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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
July 16, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 7/2 through 7/16/2006
Anglers fishing with me during the past couple of weeks had great action with tarpon in the coastal gulf waters off Sarasota. Following the full moon on July 11th, the tarpon thinned out considerably. However, the remaining fish are aggressive and hungry. Fly anglers have done particularly well, as they usually do this time of the year. Schools of fish are smaller and more loosely schooled, but more aggressive due to the decrease in fishing pressure.
Fly angler, Randy Smith from CO, and his guest fished with me on Monday, July 3rd. I expected to find a mob of anglers, since it was a 4-day holiday weekend, but everyone else must have expected the same thing and stayed home. We were practically by ourselves off Siesta Key, when Randy hooked up with an Enrico Puglisi black mullet on his 2nd or 3rd cast. After a long battle that took us a couple of miles offshore, Randy had his fish alongside the boat. As we were being dragged offshore, I spotted a tripletail on an abandoned stone crab trap float and marked it with my GPS. After landing the tarpon, we went back and caught the tripletail on a DOA shrimp. A very nice day!
Fly angler, John Arnold from Lakewood Ranch, FL, fished with me on Wednesday. John has been a fly casting student of mine over the past couple of months. He takes the sport seriously and it shows in the progress he’s made. John was preparing for a weeklong trip to Maine with his son, which was successful. Our last two hours of instruction were spent working with a 12-weight fly rod in preparation for a tarpon trip. John jumped his 1st tarpon in about 3-feet of water on a tan and olive bunny fly. The coolest thing was that the fish stuck his head out of the water to eat the fly only 20 feet from our bow before putting on aerial display. Way to go John!
The next couple of days were tough. We had a few shots in shallow water on Thursday, but no takers. Friday’s trip was blown out in the gulf, so we opted to fish for juvenile tarpon in the Peace River. We cast to rolling fish in a canal with flies and DOA baits for a couple of hours and then the bottom fell out. It must have rained 2 or 3-inches ending our trip early.
Fly angler, Hal Lutz from Parrish, FL, fished with me last weekend. He hooked up on an Enrico Puglisi black mullet on one of his 1st casts off Siesta Key. After a long fight, he had the fish alongside the boat a couple of miles offshore. Only 2 problems, we had a pair of waterspouts bearing down on us and then mother nature started to throw lightning bolts all around us. I had to make a safety call and we intentionally broke the fish off alongside the boat. Hal hooked up briefly on Sunday morning in the same spot, but a knot in the fly line caused the fish to come unbuttoned before we could clear the line to the reel. We finished the day with 7 or 8 quality shots at tarpon in skinny water, but no bites.
On Monday morning, another fly casting student of mine, Eric Adamson and his 15-year old daughter, Raene, both from Lakeland, FL, tarpon fished with me. Eric has also been taking fly casting instruction with me for the past couple of months to prepare for a bonefishing trip in the Acklins, which was successful, and for the tarpon trip. Eric has practiced religiously and made good progress. Fly fishing is like any other skill sport, the rewards will equal the effort that you make. It is a lot more fun when you can get the job done. Eric got the job done all right, hooking and landing his first tarpon, an estimated 120-pounder, on about the 2nd cast of the day. Raene followed him up catching and releasing a feisty 55-pound fish with a live crab. I know that Eric and Raene will remember the trip forever. Eric said the only thing better than catching his tarpon with a fly was having his daughter catch her first tarpon. That’s what memories are made of!
The streak continued on Wednesday as another tarpon was jumped with a fly. This one ate a brown Toad in about 4-feet of water. The 100-pound plus fish made a spectacular leap before gaining her freedom. Conditions deteriorated on Thursday and tarpon didn’t show very well as a result. We were faced with a big swell out of the south due to afternoon and evening thunderstorms in the gulf, which made spotting tarpon tougher. We saw only a few fish in deep water early. Bill King, from Osprey, FL, fished with me that day. Although we had some good shots with a fly in shallow water later in the day, we didn’t get a bite.
Art Lyons, from the Chicago area and Don Shutello, from Longboat Key, FL fished with me on Friday. Don hooked up briefly with a live crab on spinning tackle. As luck (or the lack of it) would have it, when he cast, his line looped over an abandoned crab trap float, which immediately cut his line on the barnacle encrusted crab trap line as the line got tight. By Saturday, four days after the full moon, we were feeling the full effects of it. Fly angler, Hal Lutz from Parrish, FL, was with me and had only a few shots at tarpon in shallow water with a fly, but no takers.
Next week’s tides are favorable for pre dawn snook fishing around lighted docks and bridge fenders. Early morning flats fishing for reds and snook should also be a good option. Tarpon action should pick back up in the coastal gulf as we get further away from the full moon. In addition, look for tarpon to move up into Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, where they’ll feed more aggressively than they do on the beach.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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