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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
April 2, 2005
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 3/27 through 4/2/2005
Fly and spin anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had good action with trout to 4-pounds, with many fish in the slot, in Sarasota Bay during the past week. Snook, reds, flounder and Spanish mackerel rounded out the catch.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune Outdoor Editor, Steve Gibson, joined me for a Sarasota Bay trip on Monday. As has been the case the last several times we fished, the weather was not in our favor. With a northwest wind at 15 to 25-mph, there weren’t many places to fish. Because we had a very high tide, wading was not a good option, so we chose to stay in the boat and fish docks and protected flats around Lido Key and Siesta Key with spinning tackle. Steve caught and released a 28” redfish, several trout from 18” to 22” and a pair of jacks. Both jacks were caught at the same time on a Rapala suspending plug, as were the other fish.
Fly fisher, Bill Crelin from Waukesh, WI, and his dad, Bill Crelin from Venice, FL, snook fished with me near Venice on Tuesday evening. The bite was good and they caught and released more than 20 snook to 26” and a 24” redfish on Grassett’s Grass Minnow and Skitterbug flies. The redfish and some of the snook were caught with live shrimp.
Several other trips during the week with fly and spinning tackle produced numerous trout to 4-pounds, ladyfish and scattered Spanish mackerel and flounder. Fly anglers, Josh and Heather Kochin, from Vineyard Haven, MA caught ladyfish and trout to 20” near the Ringling Mansion and Buttonwood Harbor with me on Wednesday. The largest trout, a 20” fish, was sight fished out of a pothole with a Grassett’s Flats Minnow fly.
Sarasota winter residents, Harry Beaty and Tom Schalk, had a great day on Thursday. They caught more than 25 trout, including a 23”, 4-pound trout, which was released. We fished near the Ringling Mansion on the east side of Sarasota Bay and near Buttonwood Harbor on the west side.
Fly fisher, Perry Greene from Bloomfield Hills, MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday along with his 3 sons from 9 to 18-years old. Capt. Ed Hurst and I teamed up to fish the group. They had more than 2-hours of non-stop action with breaking fish near the Ringling mansion first thing in the morning. The action included mostly trout and ladyfish, but Spanish mackerel and bluefish also joined the frenzy. We fished Ultra Hair Clousers on intermediate fly lines.
Andrew Stiles, from Richmond, VA, fished Sarasota Bay with me on a “redfish mission” on Friday afternoon. With a very high tide, not much visibility and windy conditions, our only option was to fish the mangroves. Andrew dropped a Clouser fly into pockets and in shadow lines along mangrove shorelines to try to get a hungry red to chase his fly out from under the bushes. He connected with a red and a jack and had another red chase his fly. Not bad given the conditions we had to work with.
Springtime action is getting ready to bust loose. With the water temperature finally reaching the low 70’s, Spanish mackerel and cobia should show up in good numbers very soon. Next week’s low tides in the morning are favorable for reds, trout and snook on the flats as we head toward a new moon next Friday.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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