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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
February 20, 2005
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report for 2/11 through 2/20/2005
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week with reds and trout on the flats and snook at night. While the fastest action was with trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay, the larger fish have been in skinny water along with redfish. Fly and spin anglers scored with reds to 27” and trout to 22” in potholes and fly fishing for snook at night was steady.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune Outdoor Editor, Steve Gibson, and Yong Choe, both from Sarasota, FL, waded a shallow flat in north Sarasota Bay with me last Friday. The wind was howling out of the north at 20 mph following a front and it was cold! With the water at 58 degrees and wind chills in the 40’s, wading was really the only way to handle the wind while fly fishing. Yong had the hot stick that day, catching and releasing a pair of nice reds and a quality trout on a bendback fly.
The following evening fly fishers, Dick Reece from Dayton, OH, and Gene Leverone from Gloucester, MA, fished the ICW near Venice with me. The action was slow to start, but ended strong. Dick and Gene finished the evening with about 15 snook to 23” and a pair of bluefish on my Grass Minnow flies.
On Tuesday fellow Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers members, Erwin Edelman and Joe Polidoro, both from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on a quest for their first redfish with a fly. Although reds on a fly are probably one of the most challenging species in our area, they both succeeded in catching their first reds with a fly! In addition, Joe caught and released a nice trout. All fish were caught out of potholes near Buttonwood Harbor on Crab Clousers (olive, tan and white).
The following day, Sarasota winter residents Harry Beaty and Tom Schalk, fished the same area with me on a full day trip. Harry had been snake bitten lately with reds, but they turned it around this trip. After a slow start they finished the day with more than 30 trout to 20”, including 10 slot-size fish, and 8 reds to 27”. Most fish were caught on CAL jigs with shad tails, although some of the trout ate the DOA Deadly Combo.
Sarasota winter residents, Norm and Francie Boardman, were joined by their son, Doug from Richmond, VA, for an afternoon trip on Sarasota Bay on Thursday. We hunted reds for an hour or so and they had disappeared from the flat where they were plentiful the day before. We dropped out to deeper water where father and son scored with a number of trout to 18” on CAL jigs with shad tails and Clouser flies. That evening, fly anglers Nick Reding and Bob Harness, both from St. Louis, MO, joined me for a night snook trip. The action was slower than it was on Monday evening, but they still managed to catch and release 8 snook and a bluefish.
Fly angler, Marshall Dinerman from Atlanta, GA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday afternoon. Marshall is an old friend of Islamorada’s Sandy Moret and has fly fished in many places but a stiff northeast breeze made fishing the shallow flats tough from my Action Craft flats skiff. We dropped out to deeper water, deployed my Wave Tamer drift bag and proceeded to catch trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies fished on an intermediate fly line. The drift bag saved the day and made what would have been a frustrating trip a successful one!
Rusty Chinnis and I were the instructors at a CB’s Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on Longboat Key on Saturday. All of the students did great and with some practice are well on their way to enjoying a lifetime of saltwater fly fishing. The dates for the next several schools are March 5th, 19th and April 9th. Anyone interested in participating can contact me for more info or to sign up.
Next week’s negative low tides are favorable for reds and trout on the flats. In addition, we are starting to find a few snook on the flats particularly on sunny afternoons.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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