Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: March 21, 2016

Anna Maria Island and Sarasota winter residents, Bill Morrison and Gary Marple, fished the ICW near Venice with me on Monday evening. They had good action catching and releasing snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow flies. Alan Sugar, from Mich., fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday afternoon. He had some action catching and releasing trout and Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fishing deep grass flats on the west side of the bay.

 

Mathew Gray, his dad Bob Gray and uncle, John Gray, all from Ontario, Canada, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. We fished deep grass flats on the east side of the bay and they had great action catching trout, Spanish mackerel and a cobia on CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos. Tony Merlis, from N.H. and his daughter Jen, from Minn., fly fished the same areas with me on Thursday and caught and released trout, Spanish mackerel and bluefish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.

 

Trout, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay and night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures should be good options. Look for reds, snook and big trout mixed with mullet schools or cruising shallow flats and edges of bars in Sarasota Bay and backcountry areas of Charlotte Harbor and lower Tampa Bay. Tripletail should also be a good option in the coastal gulf when conditions are good.