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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
February 15, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 2/8 through 2/15/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week with trout and reds on the flats of north Sarasota Bay. The best action was fly fishing for snook at night. Snook gorged themselves on glass minnows and small shrimp and even a redfish got in on the action.
Troy Ball, from Tarpon Springs, FL, and Pet Janak, from Sarasota, FL, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. The action wasn’t fast, but it was steady. They caught and released 3 small reds and about 15 trout on CAL jigs with grubs. Many of the trout were in the 17” to 18” class with the largest going about 4-pounds. We fished sand bars on the east side of Sarasota Bay north of the Ringling mansion and the west side from Buttonwood Harbor to south of Bishop Point. They also picked up a small bluefish on the deep grass outside the bar.
Paul and Jackie Grosso, from Arlington, VA, fished Bull and Turtle Bays in Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday. We spent most of the day targeting reds. Although we found lots of them, they were tough to approach in the clear shallow water and even tougher to catch. We had several shots at tailing reds with weedless-rigged jerk worms but they didn’t bite. We did catch and release numerous trout to 18” near the Three Sisters Keys on CAL jigs with a variety of plastic tails.
Fly angler, Pat Campbell from Toronto, OH, joined me for an evening snook trip in the Venice area on Wednesday evening. Snook went on a feeding binge and gorged themselves on glass minnows. We weren’t counting fish, but we must have caught and released about 40 snook to 23”, a couple of ladyfish and a 28” redfish on my tiny Grassett’s Grass Minnow fly. The fly is tied on a #4 hook and duplicates the glass minnows that the snook were keyed in on.
On Thursday afternoon, fly angler John Wilson, from University Park, FL, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay. John recently participated in one of our Orvis-Endorsed fly casting schools at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters and wanted to try his skills on the flats. We fished deep grass flats near Markers 5, 6 and 7 south of the Ringling Causeway. John caught and released several trout and a Spanish mackerel on Clouser flies fished on an intermediate fly line. That evening fly angler Bryan Beebe, from Sarasota, FL, and Anita Fodor, also from Sarasota, FL, joined me for a snook trip in Venice. The action was a little slower than the previous night, but still a good trip. They caught and released more than 15 snook to 23” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies.
Don and Barbara Ecker, from Ft. Lee, NJ, snook fished with me on Friday evening. The tide was slow to start, but once it got going the snook began to feed. They managed to catch and release about 10 snook to 23” on my snook fly before we called it a night.
Next weeks tides will be favorable for reds and trout on the flats toward the end of the week as we approach the new moon. Fly fishing for snook at night should also be hot as long as you fish when the tide is moving fast.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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