ishing Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum: April 13, 2015

CATCH OF THE WEEK

Doug Manning from Largo caught and released this nice flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails while fishing Tampa Bay with Capt. Rick Grassett.

BRADENTON – Entry forms are now available online for the Crosthwait Fishing Tournament May 15-17. The FWC is asking anglers to vote for their favorite fishing spots. Anglers may find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, flounder or pompano on deep grass flats, particularly close to passes.

Entry forms now available for the 32nd Annual Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament!
Anglers wishing to participate in this year's tournament May 15-17 can send their
Completed entries can be emailed to info@crosthwaitfishing.com and pay their registration fee online. They may also mail their checks and entry to the address on the form. The earlier the better!

Florida anglers, boaters asked to select ‘Top 100 Family Fishing and Boating Spots’
Following the success of its first year, the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing™ campaign is asking boaters and anglers to cast their votes in its 2015 America's Top Family Fishing and Boating Spots Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes features several fishing sites in Florida and aims to increase awareness of great family-friendly parks across the country to get more families out on the water fishing and boating.

Florida is leading the way right now but needs people to share a little love. Participants could win a Walt Disney World fishing excursion!

Get outdoorsy with the new Guy Harvey hard-card license
There’s something wonderful about having a shiny new card in your wallet. While paper licenses do their part, a plastic license that easily fits in among other cards has so many benefits. It doesn’t get accidentally tossed out with the receipts. It is waterproof. It doesn’t rip or wear.

Due to popular demand, last fall the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) began selling $4 hard-card licenses to those purchasing one-year licenses. Prior to this, only those who got 5-year or more licenses were able to purchase a hard-card.
And to top it off, the new licenses feature art donated by Guy Harvey. Printing for these new cards began in September 2014.

Springtime brings close encounters of manatees, boaters
As springtime arrives, chances increase that manatees and boaters will have close encounters.

Boaters can enjoy opportunities to observe one of Florida’s unique species but to avoid colliding with manatees, people on the water should take basic steps such as slowing down, watching out for the animals and complying with regulations in manatee zones.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) law enforcement officers will be on patrol in state waters to remind boaters of the seasonal manatee speed zones that go into effect in April. They will be taking enforcement actions when necessary.

FWC conservation measures in place for unique American eels
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has new conservation measures for American eels.

Staff from the FWC proposed the changes at the September 2014 Commission meeting, which the commissioners subsequently approved for implementation.

A 9-inch minimum size limit for American eels harvested in Florida (commercially or recreationally) and a recreational bag limit of 25 eels per angler per day is now in effect. A wholesale/retail purchase exemption is provided for recreational anglers purchasing American eels for bait. Anglers must retain proof of purchase to claim the exemption. American eel permit application and reporting forms have been updated.

These measures will help conserve this unique species of fish.

Eels spend most of their lives in fresh water, but must return to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. The eggs hatch into a leaf-shaped larval form that floats with the currents until they come near shore, when they morph into nearly transparent glass eels. Then as they swim farther upriver, they develop a brownish coloration and grow into what biologists refer to as pencil eels, due to their size. As maturation continues, they enter the more typically encountered yellow-eel phase, which is when they are most commonly harvested for food or use as bait.

After 8 to 24 years, the mature eels return to the Sargasso Sea to spawn, changing yet again into blind silver eels. After spawning, silver eels die, never returning to fresh water.

WEEKLY FISHING REPORT BY CAPT. RICK GRASSETT

 

Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, N.Y., caught and released this 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 jacks in Sarasota Bay and snook, trout and flounder on flies and CAL jigs with shad tails in Tampa Bay during the past week.

Fly anglers fished deep grass flats on both sides of Sarasota Bay with me a couple of days last week. We caught and released trout and jacks on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on sink tip fly lines.

Longboat Key winter resident, Nick Reding, fished the south shore of Tampa Bay with me a couple of days. We waded and fly fished, catching and releasing several trout and a couple of reds on my Grassett Flats Minnow and Clouser flies.

The best trip of the week was when Bill Beauchamp, from Bradenton, FL, and Doug Manning, from Largo, fished Tampa Bay with me on Friday. They caught and released seven or eight snook, an equal amount of flounder and trout on CAL jigs with shad tails. Bill caught and released his personal best snook, a 36-inch, 16-pound fish that I had to run down with the push pole to keep him from getting spooled. A great snook!

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Look for reds, snook, flounder and big trout mixed with mullet schools on shallow flats and edges of bars. You may find trout, Spanish mackerel, blues, flounder or pompano on deep grass flats, particularly close to passes. You may find early arriving tarpon in the coastal Gulf.

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

High pressure will continue to ridge westward from the Atlantic Ocean into the Gulf of Mexico keeping a general southeast to south flow across the waters though midweek. Toward the end of the week another front will stall just north of the waters with more east to southeast flow. Afternoon sea breezes are expected to develop each day shifting winds onshore near the coast, winds will remain lease than 15 knots and seas less than three feet through the week.

Monday
Southeast winds around 10 knots becoming southwest in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms. Monday night will bring south winds 5 to 10 knots becoming southeast around 10 knots overnight. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms.
2015/04/13 Mon 03:41 AM -0.07 L
2015/04/13 Mon 10:35 AM 1.44 H
2015/04/13 Mon 03:18 PM 1.1 L
2015/04/13 Mon 08:40 PM 1.89 H

Tuesday
Southeast winds around 10 knots becoming southwest in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Tuesday night will brine southwest winds 5 to 10 knots becoming southeast overnight. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters smooth.
2015/04/14 Tue 04:39 AM -0.03 L
2015/04/14 Tue 11:04 AM 1.57 H
2015/04/14 Tue 04:41 PM 0.86 L
2015/04/14 Tue 10:07 PM 1.89 H

Wednesday
Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots becoming southwest around 10 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Wednesday night will bring southwest winds 5 to 10 knots becoming southeast overnight. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters smooth. A slight chance of thunderstorms.
2015/04/15 Wed 05:28 AM 0.06 L
2015/04/15 Wed 11:30 AM 1.71 H
2015/04/15 Wed 05:43 PM 0.57 L
2015/04/15 Wed 11:19 PM 1.88 H

Thursday
Southeast winds around 10 knots then becoming southwest in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms.Thursday night will bring variable winds around 5 knots becoming southeast around 10 knots overnight. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening.
2015/04/16 Thu 06:09 AM 0.2 L
2015/04/16 Thu 11:56 AM 1.87 H
2015/04/16 Thu 06:37 PM 0.27 L

Friday
Southeast winds around 10 knots then becoming southwest in the afternoon. Seas 2 feet or less. Bay and inland waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
2015/04/17 Fri 12:22 AM 1.85 H
2015/04/17 Fri 06:45 AM 0.38 L
2015/04/17 Fri 12:21 PM 2.04 H
2015/04/17 Fri 07:26 PM 0.01 L

Solunar Forecast