Shallow Water Action Explodes in Sarasota
Capt. Rick Grassett
April 2, 2011
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Action exploded in skinny water during the week of 3/21. Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had great action with reds and trout on shallow grass flats. In addition, we also caught and released Spanish mackerel, blues, trout and pompano on deep grass flats.
Sarasota winter resident, Mike Perez, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Monday, 3/21 and had a great day! He caught trout on Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails in a few spots in the morning. We waded a flat and fished potholes in the afternoon and caught and released 4 reds to 28" on an olive Enrico Puglisi crab pattern and my Grassett Flats Minnow fly.
Bill Moore, from Libertyville, IL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 3/22. He had steady action with trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and a pompano on CAL jigs with shad and grub tails. We fished the west side of the bay from the Middleground flat to Buttonwood Harbor.
Scotty Heidler, from Hudson, OH, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday, 3/23, and had a banner day. Scotty is an accomplished angler who has been fishing with me for 11years-since he was 5-years old! We fished skinny water all day long where he caught and released more than 50 trout to 5 ½-pounds, 15 reds and a 4-pound pompano. The action heated up in the afternoon when he caught numerous trout and reds on CAL jigs with grubs, shad tails and jerk worms. Although the reds weren't big, some of the trout were huge. About a dozen of the trout were more than 3-pounds with several in the 4 to 6-pound class. A great day!
Betsy and Julian Miraglia, from Bryn Mawr, PA, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Thursday, 3/24. They caught and released a few trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies and CAL jigs with grub tails. We fished potholes in the afternoon and had some shots at reds, but no bites.
The best action last week was with trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Anglers fishing with me caught and released trout to 19" and a couple of reds on jigs and flies. Sarasota winter residents, Nick Reding and Mike Perez, waded Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 3/29. They caught and released a few trout and a pair of reds on Clouser flies on the west side of the bay. Sarasota winter residents, Tom Schalk and Harry Beaty, fished the same area, only in deeper water, with me on Tuesday, 3/30. They caught and released trout, including 5 or 6 in the slot to 18", and ladyfish on CAL jigs with grub and shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos.
A strong front with high winds and heavy rain pushed through on Thursday. Fly anglers Bill Morrison, from Holmes Beach, FL and his friend Gary, from Sarasota, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning, 4/1. It was breezy out of the northwest in the morning due to Thursday's front, but fish were feeding. They caught and released about 20 trout to 18" on Ultra Hair Clouser flies near Bird Key. Fly angler George Fitzwater and his wife, Cookie, from Manasota Key, fished with me that afternoon. George was a recent student of mine in a CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school. He caught and released his first saltwater fish, a nice trout, on a fly!
If you are interested in learning to fly fish or improving your skills, I will be the instructor for a CB's Saltwater Outfitter's Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on April 9, 2011. This will be the last school until fall. Located at 1249 Stickney Point Rd., on Siesta Key in Sarasota, FL the school will cover fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. I will also cover leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. The course, designed for beginning and intermediate fly casters, will focus on basics but also work with intermediate casters on correcting faults and improving casting skills. Cost for the school, which will run from 9 AM to 3 PM, is $150 per person and includes the use of premium Orvis fly tackle, a text book and lunch. Contact me or CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or [email protected] to make reservations.
Next week's tides are good early in the week for fishing the flats and in the evening later in the week for night snook fishing, as we head away from a new moon on April 3rd. Fish flies and jigs on deep grass flats for trout, Spanish mackerel and more or in skinny water for reds and big trout. Small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow and Gurglers, CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA shrimp should work well for snook at night.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Capt. Rick Grassett's Sarasota Fly Fishing Forecast for April 2011
Fishing should be hot in April! Trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano should be plentiful on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Look for reds, snook and trout in skinny water on shallow grass flats and along sand bars. Snook will also stage around docks and bridges in the ICW, especially close to passes. Spanish and king mackerel, blues, little tunny, cobia and tripletail should all be options in the coastal gulf this month. Keep your eyes open for the first tarpon of the season.
Reds will spend more time feeding on shallow grass flats due to higher tides and more plentiful baitfish. As baitfish become plentiful their diet will consist more of baitfish rather than crustaceans. I like to pole shallow grass flats and cast baitfish fly patterns, like my Grassett Flats Minnow, on a floating line with about a 12' leader. You may also find reds staging along sand and oyster bars or in potholes. They can be very challenging so you may need to spend some time to be successful. Focus on mullet schools and bait fish to locate them. When blind casting, seams where grass meets sand, potholes or edges of flats and bars are all places to find them. Make shorter casts at first and lengthen your casts after you've covered the water close to you to avoid lining fish when blind casting. You may be able to sight fish for them on top of sand bars when the tide is high or in potholes when the tide is low. North Sarasota Bay, lower Tampa Bay from the mouth of the Manatee River to Port Manatee and Gasparilla Sound are all good redfish areas in April.
Snook season remains closed due to a special action taken by the Florida FWC, so any snook caught must be released. It is inevitable that you will encounter snook on shallow grass flats or around docks in the ICW in many of the same areas where you'll find reds, so use tackle that is heavy enough to catch and release them quickly. I like to fish sand bars and docks and bridges close to passes for snook in April. They will stage in these areas before they move to passes in May. Fly anglers should do well with Grassett Flats Bunnies, Gurglers, Clousers, Deceivers and EP flies on the flats and small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, and Gurglers at night.
You might find early season tarpon in lower Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay or Gasparilla Sound on deep grass flats close to passes or along the beach, especially towards the end of the month. Look for the tip of their tail or their backs sticking out of the water to find "laid up" fish on deep grass flats or in bays. You will need calm conditions to spot them. You might also find them rolling on the surface in the morning in these areas. I use 12-weight fly tackle for these fish that may be 100-pounds or more. Tarpon Toads, Deceivers, EP flies and shrimp fly patterns will work for tarpon in these areas.
Trout should be plentiful on both shallow and deep grass flats. I like to drift and cast ahead of the drift with weighted flies to find them. Deep grass flats that have a good mixture of grass and sand and a good tidal flow are best. When you locate fish you can anchor up or shorten your drift to zero in on them. You will find some of the largest trout in skinny water. Focus on seams where sand and grass meet, potholes or edges of flats. Stephens Point, Bishop Point, the Middleground and Radio Tower flats and near Buttonwood Harbor are all be good trout areas in Sarasota Bay.
You'll find Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano on deep grass flats in the same areas where you'll find trout this month. Look for bird activity and bait or blind cast ahead of your drift to locate them. I use Ultra Hair Clouser flies tied on long shank hooks, fished on sinking or sink tip fly lines. I load the flies up with a lot of Krystal Flash and epoxy the heads so they hold up to abuse from toothy critters. I add 6" of 60-pound fluorocarbon or use Orvis retwistable wire bite tippets when I know toothy fish are around. Fly poppers will also draw strikes from blues and mackerel and will make fish "show" themselves. They may also be in passes where you will need to use a fast sinking fly line to get your fly down into the strike zone. I like to cast perpendicular to my drift with flies to stay near the bottom.
You may find king and Spanish mackerel, blues and little tunny in the coastal gulf. Look for diving birds, bait being forced out of the water, or breaking fish to locate them. Cobia and tripletail may be around crab trap floats or buoys or cobia may be free swimming on the surface. I use Ultra Hair Clousers or my Grassett Snook Minnow fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line for mackerel and little tunny. In the absence of anything on the surface, you might try one of the many artificial reefs or areas of natural rocky bottom just off the coast of Sarasota. Locate the structure and drift over it while casting flies on fast sinking fly lines to locate fish. Crease flies and fly poppers may draw strikes from blues, mackerel or little tunny that aren't showing on the surface.
If you are interested in learning to fly fish or improving your skills, I will be the instructor for a CB's Saltwater Outfitter's Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on April 9, 2011. This will be the last school until fall. Located at 1249 Stickney Point Rd., on Siesta Key in Sarasota, FL the school will cover fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. I will also cover leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. The course, designed for beginning and intermediate fly casters, will focus on basics but also work with intermediate casters on correcting faults and improving casting skills. Cost for the school, which will run from 9 AM to 3 PM, is $150 per person and includes the use of premium Orvis fly tackle, a text book and lunch. Contact me or CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or [email protected] to make reservations.
April is one of my favorite months of the year. There should be plenty of action on both shallow and deep grass flats and in the coastal gulf. Be ready for the first tarpon of the season to show up by late in the month. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill, don't kill your limit!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
www.flyfishingflorida.net
Target Species:
Snook, trout, reds, tarpon, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano, little tunny, cobia and tripletail
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