Good Action on Sarasota Bay Grass Flats
Capt. Rick Grassett
November 20, 2016
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
I hosted a group of friends and clients at Mars Bay Bonefish Lodge in South Andros, Bahamas during the week of 11/5, so I don't have a Sarasota report for that week. We had a couple of very windy days, which can happen in the tropics, but we had sunny conditions most days. The weather and tides improved to near perfect conditions as the week went by. We had great action with bonefish with some 4 and 5-lb fish in the mix. Larger bonefish were in the 6 to 7-pound class and a couple of anglers caught and released bonefish of 9 and 10-lbs respectively. Top producing flies during the week were Ververka's Mantis Shrimp, Greg's Flats Fly and Gotchas. It was a great trip to a great lodge! You can see a full report of this trip on the Destination Trips page of my web site at, http://www.snookfin-addict.com/destination-fishing-trips/ .
Anglers fishing Sarasota Bay with me during the past week, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, trout, redfish and blues on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails. Action was steady on deep grass flats on the east side of the bay.
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL, waded a Sarasota Bay shallow flat with me on Monday and we caught and released trout on an EP style fly. Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland and Roy Glah, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday afternoon. They caught and released trout and blues on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Shrimp and DOA Deadly Combos.
Anna Maria Island and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple had good action with trout and blues on Ultra Hair Clouser flies while fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. We also spent some time in the coastal gulf and found a few false albacore working off Lido Key.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday afternoon. We fished skinny water and he had good action catching and releasing trout, jacks, redfish and a couple of snook to complete his slam on CAL jigs with shad tails and weedless-rigged CAL shad tails. When you fish hard it often pays off!
Capt. Ed Hurst and I were the instructors for a CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed Fly fishing School on Saturday. Students received instruction in fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. Students also learned leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. Contact CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or [email protected] to make reservations for the next school.
Snook, reds and trout in skinny water and trout, blues and more on deep grass flats should be good options. Night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures should also be a good option. There may be some action in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny) as the water cools down and baitfish school up along the beaches. Tripletail should also show up since stone crab traps are now in the coastal gulf, increasing the amount of available structure for them.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
IFFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide at CB's Saltwater Outfitters
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