Godd Action in Sarasota Bay and Coastal Gulf
Capt. Rick Grassett
January 8, 2012
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Action continued in the coastal gulf Christmas week due to the unseasonable warm weather we've had during December. A couple of fronts passed through slowing action in Sarasota Bay for a couple of days , but action rebounded during warm ups following fronts. 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 false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel, tripletail, snook, trout, pompano, bluefish, flounder and a small shark during the past couple of weeks.
Denis Clohisy, from WI, and Vic Heckler, from IL, fished the coastal gulf with me on Monday, 12/26. I had to cover a lot of water to locate the false albacore, but once I found them we stayed on them for several hours. They caught and released 7 or 8 "albies" to 8-pounds and Spanish mackerel to 1 ½-pounds on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We ran some crab trap lines on the way back, had numerous shots at a couple of tripletail and Denis caught a 5 ½-pounder on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly. A great fish!
Chris Shuff, his 14-year old son, Devin and friend, John, all from OH, stopped off in Sarasota to fish with me on Tuesday, 12/27 on their way to the Keys. They caught and released a few trout and ladyfish on the west side of Sarasota Bay from the Middleground flat to Whale Key on CAL jigs with shad tails. We had an approaching front, so we got off the water just ahead of it. Dave Wahl, from IL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday, 12/28. Since it was cool that morning, we started at 9 AM and fished into the middle of the afternoon. He caught and released a few trout on a Clouser fly, but the action was slow.
Sarasota winter resident, Phil Rever, and Eric Dobkin, from NY, fished the ICW near Venice with me on Thursday evening, 12/29. The tide wasn't great, but action was steady with most spots giving up several fish. They caught and released more than 15 snook and a trout on my Snook Minnow fly. The last fish of the night was a 30", 7 ½-pound snook that Eric caught and released. It got wrapped in the trolling motor shaft twice, but due to using a heavy tippet we successfully got the fish out each time. A nice fish!
Kent Boulware and son-in-law, Eric Notestine, from IN, and son, Jon Boulware, from NC, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday afternoon, 12/30. They had steady action catching and releasing trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, a couple of pompano and a small shark on CAL jigs with shad and grub tails at Stephens Point and near Whale Key.
A strong front passed through our area early last week dropping air temperatures below freezing and plummeting water temperatures by almost 10 degrees. However, after a few days of sun, water temperatures climbed back into the 60's and action resumed. Keith McClintock and his grandson, Garrett Anderson, from IL, got out with me on Monday morning, 1/2 just as the front passed through. Due to a strong wind forecast, we fished Little Sarasota Bay from Point Crisp to Spanish Point. They caught and released trout to 17" and ladyfish on CAL jigs with shad tails. Longboat Key winter resident, Nick Reding, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday,1/6. We waded a sand bar in north Sarasota Bay and Nick caught and released 5 reds to 24" on my Flats Minnow fly. A great trip!
Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland, his daughter Diane Muhlfeld, from Sarasota, and Roy Glah, from CT, fished the Middleground flat in Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning, 1/7. They caught some quality fish-3 pompano, 2 flounder, a Spanish mackerel and several trout on CAL jigs with grubs.
Next week's negative low tides in the morning should concentrate reds and trout in potholes of north Sarasota Bay. With Spanish mackerel still present in Sarasota Bay, it may be worth checking the coastal gulf for Spanish mackerel, false albacore (little tunny) and tripletail when conditions are good.
Happy New Year and a special thanks to all the customers that fished with me during the past year! After almost 22 years in business, many of you have become good friends and I've gotten to know and fish with your families as well. I appreciate your business and look forward to fishing with you again soon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Capt. Rick Grassett's Sarasota, FL Fishing Forecast for January 2012
Weather will be a factor this month so fish smart, ahead of fronts or in windows of good weather between fronts, for the best action. You'll find reds and trout in potholes or around deep docks on low tides in the morning. Snook should be in rivers, creeks, canals and around lighted docks and bridge fenders in the ICW at night. It may be worth taking a look in the coastal gulf for albies (little tunny), tripletail and more when the weather is good.
Trout season reopens in the south region this month and it is usually good in January following the 2-month closure. Cold weather will cause trout to congregate in potholes, channels, creeks and around deep docks. Fish CAL jigs or DOA shrimp slow, close to the bottom for the best action. Fly anglers should do well with weighted flies and sinking fly lines to get their flies into the strike zone. You'll also find trout on deep grass flats this month where you can drift and cast ahead of your drift with a CAL jig or a weighted fly on a sink tip fly line to find them. Some of the biggest trout may be in potholes in skinny water where you may have an opportunity to sight fish for them. Use flies with weedguards that land gently or weedless rigged CAL shad tails and jerk worms when fishing shallow grass.
You'll find reds in potholes or on drop offs along bars and edges of flats on negative low tides in the morning. You might also find reds around deep docks in the ICW when the tide is low. As the tide rises, they will move higher onto flats where you may find them along mangrove shorelines on sunny afternoons. I like 1/16-ounce CAL jigs with grub or shad tails when targeting reds in shallow water, although if the tide is very low or in thick grass you'll need to weedless rig the plastic tails. I like either Mustad or Owner weedless hooks with a very light weight (1/16 ounce) molded onto the hook shank. You can work your bait right through thick grass with this rig and then let it drop into potholes. When fly fishing, I use lightly weighted flies with weed guards fished on a 12' or longer floating fly line. I like north Sarasota Bay for reds and trout in January.
Snook season remains closed this month, so use tackle heavy enough to land them quickly and release them with as little handling as possible. You'll find snook in rivers, creeks and canals in January. Fish deep spots, such as the outside bank of a bend, or docks in these areas. You'll also find a lot of snook in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice. Fly fishing for snook at night can be very good, but strong fronts can shut things down for a few days. I like small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line. Spin anglers should do well with CAL jigs and shad tails or 4-1/2" jerk worms. Fish peak tidal flows for the best action.
You might find blues, Spanish mackerel, pompano or flounder on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. The techniques to locate them on deep grass flats are the same as for trout, drifting and casting ahead of the drift with CAL jigs, DOA Deadly Combos and flies. The DOA Deadly Combo is very effective for multiple species when drifting deep grass flats. Adding sound to the DOA shrimp helps predators find it. Deep grass flats close to passes such as the Middleground, Radio Tower and Marina Jack flats and Stephens and Bishop Point are good areas because of a good tidal flow and a good mixture of sand and grass. In shallow water, look for flounder along the edge of bars and drop offs along the edges of shallow flats in the same areas where you might find reds and trout.
You might find albies (little tunny), blues, Spanish mackerel and tripletail in the coastal gulf depending on conditions. When it's mild, there can be lots of action in the coastal gulf. You might find tripletail on crab trap floats when it's warm with a southeast breeze. A DOA shrimp or a 1/16-ounce CAL jig with a shad tail should work well for them. Due to the way they camouflage themselves as flotsam, they will eat a lure or fly that is coming towards them. Look for surface activity to find albies, blues and Spanish mackerel and cast CAL jigs or flies to them. You might also find whiting and silver trout in the surf and in the coastal gulf where they can be caught by bouncing CAL jigs on the bottom.
Fishing can be challenging in January but if you can be flexible with when you fish, it can be very good. The best action will be when fronts are approaching or in windows of good weather between fronts. Following fronts, afternoons may fish better for a couple of days. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill, don't kill your limit!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Target Species:
Reds, trout, snook, pompano, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder, false albacore and tripletail
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