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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
March 10, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 2/26 through 3/10/2006
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, for the past couple of weeks caught a variety of fish on the flats of Charlotte Harbor, Little Sarasota Bay and in the ICW near Venice at night. Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor is still the best place to catch trout and fly fishing for snook at night is one of the best options for numbers of quality fish, although it has slowed in the past several weeks.
Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL, and Dick Reece, from Dayton, OH, fished Charlotte Harbor with early in the week of Feb. 27th. The action wasn’t fast but it was steady. They caught more than 15 trout to 21”, with ½ of them in the slot, and a redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails. The best action was around sand bars in Gasparilla Sound and in Bull Bay.
Larry Ford, from Longboat Key, FL, and Pete Molinari fly fished for snook in the ICW near Venice on an evening trip. We found the fish feeding very selectively and had to go down to a #6 hook with my Grass Minnow fly to catch 7 or 8 snook. The rest of the week was with fly and spin anglers in Sarasota’s Robert’s Bay and in Little Sarasota Bay where we caught and released lots of ladyfish and an occasional trout.
I was the instructor at an Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key last Saturday. Five students, ranging from beginners to experienced casters, participated in the school, which is offered several times during the spring. The dates of the next schools are March 18th and April 8th. If you are interested in becoming a fly angler or you just need a tune up, you can contact me for more info. The next day, I gave a seminar on Saltwater Fly Fishing at the Frank Sargeant Show in Tampa and spent some time on the casting pond giving instruction.
Dick Reece and Jim Van Tassel, both from Dayton, OH, snook fished with me on Monday evening. We found the action similar to what it was the previous week. They caught and released 8 snook and several ladyfish on my Grass Minnow snook fly tied on a #6 hook. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL, and I spent a day scouting north Sarasota Bay and didn’t find much, but we did find some large crevalle jacks marauding baitfish on the deep edge of a flat near Tidy Island. We connected with 3 of them on Crease flies and Rusty landed one of them, a feisty 8-pounder. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 mph making fly fishing very tough.
The rest of the week was similar to the previous week with lots of ladyfish and an occasional trout caught and released on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with a variety of plastic tails in Roberts and Little Sarasota Bays.
Next week’s tides are favorable for reds, snook and trout on the flats of Charlotte Harbor or the Terra Ceia Bay area. Although we sometimes get some negative effects from a full moon, which will be on Tuesday, the water is warming up and baitfish are becoming more plentiful on the flats so fishing should get better.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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