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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
May 7, 2006
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Report for 5/1 through 5/7/2006
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and ladyfish during the past week. The fastest action was on deep grass flats with bluefish, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish and fly fishing for snook at night.
Capt. Mel Berman, host of the “Capt. Mel Show” radio program, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. We caught and released lots of ladyfish and one nice bluefish on jigs and Clouser flies. I poled a bar on the east side of Sarasota Bay and we saw a few nice reds, but they didn’t bite. That evening, fly anglers Phil Rever from Sarasota, FL, and his brother, Jack Rever from Fairfax, VA, fished with me in Blackburn Bay. They caught and released about a dozen snook to 25”, mostly on Skitterbug flies. Snook were feeding on a variety of baitfish and shrimp. When shrimp were hopping on the surface to avoid being eaten, a Skitterbug dropped on top of the fray would get hammered.
Tuesdays fly fishing trip in the Terra Ceia Bay area was very slow. We saw quite a few reds and snook, but couldn’t catch them with a fly that day. The next day, Marty Guice from Lakewood Ranch and his guest, Lyn, from NJ fished Sarasota Bay with me. They caught 4 bluefish near the Hart Reef and a large Spanish mackerel at the Marina Jack flat on CAL jigs with shad tails and Diamond Jigs. That evening, fly anglers Larry Ford and Arnold Hoffman, both from Longboat Key, FL, snook fished with me near Venice. The action was much slower than on Monday evening. Although snook were obviously feeding, they were being very selective of what they would eat. They caught a few on a variety of flies, including Arnold’s first snook with a fly.
We ran into some large Spanish mackerel on Thursday near Whale Key and caught a couple of 4-pounders on CAL jigs with shad tails. A stop at the Marina Jack flat produced a few small trout, bluefish and cut-offs by large Spanish mackerel.
Reports of tarpon being seen or caught are increasing daily. Next week, I’ll begin tarpon fishing and I am hopeful that we’ll have a good season this year. Everything seems to be right, with plenty of baitfish and water temperatures at near 80 degrees, there should be significant schooling activity in the coastal gulf as we approach a full moon next Saturday.
For those preferring not to tangle with a giant tarpon, there are still some Spanish mackerel, bluefish and little tunny available. Fishing deeper water for these species has been more productive than fishing skinny water recently. Due to no significant rainfall for a couple of months, the water is very clear on the flats and in the gulf. I’m sure this has contributed to reds and snook being tough to fool and may be a factor with tarpon, too.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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