Rick Grassett

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 trout and bluefish in Sarasota Bay, snook at night in the ICW and tripletail in the coastal gulf on flies during the past couple of weeks. The best action was fly fishing for snook at night in the ICW.

A strong front with winds above 20 mph pushed through early Thanksgiving week. Since I was due for maintenance on my outboard, it was a good time to put my boat in the shop for service. John Nelson, from Tampa, FL, his son, Mark and son-in-law, Chris, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 11/29. Since all 3 were fly anglers, our plan was to wade shallow flats. However with a 10- degree drop in water temperature, we didn't find anything in that zone. We drifted deeper grass flats near Stephens Point where they caught and released trout on intermediate sink tip fly lines and Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Mark and Chris each caught and released their first saltwater trout on flies!

Patrice Camillieri, from France, fished Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf with me on Monday, 12/2 and again on Thursday, 12/5. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay on Monday where he caught and released trout, including a couple of upper slot fish, and bluefish on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly. He sight fished a 6-pound tripletail on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly in the coastal gulf with me on Thursday morning and later we moved to skinny water in Sarasota Bay where he caught and released a 6-pound "gator" trout on the same fly! I feel that these big trout, which are mostly females that may be full of roe, are important to the health of our trout fishery, so I release all trout over 20".

Bill Rhodes, from Hernando Beach, FL, snook fished with me in the ICW on Tuesday evening, 12/4. He had nonstop action catching and releasing numerous snook to 24" on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. With a good incoming tide, compounded by a south wind and a warming trend following the last front, snook gorged themselves on glass minnows and shrimp. Every once in a while several factors will align and the bite will be amazing. It's good to be there when it happens!

Bill also caught and released trout, ladyfish and bluefish in Sarasota Bay on flies with me on Wednesday, 12/5. He understands the advantage of fishing the entire water column and had his fly rods rigged with floating, intermediate and faster sinking fly lines. Bill also has a lot of success fishing tandem flies, a very effective technique for fishing deep grass flats. We fished deep grass flats from 5' to 8' on both sides of the bay and he had steady action including a couple of doubles where he caught a fish on each fly!

Snook season is now closed through the end of February on the west coast, but there should be good catch and release action with snook around lighted docks at night in the ICW. Use tackle heavy enough to catch and release them quickly and handle them gently. Big trout are moving into shallow water in Sarasota Bay where you may find them in potholes when the tide is low. Fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay for trout, blues and more should also be a good inshore option next week. Look for false albacore and tripletail in the coastal gulf when conditions are good.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett

FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor

Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide

CB's Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year

Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.

(941) 923-7799

E-mail snookfin@aol.com

www.snookfin-addict.com

Fish Species: snook, trout, blues, jacks and tripletail
Bait Used: Fly
Tackle Used: Fly tackle
Method Used: Fly fishing
Water Depth: 4'-8'
Water Temperature: 70
Wind Direction: SE
Wind Speed:
Patrice Camillieri Sarasota Grassett Flats Minnow fly tripletail
Patrice Camillieri Sarasota Grassett Flats Minnow fly tripletail

Patrice Camillieri Sarasota Bay Grassett Flats Minnow fly 6-lb trout
Patrice Camillieri Sarasota Bay Grassett Flats Minnow fly 6-lb trout


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Rick Grassett

About The Author: Captain Rick Grassett

Company: Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.

Area Reporting: Soutwest Florida

Bio: Capt. Rick Grassett, owner of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc., is a full time fishing guide and outdoor writer based in Sarasota, FL. He has been guiding since 1990 and is an Orvis Endorsed Outfitter fly fishing guide at CB's Saltwater Outfitters in Sarasota. Specializing in fishing with flies and lures on light spinning tackle, Capt. Rick fishes the bays, back country and coastal gulf waters from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor in his 18' Action Craft flats boat. He is a Federation of Fly Fishers certified fly casting instructor. Destination fishing trips are another specialty of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service. Capt. Rick has lead groups of fly anglers to remote fishing locations around the world. Crane Meadow Lodge, MT, Los Roques, Venezuela, Andros Island Bonefish Club and Bonefish Bay Club in the Bahamas are several destinations where he has hosted groups in the past. Capt. Rick is a field editor for Saltwater Angler magazine and a monthly columnist for the Tampa Tribune. He has written articles for The Fisherman magazine and Orvis News. In addition to writing for these publications, he has been featured in articles in Florida Sportsman, Sportfishing, The Fisherman and Fly Fishing in Saltwater magazines. Capt. rick's web site, www.snookfin-addict.com features weekly fishing reports, current photos and and monthly fishing forecasts. He also maintains a second website that is specific to fly fishing and fly casting instruction, www.flyfishingflorida.net.

941-923-7799
Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Rick Grassett