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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
December 17, 2005
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 12/11 through 12/17/2005
Fly anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released bluefish, trout, snook and large ladyfish while anglers using conventional tackle caught all those species and redfish. Action improved toward the end of the week as a front approached. Good news! Trout showed up strong in Little Sarasota Bay on Friday!
Sarasota Herald-Tribune outdoor editor, Steve Gibson, and I were the guests of our friend, Capt. Rick De Paiva, in Pine Island Sound on Monday. Conditions were right for reds to be tailing on the negative low tide at dawn. Reds were tailing everywhere for about the first hour of the day giving us lots of shots with a fly but no bites. A strong northeast wind came up and they abruptly disappeared. We worked potholes with CAL jigs after that and caught and released reds, snook, trout and flounder.
Fly angler, Bill King from Osprey, FL, fished the other side of Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday. We fished potholes in Gasparilla Sound near Sandfly Key where Bill caught and released trout and ladyfish on Clousers and my Flats Minnow fly. Fly angler, Nick Reding from Longboat Key, FL, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me the next day. We fished docks and oyster bars looking for reds and snook but it wasn’t happening. Nick caught and released plenty of large ladyfish on deep grass flats near Midnight Pass along the way.
Harry Davis and his guest, Stuart Lewis, both from El Jobean, FL, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Thursday. With an approaching front, the wind blew 15 to 20-mph most of the day. What should have been a very low tide most of the day, changed to a fast incoming tide as the wind pushed the tide in. Fish responded by chewing on CAL jigs and flies. Stuart used a fly rod to catch numerous trout to 18”, snook, bluefish and ladyfish. Harry backed him up with spinning tackle to catch 3 reds to 27”, snook, trout and bluefish. The bluefish bite was exceptionally good in Placida Harbor and trout were piled in potholes in Gasparilla Sound near Whidden Creek.
Brad Cox, from Sarasota, FL, Ryan Lockman from St. Petersburg, FL, and a couple of their colleagues fished Little Sarasota Bay with Capt. Kelly Stillwell and me on Friday. Conditions were much better than the forecast. It was clear and cool with only about 10 mph of wind out of the north. Brad and Ryan slammed with several reds, snook and lots of trout. The trout bite was very good with them catching and releasing about 15 trout, most of them from 16” to 18”.
Next weeks negative low tides in the morning should be good for reds and trout in potholes of Gasparilla Sound. If there isn’t much wind, reds may tail on shallow grass as the tide rises.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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