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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
March 27, 2005
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Venice, FL Fishing Report for 3/14 through 3/27/2005
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action with snook and trout during the past couple of weeks. The best action was fly fishing for snook at night near Venice with trout and ladyfish on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay close behind.
Fly fishers, Bill and Gerrie Gramm from Bozeman, MT, fished several trips with me last week. A pair of
night snook trips in the ICW near Venice yielded more than 50 snook to 25”. All fish were caught on my Grass Minnow night snook fly fished on an intermediate fly line.
Bill and Gerrie also spent a day on the flats of Sarasota Bay in search of redfish with a fly. We fished sandbars and shallow flats on the west side of the bay to get some protection from a strong southwest wind. Gerrie connected with a red in a pothole on a Clouser but the hook pulled before she could get a good hook set. However, they did catch and release a sheepshead and a couple of trout also on Clouser flies before our day was done. It was a tough day of fishing due to the conditions, but like I always say “you don’t know until you go”.
I had several other ½ day trips in Sarasota Bay that week with spin and fly anglers. Some days were better than others but we mostly caught and released trout and ladyfish. The larger trout were between 18” and 22”. Fly anglers, Greg Baumeyer, from Chicago, IL and brothers, Sandy and Pack Lawrence from Sarasota, FL and Stevensville, MD had a couple of good trips last Sunday catching and releasing numerous trout to 20” and ladyfish.
This past week was similar to the previous week with most of the action coming from deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. A couple of the best trips were with Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH and Gene Leverone, from Lynnfield, MA and Paulino and Jose Gutierrez, from Sarasota, FL. Pat and Gene caught numerous trout, including several in the 18” class on Clouser flies. Gene also scored with a pompano caught on a chartreuse/white Clouser. Paulino and Jose also did well on trout with the largest being a 22”, 3-pound trout caught and released with a DOA Deadly Combo.
I was the instructor for an Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school held out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters last Saturday. The students now have a solid foundation on which to build and hopefully will enjoy a lifetime of fly fishing. The next school is scheduled for April 9th. Anyone interested in participating can contact either me directly or CB’s Saltwater Outfitters to sign up. If you just need a tune up or are working on correcting a fault or improving your casting, I also offer private fly casting instruction.
Next week’s tides are favorable for fly fishing for snook at night. Flats fishing for reds and snook should improve as the water continues to warm and baitfish become more plentiful. The water temperature on the flats is now at 72 degrees, which is an ideal temperature for many species. In addition to improving flats action, Spanish mackerel and pompano should also turn on as the water continues to warm.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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