Anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action in Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf recently. Fly anglers scored with tripletail, pompano, trout, Spanish mackerel and blues. Spin fishing anglers had some action catching and releasing reds and snook in skinny water and trout, bluefish, pompano and Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad and grub tails.
Denton Kent, from Sarasota, with a nice tripletail caught and released on a fly while fishing the coastal gulf in Sarasota with Capt. Rick Grassett.
Mike Perez and Denton Kent, from Sarasota, fished a day in Sarasota with me recently. We covered a lot of water in the coastal gulf but only found a few tripletail that day. Fortunately, Denton caught and released a nice one on a fly. We moved to inside waters and were pleasantly surprised to find some reds and snook in skinny water. They caught and released several reds and a nice snook on CAL jigs with shad tails. Jim Hazlett, from Sarasota, also caught and released a couple of reds on CAL jigs with shad tails on another trip with me.
Marshall Dinerman, from Lido Key and his son, Michael from Atlanta, fished Sarasota Bay with me recently. They had steady action with trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and pompano on CAL jigs with shad tails. Barney Naylor, from MI, also fished Sarasota Bay with me and had some action catching and releasing pompano, Spanish mackerel and trout on Clouser flies. Good to see Sarasota Bay continuing to rebound!
Fishing shallow flats for catch and release reds and snook should be a good option now. Fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay is a good choice for action with a variety of species including trout, pompano, blues and Spanish mackerel. Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by industrial, agricultural and residential runoff, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!
Rick is the owner of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc. He's a full time fishing guide and outdoor writer based in Sarasota, FL. He’s been guiding since 1990 and is an Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing guide here at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, the 2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year.
