Good Fall Action in Sarasota Bay
Capt. Rick Grassett
November 14, 2011
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
There was good action on both shallow and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay during the past couple of weeks. Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout to 4-pounds, reds to 9-pounds, flounder to 3-pounds, blues, Spanish mackerel, sheepshead and pompano on jigs and flies.
Fly angler Patrice Camillieri, from France, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning, 10/31. It was rainy for a couple of hours in the morning and then windy, but we hung in there and caught several quality fish. We waded a sandbar on the east side of the bay where Patrice caught and released several trout, including a couple in the 2 ½ to 3-pound class, on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly. His last fish of the day was a 9-lb, over slot red that he caught and released on a Clouser fly!
Bonita Springs, FL winter resident, Jay Sandza and his friend Ed, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday, 11/2. They caught and released trout, a couple of reds and a Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad tails at Stephens Point and near Bayshore Gardens. Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL, and Mike Perez, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday, 11/3. We waded and fly fished all day and caught a variety of species including a few quality fish. They caught and released trout to 4-pounds, a pompano, a sheepshead and a nice flounder on weighted flies.
Bill and Scott Moore came down from Chicago to fish with me on Friday, 11/4. It was rainy and windy as a front pushed through that morning and we were limited as to where we could fish. I used a drift anchor, which is invaluable when fishing in the conditions we had that day, to slow our drift to a manageable speed. With a strong northwest wind we fished the west side of the bay near Bishop Point where they caught and released trout on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs.
It was cool on Saturday morning, 11/5 and the wind wasn't too bad when John Freeman, from Venice, FL and his daughter Chris Ryan, from Osprey, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me. They caught and released trout, bluefish and a couple of flounder along the east side of the bay on CAL jigs with a variety of plastic tails and DOA Deadly Combos. Jon Grimes, from Longboat Key, and his dad, Jim Grimes from VA, fished the same areas with me in the afternoon. They caught and released trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies, CAL jigs and DOA Deadly Combos.
Action slowed in shallow water as we approached a full moon this week. Dean Hannemann, from Sarasota, FL, fished the coastal gulf with me on Monday, 11/7. There were plenty of Spanish mackerel, but we only saw a couple of schools of albies and they were up and down very briefly. He caught and released several mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.
Nick Reding, from Sarasota, fished a couple of days on 11/8 and 11/10 with me in Sarasota Bay. We waded and fly fished several bars and flats on both sides of the bay. He caught and released trout, a pompano and a sheepshead on my Grassett Flats Minnow and crab fly patterns. We sight fished reds on a bar one afternoon, had several eats and Nick connected with one on my Flats Minnow fly.
Next week's negative low tides in the morning should concentrate reds and trout in potholes. Action with Spanish mackerel and albies in the coastal gulf should be good once the gulf settles down.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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