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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
April 11, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
SW Florida Fishing Report for 4/4 through 4/11/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released trout, reds and snook during the past week. The best action was not with numbers of fish, but with quality snook in the Terra Ceia Bay area. Trout fishing was dependable on the deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Reds were plentiful in Charlotte Harbor, but not aggressive.
Fly angler Mike Perez, from Richmond, IN, fished Gasparilla Sound with me on Monday. We waded a sand bar where he had numerous shots at reds, but no takers. Mike caught and released several ladyfish and trout on Clouser flies fishing deep grass flats outside of Bull and Turtle Bays.
Mike and his guest, Phil Scott from Richmond, IN, fished Terra Ceia Bay with me on Thursday. Fish were more aggressive in this area, particularly snook. Mike and Phil caught and released 6 snook, including a 28” and a 30” snook, on CAL jigs with Exude Slugs. Mike caught one of the snook and a 3-pound trout on flies. Also included in the catch were several other trout caught and released on CAL jigs with shad tails.
John Saitta and his son, Tyler, from Huntingdon Valley, PA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. Reds behaved the same way that they did in Charlotte Harbor on Monday, following the fly but not eating. John had numerous shots at cruising reds with a variety of flies but no bites. They caught and released more than a dozen trout to 3-pounds on Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails near Buttonwood Harbor.
John Leutner, from Herndon, VA, fished the Terra Ceia Bay area of lower Tampa Bay with me on Wednesday. John caught and released a slam, which included a pair of snook to 27”, a pair of reds to 24” and a 23” trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and the DOA Deadly combo rig. We still found reds to be very spooky.
John Wolfstaetter, from New York City and his dad, Paul Wolfstaetter from Valley Stream, NY, fished Charlotte Harbor with me on Friday. They caught and released numerous ladyfish on Clouser flies and CAL jigs in Gasparilla sound in the morning. We worked a small pod of tarpon that were rolling and laid up in 4-foot deep bay, but had no takers. Reds continued their trend of being noncommittal, following John’s flies but not biting. He did have one take a chartreuse/white Clouser fly that was cast to a shadow line along a mangrove shoreline.
Fly angler, Andy Cotton from Sarasota, FL, joined me for an evening snook trip on Saturday. We caught and released several snook to 22” on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Skitterbug flies near Venice.
Next week’s tides improve toward the end of the week. I look for good action on the flats with trout, snook and reds. In addition, be prepared for tarpon, which are arriving in our area now. They may frequent deep bays and can best be located either rolling or laid up when the water is calm.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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