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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
November 1, 2003
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota & Charlotte Harbor, FL Fishing Report for 10/26 through 11/1/2003
Spin and fly anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released snook, redfish, trout and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor during the past week. Although the action wasn’t fast, it was steady. Windy conditions during the week ahead of and following a front on Tuesday made fishing challenging. High winds combined with a negative low tide made fishing in Charlotte Harbor on Thursday particularly tough.
Bob Denny and George Van Tuyl, both from Warwick, NY, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday and Tuesday. They managed 3 reds to 29” and numerous trout on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms near Buttonwood Harbor on Monday. We opted for a pre dawn start on Tuesday to snook fish around lighted docks. We fished Siesta Key docks near Big Pass to land a couple of snook and trout on DOA Tiny TerrorEyz and DOA shrimp before heading for the flats. Winds were increasing as a front bore down on us and forced us off the water by noon. Bob and George caught and released numerous trout to 18” and a small red on weedless rigged CAL jerk worms and Exude R/T Slugs fishing the same flats that we fished Monday.
Capt. Marcia Foosaner, from Stuart, FL, gave a very interesting slide presentation on fly fishing for giant trout, snook and redfish on the east coast of Florida and on her recent trip to Montauk, NY for stripers, bluefish and false albacore at the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishing Club on Tuesday evening. Capt. Marcia joined me for a Sarasota Bay fly trip on Wednesday along with fellow club director, Roger Williams from Bradenton, FL. We waded and fished the flats near Long Bar and caught and released a pair of reds to 23”, a pair of snook to 25”, numerous trout, a flounder and a Spanish mackerel. While the action wasn’t fast, it improved as the day went by and the tide started to flood. The beast action was with bendback flies, which could be fished more effectively in the very shallow water.
Sarasota winter residents, Tom Lamb and Lee Williams, fished Charlotte harbor with me on Thursday. It was a tough day with 20+ mph winds and a negative low tide. The flats in the backcountry were dry, so we were forced to fish the deeper waters of Gasparilla Sound, which made hiding from the wind difficult. They managed several trout to 18”, ladyfish, a flounder and Spanish mackerel on weedless rigged CAL jerk worms, Exude R/T Slugs and DOA Deadly Combinations.
Next weeks tides should be favorable for flats fishing or snook at night. Each passing front should also stimulate the coastal gulf fishing for Spanish and king mackerel and little tunny.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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