Capt. Rick Grassett's Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 9/23 through 10/7/07
Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout, bluefish, redfish, snook, Spanish mackerel and little tunny during the past couple of weeks. The best action has been on the flats for trout and in the coastal gulf for Spanish mackerel and little tunny.
Merrill Zinder, from Longboat Key, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sept. 25th. We had fast action with trout to 18", bluefish and a redfish on CAL jigs with curly tails and DOA Deadly Combos near Buttonwood Harbor. I spent the next week from Sept. 27th through Oct. 3rd visiting family in Delaware and fishing a couple of days in the Chesapeake Bay.
My brother, Kirk Grassett from Middletown, DE, and I fished with our friend, Capt. Matt Tawes of Chesapeake Angling out of Crisfield, MD on Monday, Oct. 1st. We fished shorelines south of Crisfield and caught and released about 10 or 12 stripers and bluefish on Clouser flies fished on fast sinking fly lines. Capt. Matt is a pleasure to fish with and his equipment is always in good condition. He can be reached at www.chesapeakeangling.com for a trip out of Crisfield, MD.
The next day Kirk and I launched his boat in Taylor's Island, MD and fished the middle Chesapeake Bay. We found a school of breaking stripers right out of the boat tramp and each caught a nice one. Although it was a good way to start, that was it as far as breaking fish for the rest of the day. We covered a lot of water and caught a few more stripers and blues at the power plant discharge on the western shore.
After returning to Sarasota, Mary Fetzko from Dallas, TX, fished with me on Thursday. We had good action near Buttonwood Harbor with trout to 22" and a nice bluefish on DOA Deadly combos. The next day, I was the guest of my friend, Capt. Bryon Chamberlin of Land O' Lakes, FL, on his flats skiff. We fished the Ft. Desoto Park area where we caught and released numerous trout with Clouser and Estaz Marabou flies. Capt. Bryon, an excellent fly and light tackle guide, can be reached at www.barbedsteel.com for a trip in that area.
The best trip of the week was yesterday when fly anglers Steve Leibel and Carl Bettinger, both from Albuquerque, NM, fished with me. We fished the coastal gulf off Siesta Key and found fast action with Spanish mackerel and little tunny. There was a feeding frenzy going on in about 30' of water where a bait ball was being blasted by sharks, mackerel and little tunny. The action continued as the bait ball hid under our boat as we continued to drift for about 15 minutes. They caught and released more than 20 Spanish mackerel to 3-pounds and a pair of little tunny on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. In addition there were tarpon scattered about feeding in the area and large king mackerel "skyrocketing" on bait!
I look for this action to continue and even get better as the bay and coastal gulf cools down this month. Reds are still schooling in Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor and should start to break out of schools soon.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com
