Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: October 27, 2014

Posted Thursday, June 18, 2015 12:00 am

Merab-Michal Favorite

CATCH OF THE WEEK

Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers member Mike Kwasny had good action catching and releasing false albacore and tripletail on flies in the coastal gulf off Sarasota with Capt. Rick Grassett.

BRADENTON – Cownose stingrays are migrating by the thousands! Stone crab season has finally arrived! The FWC has announced a $4.5 million venture to restore oyster beds in the Gulf. Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more should be good options on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Snook fishing should be good around lighted docks and bridges at night or on shallow flats early in the day. You might also find reds and trout along with snook on lighted docks this time of year.

Cownose stingrays migrating by the thousands!
Every spring and fall, people the world over have photographed flocks of migrating birds and waterfowl. But for some reason, migrating schools of “golden” rays swimming back and forth across the Gulf of Mexico are so seldom photographed that one woman’s pictures pop up multiple times when searching for information or glimpses of the natural spectacle.
Actually called cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus), these stingrays migrate between western Florida and the Yucatan by the hundreds or thousands, heading northeast to western Florida in the spring and southwest to Mexico and the Caribbean in the fall.

Stone crab season opens Oct. 15 in state, federal waters
Florida’s recreational and commercial stone crab claw harvest season opens Oct. 15 in state and federal waters. To ensure this valuable resource is available for generations to come, take care when removing crab claws, and follow all protective management guidelines for stone crab harvest.
To be harvested, stone crab claws must be at least 2¾ inches in length when measured from the elbow to the tip of the lower immovable portion of the claw (see illustration). View a video on how to properly remove the claw, and increase the likelihood of survival of the released crab.

DEO, FDACS, FWC announce investment of $4.5 million to enlist oyster fishermen in continuing efforts to restore the Apalachicola oyster fishery
The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced today an investment of $4.5 million to expand funding for hand-shelling operations that capitalize on the expertise of local oyster fishermen to aggressively continue oyster bed restoration efforts.

WEEKLY FISHING REPORT BY 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, had good action catching and releasing false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel, tripletail, flounder, snook, reds and trout on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails in Tampa and Sarasota Bays and Charlotte Harbor during the past week.

Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers members Mike Kwasny and Ken Babineau fished the coastal gulf off Sarasota with me on Monday. With stone crab season now open, there is plenty of structure to hold tripletail. We found several tripletail and caught and released two. This is a great sight fishing opportunity! Later in the morning, we found some false albacore feeding on the surface and they each caught and released their first one on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.

https://www.thebradentontimes.com/clientuploads/news_images/201212/080513_tarpon.jpg

Capt. Rick DePaiva, from Ft. Myers, FL, battles a

tarpon jumped on a fly while fishing the coastal gulf

with Capt. Rick Grassett.

Tim Graham, from Nokomis and Dale Vollrath, from Sarasota fished the Terra Ceia area with me on Wednesday. They caught and released seven or eight snook to 27 inches, four reds to 26 inches, numerous trout and a big flounder on top water plugs and CAL jigs with shad tails. A good day!

Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, N.Y, fished the coastal gulf near Boca Grande with me on Thursday. Our plan was to fish the backcountry for reds and snook, but I checked the coastal gulf before heading in that direction and found the action with Spanish mackerel and false albacore too hot to leave. Frank caught and released 4 or 5 albies to 10-pounds and numerous Spanish mackerel to 3-pounds on Clouser and Grassett Snook Minnow flies. The fall bite in the coastal Gulf of Mexico is on!

Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. We waded several bars and caught and released trout and jacks on Grassett Flats Minnow and Gurgler flies. Rusty Chinnis, from Longboat Key, FL and I fished the 10th annual CCA Florida-Sarasota Chapter and Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers “Fall Fly Fishing Challenge” on Saturday. Anglers fished for a variety of species in the catch, photo and release, fly fishing only tournament. Capt. Chris Hargiss, from Sarasota, FL was the winner of the Open division and Justin Hamblet, from Sarasota, FL was the winner of the Fly Angler division. Thanks to Orvis, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, Economy Tackle, Andy Thornal Company, Simm’s, Craig Smothers (saltflys.com) and Capt. Jeff Olsen for donating awards or raffle prizes. In addition to good people, good food and good fishing, the event also raises money for CCA’s and MCFF’s conservation efforts.

Spanish mackerel and false albacore in the coastal gulf should be one of the best options now depending on conditions. Look for bait schools, diving birds or breaking fish to find them. Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more should be good options on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Snook fishing should be good around lighted docks and bridges at night or on shallow flats early in the day. You might also find reds and trout along with snook on lighted docks this time of year.

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

Fishing Forecast

The cold front that came through over the weekend will cause 2 to 3 feet seas and 10 to 15 knot winds throughout the week.

Monday
Southeast winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Monday night will bring east winds around 5 knots increasing to around 10 knots after midnight. Bay and inland waters a light chop.
2014/10/27 Mon 02:05 AM 2.62 H
2014/10/27 Mon 10:23 AM -0.01 L
2014/10/27 Mon 04:52 PM 1.62 H
2014/10/27 Mon 09:01 PM 1.36 L

Tuesday
East winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Tuesday night will bring northeast winds around 5 knots then becoming east after midnight. Bay and inland waters smooth.
2014/10/28 Tue 02:48 AM 2.58 H
2014/10/28 Tue 11:19 AM 0.04 L
2014/10/28 Tue 06:05 PM 1.57 H
2014/10/28 Tue 09:46 PM 1.41 L

Wednesday
East winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Wednesday night will bring north winds around 5 knots then becoming northeast after midnight. Bay and inland waters smooth.
2014/10/29 Wed 03:40 AM 2.47 H
2014/10/29 Wed 12:23 PM 0.12 L
2014/10/29 Wed 07:28 PM 1.58 H
2014/10/29 Wed 11:01 PM 1.46 L

Thursday
North winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. Thursday night will bring northeast winds around 5 knots. Bay and inland waters smooth. A slight chance of showers.
2014/10/30 Thu 04:46 AM 2.3 H
2014/10/30 Thu 01:32 PM 0.21 L
2014/10/30 Thu 08:34 PM 1.65 H

Friday
North winds around 5 knots increasing to around 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A chance of showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms.
2014/10/31 Fri 12:56 AM 1.42 L
2014/10/31 Fri 06:17 AM 2.11 H
2014/10/31 Fri 02:39 PM 0.31 L
2014/10/31 Fri 09:18 PM 1.75 H

Solunar Forecast