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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
June 13, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 5/31 through 6/13/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict have had great action off Sarasota area beaches with tarpon during the past couple of weeks. So far, this has been one of the better tarpon seasons that we’ve had for the past couple of years. A good weather pattern, plentiful fish and not a lot of fishing pressure are the factors that have made it so good. Even on days when there were a lot of anglers fishing the beach, they have mostly been courteous and observed the rules of etiquette for tarpon fishing.
Coming off the full moon of June 4, tarpon schooled nicely and were happy. “Happy fish” move slowly, stay high in the water column and feed aggressively. Over the past 10 days, anglers have landed 10 out of 23 tarpon jumped. More than half of the tarpon caught and released were 100-pounds or more, with the larger ones going 115, 120, 130 and 140-pounds. Almost all of the anglers have fished with live crabs on spinning tackle although many of the schools would have been perfect to toss a fly at.
Craig Purse, from Green Oaks, IL, fly fished for tarpon on one of the days last weekend. Most fish were moving fast that day and not giving us good shots. We did have a few good shots but not at the right school of tarpon. Fly anglers, Dave Wahl from Sterling, IL, and his son Robert Wahl, from Bradenton, FL, also tried their hand at it one day but we were chased into the bay by thunderstorms. Making the best of the situation, Dave and Robert had good action catching and releasing numerous trout to 17” near Buttonwood Harbor on Clouser flies.
Ken Trotter, from Sarasota, FL and his mother, Diane Trotter, from Tampa, FL, also fished a day with me. It was rough on the beach and tarpon were not showing but we hung in there until about 10 AM. Since it was too rough to run back in the gulf, we ducked into the bay where Ken and his mom caught and released trout, ladyfish, jacks and a whiting on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly combos.
Larry Ford and Pete Molinari, both from Sarasota, FL, fished a couple of days, jumping several tarpon and landing on with live crabs on spinning tackle. Chris Likens and Paul Nevins, both from Sarasota, FL, also jumped several tarpon and landed one with live crabs on spinning tackle.
David Smith, from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, UK, and Mark Worbey, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, UK, crossed the big pond to fish 5 days with me last week. Months in the planning, the trip finally arrived and David and Mark were ready to tackle the silver king. They had great weather and good action, landing 6 out of 13 tarpon including several big fish. David caught and released a 140-pound pig on Thursday and Mark finished strong on Friday catching and releasing a pair of tarpon, including a 115-pound fish.
Andy Cotton, from Sarasota, FL, jumped a pair of big tarpon yesterday, battling one for 40 minutes before it went through his 80-pound fluorocarbon leader. He landed the second one, which was his first tarpon landed, a beautiful 120-pounder. We also landed a 130-pound fish that day.
I look for this great tarpon action to continue through the month of June and into July providing that the weather will continue to be good. I’ve got a fly angler fishing with me next week, so hopefully we’ll stick a few with the fly.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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