Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: July 29, 2013

BRADENTON – Capt. Rick Grassett says that tarpon are thinning out in the coastal gulf  so it may require a lot of waiting for a few fish, but they are aggressive now so it should be worth the wait. Tarpon are also a good option around bridges at night and juveniles in creeks, canals and basins. Beat the heat by catch and release snook fishing before daylight in the ICW and then look for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, tripletail and more in Sarasota Bay.

Kirk Grassett, from Middletown, DE, holds an injured osprey on the deck of Capt. Rick Grassett's boat. The bird was found struggling on the surface in the coastal gulf and transported to the beach where it was picked up by Save Our Seabirds.

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 a variety of species including snook, trout, bluefish, mangrove snapper, sheepshead and tripletail on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails in Sarasota Bay during the past week.

           

Steve Retzlaff, from Switzerland, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. He caught and released a few trout and a mangrove snapper on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on a sink tip fly line over deep grass near Buttonwood Harbor. He also had several shots at tripletail and hooked one on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly.

           

Jerry Poslusny and Bill Nesbitt, both from the Rochester, N.Y. area, fished with meon Thursday and Friday. With a stiff west wind, tarpon fishing in the coastal gulf wasn’t an option so we fished Sarasota Bay. We fished shallow and deep grass flats on both sides of the bay both days where they caught and released trout and a nice bluefish on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly and a CAL jig with a shad tail. Bill also caught and released a sheepshead on a shallow flat on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly.

           

Tom Files, from McIntosh, FL, snook fished with me before dawn on Saturdaymorning. We fished Siesta Key docks and he had good action catching and releasing more than 6 snook to 4-pounds on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We moved to Sarasota Bay and with good conditions decided to hunt for tripletail. Tom hooked a couple and landed a four-pounder on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly. He finished the morning catching and releasing a few trout over deep grass near Buttonwood Harbor on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly.

           

There should still be some tarpon fishing in the coastal gulf when sea conditions improve. Tarpon are thinning out in the coastal gulf  so it may require a lot of waiting for a few fish, but they are aggressive now so it should be worth the wait. Tarpon are also a good option around bridges at night and juveniles in creeks, canals and basins. Beat the heat by catch and release snook fishing before daylight in the ICW and then look for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, tripletail and more in Sarasota Bay.

 

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

To create a forecast specific to your zip code visit www.wunderground.com

Fishing Forecast 

The subtropical ridge will lift northward across the waters tonight and Monday...and will remain the dominant weather feature through the remainder of the work week. Winds and seas are expected to remain below headline thresholds.

Monday

Southeast winds around 5 knots then becoming west around 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms in the morning then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Monday night

will northeast winds around 5 knots then becoming east 5 to 10 knots after midnight. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening.

2013/07/29Mon12:02 a.m.0.92L

2013/07/29Mon06:01 a.m.2.16H

2013/07/29Mon01:55 p.m.0.63L

2013/07/29Mon07:43 p.m.1.42H

Tuesday

Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots then becoming west around 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms in the morning then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Tuesday night will bring east winds 5 to 10 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening.

2013/07/30Tue12:38 a.m.1.09L

2013/07/30Tue06:51 a.m.2.21H

2013/07/30Tue03:16 p.m.0.53L

2013/07/30Tue09:41 p.m.1.37H

Wednesday

Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots then becoming west in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters smooth. Isolated thunderstorms in the morning then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Wednesday night will bring east winds around 10 knots becoming southeast after midnight. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening.

2013/07/31Wed01:21 a.m.1.23L

2013/07/31Wed07:48 a.m.2.25H

2013/07/31Wed04:28 p.m.0.41L

2013/07/31Wed11:23 p.m.1.42H

Thursday

Southeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms in the morning...then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Thursday night will bring southeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms in the evening.

2013/08/01Thu02:20 a.m.1.33L

2013/08/01Thu08:50 a.m.2.29H

2013/08/01Thu05:29 p.m.0.29L

Friday

Southeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated thunderstorms in the morning then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon.

2013/08/02Fri12:25 a.m.1.48H

2013/08/02Fri03:30 a.m.1.38L

2013/08/02Fri09:50 a.m.2.35H

2013/08/02Fri06:18 p.m.0.2L

Solunar Forecast