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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
July 3, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/27 through 7/3/2004
Tarpon action continued to hold up for anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict during the past week. Fly anglers got into the action connecting with 5 tarpon on flies and landing 2 of them. Overall, anglers landed 4 out of 12 tarpon jumped during the week. Tarpon schools thinned toward the end of the week as we approached the full moon but there were still plenty of fish. Anglers worked at least 4 or 5 schools each day from Anna Maria Island to Siesta Key. In addition, fly anglers cast to singles, doubles and schools of tarpon in 3 feet of water over white sand. Awesome!
Jay Alvis, from Columbus, IN, and Joe Ayrault, from Sarasota, FL, fished with me last Sunday. They each connected with a tarpon, but Jay’s wore through the 80-pound fluorocarbon leader after 15 or 20-minutes. Joe landed his tarpon, an 85-pounder, which was his first tarpon ever. Skip Walton, from Sarasota, FL, and Ken Astor, from Falmouth, ME, joined me for a trip on Tuesday. The action was fast as tarpon attacked their crabs, but nothing would stay hooked. They jumped 4 tarpon and had several more bites out of multiple schools of tarpon.
Fly angler, Rick Happle from Tampa, FL, joined me for a trip on Tuesday. Rick caught his first tarpon on a fly with me last season so his level of enthusiasm was high. He connected with 2 tarpon on black and purple bunny flies out of a southbound and a northbound school of tarpon.
Rusty Chinnis and I fished with Capt. Tom Shubat on Wednesday and I joined Rusty on his boat on Thursday to fly fish for tarpon. Rusty and I each landed tarpon of about 75-pounds and Rusty connected with another one. Tarpon ate black, purple and chartreuse flies. Rusty connected with tarpon on purple and then a short while later on chartreuse, so presentation was more important than color.
Tom Minnick, from Cincinnati, OH and Brian Smith, from Cape Coral, FL, tarpon fished with me on the full moon on Friday. The action was slow to start with only a couple of singles popping up during the morning. However, by late morning tarpon schools started to move. Brian connected with a stubborn 100-pound fish that he landed with a live crab on spinning tackle. His first tarpon ever!
Tarpon fishing has been great so far this season! The combination of a good weather pattern, lack of red tide, plentiful fish and only moderate fishing pressure has made it memorable. As we come off the full moon, tarpon should continue to school as we head toward the new moon. Tarpon fishing should still be a good option during July although fishing techniques may change.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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