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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
November 28, 2005
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 11/7 through 11/28/2005
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past several weeks. Fly and spin anglers caught and released, trout, bluefish, pompano and snook on a variety of jigs and flies. Large ladyfish have been plentiful on deep grass flats of Little Sarasota Bay and in Sarasota Bay along the east side.
A couple of trips to Charlotte Harbor during the week of Nov. 6th produced trout, bluefish, ladyfish and snook on CAL jigs and Clouser flies. Several small reds were also caught and released with CAL jigs.
I traveled to Dania Beach, FL, near Ft. Lauderdale to attend an organizational meeting for a Florida Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers on Nov. 12th. The new council, which will be formed by at least 10 FFF affiliated clubs around the state, will address problems and concerns of Florida fly fishers. Since we were only an hour or so away from the upper Keys, my friend Rusty Chinnis and I snuck in a day of bonefishing on Sunday with Capt. Duane Baker, out of Tavernier, FL. We caught and released a pair of bones on Merkin crab patterns, including one of my biggest ever on a fly, an estimated 9 to 10-pound fish. Rusty caught and released a 6-pounder, also a very nice bonefish.
I was out of town for most of the following week due to a death in the family. I returned to Florida just in time for last Monday’s front. We fished Little Sarasota Bay the following 2 days where we caught and released snook, jacks and ladyfish on jigs and flies. Bob Sawtelle, from Corydon, IN, and John Maxwell, from Indianapolis, IN, fished with me on a windy afternoon last Tuesday. Although the wind was gusting in the 30’s, they braved the conditions and caught and released ladyfish on CAL jigs in Blackburn Bay.
Russell Moore, from Sarasota, FL, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday afternoon. He caught and released several snook to 24” and numerous large ladyfish on CAL jigs with grubs and shad tails. We pitched jigs under docks along the west side of the bay to catch the snook while the ladyfish were plentiful on deep flats near Spanish Point. Fly anglers, Dave Smid and Wendell Scott, both from Springfield, MO, snook fished with me on Wednesday evening. The action was low to start but picked up as the evening went on. They caught and released more than a dozen snook on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies. The best action was near Venice, where the water was slightly off color.
Mike Penny, from Duluth, GA, and his daughter, Claudia, fished Charlotte Harbor near Boca Grande with me on Friday. The action wasn’t fast, but it was steady. They caught and released numerous trout, four reds and a snook on CAL jigs with shad tails to complete their slam. The reds were caught on the outside sandbars of Bull and Turtle Bays and the trout and snook were caught in Gasparilla Sound near Whidden Creek.
Mike Bowles, from Palo Alto, CA, and his family group fished Sarasota Bay with me, Capt. Kelly Stillwell and Capt. Ryan Kaney on Saturday morning. The group had fast action at the Middleground flat in Sarasota Bay with 9 pompano, several bluefish and numerous ladyfish. Most of the group fished flies including Mike and his daughter, Kaleigh, who fished with me. Fly angler, Andrew Stiles from Richmond, VA, fished the same area with me on Sunday morning. He caught and released numerous large ladyfish on Clouser flies while we searched for pompano. Although we skipped several pompano, they wouldn’t eat our flies that day.
Fly anglers, Charlie Alexander from Osprey, FL, and his fourteen-year old grandson, Kyle Henderson, from CT fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. Since it was a windy day, we were seeking some protection from the wind. They had fast action with large ladyfish caught and released with Clouser flies near Blackburn Point. Although there have been some pompano and bluefish in that part of the bay recently, the ladyfish beat them to the fly every time.
Negative low tides later this week as we head toward a new moon on Thursday should be good for reds in Charlotte Harbor and lower Tampa Bay. Night snook fishing is also one of the better fly fishing options now.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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