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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
June 4, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 5/21 through 6/4/2006
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, during the past couple of weeks have had good action with tarpon. Although the bite hasn’t been hot every day, the action has been steady. Tarpon are behaving in a normal pattern and are plentiful. When conditions have been good, tarpon schools have been showing well and giving us good shots at them. There have been a few days when it was overcast and breezy when they didn’t bite very well. The best action has been from south Siesta Key to north Casey Key.
Keith McClintock and Barry Slee, both from Lake Forest, IL, Dave Kinamon, from Milwaukee, WI and Wayne Little, from St. Louis, MO fished four days with Capt. Kelly Stilwell and me during the week of May 21st. We had plenty of action during the week, although every day wasn’t good. The group jumped more than a dozen tarpon and landed 4 or 5 up to 100-pounds on live crabs. Barry also had a couple of takes on a fly. There were a couple of good days and a couple of slower days during the week. Keith and Dave finished strong on the last day fishing with me. They had 6 or 7 bites, jumping 3 tarpon and Dave landed a 90-pound fish to end the day.
I had 3 days of fly fishing the next week and although we didn’t land any tarpon with a fly we jumped a couple on black/purple and chartreuse bunny flies. We fished from Longboat Key to Sarasota’s Big Pass on those days. Fly angler Shawn Borgeson, from Tampa, FL, also connected with a cobia on a black and purple bunny fly. Of course, the smallest of a pair of cobia, including one about 50-pounds or more, beat the big one to the fly!
Aledia Tush, owner of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, and Doug Forde, a manager at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, tarpon fished with me along Casey Key last Tuesday. Tarpon were happy and biting that day. They had 5 or 6 bites on live crabs, jumping several of them. Including one that Aledia had on for about 20 minutes before the hook pulled with the fish close to the boat. Doug also hooked one on a black and purple tarpon bunny fly.
My friend Russell Johnson, from Clovis, NM, his sons Pat, Kyle, Justin and their friend Stormy fished the same area with me and Capt. Clark Wright on Friday and Saturday. Although conditions were good on Friday, tarpon didn’t bite that well. Clark had a couple of bites and one tarpon to the boat on Friday, while we had a couple of bites but no hook ups. The action heated up on Saturday. We landed a pair of tarpon, a 70 and a 90-pounder. The guys on Clark’s boat landed a 120-pound brute, which dragged them more than a mile offshore. The biggest excitement of the day was when a 10-foot hammerhead shark began stalking our second tarpon and our boat. It circled our boat numerous times with its tall dorsal fin slicing through the water and headed toward our hooked tarpon several times. The tarpon went all the way to the beach and slugged it out in the surf to stay away from the hammerhead. Fortunately, we successfully landed the tarpon as the shark for some reason lost interest and moved on. A good day!
We are in the heart of our tarpon season now and as long as the weather holds up, fishing should be good through June and into July. Tarpon are in a normal pattern, traveling in a lane usually within a couple of hundred yards of the beach. The best bite has been from first light in the morning until 9 or 10 AM.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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