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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
April 2, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southwest Florida Fishing Report for 3/20 through 4/2/2006
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released a variety of fish during the past couple of weeks. Fly and spin anglers connected with snook, reds and trout. Trout fishing is improving in the Sarasota area and reds are eating better, too. The best action was fly fishing for snook at night and reds in Charlotte Harbor.
Rick Peregord, from Southgate, MI, fished 3 days with me during the week of March 19. We had great action in the Terra Ceia Bay area on a couple of the days. Rick Caught and released 8 snook to 24” on Monday and a pair of reds, several snook and trout on Thursday, all on weedless-rigged CAL shad tails.
Stephen Lewis and his young son, Danny, from Brooklyn, NY fished with me on Wednesday. They caught and released lots of big ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails in Sarasota’s Robert’s Bay. We did some scouting for reds in north Sarasota Bay and found beautiful water but only a few mullet.
A front blew through on Friday canceling that days fly fishing trip. However, it provided great conditions for attending the Florida Sportsman Fishing Show in Sarasota last weekend. I gave seminars on fishing Sarasota Bay on Saturday and Sunday and spent time with DOA Fishing Lures and the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers in their booths.
Fishing got even better on Monday when Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH, joined me for an afternoon/evening trip. We caught several trout and ladyfish late in the afternoon on Ultra Hair Clouser flies, but as soon as the sun set snook turned on. Pat and I caught and released a dozen snook to 24” on my “Grass Minnow” night snook fly from Blackburn Pt. to the Venice Inlet.
Bob Harness, from St. Louis, MO, fished the Terra Ceia Bay area with me on Tuesday. We waded a sandbar that was loaded with reds and Bob caught his first redfish with a fly. The redfish ate a tri-color Clouser that was tan, chartreuse and olive. Way to go, Bob! I fished the same area with spin anglers the next day and the reds were so spooky we could hardly approach them in the boat, much less catch one. We did manage several nice trout to 19” on CAL jigs with shad tails.
Pat Campbell, from Toronto, OH and Gene Leverone, from Lynnfield, MA, fished with me on Thursday. After hearing several reports of Spanish mackerel, little tunny and tripletail on the beach, we went on a scouting mission. We ran from New Pass to Grassy Point, off Casey Key, and although we only saw a couple of schools of mackerel, we had shots at 3 tripletail. They wouldn’t bite after several fly changes and working them from all angles, so we kept moving. We retreated to the bay, where Gene and Pat caught and released 6 or 8 trout and a few ladyfish on Clouser flies near Big Pass.
Because the public boat ramp in Placida was choked with FLW Redfish Tournament anglers we had to leave at 5:30 AM just to park there on Friday morning. Although all fish are being released alive, it creates a tremendous impact when you dump 150 or 200 boats into an area for several days prior to a tournament.
Stu Robinson, from Longboat Key, FL and his son-in-law and daughter, Doug and Indy Bacon, from Heartland, MI, fished with me that day and we had a banner day with reds on flies. We waded outside sand bars near Bull and Turtle Bays and found some aggressive reds that hadn’t been harassed. Reds were cruising the edge of a sand bar and wandering up onto the bar to feed. Doug and Indy landed 5 out of 6 reds hooked on Clouser flies fished on floating lines. Indy caught a nice red that had 22 spots and Doug landed one that was almost 30” and weighed about 12-pounds. The big red had several other reds that stayed with it while it was hooked and continued to hunt for food. I’ve only seen this happen one other time and it’s a sure sign they are turned on!
We are in a great weather pattern, so fishing should remain hot during the next week. Look for reds, snook and trout on the flats and Spanish mackerel, little tunny and tripletail along the beaches.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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