Plentiful Tarpon & Good Flats Action in Sarasota
Capt. Rick Grassett
May 29, 2011
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
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 tarpon, trout, bluefish, redfish and Spanish mackerel during the past couple of weeks. Tarpon are plentiful and many are in large schools along Sarasota beaches. As is sometimes the case they become finicky and focused on migrating and spawning rather than eating, especially early in the season. We worked everything from singles, doubles and small schools to a couple of massive schools of hundreds of fish during the past couple of weeks.
West winds in the early part of the week of May 16th forced us to fish Sarasota Bay rather than tarpon in the coastal gulf, although action was good. My friends Russell and Annette Johnson, from Clovis, NM, and son Kyle and fiancée, Becky from Oklahoma City, visited Sarasota that week and fished with me on Tuesday and Wednesday. Russell and Kyle had steady action with trout to 3-pounds on CAL jigs with shad tails in Sarasota Bay on Tuesday, 5/17. The best action was on deep grass flats on the west side of the bay. Russell and Annette fished with me on Wednesday, 5/18, and caught and released trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and a red on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos. West winds eased up and allowed us to fish the east side of the bay where they had good action at Stephens Point. Later in the week they tarpon fished with my son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton. They had a great day, jumping 4 tarpon and leadering 2 of them on live crabs off Siesta Key on Friday, 5/20.
Winds switched back to the east when Bill Moore, from Libertyville, IL and his brother, Chris Moore from Coos Bay, OR, tarpon fished with me later that week from 5/19 through 21. Schools of little tunny (false albacore) blitzed the beach one day off of Longboat Key. Chris connected with one on a CAL jig with a shad tail and the fish made a smoking run! We found tarpon very finicky coming off the full moon and they repeatedly swam through our baits and refused them. They were in a better mood by Saturday, 5/21, when Chris jumped an 80-pounder and fought it to the boat after numerous jumps and an hour long battle. A hammerhead shark stalked our fish right at the boat but never attacked, so the fish swam off unharmed.
Clark Keator and his son, Clark, from Orlando, FL, fished a couple of days with me last week. Young Clark, jumped and landed a 90-lb tarpon on a live crab on Monday, 5/23. We measured both length and girth to get an accurate weight estimate and took a DNA sample of the fish for Mote Marine Laboratory's tarpon research program. I had a couple of experienced tarpon anglers who have caught and released numerous tarpon with me in the past, on Wednesday and Thursday, 5/25 and 26. We had lots of quality shots with both fly and spin tackle but the tarpon ignored us.
Conditions were great for sight fishing on Friday, 5/27, and tarpon got in a better mood. We jumped a tarpon on a fly and had a couple of hard follows. We also had a tarpon try to eat a CAL shad tail fished at the surface on a weedless hook. A very exciting strike!
Next week's tides are great, particularly the outgoing tides in the afternoon, as we approach the new moon on June 1st. Fishing tarpon along the beaches, trout, reds and more on both shallow and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay and snook in the surf or in the ICW at night should all be good options next week.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Capt. Rick Grassett's Fishing Forecast for June 2011
Tarpon fishing will be in full swing all along our beaches this month. Look for snook in passes and in the surf. Reds and trout should be plentiful over grass flats and should also be good options. You might also find Spanish mackerel or cobia lingering in our area this month.
Tarpon will be the main focus for many anglers this month. You should find them along our beaches as they migrate through our area to spawn. They may be moving either north or south, so keep a sharp eye in both directions. Once you've spotted fish, position your boat in that "lane" to intercept the next school that passes. If there isn't much wind, I will drift or hold my position with a trolling motor. If wind is moving me around a lot, I may anchor. It is important to be quiet and use an electric trolling motor sparingly. The shallower the water, the more important this is.
Once you are set up in their path you can cast live crabs, a variety of bait fish and DOA baits, such as the 4" shrimp, Baitbuster, Swimming Mullet or BFL. When fish aren't showing well on the surface a live baitfish or crab drifted under a float will sometimes score with fish that may be swimming by you. You'll need heavy tackle for tarpon. I use 7', 20 to 30-lb class rods with large spinning reels capable of holding 300-yards or more of 50-lb braided line. Fly anglers use 12-weight fly rods with sink tip or full intermediate fly lines.
When fly fishing for tarpon, I try to fish the shallowest water possible. It is easier to see fish and get a fly in front of them in that situation. However, in shallow water you need to be very quiet. Electric trolling motors will spook them more easily so they should be used sparingly. I use my push pole and only use a trolling motor for an assist if it's necessary to move my boat to get a shot at them. They will eat a variety of baitfish, crab and shrimp fly patterns.
Snook season remains closed during June, so any snook caught this month must be released. Use tackle heavy enough to catch and release them quickly. You might find them in the surf where they can be sight fished. You'll find them cruising in the trough, very close to the sand so if you walk along the beach about 10' from the edge of the surf, you may be able to spot them. A sink tip fly line with a small white fly, such as a DT Special or my Grassett Snook Minnow or a spinning rod with a CAL jig or DOA shrimp should work well for them.
You might also find them in passes, where you can drift and bounce a DOA TerrorEyz or Baitbuster along the bottom. This is a very effective technique that will also work in channels around bridges. You'll also find snook around docks and bridges close to passes this month. The same lures and flies used in the surf will also work around docks and bridges. At night, fish shadow lines with small white flies on sink tip fly lines or 1/16-ounce CAL jigs with shad tails on spinning tackle.
Reds should also be a good option his month. Due to plentiful baitfish and higher tide phases, they will spend more time feeding in shallow water. However, they may be affected by afternoon heat. It has been a very warm spring and with water temperatures already in the 80's during April, mornings may fish better. Incoming tides, early in the day will bring in the coolest water, which may be the most productive. I like to try to sight fish reds in potholes when the tide is low or on top of sand bars when the tide is high. If I can't see them, I blind cast with 1/16-ounce CAL jigs or lightly weighted flies focusing on seams where grass and sand meet or in mullet schools.
Trout should also be a good option during June. You'll find them in shallow water early in the day and they will drop into deeper water as the sun gets bright and the water warms. You may have a chance to catch a "gator" trout early in the day. The best time will be when the light is low. Cast top water plugs or fly poppers and Gurglers for exciting strikes! You can also use larger plastic baits such as jerk worms on a light jig head or a weedless hook. Focus on bait schools in low light to find big trout. One of the largest trout I ever saw caught on a fly, 7 ½-pounds, was at dawn on a Gurgler fly with bait showering all around. I release all trout over 20" on my boat, since most of these are females that are full of roe this time of year.
Later in the day, trout will drop onto deep grass flats in 6' or 7' of water. I like to drift these areas and cast ahead of my drift with CAL jigs or DOA Deadly Combos to find fish. Fly anglers should score with intermediate or intermediate sink tip fly lines and weighted flies. I make a series of drifts on a flat until I locate fish, and then shorten my drift when I get dialed into them. You might also find blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano in the same areas and the technique is the same to catch them. You'll need to add heavy fluorocarbon or wire when toothy fish are around. I prefer heavy fluorocarbon, since it won't deter the trout or pompano bite. Some of my favorite deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay are the Middleground and Radio Tower flats, Stephens and Bishop Points and near Buttonwood Harbor. These areas have a good mix of grass and sand and good tidal flow.
You might also find Spanish mackerel, little tunny, cobia and tripletail in the coastal gulf. Spanish mackerel and little tunny may be feeding in baitfish near the surface so look for diving birds or baitfish being forced out of the water to find them. Cobia may be swimming on the surface and cobia or tripletail may be found around crab trap floats. I have even found cobia swimming with tarpon schools before and your tarpon tackle is perfect for them. A medium spinning rod with a jig or a DOA shrimp or an 8-weight fly rod with a crab or shrimp pattern should work well for tripletail.
This is a great month for tarpon, which is what I'll be doing unless west winds force me to fish inside waters. However, if pulling on a 100-pound tarpon isn't your idea of fun, there will still be plenty of other options in the inshore waters and coastal gulf. 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:
tarpon snook redfish trout Spanish mackerel bluefish litle tunny tripletail
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