Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: July 14, 2014

CATCH OF THE WEEK

Bill Moore, from Libertyvile, Ill., caught and released this permit on a CAL jig with a shad tail while fishing a deep grass flat on the west side of Sarasota Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

BRADENTON – Gulf recreational red snapper season closes July 15 in state waters. Weather Underground is predicting gusty winds Monday-Thursday. Captain Rick Grassett says tarpon fishing will remain strong next week as we head away from a full moon. Tarpon schools will break up after spawning then will return to the beach as singles, doubles and smaller schools that are ready to eat!

FISHING UPDATES

Gulf recreational red snapper season closes July 15 in state waters

• The recreational red snapper season in Gulf state waters closes July 15, with the last day of harvest being July 14. Florida state waters in the Gulf are from shore to 9 nautical miles.
• To learn more about recreational red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Gulf Snapper.”
• Several workshops on Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper are planned for late July. The public is invited to discuss state and federal management of recreational red snapper and to explore future approaches for managing this fishery. Visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater,” “Rulemaking” and “Workshops” to learn more.

FWC moves to simplify saltwater rules in 3 counties

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a measure at its June 18 meeting in Fort Myers that will remove several outdated or redundant localized regulations in Gilchrist, Indian River and Manatee counties. These changes will go into effect as soon as possible.

• The FWC has been working to streamline and clarify saltwater fishing rules since 2009 as part of a marine fisheries rule clean-up process. This includes reviewing existing localized rules known as Special Acts of Local Application and working with county governments to remove them if warranted. Many Special Acts were put in place before the Marine Fisheries Commission, one of the FWC’s predecessor agencies, was created, and are now no longer necessary due to more current, statewide fishing management.

• The governments from all three counties have been working with the FWC on these changes. The FWC will be working with other counties in the future to help streamline and reduce regulations throughout the state, increasing transparency and consistency while standardizing FWC saltwater fishing management and making it easier for fishermen to access and participate in Florida fishing. The repeal of the Special Acts for these three counties is not expected to have any negative effects on Florida’s fisheries.

• In Manatee County, seven Special Acts are slated to be removed, including ones that limit the types of gear that can be used within the waters of the county, set aggregate bag limits for saltwater fish on the Manatee River, and authorize Manatee County to regulate the harvest of finfish within the county. Current statewide regulations now address the use of gear and give the FWC the authority to regulate the harvest of saltwater fish. Repealing these conflicting and redundant rules will help clarify and simplify regulations in Manatee County.

• To learn more, visit MyFWC.com/Commission and “Commission Meetings.”

 

WEEKLY FISHING REPORT BY CAPT. RICK GRASSETT

Capt. Rick DePaiva, from Ft. Myers, FL, battles a tarpon jumped on a fly while fishing the coastal gulf with Capt. Rick Grassett.

 

Fly anglers fishing the coastal gulf in Sarasota with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, continued to have action with tarpon, getting numerous shots, jumping 5 and catching and releasing 1 during the past week.

 

Early in the week we saw fewer tarpon than anticipated, which were mostly singles, doubles and small schools of only a few fish. Even though they may be fewer, they are usually curious and aggressive. As we reached the full moon on Saturday large schools of tarpon became more plentiful in the mix.

 

Jerry Poslusny and Jay Peck, from Rochester, NY, fly fished for tarpon several days with me last week. Visibility was poor due to lots of cloud cover as numerous thunderstorms percolated up each day and we took cover from storms a couple of times. Despite tough conditions, they had shots at tarpon each day and jumped a couple, including a large female that somersaulted 10-12’ in the air as we watched in awe (with no camera in hand)!

 

Visibility was better on Friday, but we saw only a few tarpon early in the day. However, as the full moon, outgoing tide in the afternoon got stronger, tarpon began to flow. We had numerous shots, jumped 3 and caught and released 1, an estimated 100-pound fish.  When conditions are right, tarpon can be very aggressive this time of year!

 

Tarpon fishing should remain strong next week as we head away from a full moon. Tarpon schools will break up after spawning and these fish should return to the beach as singles, doubles and smaller schools that are ready to eat! Inshore you should find trout, blues and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Look for reds and big trout on shallow flats or edges of bars early in the day. Catch and release snook fishing should also be good in passes and around docks and bridges close to passes.

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

 

Fishing Forecast

High pressure in the western Atlantic is ridging southwest over Florida producing a light south southeast wind flow and light seas over the coastal waters through the evening hours. For Monday through Wednesday...the winds will become southwest to west as the high pressure ridge axis drifts southward toward the Florida Keys. The only expected hazards will be gusty winds and higher seas in the vicinity of thunderstorms.

Monday

South winds around 5 knots then becoming southwest around 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered thunderstorms. Monday night will bring southwest winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening.

2014/07/14Mon03:46 AM1.52H

2014/07/14Mon08:23 AM1.06L

2014/07/14Mon02:19 PM2.67H

2014/07/14Mon10:17 PM-0.1L

Tuesday

Southwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered thunderstorms. Tuesday night will bring southwest winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening.

2014/07/15Tue04:17 AM1.61H

2014/07/15Tue09:27 AM0.98L

2014/07/15Tue03:14 PM2.45H

2014/07/15Tue10:56 PM0.11L

Wednesday

Southwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered thunderstorms. Wednesday night will bring southwest winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms.

2014/07/16Wed04:51 AM1.73H

2014/07/16Wed10:37 AM0.9L

2014/07/16Wed04:14 PM2.17H

2014/07/16Wed11:34 PM0.36L

Thursday

Southwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered thunderstorms. Thursday night will bring southwest winds around 5 knots then becoming south around 5 knots after midnight. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms.

2014/07/17Thu05:28 AM1.87H

2014/07/17Thu11:54 AM0.82L

2014/07/17Thu05:22 PM1.86H

Friday

South winds around 5 knots then becoming northwest in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters smooth. Scattered thunderstorms.

2014/07/18Fri12:12 AM0.6L

2014/07/18Fri06:09 AM2.01H

2014/07/18Fri01:19 PM0.71L

2014/07/18Fri06:47 PM1.58H

Solunar Forecast