Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, trout, reds, crevalle jacks and bluefish during the past couple of weeks. The best action was snook fishing around lighted docks and bridge fenders before daylight with a fly. Also, jacks and bluefish are schooling, providing fast action on deep grass flats.
Orvis rep Robert Bryant, from Greensboro, NC, snook fished with me before daylight on Thursday, Oct. 5. We caught and released more than 15 snook to 25" on my Grass Minnow snook fly between Blackburn Pt. and the Venice Inlet. Orvis has kindly donated a new Zero Gravity 8 wt. fly rod, which will be the top prize in the "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge" next weekend.
Fishing was tough on the weekend of Oct. 7 & 8. With a full moon on Oct. 6th, fish didn't feed very well on shallow flats during daylight. Large tarpon were busting bait schools one day near the mouth of the Peace and Myakka Rivers but mostly ignored us. We did get a couple of bites, one on a DOA Baitbuster and another on a CAL jig with a jerk worm, but didn't hook up. We did, however, catch and release trout, jacks and ladyfish with flies and jigs on deep grass flats of the Terra Ceia area and in Gasparilla Sound.
970 WFLA's, Capt. Mel Berman, joined me for a trip in Sarasota Bay on Thursday, Oct. 12th. The water looked good from New Pass all the way to Long Bar, but nothing was happening. The good news is that there was no sign of red tide, the water was clear and baitfish plentiful, so it's only a matter of time before fishing will return to normal in that area. We caught and released a few ladyfish with flies and jigs in Sarasota's Big Pass just to bend a rod on something.
Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL and I went on a scouting mission on Friday. We covered the water from the mouth of the Manatee River to Joe Bay. We caught and released some nice jacks, bluefish and trout on Crease flies and Ultra Hair Clousers in Terra Ceia Bay and at the mouth of the river. Steve Meyer, from Sarasota, FL and a guest fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. The action started off good with Steve catching a pair of snook not far from the Turtle Beach boat ramp on CAL jigs with shad tails. They added a red and a couple of trout on DOA Deadly Combos to complete their slam. A nice jack slammed Steve's jig fooling us that it was a snook until it started to circle the boat. It was still a good tug!
Next week's tides get better toward the end of the week as we head toward a new moon next weekend. The weather has been beautiful and the water temperature is dropping, so it's just a matter of time before fall fishing busts loose. With stone crab traps in the water now, a trip down the beach looking for tripletail, cobia, Spanish mackerel and little tunny might be a good option. There is still time to enter the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers/Coastal Conservation Association's "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge" to be held in Sarasota next Saturday, Oct. 21st. Anglers will fish for snook, reds and trout with flies only in a catch-photo-release format. The friendly competition features lots of nice awards, a raffle and a BBQ after the event. Contact me for more info.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com