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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
March 6, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 3/1 through 3/6/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action during the past week with Spanish mackerel and bluefish in Sarasota Bay. In addition, we caught trout to 3-pounds, reds to 6-pounds, bluefish and pompano.
Fly angler, Nick Reding from St. Louis, MO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. We had great action at the Middleground and Radio Tower flats. He caught more than 15 Spanish mackerel to 2-pounds, 3 pompano, bluefish and trout on long shank mackerel flies. We also caught several nice trout along the west side of Sarasota Bay on the same flies.
Pieter Thomassen, from Holmes Beach, FL, and Tom Edsall, from Ann Arbor, MI, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday. They caught more than 15 trout to 18” on CAL jigs with grubs and Clouser flies near the Three Sister Keys and in Bull Bay. We spent some time hunting reds and found some but they wouldn’t eat a fly or jig.
Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, and Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. They had a great morning with Spanish mackerel and bluefish at the Middleground flat catching more than 40 fish before moving to shallow water to hunt for reds, snook and trout. They caught and released 4 reds to 6-pounds on CAL jigs with shad tails on the east side of Sarasota Bay from Stephens Point to the Whitfield area.
Bill and Margaret Redman, from Bellevue, WA, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay on Thursday. Bill is an accomplished fly angler and had reds and snook on his mind, but the bite for Spanish mackerel was too hot to ignore so we spent a couple of hours targeting them. He caught and released several Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish and trout on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly. We shifted gears and moved to shallow water to hunt reds and snook about mid morning. We worked the west side of Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor where Bill caught and released a couple of nice trout and one redfish on a chartreuse/white Clouser. Five species of fish on a fly!
My brother, Kirk Grassett from Bear, DE, is visiting for a few days and we fished Sarasota Bay on Friday morning. The bite had slowed a little, but we caught and released several Spanish mackerel to 4-pounds, bluefish and large ladyfish on Unique Hair Clouser flies. The wind kicked up out of the south about mid morning so we headed for the west side of Sarasota Bay, which offers some protection from a south wind. I poled Kirk down a bar near Bishop Point and he caught and released a couple of nice trout to 3-pounds on a brown/tan Clouser fly.
Next week’s tides are favorable for snook fishing at night around lighted docks and bridge fenders. Fly fishing is still the most productive technique due to the smaller baits that they are feeding on. The flats have warmed up nicely and four tide days next week should mean good flats fishing for reds, trout and snook. The Spanish mackerel bite should also continue as long as the water temperature stays in the high 60’s to low 70’s.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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