Catch of the Week![]() |
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Patrice Camillieri, from France, caught and released his first tarpon on a fly while fishing the coastal gulf with Capt. Rick Grassett |
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BRADENTON – The Pompano Beach Saltwater Shootout fishing tournament is coming up this weekend. As far as weather goes, a frontal boundary will move through the area again on Tuesday as the low pressure system moves off to the northeast. High pressure will then build across the waters Wednesday and remain in place through the end of the week. Tarpon are becoming more plentiful in the coastal Gulf and should be a good option next week, and Capt. Rick Grassett says to look for reds and big trout 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.
May 9-12, 2013 - Pompano Beach, Florida
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Bill Miller, from MS, caught and released this 20 inches trout 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 and blues in Sarasota Bay on flies during the past week. We also landed the first tarpon of the season in the coastal gulf on a fly!
Mark Bowler, editor of the Scottish magazine Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, and his guests Ron and Rick, all from Scotland, fly fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday. The best action was fishing deep grass at Stephens Point where they caught and released trout (both spotted and silver trout), blues, jacks and ladyfish on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on intermediate sink tip lines. Ron connected with a good snook while we were wading shallow water and they had some shots at reds on top of a bar when the tide was high.
Ross Shedden, from Bradenton, Fla., fished Sarasota Bay on an instructional fly fishing trip with me on Monday. He was casting 40-feet or more in short order and was able to catch and release several trout and bluefish fishing deep grass flats on the west side of the bay with an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line. Good job!
Patrice Camillieri, from France, fly fished for tarpon in the coastal gulf with me on Tuesday. We saw singles, doubles and several small schools of fish throughout the day. Despite some slow periods, we had spurts of good activity and fish were happy. Patrice caught and released his first tarpon, a young male of about 50-pounds, on a fly. The fish was so aggressive that it slammed its brakes on and went vertical to eat the fly and then jumped numerous times around the boat before being landed in about 15 to 20 minutes. A great first tarpon!
Conditions were poor for tarpon fishing on Wednesday morning. With heavy cloud cover and rain looming just offshore, we decided to wait for better tarpon fishing conditions. Thursday was similar, poor visibility and a big swell in the gulf. Seth Koch, from PA, and Bill Miller from MS, fly fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday morning. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where they caught and released a few trout to 20 inches on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on a sink tip fly line.
If you want to learn to fly fish, there will be an Orvis Fly Fishing 101 introductory fly fishing class at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Sun, May 5th. The 2-hour free class will cover fly casting basics and participants will have an opportunity to cast premium Orvis fly tackle. Contact CB’s at (941) 349-4400 to sign up.
Tarpon are becoming more plentiful in the coastal gulf and should be a good option next week. Look for reds, snook and big trout 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. Catch and release night snook fishing in the ICW from Sarasota to Venice should also be good.
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
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Fishing Forecast
A low pressure system moving through the deep south will send a cold front through the area tonight and Monday as winds and seas continue to subside. Another frontal boundary will move through the area again on Tuesday as the low pressure system moves off to the northeast. High pressure will then build across the waters Wednesday and remain in place through the end of the week.
Monday
West winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Monday night will bring west winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
2013/05/06Mon05:13 a.m.0.62L
2013/05/06Mon11:08 a.m.2.06H
2013/05/06Mon06:29 p.m.0.22L
Tuesday
West winds around 15 knots. Bay and inland waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers. Tuesday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
2013/05/07Tue12:20 a.m.1.53H
2013/05/07Tue05:45 a.m.0.77L
2013/05/07Tue11:32 a.m.2.18H
2013/05/07Tue07:10 p.m.0.03L
Wednesday
West winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Wednesday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
2013/05/08Wed01:13 a.m.1.49H
2013/05/08Wed06:12 a.m.0.9L
2013/05/08Wed11:55 a.m.2.29H
2013/05/08Wed07:47 p.m.-0.1L
Thursday
West winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Thursday night will bring northwest winds around 10 knots then becoming northeast around 5 knots after midnight. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
2013/05/09Thu01:59 a.m.1.45H
2013/05/09Thu06:36 a.m.0.99L
2013/05/09Thu12:18 p.m.2.36H
2013/05/09Thu08:22 p.m.-0.18L
Friday
Southeast winds around 5 knots then becoming southwest in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters smooth.
2013/05/10Fri02:40 a.m.1.4H
2013/05/10Fri06:59 a.m.1.05L
2013/05/10Fri12:43 p.m.2.42H
2013/05/10Fri08:56 p.m.-0.21L
Solunar Forecast