Sarasota & Lower Tampa Bay, FL Fishing Report for 4/11 through 4/20/2003
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught a variety of fish during the past week. Although there were some tough days during the middle of the week, fishing was strong toward the end of the week. Call it full moon-it is or whatever, but fish were not aggressive on the days surrounding the full moon. Although tides are good, maybe fish are feeding at night? Anglers caught trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle on deep grass flats and reds and snook in skinny water. In addition, cobia prowled the edges of bars and deep grass flats giving anglers several shots and one hook up.
Sarasota winter residents, Norm and Francie Boardman, fished north Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. They caught and released numerous trout to 18” on jigs and DOA shrimp.
Fly angler, Nick Reding from St. Louis, MO, fished Terra Ceia Bay with me on Tuesday. The goal was to wade and sight-fish with a fly and it proved to be tough. Nick got numerous shots at reds and snook, several follows and many refusals. He finally landed a red on a pink over white Clouser fly. The hungry red was competing with a snook that was also trying to eat the fly. After all the fish that wouldn’t eat, two were trying to eat the same fly. Go figure? Thursdays trip with a fly angler was equally challenging. We pounded the mangroves all afternoon, had several follows and no takers.
John Leutner, from Herndon, VA, fished the same area with me on Wednesday. Although it was still tough, he finished the day with a pair of reds to 24”, a 23” snook, several trout and a Spanish mackerel. All fish were caught and released with CAL jigs with shad tails, Exude slugs and DOA shrimp.
Bob Cimarusti, from Oak Park, IL, had a good day in Sarasota Bay on Friday. He caught several Spanish mackerel, trout to 20”, jack crevalle to 6-pounds and a pair of reds to 27”. Most fish were caught on jigs with a variety of plastic tails, although the jacks aggressively took a MirrOlure Top Dog, Jr. plug. He also hooked a large cobia that was trying to eat a bluefish that he had on. Unfortunately, the bluefish had nicked the leader, which resulted in the cobia breaking off on the leader. Oh well!
Bill Roth, from Longboat Key, FL and his kids Will and Kerrie, both from Columbus, OH, fished the same area with me on Saturday. They caught and released numerous trout, including several slot-size fish to 18” and bluefish to 3-pounds. Will had a shot at a big cobia but didn’t hook up.
Next weeks strong incoming tides in the morning should be good for reds on the flats. If you haven’t yet signed up for the Sarasota Photo All-Release Challenge, there is still time to do so. The event will be next Saturday, April 26, with an angler meeting on Friday evening, April 25. You can contact me at (941) 923-7799 or e-mail [email protected] for details and an application.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail [email protected]
www.snookfin-addict.com or www.flyfishingflorida.net
