Catch of the Week![]() |
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Charlie Lange, from Dallas, Texas, caught and released this snook on a Grassett Snook Minnow fly while fishing the ICW near Venice at night with Capt. Rick Grassett.
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BRADENTON – There are a few seafood festivals coming up over the next few weeks. One is Bradenton's own Desoto Heritage Seafood festival which will be held in downtown Bradenton from April 5-7. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should be a good option next week. You should find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. You may also find blues and Spanish mackerel in passes when the tide is moving. Look for reds around docks, 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.
Fort Pierce Seafood Festival March 23
Palatka Blue Crab Festival March 24-27
Desoto Heritage Seafood Festival April 5-7
Weekly Fishing Report by Capt. Rick Grassett
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Tony Merlis, from NH, with a nice Spanish mackerel caught and released on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly while fishing Sarasota Bay 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 in Sarasota Bay and snook and bluefish in the ICW near Venice at night on flies during the past week.
Kurt Lange and his son, Charlie, from Dallas, Texas, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. We fished several deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on sink tip fly lines.
A front moved through on Tuesday morning and with rain and wind that morning, we chose not to fish. Kurt and Charlie Lange got back out with me on Wednesday evening. We fished dock lights in the ICW in Little Sarasota and Blackburn Bays. Despite very windy conditions, they had good action catching and releasing more than a dozen snook and a bluefish on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.
It was also very windy on Thursday, but conditions improved when Mike Perez, from Sarasota, Fla., fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. He caught and released trout on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on deep grass near Whale Key. He also had a few shots at reds and large trout in shallow water with a fly.
Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should be a good option next week. You should find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, pompano and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. You may also find blues and Spanish mackerel in passes when the tide is moving. Look for reds around docks, 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.
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
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com
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Fishing Forecast
Atlantic high pressure ridging across Florida to the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon slowly slides east as a cold front enters the western Gulf. This front crosses the East Gulf Tuesday then stalls over South Florida Wednesday. Weak high pressure builds in along the Gulf Coast and moves to the southeast U.S. During the end of the week...with the front slowly lifting back north over the state.
Monday
South winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Patchy fog in the morning. A slight chance of showers. Monday night will bring south winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers.
2013/03/18Mon12:43 a.m.-0.02L
2013/03/18Mon07:33 a.m.0.99H
2013/03/18Mon10:21 a.m.0.94L
2013/03/18Mon04:53 p.m.1.92H
Tuesday
Southwest winds around 10 knots then becoming west in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Tuesday night will bring north winds around 10 knots then becoming east after midnight. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers.
2013/03/19Tue01:56 a.m.0.01L
2013/03/19Tue05:53 p.m.1.81H
Wednesday
Northeast winds around 10 knots then becoming north in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Wednesday night will bring north winds around 10 knots then becoming northeast after midnight. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
2013/03/20Wed03:11 a.m.0.01L
2013/03/20Wed07:16 p.m.1.73H
Thursday
East winds around 10 knots then becoming south around 5 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers. Thursday night will bring south winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers.
2013/03/21Thu04:15 a.m. -0.02L
2013/03/21Thu11:34 a.m.1.25H
2013/03/21Thu03:20 p.m.1.11L
2013/03/21Thu08:50 p.m.1.71H
Friday
Southwest winds around 15 knots. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers.
2013/03/22Fri05:07 a.m.-0.03L
2013/03/22Fri11:49 a.m.1.33H
2013/03/22Fri04:40 p.m.0.96L
2013/03/22Fri10:05 p.m.1.74H
Solunar Forecast