Sarasota Tarpon Fishing is Hot!
Capt. Rick Grassett
July 30, 2009
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with tarpon, trout and snook recently. Tarpon are still fairly plentiful and are a good option; particularly fly fishing for them in shallow water. In addition, we also caught a few bluefish and Spanish mackerel while fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay.
Justin and Melissa Jones, from TX, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday, July 19th. We fished deep grass flats near Buttonwood Harbor where they caught and released trout on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails. My friend Capt. Bryon Chamberlin, from Land O'Lakes, FL, tarpon fished with me on Monday, July 20th. We fished shallow water near Siesta and Lido Keys and had excellent action. Tarpon were plentiful and we probably had more than 30 shots at fish, 6 bites, 4 jumped and one of them landed. A great day!
My friend, Steve Gibson from Sarasota, FL, tarpon fished with me the next day but the tarpon weren't as aggressive. We had almost as many shots with a fly but no bites. Nick Coote and his son, George, both from near London, England fished with me on Tuesday. We spent half of our trip fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay near Buttonwood Harbor where they caught and released trout to 22", bluefish and a Spanish mackerel on Clouser flies, DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs. Once we had good sunlight, we headed for the gulf to try our hand at tarpon. They had a couple of shots, but no takers.
The action continued on Thursday when my son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton joined me to tarpon fish. Andy put a fish in the air with a traditional style tarpon fly (chartreuse grizzly with an olive collar) and we had more than 20 shots. Alfredo Hernandez and his friend, Santiago, both from Miami, FL, tarpon fished with me on Friday. We snook fished around lighted docks on Siesta Key for an hour or so before dawn and they caught and released 4 or 5 snook before we headed for the gulf. Alfredo jumped a tarpon on a threadfin off Siesta Key, but that was the only action we had. Fly angler, Al Cuneo from Ellenton, FL, tarpon fished with me on Saturday. We had more than a dozen good shots but no bites. We had a hard follow but the fish ran out of water and spooked off the boat before he had a chance to eat.
The action continued into this week. I was off on Monday and planned to do some errands and office work but conditions were too good for me stay home. With an afternoon appointment to work around, I only had a couple of hours to spare but it was worth it. I had more than 20 shots at tarpon off Siesta, Lido and Longboat Keys and landed one on a black Deceiver. My friends Capt. Rick Depaiva and David McCleaf, both from Ft. Myers, joined me to fish on Tuesday. We had great conditions and more than 30 shots at tarpon with a fly in shallow water. David had the hot hand that day with 2 hook ups, one on a black Deceiver and the other on a black and red Tarpon Rat fly. One came unbuttoned right away, but the other fish gave us 5 jumps and a 10 minute battle before the leader somehow broke with the fish close to the boat.
I was the guest of friend and client Hal Lutz, from Parrish, FL, on Wednesday. The day started off great with good conditions and we had 6 or 8 good shots. Then the clouds rolled in and ruined our visibility. We stuck it out, even though the shots we were getting were not good ones. I got lucky when I jumped a fish that showed up right at our transom and flared off the boat. I made a cast to where the fish was headed with a black and red Tarpon Rat fly and hooked up. A knot came up and snagged a finger as I was clearing line and broke the fish off on a jump. Oh well!
Tarpon are starting to thin a little, but this action should continue for another week or two, possibly longer. After that, tarpon will move to inside waters where you may get a shot at them around bridges or on deep grass flats. Snook before dawn and reds, trout and more on shallow grass flats early in the day will also be good options.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Capt. Rick Grassett's Southwest Florida Fishing Forecast for August 2009
Tarpon schools will thin out along the beaches and they will move up into bays, around bridges and in some passes to feed this month. Snook will also be found in passes or in the surf close to passes and reds will begin schooling on shallow grass flats. Deep grass flats will have lots of variety with trout, pompano, bluefish, jacks and more. You might find a "gator" trout in skinny water at first light in the morning, but it will be a very narrow window of opportunity.
I've found tarpon in the coastal gulf during August but their numbers are thinning out as they move to inside waters. You'll find them around bridges at night and at first light in the morning. They will also feed on deep grass flats in some of the same areas where you might find trout. They will move up into Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay where they will gather in deep areas to feed. The difference between tarpon behavior during August as opposed to earlier in the season is that their focus changes from spawning to feeding. Although they are more spread out, once you've found them they are more likely to feed.
I like to cast plastic baits to tarpon in these areas when using spinning tackle. Fly anglers can use the same tackle used on the beach, but a faster sinking fly line may come in handy for fishing around bridges or in deep areas where they may gather. I like large profile, dark flies, such as Enrico Puglisi flies or Deceivers, when fishing "off color" or stained water. The exception to this might be when tarpon feed on glass minnows around bridges. My Grassett's Snook Minnow fly, tied on a heavier hook, works well for tarpon when they're feeding on glass minnows.
You'll find juvenile tarpon in canals, basins and around bridges at night and early in the morning. Look for rolling fish and cast lures or flies to them once you've located them. They tend to frequent the same areas, usually deep water (10' or more) with hard bottom. They also like to gather in the "dead ends" of canals and basins. DOA shrimp and TerrorEyz on spinning tackle are my "go to" baits for tarpon in these areas. I scale my fly tackle down to 8 and 9-weight rods with intermediate or faster sinking fly lines. Although smaller tarpon are seen rolling on the surface, I have better success catching them closer to the bottom. A small Tarpon Bunny or Enrico Puglisi fly can be stripped slowly along the bottom and still have lots of action. Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda have miles and miles of canals and many of them hold juvenile tarpon.
Snook season remains closed during August so they must be caught and released immediately. Handle them gently and use tackle heavy enough so that they may be landed quickly. You'll find them in the surf, where they can be sight-fished with lures and flies. Jigs and plastic baits on spinning tackle and small white flies fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line will work well. Many of the same small white flies that we use at night will also work well for snook in the surf. You'll also find them in passes and around lighted docks and bridge fenders close to passes where small white flies, jigs and plastic baits will all work well for them. I prefer an intermediate or intermediate sink tip fly line when fishing these areas. A moving tide is an important part of the equation when targeting snook. They stronger the tide, the better they will feed. The ICW from Sarasota to Venice is a great area to fish for snook around lighted docks and bridges. Also, there are many good beaches for snook in the same zone, as well as north and south of there.
Reds should begin schooling this month, particularly towards the end of the month. They will be easier to find when the tide is low. Look for nervous areas of water, wakes or even a reddish or copper tint to the water when they are tightly schooled. Casting top water plugs and fly poppers is a good way to locate them. Once you've found them, you can work them similar to how you might work a school of tarpon. Get ahead of the school and use a push pole or trolling motor sparingly to position yourself. Work around the edges of the school to avoid spooking the whole school. While finding a huge school of reds is exciting, if you aren't careful you may spook all of them at once. Once you've located a school, larger profile plastic baits and flies seem to work well. Lower Tampa Bay, north Sarasota Bay and Gasparilla Sound are all good areas for reds in August.
You should find trout, pompano, bluefish, jacks and ladyfish on deep grass flats. Drift and cast ahead of your drift with lures and flies to locate fish. Once you've located them, you can shorten your drift. Jigs, plastic baits and plastic shrimp under a "clacker" float are all good lures for fishing deep grass flats. Fly anglers should do well with weighted flies fished on intermediate and intermediate sink tip fly lines. You'll also find large trout in skinny water at dawn and dusk. They will move into these areas to feed when the light conditions are low. There will be a very narrow window to catch these big fish in shallow water. Look for baitfish activity to find them.
There are lots of options during August. This is one of the months when you might catch a super slam; tarpon, snook, reds and trout all on the same trip. There is still a chance for tarpon in shallow water early in the month and for a variety of species at first light and early in the day. My day often starts at 4 or 5 AM and is done before noon this time of the year. Whatever you choose to do, remember to always limit your kill, don't kill your limit!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Target Species:
Tarpon, reds, snook, trout
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