Good Sarasota Bay & Montana Fly Fishing
Capt. Rick Grassett
August 16, 2015
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fly 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 snook, trout and jack crevalle on flies in Sarasota Bay during the past couple of weeks. The west wind and frequent rain pattern that we were in for 3 full weeks, finally ended and allowed us to get into the gulf to tarpon fish a couple of days.
Tom Neal, from Toronto, Ontario, snook fished with me on Monday morning, 8/3 before daylight. Although still in a west wind pattern, the forecast was for a low probability of rain until late morning. However, the forecast was wrong and torrential rain was on us by daybreak ending our trip early. Tom had some action catching and releasing a few snook around lighted docks on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly before the rain chased us away.
David Morgan, from Chevy Chase, MD, fished with me on Wednesday, 8/5. Sea conditions were good in the morning to tarpon fish, but visibility was poor with the outgoing tide dumping lots of off color water, due to the massive rains we've had. We opted to fish Sarasota Bay for a few hours and tarpon fish on the outgoing tide when the water was clearer. David caught and released a few trout and a big jack on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on a Sarasota Bay deep grass flat. We fished the coastal gulf in the afternoon and he had 4 or 5 shots at tarpon with a fly. Anglers also had a few shots at tarpon with a fly on another trip on Thursday, 8/6.
I hosted a group of friends and clients on a destination fly fishing trip at Crane Meadow Lodge (www.cranemeadow.addr.com) in Twin Bridges, MT during the week of 8/9. This is an annual trip for me and was our 14th year at the lodge. We fished the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Jefferson, Ruby and Madison Rivers in southwest Montana where we caught and released numerous brown and rainbow trout and some brookies during the week. We fished streamers and a variety of grasshopper dry fly patterns, often with a nymph dropper, on 4, 5 and 6-weight fly tackle. We also had some dry fly action with tricos and a few other bugs. For a full report and photos of this trip, go to the Destinations trips page of my web site at,
http://www.snookfin-addict.com/destination-fishing-trips.htm or http://www.flyfishingflorida.us/destination-fishing-trips.html .
There should still be some tarpon action in the coastal gulf in the coming weeks. Tarpon are fewer this time of year, but if you've got the patience to wait on them it can be very good. Catch and release snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges close to passes with flies or DOA Lures should be a good option next week. You may also find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and jacks on deep grass flats, particularly close to passes. Look for reds, snook and big trout mixed with mullet schools on shallow flats and edges of bars.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
IFFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide at CB's Saltwater Outfitters
Orvis Outfitter of the Year-2011
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