 |
Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
April 9, 2005
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Terra Ceia Bay, FL Fishing Report for 4/3 through 4/9/2005
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action during the past week with snook, trout and ladyfish with most fish caught on flies. Fly anglers also scored on Spanish mackerel and redfish. The best action was on deep grass flats with trout to 3-pound caught on Clouser flies fished on intermediate and intermediate sink-tip fly lines.
Bruce Maguire, from East Lansing, MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. He caught and released trout, ladyfish and a nice Spanish mackerel on Unique Hair Clouser flies on the deep grass flats near the Ringling Mansion and near Long Bar. We spent some time casting to reds in skinny water on the west side of the bay but didn’t get them to bite. We found them to be extremely spooky in the crystal clear water.
Mike Perez, from Richmond, IN, fished a couple of days with me. We fished Sarasota Bay on Tuesday where he did well with trout to 3-pounds on Clouser flies. Mike also connected with a red with the long stick while casting to potholes. Mike’s daughter, Kelsey, joined her Dad during the afternoon along with her friend, Alisha McPherson, for some more trout action with CAL jigs.
Paulino Gutierrez, from Sarasota, FL, joined me for a Sarasota Bay trip on Wednesday morning. Paulino recently participated in one of CB’s Saltwater Outfitter’s Fly fishing Schools with me as the instructor and has been honing his casting skills since then. We fished deep grass flats at the Radio Tower, Middleground and Stephen’s Point where he caught and released ladyfish and trout on Unique Hair Clouser flies.
That afternoon, Jim Stawniak from Atlanta, GA, fished skinny water with me in Sarasota Bay in search of his first redfish on a fly. Jim has fly fishing experience on western rivers and some saltwater experience, but was still trying to conquer a redfish with a fly. We spent our time probing potholes and the edges of sandbars as I showed Jim the proper techniques for fishing skinny water with a fly. It all paid off as Jim spotted and cast to a red in a pothole with a chartreuse Clouser and caught his first redfish with a fly!
Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH, joined Mike Perez on Thursday for a trip with me in the Terra Ceia Bay area. A strong front was approaching which caused winds to whip into the 25 mph range with stronger gusts. I chose to fish where we did since it offered some protection from the wind. It was a tough day of fishing, but I had tough anglers on board. Mike and Pat caught and released 5 snook, a red and several trout and ladyfish on flies and jigs. Most fish were caught with flies on a day when most anglers wouldn’t have left the dock fishing with any type of tackle!
Charlie Alexander, from Osprey, FL, and his friend, Linda, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. Since the faster action and most variety had been on deep grass flats, we chose to focus our efforts there. Charlie and Linda caught more than 20 trout to 18”, including 3 slot-size fish, on rootbeer DOA shrimp, DOA Deadly combos and Clouser flies. A productive day!
Next week’s tides are favorable for reds, snook and trout in skinny water and snook at night around lighted docks and bridge fenders. With the water temperature in the mid 70’s flats fishing will continue to improve during April. Anglers should also keep their eyes peeled for cobia cruising deep grass flats or sand bars and Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf waters, passes and deep grass flats close to passes.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
