Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum Nov. 16, 2015

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 false albacore, tripletail and Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf on flies and flounder, black sea bass and jack crevalle on CAL jigs with shad tails in Sarasota Bay during the past week.

 

I was the guest speaker with ”Reel Animals“ TV show and radio host, Capt. Mike Anderson, for a ”fishing conversation“ at Gator Ford in Tampa on Tuesday evening. It was great to speak to an enthusiastic crowd about fly and lure fishing. The guests asked lots of great questions which made the two hours go by quickly.

 

Mike Santangelo, from Naples, Fla., fished the coastal gulf with me on Wednesday. Conditions were good with good sunlight and a gentle swell and fish cooperated. Mike is an IFFF certified fly casting instructor and a great caster. Since false albacore and mackerel were up and down fast, it is important to deliver a quick cast with minimal false casting and Mike did well, catching and releasing several false albacore and Spanish mackerel on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly and tripletail on a shrimp fly pattern.

Tom Lamb, from Geneva, Switzerland and Sarasota and Roy Glah, also from Sarasota, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. Since I was away last week, bonefishing in the Bahamas, I was surprised that red tide was present in the bay. However, due to its nature it is patchy and usually doesn’t affect an entire area. The cleanest water we found was at the Middleground Flat, just inside of New Pass, where they caught flounder, black sea bass and jack crevalle on CAL jigs with shad tails.

 

Anna Maria Island winter resident, Bill Morrison and Sarasota winter resident, Gary Marple, returned for the winter/spring season and fished the coastal gulf in Sarasota with me on Friday. It was rougher than anticipated, making it tough to get on the fast moving Spanish mackerel. However, they had a few hookups with mackerel and tripletail and Bill caught and released his first tripletail on a fly!

 

Action with tripletail, false albacore and Spanish mackerel should be a good option now in the coastal gulf when conditions allow it. Snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges with flies and DOA Lures should also be a good option. Look for reds, snook and big trout mixed with mullet schools on shallow flats and edges of bars in backcountry areas of Charlotte Harbor and lower Tampa Bay.