On the water with Capt. R.C. Gilliland.

Today I had the pleasure of finishing with longtime client Brian White, and his friends Sam and Glenn. We fished Roberts Bay and Little Sarasota Bay.

The action started off a little slow, but they stuck with it, chipping away at snook, jacks, a nice trout, and the occasional snapper. Then towards the end of the trip, it was like a light switch was flipped.

They caught several snook and jacks each. We were fishing with live bait (greenbacks).

With a cold front approaching the middle of next week, we should have beautiful weather going into the week of Thanksgiving, and hopefully slightly cooler temperatures.

Capt. Capt. R.C. Gilliland

I'm very laid back and easy going. I love fishing, hunting, and just about anything outdoors. I'm a licensed Charter boat Captain who likes having a good time and hates drama. I have a wide variety of friends and get along with just about anyone. Did I mention I love to fish?

From the somewhat cooler climate of Illinois to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, who could argue with that.

A Couple of buddies, Jeff, and Richard from Illinois visited Siesta Key for the first time. The reason, they both turned 50 this year and that’s reason enough. They also wanted to experience fishing in salt water for the first time.

We met early at the boat ramp in search of fish and a good time. Both anglers had some experience and did very well. By the end of the trip, we had caught a variety of inshore species. Caught and released were snook, jack crevalle, gag grouper, ladyfish, and catfish.

Adding to their experience was a gorgeous Chamber of Commerce Day on the waters surrounding Siesta Key.

Capt. Chuck Cress

Fishing has been a lifetime passion for me. Depending on the skill level of my clients what I like to do is put them on big fish using artificial lures. I like to educating and passing on my knowledge of local history and the many sights the area has to offer while we are on the water.

On the water with Capt Brandon Naeve.

Dock fishing is hot right now. Red tide has pushed the fish in early and they are killing whitebait and shrimp under the docks. Why not grab a few yourself.

Grab a few dozen shrimp at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters and give it a try, or better yet hire one of the local guides out of CB’s shop for better fishing and stress-free navigation.

Remember if you’re looking for some great fishing action on the gulf coast of Florida CB’s Outfitters, on Siesta Key, has everything you’ll need.

Capt. Capt. Brandon Naeve

I've been a fishing guide the Sarasota , Boca Grande area for over 25 years. My Sarasota trips are mostly family oriented 1/2 day fishing trips involving kids who love to catch all the family fun fish. My Boca Grande trips are for the more experienced spin or fly fishing angler.

The water in the bay is looking spectacular.

The fishing is picking up now that the Red Tide has moved out of the bay. Tuesday we fished Roberts Bay and caught Snook to 24 inches and a few Redfish also up to 24 inches.

Topwater baits were the bait of the day. Fishing with DOA jigs we got into a good school of Jacks and Bluefish that kept the action steady. Wednesday we fished Little Sarasota Bay with the topwater lures and live shrimp. The topwater lures caught some big Jacks and Bluefish up to about 8 to 10 pounds.

We fished the shrimp around docks and picked up some nice Mangrove Snapper and Sheephead. I’m so glad to see the water getting clean again.

Capt. Capt. Bruce Burkhart

Bruce is a Florida native and has lived in Sarasota for thirty years. Capt. Bruce grew up on the east coast of Florida and started fishing with his dad when he was about six years old. Fishing has been a lifetime passion of his and in 2001 he obtained his U.S.C.G. Captain’s license.

Robert Kluczyniski enjoyed a beautiful day out on the water this past Tuesday.

Although we are still suffering from this seemingly unrelenting red tide there are still some wonderful fishing opportunities to be had.

Anglers Robert and Linda Kluczyniski enjoyed a beautiful day Tuesday. They caught plenty of big scrappy ladyfish in Roberts Bay and then cast at quite a few nice tripletail.

Eventually, Robert fooled a nice one with a string bean fly off Siesta Beach and all in all it was a pretty good day out on the water.

Capt. Capt. Kelly Stilwell

Kelly has lived and fished in this area for over 30 years. His specialties are artificial bait, fly fishing, tarpon, and live bait fishing in Sarasota Bay and the nearshore Gulf. He's an Orvis Endorsed Guide and currently runs a 2400 Ranger Bay boat which accommodates five.

Feeling Super out on the water with Capt. Brandon Naeve.

Beautiful weather today and I had a nice group of people from Delaware out on the water with me. They managed to catch some big jack crevelle’s, trout, snook and mangrove snapper.

Minnows were the bait of choice and are still the hot ticket before the water temp goes below 70 degrees. While they can take a while to catch, they are well worth it.

Fishing with bait can make a poor fisherman look like a pro and kids love to watch them being netted.

Capt. Capt. Brandon Naeve

I've been a fishing guide the Sarasota , Boca Grande area for over 25 years. My Sarasota trips are mostly family oriented 1/2 day fishing trips involving kids who love to catch all the family fun fish. My Boca Grande trips are for the more experienced spin or fly fishing angler.

Pete Pedersen with a snook he caught and released.

Anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing snook in the ICW and tripletail in the coastal gulf on flies during the past week. After a brief flurry of action last week in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny), those fish temporarily moved on.

I fished the coastal gulf on a trip last Sunday. With the albies not there, rough water and poor visibility, conditions weren’t good for tripletail either. Pete Pedersen, from MA, fished the ICW with me before daylight on Tuesday morning. With a strong outgoing tide, snook were on a bite and he had good action catching and releasing numerous snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.

I scouted the coastal gulf later in the week with good conditions and found tripletail plentiful and caught and released several on my Grassett Flats Bunny fly.

Fishing dock lights in the evening or before dawn, which is the coolest time of day, is still a good option for catch and release snook fishing. This is also a great time of year to fish the coastal gulf for false albacore, tripletail, Spanish mackerel and more.

Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by agricultural and residential runoff, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!

Capt. Capt. Rick Grassett

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.

This week, fishing aboard the “Gone Coastal” out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key was pretty sweet. On Wednesday I chartered Lane Fye who quickly landed quite a few large jacks and several snook using live bait until he was worn out. Lane had such a great day on the water he’s recommending us to a fishing buddy. Thanks’ for the endorsement Lane, we appreciate it.

Helena Anders, from Sweden, enjoyed the weather and the fishing here in Sarasota.

On Saturday I chartered Helena and Von Anders from Sweden. They had a blast catching much larger fish then they were used to catching because back in Sweden they catch small lake trout and bass.

Our large jacks and spirited snook just plain wore them out. We worked the incoming tidal flows, canals, and docks using live baits and had some great action.

Remember to go fishing when you need a good dose of Vitamin Sea!

Capt. Capt. Terry Simmons

Terry was born and raised in Bradenton, FL and has been guiding clients since 2000, fishing on Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico with live bait, artificial lures and fly fishing aboard his 22’ Bay Ranger which accommodates up to 4 anglers.

Tripletail were running strong this past week.

The fishing this past week was excellent, with the water clearing up and temps are slowly getting cooler.

Inshore the snook bite remains strong as we had 2 days of catching and releasing over 20 snook on several trips as well as a few large jacks and mangrove snapper.

Friday morning Walt Plasson from CB’s joined me and we fished offshore. The seas were calm and the action was on fire.

Large schools of bait were being crashed by little funny and Spanish mackerel. We ended up catching and releasing 4 little tunnies on plugs and Castmaster spoons. Walt had brought his fly rod along so we decided to run the crab traps looking for tripletail. We ended up catching and releasing 15 tripletail and Walt caught his 1st on his fly rod.

It was my best day ever for tripletail as we caught a total of 4 off 1 buoy. We ended the day with a couple more tunnies and called it a day.

Thankfully it looks like it looks like things are really improving in our area finally.

Capt. Capt. Kelly Kurtz

Kelly is a Sarasota native and the owner and operator of Mangrove Charters. He's pas­sion­ate about fishing and hunting. As a full-time fishing guide Kelly operates out of a 22 ft. Bayscout and specializes in light tackle using both arti­fi­cial and live bait. Redfish are his favorite.

Steve Schadt had action catching and releasing albies.

Anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing false albacore (little tunny), tripletail and Spanish mackerel on flies, DOA Shrimp and CAL jigs with shad tails during the past week.

With sea conditions settling down after the passing of Hurricane Michael and an east wind pattern, the latest reports show very little red tide in the coastal gulf.

I scouted the coastal gulf early in the week and found lots of bait but not much else going on. However, I caught and released several tripletail on flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and DOA Shrimp. It got better when Steve Schadt, from Sarasota, fished the same area with me on Friday.

We found albies (little tunny) and Spanish mackerel feeding in bait schools. Steve caught and released a couple of albies on a CAL jig with a shad tail before switching to fly tackle. He caught and released several more albies and a couple of Spanish mackerel on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.

Steve managed to hook this nice looking tripletail.

We hunted tripletail on the way in and he caught and released several on a CAL jig with a shad tail. Good day!

Remember that snook and reds are off limits on portions of the west coast now. The Florida FWC has enacted a temporary modification of regulations for reds and snook, in the areas affected by the recent red tide.

The area extends from Pasco County, south to the south bank of Gordon Pass in Collier County.

Reds and snook are catch and release only in that zone until May 10, 2019. I applaud them for taking this action to protect our fishery. Full details including exact boundaries can be found HERE.

Since we are still in a summer time pattern, it is a great time to beat the heat by fishing dock lights before dawn, which is the coolest time of day. In addition to snook, you may also find juvenile tarpon, trout and reds in the lights. This is also a great time of year to fish the coastal gulf for false albacore, tripletail, Spanish mackerel and more. Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by agricultural and residential runoff, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!

Capt. Capt. Rick Grassett

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.

Mike, Mike and Dan from the Chi town area.

I had the pleasure of taking out three fun-loving guys down for a few days from the Chicago area.

Mike, Mike, and Dan were staying on Siesta Key an enjoyed a night out in Siesta Village followed by a “were so not sure we’re gonna make it” early morning trip fishing with me.

We fished hard for a few hours when the guys decided to replenish their adult beverages and Fish even harder. By the end of the trip, we had caught snook, redfish, trout, and catfish.

All in all these guys had a great day out on the warm waters of Sarasota Bay.

Capt. Chuck Cress

Fishing has been a lifetime passion for me. Depending on the skill level of my clients what I like to do is put them on big fish using artificial lures. I like to educating and passing on my knowledge of local history and the many sights the area has to offer while we are on the water.

Wisconsinite Bob Gaglard’s first visit to Sarasota proved to be just what he expected.

This week, fishing aboard the “Gone Coastal” out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key we had Tina and Bob Gaglard’s enjoying their first visit to Sarasota. They had reserved their charter many months ago and being from Wisconsin they had a little bit of fishing experience.

Once arriving they had low expectations, for fishing because of red tide reports and the recent hurricane, Michael. I assured them the fishing had been pretty good and improving daily. We used live bait working the mangroves and docks, once finding clean water. While Bob caught several large jacks and small snook as well.

As far as the fishing went Bob’s wife Tina won the day with some great catches.

Tina won the day catching several large snook to 25 inches, and some small jacks and mangrove snapper. The Gaglard’s commented, “they had a great day of fishing.”

Book a trip with one of the many local Charter Guides out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key for a great day on the water, or come visit and talk to one of their friendly staff at their amazing stores, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters & Fin.

CB’s carries some of the best lines of fishing gear, equipment and accessories around.

Forecast:
On the incoming tide look for diving birds on baits and work mangrove points, deepwater docks and oyster bars. On the outgoing tide work outflows and deeper channels and edges.

Small tarpon, jacks, snook, redfish, ladyfish, bluefish and mangrove snapper are sometimes concentrated in small areas. For the protection of our future fishery, there’s currently a short moratorium on keeping redfish and snook.

This is a great time to go fishing for the fun of just spending time away from it all.

Capt. Capt. Terry Simmons

Terry was born and raised in Bradenton, FL and has been guiding clients since 2000, fishing on Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico with live bait, artificial lures and fly fishing aboard his 22’ Bay Ranger which accommodates up to 4 anglers.

Craig from Missouri landed this jack in the bay.

The Jack Crevalle fish does not have the appeal or interest that bonefish do. But let me tell you a three or 4 pound jack can give you quite a fight on light tackle.

If you get a 6 to 7 pound jack on your line you’ve got your hands full. They’re very aggressive and will hit almost anything and right now the bay is full of big jacks.

I took out Craig and his son-in-law Tim both for Missouri into Little Sarasota Bay and we managed to catch several nice size jacks and snook.

Capt. Chuck Cress

Fishing has been a lifetime passion for me. Depending on the skill level of my clients what I like to do is put them on big fish using artificial lures. I like to educating and passing on my knowledge of local history and the many sights the area has to offer while we are on the water.

Fishing the inter-coastal with Capt. Kelly Kurtz.

I’m happy to report that the red tide seems to be subsiding at least in the backwater bays. I fished several charters out of CB’s last week and the bite was on.

Thursday we fished with a combination of live bait and caught and released a lot of snook, mangrove snapper, and black drum. On Saturday we ran a multi-boat trip and the fish were feeding heavily on live bait. We caught snook at ever spot I stopped at in the backwater as well as large jacks and snapper.

On the tail end of the tide we hooked a very large snook well over slot size, it made 3 very strong runs towards the mangroves and was about of gas. Unfortunately, it rolled over at boat side and the hook popped out.

That’s fishing but it’s great to see that the fishing is really improving since last months red tide.

Capt. Capt. Kelly Kurtz

Kelly is a Sarasota native and the owner and operator of Mangrove Charters. He's pas­sion­ate about fishing and hunting. As a full-time fishing guide Kelly operates out of a 22 ft. Bayscout and specializes in light tackle using both arti­fi­cial and live bait. Redfish are his favorite.

What is it with boys and fishing that makes me smile.

The fishing has been fantastic the last 10 days. The trick is finding water that has no particles of red tide in it. This family from Kentucky started the day off with identical twin Tarpon both at 18 lbs.

They then proceeded to catch some big mangrove snapper, jack crevelle, and a few snook. The little man hunter never stopped smiling, which also made it a great day for an fishing old guide.

Watching a kid have that much fun is just plain good for the heart and soul.

Capt. Capt. Brandon Naeve

I've been a fishing guide the Sarasota , Boca Grande area for over 25 years. My Sarasota trips are mostly family oriented 1/2 day fishing trips involving kids who love to catch all the family fun fish. My Boca Grande trips are for the more experienced spin or fly fishing angler.

The fish back, and boy they sure are hungry.

Let me tell you a secret, the fish are back and they’re hungry. I decided to take a busman’s holiday afternoon of fishing with Captain Josh Harris.

We didn’t start fishing Sarasota Bay until about noon. Within three hours we had caught and released several nice Snook, Redfish, Trout, Jack Crevalle, and Bluefish. The Snook were busting our top water bait about two feet out of the water trying to get at it.

If we let it set still they would come back at it and pop it again. Very exciting! Floridians will tell you this is one of the best times of the year to get out on the water, the air is nice and the fish are feeding.

What do you say we just keep this secret to ourselves.

Capt. Chuck Cress

Fishing has been a lifetime passion for me. Depending on the skill level of my clients what I like to do is put them on big fish using artificial lures. I like to educating and passing on my knowledge of local history and the many sights the area has to offer while we are on the water.

Kellie Johnston had a great morning Tuesday.

Although the recent red tide has certainly had a negative impact on many areas of the Bay there are still some nice fish to be caught out there.

Newlyweds, Evan and Kellie Johnston had a great morning Tuesday. They caught lots of trout, and jacks as well as some nice snook while casting jigs and live shrimp in Little Sarasota Bay.

We’re still in a summer time pattern and midday temps can heat up pretty quickly so try and get out there early.

Capt. Capt. Kelly Stilwell

Kelly has lived and fished in this area for over 30 years. His specialties are artificial bait, fly fishing, tarpon, and live bait fishing in Sarasota Bay and the nearshore Gulf. He's an Orvis Endorsed Guide and currently runs a 2400 Ranger Bay boat which accommodates five.

Anglers fishing a couple of different areas with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had some action catching and releasing snook, trout, jacks and flounder on DOA Lures during the past week. I also scouted a couple of areas and even though fish were widely scattered and the action wasn’t fast, there was lots of life in the areas that we fished, including mullet, baitfish, birds and dolphins.

Marshall Dinerman, from Atlanta, fished Little Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday and David Brody and sons Dane, Mike and Ben, from Pittsburgh, fished Gasparilla Sound with Capt. Andy Cotton and me on a 2-boat trip on Saturday. Both trips had similar action catching and releasing trout and jacks in deeper water and snook in shallow water on flies, CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms and DOA Deadly Combos. I also fished a day in the Terra Ceia area and caught and released a few snook and trout on the same lures.

The Florida FWC has enacted a temporary modification of regulations for reds and snook, in the areas affected by the recent red tide. The area extends from Pasco County, south to the south bank of Gordon Pass in Collier County. Reds and snook are catch and release only in that zone until May 10, 2019. I applaud them for taking this action to protect our fishery. Full details including exact boundaries can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Since we are still in a summer time pattern, it is a great time to beat the heat, by fishing dock lights before dawn, which is the coolest time of day. In addition to snook, you may also find juvenile tarpon, trout and reds in the lights. The first few hours of the day is also prime time to fish the flats for reds, snook, trout and more. Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by agricultural and residential runoff, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!

Capt. Capt. Rick Grassett

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.

That’s one nice looking fish he’s showing off.

We were lucky enough to grab some live bait first thing in the morning and today’s fishing in Sarasota Bay was fantastic. The fishing docks that were not in the red tide areas had tons of large mangrove snappers to be had.

Large hand-picked shrimp we picked up from CB’s Outfitters bait & tackle did the trick around the docks with those mangrove snappers. Later on, with a good outgoing tide, we fished for snook and caught over twenty.

Today’s group were from Indiana and had a wonderful time. Remember, September is a great time of year to fish these waters.s.

Capt. Capt. Brandon Naeve

I've been a fishing guide the Sarasota , Boca Grande area for over 25 years. My Sarasota trips are mostly family oriented 1/2 day fishing trips involving kids who love to catch all the family fun fish. My Boca Grande trips are for the more experienced spin or fly fishing angler.

This young couple from PA had a great time.

Even though the red tide is along the beaches and in North Sarasota Bay the fishing in the intercoastal today was excellent. We caught two snook, two redfish, about 50 mangrove snapper, and one trout.

My charter people were from the middle of Pennsylvania, close by Penn State University, and we had a great day on the water.

Every day is different because of the red tide but today was fantastic and late September is a great time to fish the waters in and around Sarasota.

Capt. Capt. Brandon Naeve

I've been a fishing guide the Sarasota , Boca Grande area for over 25 years. My Sarasota trips are mostly family oriented 1/2 day fishing trips involving kids who love to catch all the family fun fish. My Boca Grande trips are for the more experienced spin or fly fishing angler.