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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
July 7, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 6/19 through 7/1/2006
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, continued to have good action with tarpon during the past couple of weeks. The best action has been early in the day, although fly anglers have had some great shots at tarpon in shallow water later in the morning when visibility gets better.
Fly angler, Cliff Ondercin from Sarasota, FL, fished with me on Monday, June 19th and landed a 70-pounder on a black and purple Enrico Puglisi mullet fly. Tarpon schools were moving fast, but high in the water column, along Siesta Key that morning. It wasn’t the best fly fishing situation, but they would bite if you got a fly in front of them.
Fly angler, Bill King from Osprey, FL and his family group of 3 other anglers fished with Capt. Kelly Stilwell and me on Wednesday. Dave and Ken Sutton, from MI, landed tarpon of 70 and 90-pounds with live crabs while fishing with me along Casey Key. Capt. Kelly’s anglers also connected a couple of time with live crabs.
John and Deb LaManna, from Lakewood Ranch, FL, fished with me on Friday of that week. Tarpon were behaving the same way all week long, moving fast both north and south. John had a fly in front of several tarpon, but they didn’t bite. However, a couple of them ate a live crab. John and Deb double teamed a feisty 100-pounder and had her close to the boat after about 45-minutes when she wore through the leader. Close enough!
My brother, Kirk Grassett from Bear, DE, fished with me on Saturday. We had lots of shots with flies. He got a bite on an Enrico Puglisi black mullet, but the fish was coming at us so fast it was hard to get the hook stuck. Kirk fished with my friend Rusty Chinnis on Friday, had a couple of bites on flies and unintentionally broke a fish off on the hook set. A couple of other fly trips had lots of shots and a couple of bites, but no hook ups.
I spent a couple of days over in Stuart, FL at the annual DOA Guide/Outdoor Writer Get Together on Monday and Tuesday. We caught snook, trout and flounder on a variety of DOA Lures in the Indian River near Ft. Pierce and in the St. Lucie inlet. There were numerous snook in the 15 to 20-pound class caught and released as well as a few over 20-pounds. Anglers also scored with trout to more than 8-pounds, tarpon and tripletail.
Jay Alvis, from IN, and his nephew, Kyle Hehe from Sarasota, FL tarpon fished with me along Casey Key on Wednesday. We had a push of fish early, had 3 bites and missed them all and then it got quiet. Fortunately, we had another flurry of activity about 11 AM. First Jay hooked up and landed a feisty 70-pounder that jumped numerous times all around the boat and was landed quickly.
17-year old, Kyle, hooked up next with one of the most noteworthy tarpon ever caught and released on my boat. The 100-pound tarpon ate a live crab about a mile north of the Venice Inlet and then proceeded to clear the beach of swimmers all the way to the Venice Jetty, as it swam south only a few feet from the beach. When it reached the jetty, with a strong incoming tide, the fish headed east through the jetty toward the ICW with a cheering crowd of people following along the shore. The fish then headed north in the ICW, as we continued to tighten the drag down. The fish was finally landed north of the Albee Rd. bridge about 3 miles from where it had been hooked to cheers from a crowd of boats and people along the shoreline. When I landed the fish, I discovered that about 1/3 of the hook had broken off just above the bend, but there was still enough left to hold the fish. When I pulled against the drag with a scale later, I discovered that we had 14-pounds of drag on the fish and she was still pulling line off the reel. What a ride!
Fly angler, Bob Harness from St. Louis, MO, fished with me on Thursday and Friday. Bob’s guest on Thursday was Nick Reding, from New York City. Nick jumped a pair of tarpon on black bunny flies, getting several nice jumps and runs from each fish before they came unbuttoned. We had numerous shots later that day, but no bites. The action was slower on Friday, with a few good shots but no bites.
Tarpon fishing should remain strong until at least the full moon in July on the 11th. Hopefully, we’ll get some more action beyond that also, as fish school ahead of the new moon toward the end of July. Fishing upper Charlotte Harbor for tarpon of all sizes should also be an option.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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