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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
January 18, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southwest, FL Fishing Report for 1/10 through 1/18/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week. The best action was with snook at night on flies near Venice and trout in Charlotte Harbor. Reds and snook in shallow water continue to be challenging due to gin-clear water, although we are catching a few reds.
Fly anglers, Bernie Feinberg from Sarasota, FL, and David Schofield, from Elmira, NY, snook fished with me on Monday evening near Venice. The tide was slow, so snook fed selectively but steady. They caught and released 18 snook to 23” and a small redfish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Fly angler, Nick Reding from St. Louis, MO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday afternoon. We worked potholes for reds in north Sarasota Bay with an olive bendback and had a few shots at fish but no bites. We dropped out to deeper water and worked a bar near Buttonwood Harbor where Nick caught and released several trout on a chartreuse/white Ultra Hair Clouser.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, Victor Feldman, from Champagne, IL and Jack Lyons, from Chicago, IL fished Bull and Turtle Bays in Charlotte Harbor with me on Wednesday. They caught more than 40 trout to 19”, several reds and ladyfish and a flounder on chartreuse CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms. About 2/3 of the trout were in the 16”-18” class and were caught out of holes at the bottom of the tide. We saw many large reds ands snook that also spotted us long before we could get a shot at them. A great day!
Fly anglers, Scott Heidler from Hudson, OH, and Brad Symonds, from Atlanta, GA, fished a pre dawn/morning snook/flats trip with me in the Venice area on Thursday morning. The tide was slow to start but once it picked up speed the snook turned on. They worked dock and bridge fender lights and caught and released 13 snook to 23” and 4 bluefish to 18” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies. After daylight, we worked a couple of oyster bars in Little Sarasota Bay. Due to the crystal clear water and poor light, they opted to cast CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms to make longer casts and cover more water. They finished the day with a few large ladyfish.
Fly angler, Owen Pepper from Virginia Beach, VA, honed his casting skills with some private casting instruction on Friday afternoon and then headed for the water with me for an evening snook trip. Already an experienced caster, we worked on distance by tightening the casting loop and the timing of the double haul. The tide was slow at first and the snook didn’t bite very well. However, it finally started to move and they started to bite before our trip was done. Owen caught and released about a dozen snook to 23”, a ladyfish and a mangrove snapper on Grassett’s Grass Minnow fly. Owen added another species of fish to the list of fish he’s caught with a fly, his first snook!
We had another successful Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Saturday. Rusty Chinnis, also an FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor, and I were the instructors for the one-day course. Participants received instruction in the classroom and in the field on fly casting, leader construction, knots and fly selection.
Next week’s negative low tides in the morning should concentrate reds and trout in potholes. Evening tides are also favorable for snook at night.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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