action with juvenile tarpon. One tarpon of about 30-pounds was jumped on a DOA TerrorEyz and another of about 10-pounds was landed on a DOA shrimp. These small tarpon are finicky and must be finessed by working the TerrorEyz slowly along the bottom or making an accurate cast with a DOA shrimp and letting it sink on top of rolling fish.
Bob Blaikie, from Sarasota, FL, and his family fished in Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. Capt. Jim Klopfer helped out with the group of 6 anglers. They had fast action with trout, ladyfish and several bluefish on Cotee jigs with grubs and Slimy slugs.
Two tide days early next week will be challenging, but the strong outgoing tides at the end of the week should be good for snook during the late afternoon and evening.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 02, 2002 - 10:20 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla. Report 08/02/02
August 1, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
July ended on a good note for both offshore and inshore anglers. My daughter, Cherie and I spent Tuesday jumping barracuda on the artificial reef M-7. On Reef M-3, using 12 pound test line and live Threadfin herring that we caught with Gold Hooks, it was one fish after another. I rigged with 6" of #3 solid wire and a 4/0 hook. Free-lining the bait or a slow pull worked well. Little tunny and Spanish mackerel can also be caught this way. The Cuda Hole is producing some nice mangrove snapper on the bottom. The further you go offshore, the better the fishing has been. Dolphin is only one of the benefits for longer trips this time of year.
We spent Monday on the Bay using the ultra-lights for trout and permit. We found plenty of trout on all of the grass flats although most were undersize, but close. The permit and redfish are closer to the docks. Snook have been very good on last light in New Pass and you need to work the tides.
We also found some Spanish mackerel and little tunny on the (I) reefs first thing in the morning.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 7:13 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor Fishing Report for 7/21 through 7/28/2002
Fly and spin anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict experienced variety and steady action during the past week. Fly anglers caught and released snook, trout, tarpon, tripletail, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and ladyfish. Spin anglers caught redfish, trout, bluefish, small blacktip sharks, jack crevalle and ladyfish. The name of the game has been fishing early or late to avoid mid day heat. Although snook were feeding heavily on small shrimp and glass minnows, they have been finicky when it came to taking a fly or lure. The best flats action has been in 6 to 8-feet of water near the passes.
Fly anglers, Nick Reding from St. Louis, MO, and his son, Nick, from New York City, fished an afternoon/evening trip with me on Monday. Despite a strong outgoing tide at dusk, the snook did not bite. On the incoming tide, after dark, they managed several snook on Enrico Puglisi Micro Minnows and DOA fly shrimp.
Michel Prosperi and his son, Lance, both from Sarasota, FL, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. We focused on bars and mangrove shorelines hunting for redfish. Michel landed one red on a CAL jig with a shad tail. Although visibility was not great, we didn’t see many reds.
Abe Abraham, from Ontario, Canada, and Jeff Drimmer, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. They caught several trout to 18”, including 3 legal size fish, a couple of bluefish, ladyfish and a pair of 30” blacktip sharks. Most fish were caught at the Middleground flat on Cotee jigs with grubs.
Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL and I fished Charlotte Harbor for tarpon on Friday. We found tarpon from 10 to 30-pounds rolling along seawalls and around canal mouths. Since the water was deep, we used sink tip and full sinking fly lines to get our flies down to the fish. My combination of an Orvis Depth Charge line and a white bunny fly worked best. I jumped 3 tarpon and landed one, a 10-pounder. These fish are great on an 8 or 9-weight fly rod!
Jim Hazlett, from Sarasota, FL, and his Dad, Jim Hazlett from Gross Pointe Park, MI, fished a pre dawn trip in Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday. Although we didn’t catch a lot of fish, we did catch variety. Before daylight, snook were behaving as they had earlier in the week. They were feeding on small shrimp and glass minnows, but being very selective about the flies and lures they would take. One snook was caught and released on a DOA fly shrimp before we moved to the flats. The most variety was at the Middleground flat, where they caught and released a tripletail, Spanish mackerel and several trout on a pink over white Clouser fly. They also caught and released several ladyfish, jacks and trout on a Cotee jig with a grub.
Reds should be schooling on the flats any time now. I’ll be spending my time next week targeting snook at night, hunting reds on the flats and tarpon in Charlotte Harbor.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 23, 2002 - 2:56 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
We're still chasing tarpon and the best action has been in Charlotte Harbor. Though they've been scattered, the canals have held the best numbers and the one's with the best appetites.
The action out in the open harbor has been slim. The rains have flooded the area with fresh water from the rivers, which probably explains the absence of tarpon. There's plenty of time, though. When conditions return to normal, they should be out there, prowling around well into September.
Low tides have had most of the fish hanging out around the mouths of the canals. Sometimes they eat readily, other times you have to really work to put one in the air. They are, after all, tarpon. There have also been snook, jacks and ladyfish mixed with them in the same outside areas. Best baits have been Reaction Lure's 3 1/2" Bayou Chub Minnows in Glow/Chartreuse and solid Pearl colors. DOA's TerrorEyz in Pearl w/chartreuse tails have also produced well.
There are tarpon hanging around in Sarasota Bay and surrounding areas, too. These fish have been tough to fool, whether with artificial or live baits. They've been rolling around the Bishops Point, Whale Key area and around the north bridge to Siesta Key. Getting to these fish early will up your odds. Nice trout and bluefish are taking the Chub Minnows and Mr. Twister's Slimy Slugs at Bishops on the west side of Sarasota Bay, and at Stevens Point on the east side.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 3:33 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report 7/14-7/20/02
Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report for 7/14 through 7/20/2002
Fly and spin anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook and tarpon during the past week. Night snook fishing has been decent as snook fed heavily after dark around lighted docks and bridges. Tarpon are rolling along seawalls in upper Charlotte Harbor and will take a lure or fly if you are persistent.
Fly angler, Larry Ford from Longboat Key, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday evening. After a slow start on the flats at dusk, we moved to lighted docks to target snook. Larry caught and released 6 snook to 25” on String Bean and Skitterbug flies. The snook were aggressively chasing very small shrimp and glass minnows around shadow lines.
The following evening, I fished the Venice area with Sarasota Herald-Tribune outdoor writer, Steve Gibson, his wife Kathy and videographer, Ray, to film a segment for Steve’s new TV spot, Fishing Paradise. The segment airs on local TV station, SNN Channel 6, twice hourly every week from Wednesday at 11 PM through Thursday. We drifted a bridge channel before dark and bounced DOA TerrorEyz along the bottom. The tide was just starting to go out and was gaining momentum, so the snook had not began feeding heavily. We managed to catch a couple of snook, jack crevalle and small gag grouper before moving on to fish a lighted bridge fender where we found snook feeding aggressively. Steve caught and released several snook with a 6-weight fly rod on a small white bunny fly. Kathy did even better landing a half dozen or more snook to 24”on live shrimp.
On Thursday, I went on a scouting mission in Charlotte Harbor to fish juvenile tarpon. I found tarpon rolling along seawalls and occasionally busting a baitfish. I cast a white bunny fly on a fast sinking fly line for several hours with no takes. I switched to a DOA TerrorEyz just before quitting and landed a 16-pounder. These mini silver kings are very acrobatic!
I was the guest of Nick Reding, from New York City, on his new Hewes Redfisher for a day of beach tarpon fishing on Friday. We saw a few tarpon and had several good shots with a fly, but no takers. We also had had some shots at snook in the surf, but they didn’t bite either. Tarpon are loosely schooled or singles and doubles at this time of the year. You have to be alert because they are swimming both north and south.
Next weeks strong out going tides should be good for snook in the late afternoon and evening. With a full moon on Wednesday, it’s also possible that there could be some early schooling activity with reds on the flats.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 14, 2002 - 6:11 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla. Report 07/14/02
July 14, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Sweet and Sour is the best way I can express our fishing conditions at this time. I was restricted to the bay for the few days I was able to get out fishing. Although there has been plenty of Spanish mackerel and little tunny action around the (M) reef, the weather has been unstable. Dodging the storms and with uncomfortable sea conditions at best, it is the price we need to pay for the much needed rain.
We could find fish most of the time on the bay, but very few keeper size trout. The live shrimp are very small now and only good for tipping your jigs. Fishing the grass flats with jigs and sinking plugs as slow as possible without getting hung-up on the bottom too much has worked for us. Almost as slow as working a plastic worm for freshwater bass.
You can still hook-up with the occasional tarpon, snook or redfish but don't plan on it. We need the weather to stabilize and our fishing will improve as we get into our summer pattern. If you get offshore to the artificial reefs, be sure to take some small crabs along for permit. You can sight-fish for the permit or just free-line the bait out. Don't go too light on your tackle, I like 12lb test line. Permit like to circle your boat and any debris in the water may cut lighter line.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 13, 2002 - 3:52 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 7/7 -7/14/2002
Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict experienced steady action with a variety of fish. While it was by no means fast, anglers caught and released pompano, bluefish, trout and ladyfish on jigs and flies in Sarasota Bay. A persistent low pressure spawned morning showers and breezy conditions, especially toward the end of the week.
Fly anglers, Henry Amat from Longboat Key, FL, and his son, Kenny, from NC fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. We found some large jack crevalle in Longboat Pass, however they were tough to catch due to wind and a ripping tide being opposite each other. We were finally able to get a strike by casting a MirrOlure Top Dog, Jr. up under the bridge to lure them out. Kenny landed an 8-pounder on the plug and lured the school within casting range for Henry. He hooked up with a fly popper but the hook pulled before we could pull the big jack away from the bridge pilings. Later in the day, we caught and released several trout and ladyfish on Clousers at Stevens Point and the Middleground flat.
Bill Misischia, from Sarasota, FL, son Nick and his girlfriend, Tiffany, both from Chicago fished with me on Tuesday. The action was faster than on Monday as they landed a couple of pompano to 2-pounds, several trout to 17” and ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs. Nick caught and released a 2-pound bluefish, trout and several ladyfish on a pink/white Clouser fly. The best action was at the Marina Jack flat.
Fly angler, John Evans from the UK, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. The primary goal of the trip was some casting instruction, in which John progressed quite well by the end of the trip. The action was slow, but John managed several trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies at the Marina Jack flat. He had several shots at reds that were unwilling to bite.
Pete Dagostino, from Longwood, FL and son-in-law, Rick, from Tampa fished the same area with me on Friday. They managed a couple of pompano to 2-pounds and several trout to 17” on Cotee jigs with grubs. There was plenty of action, but we were chased off the water by a heavy shower before we had a chance to take a shot at some redfish that I wanted to fish later in the tide. Saturday morning’s trip lasted only an hour before we were again chased away by heavy thunderstorms. We did catch and release a bluefish and a couple of trout on Cotee jigs with grubs at the Radio Tower flat before making a run for it.
Hopefully, the weather will return to a normal pattern next week and we will get away from the morning showers. Pompano and bluefish have been scattered on the flats and better conditions would allow us to fish a larger area.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 12:05 pm: | |
Subject: Stuart, FL Fishing Report for 6/29 -7/7/2002
Stuart, FL Fishing Report for 6/29 through 7/7/2002
As tarpon fishing was winding down when I left Sarasota last Saturday, I headed for Florida’s East coast and the annual DOA/River Palm Outdoor Writer’s Festival. This event is held in Jensen Beach out of River Palm Cottages and Fish Camp on the banks of the Indian River. A collection of some of the best fishing guides and outdoor writers in Florida was assembled to fish with DOA lures in the Indian and St.Lucie Rivers. Hosted by Capt. Mark Nichols of DOA Fishing Lures and Capt. Rufus Wakeman of River Palm, the event was cosponsored by various fishing tackle manufacturers.
Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, and I arrived on Saturday afternoon to get in a little pre-fishing before the actual event began on Sunday afternoon. An evening trip drifting the Roosevelt Bridge and a trip the following morning in the Indian River near Ft. Pierce didn’t produce much action. Rusty and I did manage a few trout to 2 lbs on CAL jigs and DOA shrimp on Sunday morning. The resort was buzzing on Sunday afternoon as most of the guides and writers began arriving. The highlight of the afternoon was the wedding of Capt. Ray Markham and Beca Moore on the shores of the Indian River. Congratulations Beca and Ray!
I fished with outdoor writer Steve Waters, of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Eagle Claw hooks rep, Mike Praznovsky, Jr. from Miami Springs, FL, on Monday morning. We waded a flat in the Indian River near the Stuart Causeway where we caught and released several snook to 24” and trout to 20” on CAL jigs and DOA shrimp. The trip was cut short by a thunderstorm that forced us off the water. After a Cajun feast of fried turkey and crawfish pasta that afternoon, I headed back out for the evening bite. Ron Horton, of Action Craft boats, joined me as we drifted the St. Lucie Inlet for snook. Capt. Rick DePaiva, from Cape Coral, FL, also fished the inlet and was joined by Rusty Chinnis and John Kumiski. Ron and I managed 3 snook to 27” on DOA TerrorEyz. Capt. Rick’s boat had several similar size fish and 20-pounder caught on a CAL jig. Rick’s personal best!
On Tuesday morning, Florida Sportsman assistant editor, Jerry McBride from Stuart, FL, and Joe Beech, of JNB Originals (a drift bag manufacturer) from Tracy, MN, joined me as I headed for a flat that had been producing tarpon and big trout in the Indian River near Ft. Pierce. The tarpon were there, but would not bite so we focused on trout after working the tarpon for an hour or so. We managed lots of trout to 18” on CAL jigs, DOA shrimp and shallow running DOA Baitbusters but no big fish. The event officially ended on Tuesday afternoon but Rusty and I hung around to fish some more on our own.
My goal was a really big trout or snook so on Tuesday evening Rusty and I headed for the same flat near the Stuart Causeway that I had fished on Monday morning. Again we were forced off the water by a wicked thunderstorm. Wednesday morning was our last shot at it before retuning to Sarasota, so we headed back to the same spot to wade and fly fish. Rusty caught and released a true “gator” trout of 7 ½ pounds on a Skitterbug popper on a 7-weight fly rod! His personal best! It was the only fish caught all morning, but what a fish!
Following the holiday weekend, I’ll be back on the water in Sarasota targeting snook, reds and trout on the flats and possibly tarpon as we heads toward the new moon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 2:51 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
All in all, it's been a decent year for tarpon. They arrived
early off the beaches, with a good appetite, and put on a
good show. A few days of hard west winds made it tough, and
some long-needed rain put us to the test but they are, after
all, tarpon, and few will deprive themselves of the
pleasure.
Tarpon fishing off the beaches has since slowed with June's
full moon, when they went off to spawn. Like some years,
they may return in good numbers and hang around into July.
If not, there are other ways to prolong the pleasure. From
Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor and points south, there will
usually be tarpon that move into the bays and will spend the
summer months there.
When tarpon fishing slows down on the beaches, there will be
fish moving up into Charlotte Harbor. August and September
are known to be the hottest months of the year, but they're
also known for tarpon near Cape Haze, the mouths of the
Peace and Myakka Rivers and the canals throughout the
Harbor. The bigger fish will be in the harbor and around the
bridges. The smaller ones, up to maybe 40 pounds or so, will
be roaming the canals.
The I-75 and 41 bridges, at the mouth of the Peace River in
Punta Gorda, will hold plenty of tarpon. They can also be
found around the mouth of the Myakka River and in the open
harbor. Artificial lures and flies, along with live bait
will work here and it's common to find them around ladyfish
that are terrorizing schools of baitfish. Catch the ladies
with a jig or spoon and attach them to a tarpon rig. Toss
that into the melee and wait for the tight line.
Canals in Charlotte Harbor hold good numbers of smaller
tarpon. Fish from 7 or 8 pounds, up to around 40 pounds are
common catches. Larger fish may also be encountered in the
same areas. Artificial baits and flies work well, with white
being the preferred color and a slow, delicate presentation
just off the bottom will usually produce good results.
Most of these fish won't be the big boys of early summer,
but some of them will draw out a good sweat. And, as is
typical with summer fishing, it's an early game and a
pre-dawn start will certainly put the odds in your favor.
The long-awaited rains have gotten the bays stirred up
making sight fishing a little more difficult. The best time
for redfish and trout fishing will be either early morning
or later in the day. It's also a good time to use artificial
baits. Shrimp move offshore in summer to spawn, and those
that are available are small. Jigs and top water baits are
good choices. A weedless gold spoon is also good in shallow
water, or water with floating grass. For fly anglers, top
water poppers are a blast.
Beach snook fishing has been good from Longboat Key, south
to Casey Key. The best times are from about 8am to noon. As
the sun rises, you'll be able to spot the fish and cast to
them. After about noon, it becomes difficult to see them.
Two of the best baits for beach snook are jigs and Clouser
Minnows. For jigs, white or gold are good colors. All white,
or chartreuse and white Clousers will also get their
attention.
____________________________________
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 29, 2002 - 8:33 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6-23 - 6-29-2002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6-23 through 6-29-2002
Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict experienced decent action along Sarasota beaches during the past week. Early in the week, thundershowers threatened in the morning, but conditions returned to a normal pattern toward the end of the week. Anglers scored with both fly and spinning tackle landing 3 of 6 tarpon. Tarpon action was best early in the week, but their numbers thinned as we got later in the week.
Cliff Ondercin, from Sarasota, FL, and his Dad, Dennis Ondercin from Middleburg Heights, OH, fished a couple of days with me on Wednesday and Thursday. Dennis had the hot hand, landing two out of four tarpon. He landed tarpon of 75 and 85-pounds on a live crab and a threadfin. Dennis also caught and released an estimated 50-pound blacktip shark on a freelined threadfin. What a fish! It jumped like crazy, spinning every time it came out of the water. Cliff had a good day with a fly landing one out of two fish. He scored with a black and purple bunny fly and landed a feisty 75-pounder.
There were not many tarpon along the beach on Friday. We saw only a couple of schools and a few singles early. There should be some more schooling activity as we head toward the new moon in July.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Note: For a daily fishing report, you can go to my other web site, www.flyfishingflorida.net.
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 24, 2002 - 8:57 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla. Report 06/24/02
June 24, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Tarpon are still moving along the beaches and in the passes. It has been a better year than last year but no free lunch. The average seems to be two per day but sometimes it takes a very long day to accomplish that. With tarpon fishing, it is the hunt as well as the jump that makes the day.
Snook have been building up in the passes and adjacent docks as they do each year and can give you some fun. It is catch and release time for snook so bring a camera along.
Seatrout are back on the bay and all of the grass flats are thick with trout. Most of the trout have been just under the 15" limit, but we have been able to find enough keepers to make a good catch. Some of the trout have been well over four pounds. A live shrimp on a popping float has worked very well. If you can find live pigfish or finger mullet to use as bait, you have a good chance of hooking a trout over six pounds. I have had a few big trout grab a small trout on the way in. Personally, I have been using a 52M Red & White Mirrolure and retrieving it as slow as possible, just touching the top of the grass. This is nothing new but a very old standard that works all the time by perfecting your retrieve.
In with the trout, we have found bluefish and Spanish mackerel, some pompano and even small cobia.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 23, 2002 - 9:32 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/15 -6/23/2002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/15 through 6/23/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had a tough week of fishing during the past week. The main problem was the weather, as an upper level low pressure system sat over Florida for the entire week and continues to do so. Anglers were only able to fish tarpon along the beaches for two days. Two other attempts ended quickly as squall lines pushed in from the gulf and chased us into Sarasota Bay. Anglers jumped a total of 5 tarpon on 3 trips, but didn’t land any of them. We did, however, spend a day targeting juvenile tarpon and bay fishing with some success on each of those trips.
Saturday through Tuesday was not fishable for tarpon along the beaches due to west winds and rain. Phil and Brenda Rever, from Sarasota, FL, opted to fish canals off the lower Peace River targeting juvenile tarpon with lures and flies on Monday. We located a concentration of tarpon and Phil jumped a 20-pounder on a small, white bunny fly fished on an Orvis Depth Charge fly line. Although the fish are rolling on the surface, my experience is that most of them are caught on the bottom. That is why I fish heavy flies on fast sinking fly lines or a DOA TerrorEyz jigged slowly along the bottom. Brenda had a couple of “bumps” on a TerrorEyz and landed a stingray.
From Wednesday through Friday, I had a group of 4 anglers from Maryland fishing on two boats, Dave Hickes, from Crownsville, MD, and the Phillips family, Bill and Billy, from Centreville, MD, and “Pop”, from Bozman, MD. Capt. Kevin Chamberlain was the second boat on Wednesday and the day started off promising. Sea conditions were good, but that was all to change quickly. A squall line developed in the gulf and we couldn’t escape it. We fought our way back in through 6-foot seas and waited more than an hour for the heavy rain and lightning to quit. We spent the last several hours of the trip fishing Sarasota Bay, where the group caught trout to 3-pounds, bluefish to 5-pounds, pompano and a redfish on Cotee jigs with grubs.
Capt. Jim Klopfer joined the group as the second boat for Thursday and Friday. Bill and Billy each jumped a tarpon on Thursday while fishing with me and Capt. Jim’s boat had several bites, but no hook ups. Billy jumped and landed a nice tarpon on Friday while fishing with his grandfather, “Pop”, on Capt. Jim’s boat. We were fishing the same school of tarpon together when Billy hooked up, so the entire group cheered Billy on as he fought his tarpon. Dave later jumped a fish out of the same school and another tarpon was jumped on a threadfin on my boat on Friday.
Saturday started off promising, although we were greeted with a large swell left from overnight thunderstorms. After casting to only one school of tarpon with fly and live bait, another squall line ended our day. We were closer to the pass when this one hit, so we made it in easier than we did on Wednesday. Stay alert for changing weather this time of the year. It can go from nice to nasty in a few minutes and can be very dangerous!
As we come off the full moon next week, I expect the tarpon fishing to be challenging. Weather will also continue to be a factor for the next several days. However, if it’s anything like the full moon in May, the fishing could be good.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
Note: For a daily fishing report, visit my newest web site, www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 2:52 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/9- 6/15/20002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/9 through 6/15/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict experienced good tarpon action off Sarasota county beaches during the past week, landing 4 out of 7 tarpon jumped including a 150-pounder. Although we didn’t have as many hook ups as in past weeks, we landed most of the fish. Tarpon schools were not quite as plentiful but were nicely schooled and moving slow.
Russell Johnson, from Clovis, NM, and sons, Kyle and Patrick, fished with me on Monday and Wednesday. Russell got the action started on Monday by jumping and landing a 100-pounder on a live crab, which was our only tarpon of the day. Kyle landed a 4-pound Spanish mackerel, which took a free lined pilchard drifted behind the boat. Patrick had the hot hand on Wednesday with 3 hook ups. He landed one of the fish, a 100-pounder, with some help from his brother, Kyle. All fish were on live crabs.
The tarpon took the day off on Tuesday and refused to bite anything we offered them. They were scarce to start, but began moving as the morning went by. We had numerous shots at nice schools of tarpon that refused live crabs, pinfish, pilchards and threadfins.
Terry Notari, from Sarasota, FL, and his son, Craig Notari from IL, had a good couple of days on Thursday and Friday. Craig scored first thing on Thursday morning out of a beautiful school of tarpon. He landed the fish, a 150-pounder, after a two-hour battle. It is the largest fish caught on my boat so far this season. Craig hooked up again late in the day and Terry fought the fish for over an hour, only to have the hook pull.
Friday was a tougher day as the wind shifted to the west. We located a milling school of tarpon, which Craig fly fished for over an hour. We changed flies several times, but they just weren’t interested in eating. They eventually started lying on the bottom for longer periods of time, so we switched to live bait on spinning tackle. Since this was the only school of tarpon we saw all day, we stuck with them. After another hour of putting baits into them, Terry finally got one to eat. He landed a feisty 75-pounder within a few feet of the beach after only a 30-minute battle.
The wind increased even more and continued out of the west on Friday evening. Saturday was blown out, which was OK since it gave me some much needed rest and a chance to catch up on some writing. Next week the tarpon fishing should be hot, if the wind will switch back to the east, as we head toward the full moon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grasset
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 9:35 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/2- 6/9/2002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/2 through 6/9/2002
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict experienced decent tarpon fishing during the past week, landing 3 out of 9 tarpon hooked off Sarasota beaches. The action was slow to start at the beginning of the week, but picked up as the week went by. Tarpon have been plentiful but not always cooperative. A higher than normal amount of tarpon have been traveling north at this time of the year, which means we have to be alert in both directions.
Fly anglers, Mike Perez and Jeff Hanna, both from Richmond, IN, fished Monday through Wednesday with me. They had lots of quality shots at tarpon on Monday that didn’t bite. On Tuesday, we found a cooperative northbound school of tarpon that were hungry. Mike hooked up twice with a black and purple bunny fly and an Enrico Puglisi Black Mullet only to have each fish break off. The 20-pound fluorocarbon class tippet seemed to break easily due to no fault of the angler. Since I’ve lost confidence in the 20-pound fluorocarbon material, I have replaced my fly tippets with heavier and larger diameter monofilament material. On Wednesday, the tarpon thinned out considerably. They still got some quality shots at northbound fish, but no bites.
Bill Roth, from Longboat Key, FL, and his son, Will, from Columbus, OH, fished with me on Thursday and Friday. Will landed a 100-pounder after an hour-long battle on Thursday. Two other tarpon were jumped that day. We found a beautiful school of tarpon at first light on Friday morning and hooked up first thing. Bill and Will double teamed the fish, a 120-pounder, and landed it in an hour and a half. Bill jumped another fish later in the day to finish it up.
Art Lyons, from Western Springs, IL, and Don Shutello, from Colonia, NJ, fished with me on Saturday. It was slow to start with not many fish showing in the morning. Tarpon started to move at midday, although they were not showing well on the surface. Don had the hot hand as he got 3 bites, jumped two fish and landed one of them. Although it was a small male fish, it was a perfect fish for that time of the day. It jumped hard and came to the boat quickly.
We should be entering the peak of our tarpon season in the next couple of weeks as we go from the new moon to the full moon. It will be interesting to see what happens after that, as it seems that many fish have already spawned on the May full moon. Hopefully, the tarpon fishing will hold up for a couple of weeks beyond the next full moon.
Tight Lines.
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 7:56 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla. Report 06/08/02
June 8, 2002
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The Offshore boats running about thirty miles out and fishing hard bottom areas with live bait (Threadfin herring) have been doing very well for all kinds of fish. Snapper, grouper, sailfish, blackfin tuna, king and dolphin just to name a few of the fish caught this past week. You will find plenty of live bait on the way out, just remember to take some gold hook bait rigs along.
M-7 has plenty of snapper and some gag, but it is very hard to get them past the Goliath grouper "Jewfish". You need a 4/0 reel with at least fifty pound test line to get the Goliath grouper to the surface. A 6/0 with eighty pound line would do better. Goliath groupers are still protected and can't be taken, but they are starting to get a little pesky in some areas.
Tarpon are being caught along the beaches with some days being much better than others. Tarpon fishermen have caught a few large kingfish while floating live bait (Pinfish and Threadfin) for tarpon. We also had some very good days for Spanish mackerel along the beaches and out to the (M) reefs, but not every day.
Bottom fishing close in has not been good. This is mostly due to the large number of small fish destroying your bait before it hits bottom. Even the live pinfish don't last long. Bay fishing on Thursday was not good for us! Every place we went and everything we did turned into catfish and more catfish.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Merrily Dunn
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 5:45 pm: | |
Subject: Bradenton/Sarasota, FL 6/2/01
Fishing Report: Bradenton/Sarasota, FL 6/1/01
This past week anglers went bay fishing and tarpon fishing aboard the Game Fish-her. I took out Carrie Gill and Cristin Cain of Bradenton on one morning for some redfish, snook and trout. I polled the Whitfield and Longbar area and targeted those potholes and never saw a red or a snook. We ended up catching trout at the Sisters Key flats. Carrie and Cristin had attended the Ladies Let's Go Fishing Seminar in St. Petersburg last year. They put all that they had learned during those days to good use and plan to get out on the water again soon.
Scouting for reds and snook along the Selby bar, Ron Knipe and son Joey of Orlando, Florida only found a fast moving school of jack crevalle that wouldn't slow down or take anything thrown their way. We drifted the Ringling flats and caught trout and a few ladyfish.
With the full moon waning and the Gulf water temperature at 78 degrees, Capt. Terry Simmons and I headed for the beaches off of Longboat Key for tarpon. For some strange reason, I was the only one to get bites during that morning trip. I managed to hook three fish using crabs but only got one to the boat for an entry into the Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club Tarpon Tournament. If you haven't entered that Tournament, you still have time. Call Chairperson Capt. Jeffri Durrance at 941-371-4231 or Co-chair Doug Forde at 941-349-4400 for an entry form. The Tournament ends on June 30th at midnight.
Two IWFA members joined Terry and me for two days of tarpon fishing along our beaches. Gwen Hahn and Beth Boutell of Palm Beach hooked four fish and got two of those to the boat. Gwen's was taped out at 122 lbs. and Beth's was a little one of 70 lbs. We managed to get our crabs crushed or missed hook sets 7 other times. On one take with Capt. Terry holding the rod, the fish came out of the water throwing the crab at us and on the second jump it threw the hook! But that's tarpon fishing and it's a wonderful experience to see that fish break the surface even when it throws the hook.
Richard Feltman and his coworker, John Jackson both of Elkton, Maryland had one unproductive day and one great day of tarpon fishing. The first day we only saw a few schools and got to get our baits into just one that ended up biting for another boat. On day two our luck had changed. One thing we noticed was that the water temperature had gotten back up into the 80's and the fish were starting to show more often. JJ got a hook up at 6:25am and gave the rod to Richard for the fight. He brought the 105 pound fish to the boat in about 45 minutes. We ended up getting fogged in for about an hour with no ability to see much of anything but a couple of jerks running up the beach almost plowing over several kayakers out there. After the fog lifted, so did our spirits because we got into another school that bit JJ's crab. It was long and skinny and took us offshore where it had lots of depth. Every time it came up for a breath, it was another 20 minutes. JJ had it to the boat more times than we can remember but it just wouldn't give in. The fish never jumped and he ended up fighting it for over an hour but he did get it in! We got the tape on it at the boat and calculated it to be another 105 pounder. Both JJ and Richard fish Tog up in the Maryland area and they thought those fish were tough. JJ told me that Richard does 100 laps in the pool each day but Richard said that he would have to work out more often because he'll be back next year to give it another try!
Let's go catch a tarpon!
Capt. Merrily Dunn
reelsaltylady@cs.com
mastercaptterry@msn.com
IWFA Tournament Results:
IWFA takes over Venice
By AL ROGERS
VENICE – Exhausted and well tanned, several ladies sat in the foyer of the Cypress Cove Lodge and prepared to leave town. Their departure marked the end of an amazing three days in the lower Mississippi River Delta as some of the world's top lady anglers competed in the International Women's Fishing Association (IWFA) Redfish and Speckled Trout Tournament. Although many of these veteran anglers frequent world-class destinations such as Costa Rica, Panama and South America, few had seen any place that could rival this tiny corner of southeast Louisiana.
“We will be back!” said Glenda Kelley, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a long-time IWFA member and tournament winner. “This is one amazing fishery. You know there aren’t many places in the world where you can catch 90 trout and 25 redfish in one day.”
Tournament co-chair Susan Gros agreed wholeheartedly.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” said Gros. “The ladies all said this was the best tournament they’ve ever fished. I think there was more fish and more fun here than they’ve seen anywhere.”
It was an event to be remembered, and one that will likely be repeated. The all-artificial bait, catch-and-release, blind-draw tourney attracted 26 of the world’s best coastal and offshore anglers from as far away as Central America. With her IWFA win in Venice this week with 1,330 individual points, Kelley will qualify to fish the IWFA-Rolex Inshore Tournament of Champions to be held in the Spring of 2003 in Islamorada, Fla.
Ranger Redfish Tournament, Punta Gorda, FL:
Despite a great couple of days prefishing the Charlotte Harbor area for redfish, Leiza Fitzgerald and I couldn't come up with a respectable redfish to weigh in the tournament. We caught plenty of great snook and if it had been snook season we could have had a great dinner that night. But that wasn't the species we were aiming for. The sandy edges at the mangrove shore line that were successful during our prefish days just wouldn't produce. We changed tactics and headed for the flats and potholes and cuts with oysters and current but couldn't locate anything but snook there. As it turned out we weren't the only anglers who chose an area that just didn't hold the quality or quantity of reds we had found on those earlier days. 70 teams out of 120 plus weighed in fish. We only had time to stay for part of the weigh-in but got to see the Xplores Team of Billy Harris and Chuck Hopper weigh in the largest red and most pounds before Leiza and I had to leave to attend the Miller Tarpon Tides weigh-in that her husband, Ray had fished that same day. |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 02, 2002 - 10:02 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/26 -6/2/2002
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/26 through 6/2/2002
Tarpon and false albacore on a fly! Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had a decent week of tarpon fishing along Sarasota and Manatee County beaches during the past week, landing 3 out of 12 fish jumped. Following the full moon last Sunday, tarpon fishing was not negatively affected. The best bite was from Monday through Wednesday when most of the fish were jumped or landed. However, as we headed further away from the full moon at the end of the week, tarpon began to move fast and not show well on the surface. False albacore showed up at the end of the week to spice things up!
Harry Davis, from Dalton, GA, and Bruce Burns, from WI, fished with me on Sunday and Monday. The goal was tarpon on a fly and Harry succeeded in jumping a tarpon on a fly on Monday, his first ever. The tarpon, an estimated 100-pounder, took a black and purple bunny fly. Two other tarpon were also jumped that day on live crabs. Bruce landed one of them, a 60-pounder.
An old college roommate and friend, Bill Ward from Pompano, FL, and his son, Bill, joined me to tarpon fish on Tuesday and Wednesday. The action was hot as they landed one out of 3 tarpon on Tuesday. Tarpon were tightly schooled and moving slowly, just the way we like them! The bite got better on Wednesday as they jumped 5 tarpon.
Fly anglers, Larry Ford from Sarasota, FL, and Bernard Puckett, from Laguna Beach, CA, fished with me on Thursday and Friday. The tarpon changed their behavior and started moving fast and not showing well on the surface. However, they each got some quality shots with a variety of flies, but they didn’t bite. We got a bonus on Friday morning as large schools of false albacore (a.k.a., bonito or little tunny) blitzed the beach! I was ready with light fly rods and Bernard landed a pair of false albacore to 12-pounds on an olive/white Clouser.
My daughter, Dawn Gibson, her boyfriend, Tim Zastrow, and my wife, Karen joined me for a day of tarpon fishing on Saturday. Again the false albacore blitzed the beach and Dawn and Tim each landed one on a Cotee jig with a grub. Great action to start the day! Tarpon seemed to be returning to a normal pattern of being more tightly schooled and moving slowly. We had several bites before Dawn hooked a tarpon on a live crab. Dawn and Tim double teamed the fish, a 90-pounder, and landed it in 35 minutes. A first for both of them!
If the weather will stay in a normal pattern, I expect good tarpon fishing next week as we head toward the new moon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 4:18 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
The name of the game is definitely tarpon. Though it's not the only game in town, tarpon are the main quest for most anglers now here in southwest Florida. And, we're in prime time. They've been here in decent numbers since last month and will hopefully hang around thru July. From Tampa Bay to Captiva Island, the numbers have been good. They've been taking live crabs on spinning gear and Black Death tarpon flies tied in black and red, and black and purple.
The Sarasota area has a lot of the big spawners from Anna Maria Island, south to Venice. Some days they're showing well, making it easy to set up on them. Other days they'll show once or twice, making it a little more difficult.
In Lower Tampa Bay, look for schools along the beaches at Bean Point, inside around the Bulkhead, the mouth of the Manatee River and out around Rattlesnake Key. If you like heavy tackle action, the Skyway Bridge holds good numbers. On the north side of the bridge, you'll usually find rollers in areas around Bunces Pass and Mullet Key.
Near Charlotte Harbor, Little Gasparilla, Gasparilla and Captiva Islands have also produced. In the harbor, juvenile tarpon are showing in decent numbers, too. We've also been getting redfish and trout in the same areas.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 11:35 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/8- 6/15/2003
Fly and spin anglers had an action packed week with tarpon during the past week on the Snook Fin-Addict. Although we were still plagued with west winds and rough sea conditions a couple of days during the week, there was action everyday. Fly anglers landed one out of 3 tarpon jumped and spin anglers landed 3 out of 7, including a 135-pound brute that measured 74 ½” x 35 ½”.
Monday’s wind forecast was not good and the coastal gulf waters were still churned lake a washing machine, so we headed for lower Tampa Bay to check out a report of consistent tarpon action there. We found a hungry school in shallow water and one readily ate the black and purple bunny fly we offered it. After a short battle, the estimated 60-pounder was at the side of the boat.
Tuesday’s trip had the most action with 6 tarpon hooked or jumped, including one on a fly, and one landed in the coastal gulf waters south of Sarasota. The winds switched to the east and the gulf recovered remarkably well. Aledia Tush and Chris Likens, both from Sarasota, FL, fished with me and found the tarpon hungry. Chris landed a 90-pound fish with a 33 ½” girth on a live crab for an entry in the Sarasota Sportfishing Anglers Club’s annual tarpon tournament.
I fished the same area the rest of the week with good results. A fly angler on Wednesday jumped a tarpon that will be burned in my memory for years to come. With our attention focused to the north, looking for southbound fish, a northbound school snuck up on us from behind. After hearing them gulp air 20 feet behind the boat, there was only time for one false cast and a short cast at 7 o’clock. We watched the Enrico Puglisi black mullet fly tracking alongside the boat as it was slowly stripped. Suddenly a tarpon sucked the fly in, and then shook its head for several seconds like a dog playing tug-of-war with a chew toy. Once the fish realized it had been stuck it got angry, running into the backing and blasting two of the highest jumps I’ve ever seen. The hook pulled after about 5-minutes and our hearts were still racing!
Terry Notari, from Longboat Key, FL, and his son, Craig Notari from Wilmette, IL, fished with me on Thursday and Friday. Craig has caught the largest fish of the season with me for the last two years and he may have done it again. The wind shifted to the south early on Thursday and the seas got rough. As a result, tarpon weren’t showing well, but they were there. We free-lined a threadfin behind the boat to see if we could catch one swimming by us and it worked. Terry landed an 80-pounder on Thursday using this technique. Conditions improved on Friday and Craig was committed to catch his first tarpon with a fly, but it just wasn’t in the cards. While Craig patiently waited for a shot with a fly, the fish weren’t showing very well. Again it was the free-lined threadfin swimming behind the boat that hooked a tarpon sneaking by us. It was Craig’s turn this time and he fought the big fish hard until we could get a measuring tape around her. We were pleasantly surprised that she was much bigger than we initially thought. The measurements translated to a 135-pound fish, which explained why she didn’t want to easily give up.
Saturday’s trip had a couple of bites and one fish jumped. There were lots of anglers on the water, so the best shots were early and then the action dried up. I expect tarpon to be moving fast for the next couple of days as we head away from the full moon. Hopefully by the middle of the week they should settle down and start to behave more favorably.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 10:19 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/1- 6/8/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught snook, redfish, trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel during the past week. A persistent southwest wind flow again kept anglers from fishing the coastal gulf waters for tarpon most days. When we were able to get out, we were greeted by a large swell. We have been fishing Sarasota Bay as an alternative to tarpon fishing.
Monday and Tuesday were blown out. Although we did give it a try on Tuesday, conditions just wouldn’t allow us to fish the gulf for very long. Gary Toomire, his daughter, Lauren, and her friend, Carrie, all from the Chicago area, fished a half-day in Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. They caught more than 20 trout to 17” and a Spanish mackerel on Cotee jigs with grubs and CAL jigs with jerk worms at the Middleground flat and near Bishop Point. Ken Trotter, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me on Thursday and caught a 25” red and a 24” snook on a CAL jig with a jerk worm in Roberts Bay.
Sea conditions were better on Friday. There was a large swell, but tarpon were not showing. Art Lyons, from the Chicago area and Don Shutello, from NJ, fished with me on Saturday, which was the roughest day of the week. We tried to tarpon fish, but a 4-6 foot swell with breaking waves made it impossible and definitely not any fun, so we retreated to Sarasota Bay after a couple of hours. They managed a good catch of trout to 18” and a couple of small bluefish on DOA shrimp near Bishop Point.
The wind has got to quit sometime and conditions will improve. As we head toward a full moon next Friday, I hope we can get a couple of days in before then. If not, I’ll be fishing the flats for reds, snook and trout.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 10:27 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/25 -5/31/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action with tarpon early in the week in the coastal gulf waters off Sarasota. Tarpon schools settled down, moved slower and showed more frequently, making them easier targets. There were even several laid up schools of tarpon on Monday and Tuesday mornings. However, by the end of the week the wind turned to a westerly flow making tarpon fishing in the gulf impossible.
Harry Davis, from Dalton, GA, fished with me on Monday and the tarpon were hungry. He jumped two tarpon on live crabs and had several other bites, including one on a fly. Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, and a group of 5 other anglers joined me for the rest of the week with several other guides, Capt. Jim Klopfer, Capt. Kelly Stillwell and Capt. Ed Hurst.
Tuesday was the best day with 12 hook ups and several fish landed between 3 guide boats. Wednesday was also a good day, with 8 hook ups and several fish landed between the 3 boats. By Thursday, the wind turned to the west and tarpon were not showing very well at all. Although we got a couple of bites, we didn’t hook up. We were blown out for tarpon on Friday due to a stiff west wind, so we retreated to Sarasota Bay to do some flats fishing. The anglers caught and released trout, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel on jigs and plastic baits before catching an afternoon flight home.
We should be entering the best part of our tarpon season as we head toward the full moon in June. After we get out of the westerly wind pattern that we will probably be in for a few days, tarpon should be hungry.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
|
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 11:38 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/18-5/25/2003
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/18 through 5/25/2003
Tarpon schools have been behaving like they sometimes do coming off of last weeks full moon. They have been fast moving and not showing well, making it tough for fly anglers to get a shot at them. Although this can be irritating, if you are committed to catch a tarpon on a fly you have to wait for the right school. Fast moving tarpon can be caught easier by casting a live crab or a DOA Swimming Mullet well out in front of them, however some of last weeks fish would have required a “Hail Mary” to get it there.
It is still early in our tarpon season, so this is a good time to discuss etiquette. Tarpon behavior is most affected by anglers running their outboards too close to the fish. After a school passes you, let them get at least a couple of hundred yards away and then make a wide arc around them, preferably to the deeper water side. Electric trolling motors can also spook fish if they are turned on and off when tarpon are close. The shallower the water, the more they will be affected. Even if you think you aren’t bothering tarpon by running your outboard or electric trolling motors, you are probably pushing them causing them to move faster and stay deeper. This is particularly true if you try to approach them from behind. It is much better to get one or two good “head on” shots.
Tarpon will usually travel on the same line on any given day, so even if they are fast moving and not showing well, try to be on the line that they are traveling and ready to make a quick cast. I have seen tarpon that were streaking by eat a fly, but it is much tougher to get it in their strike zone, especially if it is a perpendicular cast.
Veteran tarpon anglers that fish shallow water usually only use a push pole. The key is to figure their line of travel and anchor just up tide or up wind of that line. As tarpon approach, you can drop your anchor (with a float on the anchor line, of course) and maneuver in front of them. If you get your boat in the right spot, you may not have to move at all.
As we head toward next week’s new moon, tarpon schools should slow down and behave more calmly. Remember that this is big game fishing. You may not jump or land a fish every day, but when you do it’ll be worth it!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 9:53 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Rpt for 5/11-5/18/03
Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report for 5/11 through 5/18/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action with tarpon in the coastal gulf waters off Sarasota and Venice during the past week. Although they didn’t bite everyday, we had a couple of good days. Fly anglers did best, jumping a couple and fighting a couple to the boat. We also got bit a couple of times when we didn’t hook up. The best colors were black or black and purple.
A couple of fish were also jumped on the DOA Swimming Mullet on Monday. This lure can be cast a long distance and gets down in front of fish fast. They usually eat it as it drops in front of them. An angler on the Snook Fin-Addict on Tuesday had several bites on live crabs, but failed to hook up. An 80-pound tarpon was landed on a black and purple bunny fly on Thursday and another one ate a chartreuse fly but spit it out before he could be hooked. Tarpon got lockjaw on Friday, right on the full moon. Although there were plenty of fish and some beautiful schools, they wouldn’t eat a variety of live baits and lures.
One of the best trips of the week was on Wednesday with fly angler Rick Happle, from Tampa, FL. Rick’s goal was to catch a tarpon, his first ever, with a fly. He jumped an 80-pounder, a perfect size for a first tarpon, on a black and purple bunny fly and fought the fish all the way to the boat in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the 12-weight fly rod broke, causing the leader to part before we could put our hands on him. The most spectacular fish was a single, estimated at 120-pounds, that ate his fly 30-feet behind the boat and proceeded to put on an aerial show. The hot fish jumped a couple of times as it streaked away from us, burning Rick’s line hand in the process. It turned and charged the boat just as fast and splashed us as it jumped off right next to the boat!
As we head away from the full moon next week, tarpon schools should be happier. We are heading into the prime of our season, so if the weather will cooperate, tarpon fishing should turn on!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 6:30 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 05/14/03
May 14, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The Tarpon are here! Tarpon have started to school and move along the beaches in eight to twenty feet of water. Large live baitfish or crabs will work once you find the pod.
Kingfish action has slowed down but could pickup again through June. We have found plenty of Spanish mackerel action from the beach out to the "M" reefs as well as some on the Bay. Mangrove snapper are beginning to show along the beach reefs and should get better offshore, around the Cuda Hole.
Snook and redfish are building up around the docks but trout and mackerel on the grass-flats are still the fastest action. Ladyfish and jacks with occasional pompano, bluefish, snapper and flounder are filling in. You do need to bring a ruler along.
The most productive baits have been live large shrimp or fresh caught baitfish. We are finding plenty of baitfish from the bay out to "M-7" in fifty feet of water. If I am not taking along small whitebait (Pilchards), I like to take live shrimp offshore. This is to have smaller baits for snapper and Spanish mackerel and possible permit. Permits only eat crustaceans, shrimp, crabs, etc. They should start to show up on the reefs.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2003 - 9:17 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Rpt. for 5/4-5/11/03
Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report for 5/4 through 5/11/2003
Fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released redfish and snook during the past week. Although the numbers weren’t high, the fishing was rewarding since it was mostly sight fishing along mangrove shorelines. Night snook fishing with a fly was strong and tarpon are beginning to become dependable along the beaches.
Jeff Yonover, from Flossmoor, IL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday and Monday. We scouted the coastal gulf waters on Sunday morning and found a nice school of tarpon. Although we worked them with a fly for mare than an hour, they wouldn’t eat so we opted to fish the bay. With a very high tide, we found that fish were buried in the mangroves making catching them tough. Jeff caught and released one red on a chartreuse/white Clouser fly.
We stuck with the same game plan for Monday and Jeff’s wife, Melanie, joined us. After searching for about 3 hours and not finding any tarpon, we retreated to Sarasota Bay. Jeff pounded the mangroves hard with a fly and caught and released a snook and a redfish on a chartreuse/white Clouser fly.
Al Saunders, from Bradenton, FL, and Gordy Gottschalk, from Holmes Beach, FL, joined me for an evening snook trip in Venice on Tuesday evening. As soon as darkness fell, the action got hot. Snook were feeding heavily on glass minnows and shrimp around a dock in Blackburn Bay. The pair caught and released 10 or 12 snook on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Skitterbug flies. Not bad since it was their first time ever night snook fishing and a long time since their last fly fishing outing.
Thursday’s trip with a fly angler came up empty. We worked two nice schools of tarpon in the coastal gulf waters and despite getting 5 or 6 good shots at them, we had no takers. We spent a couple of hours in the bay working mangrove shorelines and had one redfish on, which broke off. A tough day! Sometimes early season tarpon can be finicky.
Jim Sloman, from Belmont, MA, and his son, Beck, fished with me on Saturday morning. Jim was armed with my 12-weight fly rod, while Beck backed him up with spinning tackle. We had a couple of schools give us a fleeting shot early and had some better shots later in the morning with a live crab, but nothing bit. In all, we worked about 4 schools. We moved to the bay to get some action before or day ended. Jim and Beck caught and released trout, bluefish, jack crevalle and ladyfish on Clouser flies and Cotee jigs with grubs at the Middleground flat.
The number of tarpon schools is increasing daily as we head toward a full moon next week. With the water temperature at 84 degrees in the gulf, tarpon fishing is due to explode. Flats fishing for reds, snook and trout should continue to be a good option, particularly early in the day.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 03, 2003 - 11:10 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/27 -5/3/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught a variety of fish during the past week. Fly anglers caught and released snook, trout, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and jack crevalle. Spin anglers caught and released trout, redfish, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and jack crevalle. The best action was on deep grass flats with trout, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel. Reds and snook on shallow flats were challenging, but a few nice reds were caught and released.
Monday’s trip with a fly angler in Sarasota Bay was tough. The goal was to sight-fish reds and snook only and they proved to be difficult. Other than a large snook that was hooked on an Enrico Puglisi Everglades Special fly early in the trip, we covered a lot of water and cast to reds that were unwilling to eat.
Jamie Jeffries and Darryl Rush, both from Dallas, TX, fished the same water with me on Tuesday with better results. They caught and released trout and ladyfish on jigs and a pair of reds to 27” on weedless-rigged CAL shad tails near Buttonwood Harbor. The best action was on the outgoing tide in the afternoon. The following day we fished the Terra Ceia Bay area to see if we could pick up the pace. They caught and released one red and numerous trout on CAL jigs and DOA shrimp.
One of the best trips of the week was with Bernie and Peggy Blanche, from Copperhill, TN. We fished Sarasota Bay and had great action with trout, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel on Cotee jigs with grubs and Clouser flies at the Middleground flat. We moved to a shallow flat near Bishop Point at the top of the tide and found reds and snook cruising a mangrove shoreline. They caught and released a pair of reds to 28” on weedless-rigged CAL shad tails. One of the most rewarding fish was a snook that was sight-fished on the edge of an oyster bar. The fish took an olive/white Clouser fly on the second cast. We watched her kick in the afterburner when she decided to eat!
Fly anglers, Seth Koch from Silver Springs, MD, and Bill Miller, from Monroe, LA, fished the same water with me on Friday. After a pre-dawn start to target snook under dock lights, which only produced a couple of ladyfish, we moved to the Middleground flat. They caught and released numerous trout, ladyfish and jack crevalle on Cotee jigs with grubs and Clouser flies. The shallow flats refused to give up any reds or snook, although we had numerous shots at fish cruising along mangrove shorelines.
Reports of tarpon along Sarasota area beaches are increasing. As we head toward the full moon on the 16th, I expect tarpon to become dependable. Strong outgoing tides in the afternoon and evening next week should be productive for snook and reds on the flats.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 11:09 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/20-4/27/2003
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/20 through 4/27/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught a variety of fish during the past week. Spin anglers caught snook, trout, redfish and Spanish mackerel. Fly anglers caught snook, trout, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish and jack crevalle. A front pushed through our area on Saturday morning and was preceded by strong winds making fishing challenging.
Bill and Mary Misischia, from Schererville, IN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. They had good action with trout to 17” and a couple of Spanish mackerel at the Middleground flat, Stephen’s Point and near Buttonwood Harbor caught on Cotee jigs with grubs and DOA shrimp
Dick Smith, from Sarasota, FL, and Arnold Braswell, from McLean, VA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. The goal was redfish, so we fished shallow flats and sand bars all morning on a rising tide. The caught a pair of reds to 26” and several trout near Buttonwood Harbor on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Phil and Brenda Rever, from Sarasota, FL, fished the same waters with me on Wednesday morning. Since they planned to fish the Sarasota CCA Photo All-Release Challenge on Saturday, we were scouting areas for them to fish. We fished Long Bar and the Buttonwood Harbor area where they caught several trout and ladyfish, a snook and a large jack crevalle. The jack was caught and released on an Enrico Puglisi fly and went deep in to the backing on Phil’s fly reel. That evening, Bill Crelin from Waukesh, WI, and his dad, Bill Crelin from Venice, FL fished “snook alley” in Venice with me. They caught and released about 15 snook to 25” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies, Skitterbug flies and live shrimp. Bill’s dad caught and released the largest fish of the evening, a 25” fish, on a live shrimp.
Fly angler, Bruce Bartlett, from CO, and his friend, Mike Farrell from Venice, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. We had some action in the morning with trout to 17”, ladyfish and a Spanish mackerel on Clouser flies, Enrico Puglisi flies and jigs at the Middleground flat and Stephen’s Point. We hunted reds in shallow water in the afternoon and the action died.
I spent a few hours on Friday morning scouting Sarasota Bay with my friend, Capt. Mark Nichols of DOA Fishing Lures, scouting for the Sarasota CCA Photo All-Release Challenge Fishing Tournament on Saturday. With southwest winds at about 20 mph and an approaching front, fishing spots were limited. We caught and released a red and a trout on a weedless-rigged CAL shad tail near Buttonwood Harbor.
Friday evening and Saturday culminated four months of planning and meetings for our fishing tournament. One hundred anglers fishing with identical boxes of lures and flies participated in the tournament with great results. We awoke to heavy rain and lightning on Saturday and most anglers had to delay their start as a result. Fishing was hot as many anglers had good catches, particularly with snook and redfish. Next weeks tides are favorable for flats fishing and tarpon should become dependable soon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 2:30 am: | |
April 20, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
Plenty of big kings are still being taken on the Seven! Kingfish have been caught on all of the artificial "M" reefs in forty to fifty feet of water.
Artificial reef "M-7" has been the hot spot for both hardware and live bait fishermen. It is also crowded with boats. You will find plenty of sharks and barracuda to help you catch the kings and add to the fun. Live shrimp,
pilchards, herring and bluerunners have all been good baits. Spanish mackerel, cobia and an occasional Sailfish have also showed up from time to time.
Bay fishing on the grass-flats has been good with a large variety of fish possible. Spanish mackerel and Seatrout are most numerous with pompano, bluefish, ladyfish, cobia and jacks jumping in at any time. One tarpon was hooked and fought for a half-hour on Stevens Point grass-flats last week. I have also seen some under the New Pass Bridge.
The average size of the trout has fallen. It is harder to find keepers but the number of mackerel caught has risen and many are about 24".
As always, I drift the flats and cast jigs or live bait. I have many options here depending on wind-speed/drift-speed and anglers skill, but anchoring is not one of them. My favorite method when using live bait is to cast a free-line in front of the boat's drift and slowly retrieve the slack line as the boat moves toward the bait. Leave enough slack in the line so as not to pull the bait but take enough slack up so that you can see the line move if a fish takes the bait.
For the less experienced angler, I use a Drag and Drop method. You let the line out behind the drift. Force about ten feet of slack line out at a time and let the drift of the boat take up this slack. Repeat this as soon as the slack is gone. Most pickups will occur when the line is slack and the shrimp is sinking.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website:
http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
Thank You!
Capt. Bob Smith-----(941) 366-2159
Sarasota Saltwater Sportfishing Guide
http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 11:20 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota & Lower Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report
Sarasota & Lower Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report for 4/11 through 4/20/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught a variety of fish during the past week. Although there were some tough days during the middle of the week, fishing was strong toward the end of the week. Call it full moon-it is or whatever, but fish were not aggressive on the days surrounding the full moon. Although tides are good, maybe fish are feeding at night? Anglers caught trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle on deep grass flats and reds and snook in skinny water. In addition, cobia prowled the edges of bars and deep grass flats giving anglers several shots and one hook up.
Sarasota winter residents, Norm and Francie Boardman, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. They caught and released numerous trout to 18” on jigs and DOA shrimp.
Fly angler, Nick Reding from St. Louis, MO, fished Terra Ceia Bay with me on Tuesday. The goal was to wade and sight-fish with a fly and it proved to be tough. Nick got numerous shots at reds and snook, several follows and many refusals. He finally landed a red on a pink over white Clouser fly. The hungry red was competing with a snook that was also trying to eat the fly. After all the fish that wouldn’t eat, two were trying to eat the same fly. Go figure? Thursdays trip with a fly angler was equally challenging. We pounded the mangroves all afternoon, had several follows and no takers.
John Leutner, from Herndon, VA, fished the same area with me on Wednesday. Although it was still tough, he finished the day with a pair of reds to 24”, a 23” snook, several trout and a Spanish mackerel. All fish were caught and released with CAL jigs with shad tails, Exude slugs and DOA shrimp.
Bob Cimarusti, from Oak Park, IL, had a good day in Sarasota Bay on Friday. He caught several Spanish mackerel, trout to 20”, jack crevalle to 6-pounds and a pair of reds to 27”. Most fish were caught on jigs with a variety of plastic tails, although the jacks aggressively took a MirrOlure Top Dog, Jr. plug. He also hooked a large cobia that was trying to eat a bluefish that he had on. Unfortunately, the bluefish had nicked the leader, which resulted in the cobia breaking off on the leader. Oh well!
Bill Roth, from Longboat Key, FL and his kids Will and Kerrie, both from Columbus, OH, fished the same area with me on Saturday. They caught and released numerous trout, including several slot-size fish to 18” and bluefish to 3-pounds. Will had a shot at a big cobia but didn’t hook up.
Next weeks strong incoming tides in the morning should be good for reds on the flats. If you haven’t yet signed up for the Sarasota Photo All-Release Challenge, there is still time to do so. The event will be next Saturday, April 26, with an angler meeting on Friday evening, April 25. You can contact me at (941) 923-7799 or e-mail snookfin@aol.com for details and an application.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 5:12 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 04/14/03
April 14, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
We finally got some bad weather so I could knock out a report. The fishing has not changed much in the last few weeks. Kingfish are still hot on the "M" reefs in forty to fifty feet of water. We also had a few good days in twenty-five feet of water off of Lido beach. Live bait is the top gun here. From live shrimp to bluerunners, all have produced plenty of kings. There are plenty of Spanish mackerel and large barracuda in with the kings. An occasional cobia and a few sailfish have also been in the mix at the fifty-foot depth.
Running further offshore to the 70+ depths has found grouper and snapper on the hard bottom and amberjacks on the artificial reefs. The Red tide is still a factor in keeping your bait alive. You still need to grab it wherever you find it because the bait is playing "Hide N' Go Seek" out on the reefs.
Inshore on the bay, the fishing has been excellent! Not 24/7, but the best it has been in years. Seatrout and Spanish mackerel have been hot on the grass-flats. Along with them we found some pompano, bluefish, cobia and ladyfish. We did have a couple of slow days but left the bay Wednesday afternoon with the mackerel action very strong on the flats. We were fishing on Steven's Point grass-flats and drifting with live shrimp. It was non-stop action with the mackerel and a few nice trout, bluefish and ladyfish mixed in. This day we got mackerel up to three pounds but recently we had gotten them up to six pounds. All of the grass-flats have had good fishing but not always at the same time so you may need to move around to keep up.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 11:15 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota &Venice, FL Fishing Rpt for 4/6-4/11/03
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught trout, redfish, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and snook during the past week. The highlight of the week was a tarpon, the first of the season, which was jumped on Wednesday. Wind was a problem on Thursday and Friday as another front pushed through the area. Hopefully it will be the last, but that’s what the weather forecasters said about the last front.
Charlie Alexander, from Longboat Key, FL, and his guest fished Monday and Tuesday with me in Sarasota Bay. They managed a pair of reds, several trout and a flounder on Clouser flies and CAL jigs near Buttonwood Harbor on Monday. We fished further south on Tuesday and they caught and released numerous trout on flies and jigs near the Ringling flats.
Fly anglers, Larry Ford from Longboat Key, FL, and Pete Moilinari, from Sarasota, FL, fished an evening trip in Venice with me on Tuesday evening. They caught and released 7 or 8 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies in Blackburn Bay.
The best trip of the week was on Wednesday morning with Sarasota winter residents, Ernie Gray and Roger Lalonde. They caught about 30 trout, including 6 slot-size trout to 18”, bluefish and a Spanish mackerel near the Ringling flats. Roger jumped an estimated 90-pound tarpon on a DOA shrimp. The tarpon hit close to the boat, left a huge boil and almost spooled his 2000 size Shimano Stradic reel on its initial run. Roger fought the fish with 10-pound test Power Pro line on a 6 ½ foot light-spinning rod for 30 minutes. After 4 jumps, the fish broke off. That’ll make your heart thump!
Wednesday evening, Thursday and Friday’s trips were cancelled due to up to 30 mph winds. There was also a touch of red tide in the ICW north of the Venice Inlet on Wednesday evening. Next weeks tides are favorable for flats fishing as we head toward a full moon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 10:12 am: | |
Subject: Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 3/29-4/6/03
Wind and rain following a strong front last Sunday affected fishing early last week. We had 25-30 mph winds on Monday and by Tuesday morning, water temperatures had dropped from the mid 70’s to the high 50’s. Brrrr! Hopefully, this is our last blast of cold weather for the season. Needless to say, fishing was negatively affected by the front.
Fly angler, John Wolfstaetter from New York City, and his dad, Paul Wolfstaetter from Valley Stream, NY, fished with me on Sunday and Tuesday. John caught and released a small red on a chartreuse/white Clouser fly in Turtle Bay at Charlotte Harbor on Sunday. Despite the approaching front, fish did not bite well. I changed our game plan for Tuesday and we headed north to Terra Ceia Bay in lower Tampa Bay. Although we had shots at lots of reds with jigs and flies during the afternoon, they weren’t interested in eating. They caught and released several trout late in the afternoon just to bend the rod.
Fly angler, Mike Perez from Richmond, IN, fished Charlotte Harbor with guests from Lafayette, IN on Monday, where they caught jacks and ladyfish on Cotee jigs with grubs in Bull Bay. Jeff Hanna, also from Richmond, IN, joined Mike on Thursday. Except for a large red that Mike hooked early on a weedless-rigged CAL jerk worm they still had lock jaw. They had lots of shots at reds with flies in Turtle Bay during the afternoon, but no takers. They caught and released small trout and jack crevalle on Clouser flies in the backcountry and landed a couple of 18” trout at Cape Haze.
One of the best trips of the week was in Sarasota Bay with Tom Kosturik, from Park Ridge, IL, on Wednesday. Tom caught 3 reds to 26” and 2 snook to 24” on CAL jigs with shad tails and Exude slugs near Buttonwood Harbor. Although not the biggest fish, the most exciting was a red was sight-fished on top of a sand bar in a foot of water!
Long time friend and client, Pat Campbell from Toronto, OH, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay on Saturday. We began to catch nice trout in shallow water near Buttonwood Harbor, so we stuck with it. We caught and released about 15 trout, most of which were between 18”-22”. We caught trout on the edge of a bar on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms and in deeper water on an Enrico Puglisi Everglades Special fly. The largest trout, including a 4-pounder, were caught with flies. We also caught and released a pair of reds on CAL jigs with shad tails to finish the day.
Next weeks tides will improve as we head toward the full moon. I look for a good bite with reds in the morning and a good snook bite in the afternoon and evening with the strong outgoing tide.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 12:51 pm: | |
Subject: Sarasota Area Backcountry Report
Spring's here and the action's been good, as usual for this time of year. Water temperatures are on the rise and the fish are reacting. The best news is still by far the numbers of slot-size, and larger trout that have been landed and released. Weather, as in a few showers and windy days, has dictated where and what to target, call it the rites of spring.
In Sarasota, snook, reds and large trout have been up on the skinny flats bashing topwater lures and flies in North Sarasota Bay. Redfish and trout have been busting top water baits and spoons for spin anglers, and Clouser Minnows and gurgler surface flies on the east side near the Ringling flats and on the west side around Buttonwood Harbor. Most redfish have been in the 3 to 4 pound class with the largest weighing in at 9 pounds. Best trout was 4 1/2 pounds.
Trout action is still great on the deeper edges of most flats. There are plenty of small ones out there, but the percentage of big fish caught and released on most trips has been outstanding. Spanish mackerel to 6 pounds, jacks to 8, bluefish to 4 pounds and several ladyfish are in the same areas taking Clousers, gurglers and bendbacks for fly anglers and spoons, soft plastic jigs and topwater lures for spin. In other words, they'll eat most anything worked their way.
In the Charlotte Harbor area, redfish, trout, ladyfish and Spanish Mackerel have been providing the best action. On lower tides and calmer days, redfish have been tailing and taking flies, gold spoons and the occasional top water lure on shallow flats around Gasparilla Sound. Spanish mackerel, trout, small cobia, jacks, ladyfish, and a few bluefish have been taking flies and soft plastics on the deeper grass in the same areas.
Redfish, snook, trout, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish are the best bets in areas around Lower Tampa Bay. Redfish, snook and trout action has been decent from Terra Ceia to Joe Bays. Mackerel, trout, bluefish and ladyfish have also been bashing top water's, spoons and soft plastics around the Skyway Bridge and Rattlesnake Key.
Thanks,
Capt. Kevin Chamberlain
http://www.flatsangler.com
(941) 366-FISH (3474) |
Capt. Rick Grassett
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 2:12 pm: | |
Subject: Southwest FL Fishing Report for 3/22-3/39/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past week. Spin and fly anglers caught and released trout, Spanish mackerel and large jack crevalle in Sarasota Bay. Reds, trout and snook were caught and released on the flats of lower Tampa Bay in the Terra Ceia Bay area. One day in Charlotte Harbor produced trout, ladyfish and a nice snook on flies and a dozen snook were caught and released on flies on an evening trip in Venice.
Sarasota winter resident, Jack Miller, and his son-in-law, Mark, fished Sarasota Bay with me last Sunday. It was a windy day, but they managed a decent catch of trout on jigs that included several slot-size fish. Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH, and Gene Leverone, from Lynnfield, MA, fish “snook alley” with me on Sunday evening They caught and released about 12 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow, Enrico Puglisi’s shrimp and Skitterbug flies.
Rick Peregord, from Southgate, MI, and his son, Bill Peregord from Chicago, IL, fished 3 days with me last week. Their best action was in the Terra Ceia Bay area where they caught and released 7 reds, 3 snook, several trout and flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails and grubs over the course of 2 days.
Fly angler, Scott Swango from Springfield, MO, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Wednesday. It was a tough day with not much action in the morning. We fished potholes in flats and mangrove shorelines with only a few, trout, ladyfish and a jack for our efforts. We moved to a sand bar outside Turtle Bay and found reds and snook, but they were too spooky to catch from the boat. We waded the bar and Scott sight-fished a 25” snook in crystal clear water on white sand. The snook took a chartreuse/white Clouser and made several nice runs before posing for a picture with Scott.
Tom Klein, from Longboat Key, FL and his son, Jon Klein from Detroit, MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. They caught numerous trout to 18” near Buttonwood Harbor and a pair of jacks in the 10-pound class at the Middleground flat on Cotee jigs with grubs. Fly anglers, Lew Murray from Williamsburg, MI, his daughter, Kendall, and son-in-law, Nate, fished the same area with me on Friday afternoon. They had great action with trout to 18” on Ultra Hair Clouser flies near Buttonwood Harbor. They also caught and released a nice Spanish mackerel near the Ringling flat. Nate had never fly fished before stepping on the boat, but with some instruction he was casting 40 feet and catching fish on flies.
Next weeks tides are favorable for flats fishing as we head toward the new moon. A front forecast to pass through our area tomorrow could make fishing challenging early in the week.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
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Capt. Bob Smith
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 7:13 am: | |
Subject: Sarasota Fla, Fishing Report 03/24/03
March 24, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The Kings are in! King mackerel showed up in good numbers on most of the artificial "M" reefs a few days ago. Reefs 6 and 5 have been focal points but all of the "M" reefs show promise. The reefs are also loaded with barracuda to help eat the kings. Hardware and live bait are both working. Some other interesting fish caught along with the kings have been one sailfish, cobia to 30 lbs. and a jack crevalle to 35 lbs.
The bay grass-flats are still producing fine catches of trout with a few over twenty inches. Spanish mackerel, pompano, bluefish and a few cobia have been caught along with the trout while fishing the flats. Live shrimp seems to be the best bait but whitebait, jigs or flies are also working. Snook fishing has also picked up with some nice single fish for the sportsmen or numbers for the fishermen who chum.
Wind and rain have been a problem for the last couple of days on both the Bay and Gulf, but the weekend looks good.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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Capt. Bob Smith (Capt_bob_smith)
New member
Username: Capt_bob_smith
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 - 4:14 am: | |
October 19, 2003
Sarasota Fla. Fishing Report
By Capt. Bob Smith
The fall run is on! Friday morning we found the water flat along the beach and the "I" reefs. Large kingfish, little tunny, barracuda and Spanish mackerel were smashing large schools of baitfish, including some little schools of small ballyhoo. Cobia and bull reds were also prowling the area. The Spanish were chewing hard on the closer reefs but the big kings were picky and probably feeding on the Spanish. We fished "Lost" reef and found some cobia. Bill Sjoblom landed a nice fish just under thirty pounds on light tackle. This cobia took a bluerunner on the way in.
Large kings up to thirty pounds were also caught around the "Cuda Hole". Snapper and grouper are regularly being caught in this area and most of the "M" reefs when using live bait on the bottom.
The fishing slowed for us around mid day but started to pickup with the Westerly in the afternoon. Bay fishing has been very good but not 24/7. Redfish, Snook, trout, Spanish mackerel and some nice pompano are being caught regularly but will have highs and lows. Snook and reds are showing up around the docks and behind Otter Key. The rest of our action has been on the grass-flats. Steven's Point and Country Club Shores have been two good spots.
Enjoy and Protect
For more information on Sarasota's Sportfishing, please visit my Website: http://www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com
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