Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: April 29, 2013

Ron Race, from Mich., caught and released this 25 inches snook on a Grassett Snook Minnow fly while fishing the ICW near Venice at night with Capt. 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, flounder and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and snook and bluefish in the ICW at night near Venice on lures and flies during the past week. We also jumped the first tarpon of the season in the coastal gulf on a fly!

Terry Mitchell, from O.R., and Michael Ruegg from Switzerland, fished the coastal Gulf and Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. With good sunlight and calm sea conditions we decided to take a look in the coastal Gulf for tarpon. We were pleasantly surprised to find six or seven schools of tarpon and got some shots at them with flies, DOA shrimp and Baitbusters. We fished Sarasota Bay in the afternoon where they caught numerous trout to 18 inches, Spanish mackerel, flounder and a redfish on CAL jigs with shad tails at Stephens Point and near Long Bar.

Don and Linda Tase, from N.H., and their grandson Ryan, from Sarasota, Fla/, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday. They caught and released trout to 18 inches on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos at the Marina Jack Flat.

Ron Race, from Mich., fished Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf with me on Wednesday. He had some action catching and releasing trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies at the Marina Jack flat in the morning before we headed into the coastal gulf. Conditions were great, so we spent some time looking for tarpon, tripletail and false albacore (little tunny) but didn’t find anything. However we found a big cobia and he got a shot at it with a fly.

Ron also fished the ICW near Venice with me on Thursday evening. He had great action catching and releasing 15 snook to 25 inches and a bluefish on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. The best action was at the bottom of the tide when snook went on a binge!

On Friday’s tarpon trip in the coastal Gulf, we saw three schools of tarpon and had five or six shots at them with a fly. We jumped one on a Lefty’s Deceiver fly that gave us a smoking run and several jumps before the fish chafed the leader on something and broke off. What a thrill!

Capt. Ed Hurst and I taught the Orvis Fly Fishing 101 introductory fly fishing class at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Saturday morning. The two-hour free class, designed to expose new anglers to fly fishing, covered fly casting basics and included casting with premium Orvis fly tackle. If you want to learn to fly fish, contact CB’s to sign up for the next Orvis Fly Fishing 101 class, which will be Sun, May 5th.

Tarpon are becoming more plentiful in the coastal gulf and should be a good option next week. Look for reds and big trout in potholes and on the edges of bars when the tide is low or on shallow flats on sunny afternoons when the tide is high. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should also be 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