 |
Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
July 23, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 7/17 through 7/23/2006
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, tarpon and trout during the past week. Snook were finicky around lighted docks and bridges before dawn, but tarpon were aggressive. Tarpon in the 15 to 20-pound class busted baits and fed heavily for several hours one morning in Peace River canals.
Bill Crelin, from Milwaukee, WI and his brother-in-law and nephew, Tom and Tommy, joined me for a pre dawn snook/flats trip in Little Sarasota and Blackburn Bays on Monday morning. Despite plenty of snook in and around lighted docks and bridge fenders, they didn’t want to bite. We offered them a variety of flies and DOA baits, but there were no takers. However, when the sun popped up we worked bait schools and caught about 6 trout to 16” on DOA Deadly Combos, CAL jigs with shad tails and fly poppers near Blackburn Point.
Florida Sportsman magazine Projects Editor and Tampa Tribune Outdoor Editor, Frank Sargeant, joined me for a trip on Tuesday morning. We started at 3 AM and fished different docks than I had the morning before. It wasn’t on fire, but we managed to catch and release 6 or 8 snook to 25” on String Bean and my Grass Minnow flies near the Venice Inlet. A couple of snook ate nightglow DOA Shrimp. Snook will feed on a variety of baits this time of the year, so it can be more challenging to “match the hatch”.
Jim Eliason, owner of Discount Tackle in Bradenton, and Morgan Christian, from Lakeland, FL, joined me for a tarpon trip on Thursday morning. Jim purchased my trip, which was donated to Manatee-Sarasota Fish and Game Club’s annual fundraising dinner, “A Taste of Florida”. The event, which features wild game and “Florida Cracker” cuisine, is one of my favorites. We fished the Peace River and canal systems of Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. There wasn’t much happening in the river, but we found them busting baits in the canals. Jim and Morgan jumped a total of 4 tarpon, landing one of them, a feisty 15-pounder, with rootbeer and nightglow DOA TerrorEyz.
I spent a couple of days scouting tarpon and found that while there are still tarpon on the beach, they are also moving into the inside waters where they are feeding aggressively. We should have some great tarpon fishing in the coming weeks.
In addition to tarpon, snook in the surf or under dock lights and a variety of fish on the flats at dawn should all be good options next week. Watch out for thunderstorms, which could pop up at any time, particularly later in the day. Lightning has stuck a couple of people, a construction worker and a lawn care worker, in southwest Florida recently. Remember that lightning can strike as far as 10 miles away from a storm.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
