Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: Dec. 16, 2013

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 Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf and Spanish mackerel, trout, and jacks in Sarasota Bay on flies, CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and top water plugs during the past week. With water temperatures back up into the low 70’s following last week’s warm up, the best action was with Spanish mackerel in both Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf.

Ted Carman, from CA, and Carey Ryerson, from CO, fished the coastal gulf off Sarasota and Sarasota Bay with me last Sunday. We found some birds hovering over baitfish, deep in the water column in the coastal gulf which developed into a good Spanish mackerel bite. They had steady action for about 3-hours catching and releasing mackerel to 3-pounds on Ultra Hair Clouser flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and top water plugs. We fished deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay for the last couple of hours where they also had fast action with Spanish mackerel, trout and jacks on DOA Deadly Combos and Ultra Hair Clouser flies.

Anna Maria and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple, fished the coastal gulf with me on Monday. We had a few shots at false albacore but they weren’t staying up very long and were tough to get on. Conditions deteriorated so we moved into Sarasota Bay where they had steady action with trout and Spanish mackerel at Stephens Point on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.

Walt Poxon, from MN and Bill and Sue Poxon, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday morning. They had steady action with trout and Spanish mackerel to 3-pounds on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos. Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland, Roy Glah, from Sarasota, FL and his son Bob Glah, from Aspen, CO, fished the same areas with me in the afternoon and had similar action.

Don Tase, from NH, and his son-in-law, Jessie, from CO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. It was cool, foggy and windy but we found a few places to fish along the east side of the bay where they caught and released a few trout and jacks on Ultra Hair Clouser flies and CAL jigs with shad tails.

Bob and Diane Boswell, from the Orlando, FL area, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Saturday morning. A strong S-SE wind made fishing tough but we fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released Spanish mackerel, trout and jacks on my Grassett Deep Flats Bunny fly, DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails.

Big trout are moving into shallow water in Sarasota Bay where you may find them along with reds in potholes or on the edges of bars when the tide is low. Reds may also tail on shallow grass flats of north Sarasota Bay, lower Tampa Bay or Gasparilla Sound on negative low tides as we approach a full moon next week. Fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay for trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and more should be another good inshore option. Look for false albacore and tripletail in the coastal gulf when conditions are good.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett

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