Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: April 7, 2014

Capt. Rick DePaiva, from Ft. Myers, FL, battles a tarpon jumped on a fly while fishing the coastal gulf 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 snook, reds, trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and Gasparilla Sound on flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos during the past week. Shallow water action with reds, snook and big trout turned on and a couple of anglers scored slams.

Jake Harms and his dad Randy Harms, both from Toledo, OH, fished the east side of Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. They had good action with trout, bluefish and a nice Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.

Jeff Wolber, his young son Will and friend, Cam, all from Cincinnati, OH, fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay with me on Tuesday. They had good action catching and releasing trout and Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad tails.

Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL and Mike Perez, from Sarasota, FL, went on a redfish mission with me on Wednesday. We waded and fly fished a couple of shallow flats on both sides of the bay and caught and released a few trout and a bluefish on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly. Mike caught and released the fish of the day, a 33” red, on a Clouser fly!

Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL and Pat Redmond, from Sarasota, FL, fished the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Thursday. They caught and released trout to 19”, a 27” snook and a 27” red on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos. Pat scored with the snook around mid day and we worked hard for the big red that he caught at the end of the day to complete his slam!

Bill Beauchamp, from Bradenton, FL, and Doug Manning, from Largo, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. We fished shallow and deep flats on both sides of the bay where they had good action catching releasing trout, Spanish mackerel, snook and a red on CAL jigs with shad tails. Bill caught and released a nice snook and then followed it with a big trout on a CAL jig with a shad tail. I think it’s very important to release big trout since they are usually females that are full of roe. This one was a perfect example, 24” and weighing 5-pounds due to a belly full of roe. With 2/3 of a slam under his belt we fished hard for a red. He hooked one only to have the hook pull, so we went into overtime and he completed his slam with a 27” red to end the day!

If you’re interested in learning how to fly fish, there’s still time to sign up for the next CB’s Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School, which will be on April 12th. The class, which will be the last one until fall, will cover fly casting basics, shooting line, the roll cast, leader construction and saltwater fly fishing techniques. Contact CB’s Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 to sign up.

Tides will improve towards the end of the week as we approach a full moon on April 15. Look for reds, snook and big trout on shallow flats or edges of bars in Sarasota Bay.  Fishing deep grass flats for trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano and more should continue to be a good option. There should also be good action in the coastal gulf with Spanish and king mackerel, false albacore (little tunny) and tripletail depending on conditions.

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