Albie Action Still Hot in Sarasota
Capt. Rick Grassett
October 30, 2010
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers fishing with me on my flats skiff the Snook fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout, snook, flounder, blues, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and reds during the past couple of weeks. The fastest action continues to be in the coastal gulf with little tunny. Spanish mackerel are also plentiful but we actually avoided mackerel schools in lieu of their much stronger cousins.
Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL, and Dale Vollrath, from Sarasota, FL, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Mon, 10/18. They caught and released trout, snook and a nice flounder and red on CAL jigs with shad tails. Jon Roberson, from Cortez, FL, his brother and dad fished Sarasota Bay with me on Weds, 10/20. They had fast action at Stephens Point and near Buttonwood Harbor with numerous trout and about 6 bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Jamie Grow, from the Washington, DC area, night snook fished with me in the ICW near Venice on Friday evening, 10/22. He caught and released 10 or 12 snook to 22" on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
Capt. John Hand, of Redfish Landing Guide Service in Ruskin, FL, and Dr. Ben Estes, from Augusta, GA, fished the coastal gulf off Siesta Key with me on Monday, 10/25. John was the successful bidder on the trip, which was donated to the Florida Council of Federation of Fly Fishers. They caught and released 4 little tunny in the 8 to 10-pound class and had a couple of other hook ups on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We fished the west side of Sarasota Bay in the afternoon and caught and released a few trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.
David and Linda Kornreich, from Orlando, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday and Thursday. David caught and released numerous trout to 18" and small gag grouper on Ultra Hair Clouser flies at Stephens Point. He also connected with a nice red on a spoon fly and after a couple of short, head shaking runs had the fish alongside the boat.
Good tides as we approach a new moon and this weekend's front should make fishing good next week. Action should continue to be good in both the coastal gulf for little tunny, Spanish and king mackerel and in Sarasota Bay for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more. As the water cools, fish will be on the move and feeding.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Capt. Rick Grassett's Fishing Forecast for November 2010
Fall fishing will peak this month as hungry schools of Spanish and king mackerel and little tunny feed on southbound baitfish schools in the coastal gulf. Tripletail and cobia will also be options in the same areas. Look for reds and trout in skinny water and you should also find snook staging around sand bars on shallow flats as they move towards their wintertime haunts.
Snook season remains closed this month due to special action taken by the Florida FWC, although there should be great catch and release action. Handle them gently and use tackle heavy enough to land them quickly. You'll find them in the ICW around lighted docks and bridges where they will feed on glass minnows and small shrimp. I like to fish the ICW from Sarasota to Venice for snook at night. Small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, Gurglers and shrimp patterns will all work well. Fish peak tidal flows with intermediate or intermediate sink tip fly lines. Spin anglers should score with CAL jigs with shad tails.
You'll also find snook staging around sand and oyster bars in north Sarasota Bay as they move towards rivers and creeks where many of them will spend the winter. I usually use larger lures and flies to duplicate baits found in these areas. Deceivers, EP flies and CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms would be my fly and lure choices. Fish seams where grass meets sand along the edges of bars and potholes.
Reds will spread out on shallow flats where you'll find them along mangrove shorelines and around oyster bars when the tide is high. Look for them in potholes and edges of flats at low tides, particularly where there is a significant drop off. The negative low tides from Nov. 5-10 and 19-27 should be good for reds in potholes. I like to use CAL jigs with a variety of tails and weighted flies, like my Grassett Flats Minnow. A DOA shrimp rigged weedless and fished backwards is a good lure to fish potholes and the shallow grass that surrounds them. They can be very challenging, especially with a fly, depending on conditions.
Trout fishing should be strong this month. You'll find them on shallow grass flats in many of the same areas where you'll find reds and snook this month. I would use the same lures and flies for trout that I use for reds. You'll also find them on deep grass flats mixed with blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano. I like to drift and cast ahead of the boat with CAL jigs or weighted flies fished on sinking or sink tip fly lines to locate them. You may see surface activity this time of year, such as diving birds or breaking fish, which makes it easier to locate fish. If that's not happening, I make several drifts across a flat until I locate fish and then shorten my drift as I get dialed into them. Casting fly poppers and top water plugs are good techniques to make fish show themselves. You'll need to use wire or heavy fluorocarbon when toothy fish, such as blues and mackerel, are present.
You might also find pompano, blues and Spanish mackerel in passes where you'll need to use heavier jigs and faster sinking fly lines, such as 300 or 350 grain Depth Charge fly lines. These fly lines have 30' of fast sinking fly line with intermediate (slower sinking) fly line behind it. Drift with the tide and vertical jig with spinning tackle or cast perpendicular to the drift when fly fishing to get your fly close to the bottom.
Along the beach, usually a few hundred yards from shore to no more than a mile offshore, look for schools of breaking fish that could include Spanish and king mackerel and little tunny. Watch which way the birds are moving to get ahead of fish and let them come to you. They often move so fast that they are gone if you cast to where you see them, so you need to cast to where they are headed. Avoid getting too close to schools of breaking fish with your boat or you may put them down. Stop your boat parallel to moving schools of fish so that you can effectively move your fly or lure. If you don't find them on the surface, try drifting over one of the many artificial or natural reefs in the coastal gulf to find them.
You might also encounter cobia or tripletail when fishing in the coastal gulf. Look for tripletail and cobia around crab trap floats and buoys. Cobia might also be free swimming on the surface or hanging over structure. I would use DOA shrimp or CAL jigs for tripletail on spinning tackle and a slow sinking fly on a floating or sink tip fly line for tripletail. Cobia are suckers for bigger baits, such as DOA Baitbusters, BFL's or CAL jigs with 5" jerk worms. Fly anglers should score with large profile baitfish patterns, such as EP Peanut Butter flies. The key to being successful is to be rigged up and ready for these fish, so that when they show up you can make a quick presentation.
This is a great month to fish both flats and the coastal gulf. I like to fish the coastal gulf when conditions are good since there are many different things you might encounter there. If conditions aren't good in the gulf, there should be plenty of action on shallow and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Whatever you choose to do, limit your kill, don't kill your limit!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Target Species:
Little tunny, Spanish mackerel, blues, trout, reds, snook, flounder, pompano
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