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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
February 7, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 2/1 through 2/7/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week with trout and bluefish. Trout were the most reliable on the edges of bars and adjacent grass flats. Water temperatures warmed to the high 60’s at the end of the week and snook moved onto the flats to feed.
Fly anglers, Pat Bennett from Springfield, OH, and Lou Hoskyns, from Spartanburg, SC, fished a pre dawn snook trip near Venice with me on Tuesday morning. Although snook were our goal, we found bluefish feeding heavily near the Venice Inlet. When blues move onto a spot, they will often push the snook out. They caught and released 6 bluefish to 5-pounds and a couple of snook on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies. Later that morning, I fished north Sarasota Bay near the Sister Keys and Bishop Point with Sarasota winter residents, Harry Beaty and Tom Schalk. We did well with trout, catching more than 15 , including 5 slot size fish between 17” and 19”. CAL jigs with jerk worms accounted for most of the fish.
Fly anglers, Pat Campbell from Toronto, OH, and Gene Leverone, from Lynnfield, MA, fished Palma Sola Bay with me on Wednesday morning. They had good action early in the day catching and releasing numerous trout and ladyfish on Clouser and bendback flies. Fly angler, Jeff Barnum from Stratham, NH, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on Thursday. We fished potholes in Bull and Turtle Bays and had a good day catching and releasing a couple of reds, several trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies. He also had several shots at tailing reds.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL and Bill Graham, from Lake Bluff, IL, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. We had a good bite along the bar on the east side of Sarasota Bay near Bowlees Creek for the first couple of hours. They caught a 27” snook, a pair of reds and about ten trout to 20” on CAL jigs with the new grub tail. The snook was caught on the first cast of the day on a CAL jig with a gold grub. The wind really cranked up by mid morning and killed the action. Fly angler, Charlie Bloom from New York City, fished with me during the afternoon. We headed south of the Ringling Causeway to find protected water where he caught and released ladyfish and trout on Clouser flies fished on an intermediate fly line.
Next week’s tides are favorable for trout and reds on the flats. Fly fishing for snook and bluefish at night should also be a good option.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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