Tony Dolby out for a little fun on the water caught this nice looking redfish.

This week, fishing aboard the “Gone Coastal” with Captain Terry Simmons, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key.

I took Tony and Christine Dolby out for a little fun on the water. We found some birds and trout busting baits early on the outgoing tide.

They caught Spanish mackerel, trout, jack crevalle and redfish all on artificial DOA shad tail baits with 3/8oz jig heads. We tried shrimp but the pinfish enjoyed them more than the targeted fish so we stuck with the artificial baits.

We had to change color patterns of the baits, several times, to keep them interested, using dark to glow colors. Let’s 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.

Capt. Kelly Kurtz with a nice looking Redfish.

The fishing this week was excellent both offshore and onshore. I ran several nearshore trips as the seas were calm and winds were light.

Fishing some hard bottom spot produced Grouper, snapper, porgies, key west grunts as well as a few triggerfish.

We also fished inshore several days catching and releasing many snook, trout and several oversized redfish as well as mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel.

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.

On the waters of the gulf with Capt. Chuck Cress.

On Monday we had a group of 16 anglers out take out fishing. We divided the anxious anglers up on four different boats.

We arrived at our first spot just as the sun was rising. I was kept busy as our group caught over 30 fish in four hours. That’s a pretty good run no matter who you’re talking too.

Trout, snook, snapper, and catfish made up most of the catch. One very large manatee came right up to the boat to check us out.

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.

Took time off this week to have the boat serviced and attend the ICAST fishing tackle show in Orlando. FL. The shoe is advertised as the largest in the world and it was certainly overwhelming. Lots to see and learn at the event.

Back on the water the speckled trout and mangrove snapper were the ticket around the grass flats and I did manage to get out and do some fishing with one nice trout and one nice snapper being invited home for dinner. The weather is hot and so is the fishing so get out there and enjoy.

Remember, the best time to go fishing is when you can and be sure to save some for seed!

Capt. Capt. Jeffri Durrance

Jef­fri is a fourth generation native Floridian who grew up in Bowling Green, Florida, located in Hardee County. While growing up on a cattle and citrus operation Jef­fri fished many creeks and lakes in the central Florida area as well as the Peace River.

Night snook fishing for fly anglers has been good.

Anglers fishing aboard my boat the O’ Fish All out of CB’S Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key caught and released tarpon, snook, spotted seatrout, bluefish, and pompano. Fly anglers are getting numerous shots in shallow water with tarpon.

Also, night snook fishing for fly anglers has been really good with snook and juvenile tarpon under the lights. Spin fisherman have been getting spotted seatrout to 25 inches, bluefish, small sharks, ladyfish, and pompano using DOA CAL jerk Bait fished on a 1/4 ounce jig head.

Fishing low and slow with a jig around the passes in 5 to 9 foot of water have been key.

Capt. Capt. Andy Cotton

Capt. Andy loves fly fishing and light spinning tackle with artificial lures. He fishes out of an Action Craft 1720 flats skiff rigged with the latest electronics and outfitted with Orvis fly equipment and Shimano spinning tackle. Andy is the owner of O'Fish All Guide Service.

Fishing around Sarasota Bay is about the same as it’s been for the last few weeks. Gulp jigs under a popping cork have been the top producer but the silver CAL jigs have been doing the job also.

We have been fishing grass flats in about 6 to 8 feet of water and the action has been good. Trout were the most popular of the fish we caught. Going to different flats around the bay, anglers caught Pompano, Flounder, Jacks, Snapper and Ladyfish.

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.

Summertime and the living is easy in Sarasota, FL. There are still a few tarpon slinking around but I’m done with them personally. The 2018 tarpon season was a disappointing one for me. Between the storms and some red tide tarpon fishing was challenging to say the least. I’ve seen the red tide much worse in years pasts but there was enough around to upset the fish.

The storms were the biggest factor. Tarpon like nice quiet water. They have seen it all and continue to survive but that doesn’t mean the like rough churned up water. I’m back to fishing in the bay and believe it or not fishing has been pretty good. The red tide never really got into Sarasota Bay and I thank God for that.

Richard Philipson, Washington DC caught trout, bluefish, ladyfish and jacks while fly fishing with me this past week. There are some quality trout around but they are quite a bit smarter than the smaller ones.

We lost a few flies to the bluefish. The water is clear and 25 # test fluorocarbon leader material gets more takes but bluefish have extremely sharp teeth. To my way of thinking I would rather lose a couple of flies than not get the takes. The fluorocarbon leader also produces more takes from the trout especially the Gators.

We were throwing Enrico Puglisi baitfish patterns. Chartreuse/White, Gray/White, Tan/Pink/White worked well. I would suggest you start early. The heater turns up quickly this time of year. Get your morning of fishing in and then find a shady spot or hide out in the A/C. Happy Fishing!

Capt. Capt. Ed Hurst

Sarasota has been Ed's home since 1956. He's fished these area waters since he was nine years old. From 1995 until the present he's guided anglers exclusively in and around the back­wa­ters of Sarasota Bay. Fly fishing is his passion and he's an Orvis Endorsed Guide.

Fly anglers fishing with me recently, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with tarpon in the coastal gulf in Sarasota. We had multiple shots at tarpon and several hookups.

Steve Gibson, of Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing, battles a tarpon on fly tackle in the coastal gulf.

My friend Steve Gibson, of Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing, had a good day with me on Monday with multiple shots, jumping 3 tarpon and battling one to close to the boat.

Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, also fly fished for tarpon several days later with me. He also had good action, jumping several tarpon.

The action was good but slowed following the new moon. Tarpon fishing should be good in the coastal gulf. Late season tarpon have usually spawned and are more aggressive.

There should also be good action with trout, blues and Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Fishing dock lights in the ICW at night is always a good option for snook and more. Walking the beach and sight fishing snook in the surf can also be good this time of year.

Our natural resources are under constant pressure, 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.

The trout fishing has been very good this past week. Chad Keller and his kids’ Tyler and Reese had a good day on the water on Saturday. They caught some nice trout early then finished the morning with some scrappy snook and crafty mangrove snapper.

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.

That’s one nice looking Snook this young lady is holding.

This week, fishing aboard the “Gone Coastal” with Captain Terry Simmons, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key. I took the Matt McDaniel group out for a fun time on the water.

Dad wouldn’t have it any other way with Madelyn and Sydney out fishing dad. Madelyn and Sidney had a great time catching snook on topwater lures, trout, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel on DOA shad tail baits with 1/4oz mission fishing jig heads.

Finding clean water with moving tides are the key this time of the year.

Mornings have been the best, this week, but we did have to dodge some early morning showers.

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.

DR.Lakkiriggi took his two daughters and father in law out for a day on the warm waters of the gulf.

It’s was a busy week on the waters surrounding Sarasota. The rain and lightning held off until the afternoons allowing for early morning charters to come off nicely. The bay is a little strained at times due to the rains and can make fishing challenging, so moving around to find the cleaner water can make the difference.

Trout seems to be the most reliable fish on my boat but large sail catfish gave quite a fight for several of my younger anglers this week. Small sharks, mangrove snapper, and ladyfish were also caught.

Visiting from Kansas City DR.Lakkiriggi decided to take his two daughters and father in law out on an early morning charter. The girls picked up quickly on the fishing techniques and were a joy to have on board.

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.

Thanks to the nice weather fishing this week has improve in the gulf.

The fishing this week has started to improve as the water quality continues to improve. Last week seas were calm so I took advantage of the conditions and fished several days offshore.

Anglers caught mangrove and lane snapper, grunts, grouper, porgies and Spanish mackerel.

Inshore anglers caught and released snook, trout, snapper, Spanish mackerel and a few flounder.

Happy 4th of July to all my fellow anglers, have a great holiday and stay safe.

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.

Joe Spath caught this nice looking speckled trout using a bucktail jig.

Speckled trout action has been very good in the bay around deep water flats with small sharks, bluefish, ladyfish, mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel all in the mix.

Along the beaches, tarpon are cooperating and offshore the red snapper are in season. Also this week, with help from Dr. David Holifield, we fished the Friendliest Fisherman tournament (part of the Offshore Grand Prix celebration) with D.J. Dahlstrom and Joe Spath.

The action was great with Joe using a bucktail jig to catch the biggest fish of the morning which was a 20” speckled trout. He really had the hot hand catching fish on nearly every cast for a while, it was a fun morning.

Remember, the best time to go fishing is when you can and be sure to save some for seed!

Capt. Capt. Jeffri Durrance

Jef­fri is a fourth generation native Floridian who grew up in Bowling Green, Florida, located in Hardee County. While growing up on a cattle and citrus operation Jef­fri fished many creeks and lakes in the central Florida area as well as the Peace River.

Jim Dempsey, from IL, battles a tarpon he caught and released on a live crab in the coastal gulf while fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Grassett.

Anglers fishing with me recently, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing tarpon on live crabs in the coastal gulf in Sarasota and trout on DOA Lures in Sarasota Bay.

Jim Dempsey. From IL, and Denis Clohisy, from WI, tarpon fished a couple of days with me during the past week. They had good action jumping several tarpon and catching and releasing two on live crabs.

The wind shifted west on our last day and tarpon in the gulf wasn’t an option.

Denis Clohisy battled this tarpon he caught and released on a live crab in the coastal gulf.

We fished deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay with CAL jigs and jerk worms or shad tails and DOA Deadly Combos where they had good action catching and releasing trout.

Denis Clohisy battled this tarpon that he caught and released on a live crab in the coastal gulf while fishing with Capt. Rick Grassett. Tarpon fishing in the coastal gulf is very dependent on conditions, so when conditions are good we should have some opportunities. There should also be good action with trout, blues and Spanish mackerel on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay.

Fishing shallow water for snook and reds with lures and flies is challenging although they should also be a good option now. Fishing dock lights in the ICW at night is always a good option for snook and more.

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.

Darrell’s Anniversary Snook was a sweet catch.

Congratulations to Darrell and Wanda on 30 years of marriage. Darrell drove 9 hrs, straight after work, from Georgia.

Darrell had no idea what she had planned. Wanda wanted to surprise her husband with a guided fishing charter with me to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

With the incoming tide, I wanted to put them on snook, so we started out using a MirrOlure top dog. He was very accustomed to casting around the mangroves and “walking the dog” because he had fished a lot of bass tournaments.

After about 6 casts the snook started moving in on the lure and slamming it. He landed several and then it was her turn and within 3 casts a big snook slammed the lure and gave her quite a fight.

A Fish Called Wanda, and she happily responded.

As the big snook got close to the boat it made one more run for freedom and won. It was twice the size of his.

After the bite slowed down we left that spot going after Spanish mackerel. Once again she puts 4 mackerel in the boat and asks him where he was.

He kept working at it but started catching small trout, then as if planned she gets a nice 20″ speckled trout in the boat. And actually, he couldn’t be happier his wife outfished him, remarking “happy wife happy life.” They both really enjoyed their trip and he was quite surprised.

Again congratulations to Darrell and Wanda.

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.

Alex Semerano with a nice spotted seatrout!

Anglers fishing aboard my boat the O’ Fish All out of CB’S Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key caught and released tarpon, snook, spotted seatrout, bluefish, and pompano.

Fly anglers fishing with me for tarpon last week had numerous shots at fish in shallow water. Anglers that fished Sarasota Bay with me caught and released spotted seatrout, bluefish, and pompano. Water temps in the bay are almost 90* by midday so we concentrated on the grass flats that are in the 6 to 10 range.

With fishing artificial lures or fly the key is to start early to find some consistent action before water temps heat up. Night snook fishing has continued to be good with fly anglers.

Spin anglers are scoring with DOA shrimp and the Yozuri pins minnow with the best action around lighted docks and structure with good moving water.

Capt. Capt. Andy Cotton

Capt. Andy loves fly fishing and light spinning tackle with artificial lures. He fishes out of an Action Craft 1720 flats skiff rigged with the latest electronics and outfitted with Orvis fly equipment and Shimano spinning tackle. Andy is the owner of O'Fish All Guide Service.

Dave Robinson displaying a nice Red Snapper.

This week saw action offshore fishing for red snapper. Several friends of mine, including Dave Robinson pictured here ho;ding a beautiful red snapper, made the trip out over 60 miles where red snapper, red grouper, scamp, mangrove snapper and lane snapper were caught.

Along the beaches, the tarpon are still schooling and bay trips are still producing speckled trout, black drum, mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel along with small sharks and some large gaff top sail cats.

Remember, the best time to go fishing is when you can and be sure to save some for seed.

Capt. Capt. Jeffri Durrance

Jef­fri is a fourth generation native Floridian who grew up in Bowling Green, Florida, located in Hardee County. While growing up on a cattle and citrus operation Jef­fri fished many creeks and lakes in the central Florida area as well as the Peace River.

Anglers fishing aboard the “Casual Lies” out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters had up and down fishing last week. With small spots of red tide floating around we had to skip around the bay a little bit.

Up in the north bay early in the week we did really well on Trout, Pompano, Jacks, and Ladyfish. Midweek I went back up to fish the same grass and the water was dirty and lots of floating weeds. We headed over to the Country Club Shores flat where the water was dirty two days earlier and it was clean with some big Trout and Flounder on it.

On the outgoing tide, we fished the shallow grass at Middlegrounds flat and 5&7 Flat and caught small Sharks, Trout, Mangrove Snapper, Jacks and Ladyfish on Greenback colored CAL jigs. There was good looking water at the inshore reefs so I grabbed some live shrimp and free-lined them down to the structure on the bottom. We ended up with some small Red and Gag Grouper and nice Mangrove Snapper.

Looks like the Red Tide has mostly moved on so I think the fishing should be picking up this next week.

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.

This family was visiting from Tennessee and enjoying every minute fishing Sarasota Bay with Capt. Chuck Cress aboard the “Let’s Get Em”.

We had a lot of fun this week aboard the “Let’s Get Em”, my charter boat. I had families from Tennessee, Texas, and Florida aboard the boat.

I had some experienced anglers as well as a couple of first time anglers fishing with me. Snook (catch and release only) are still cooperating as are speckled trout, and nice size Mangrove snapper are plentiful once you locate them.

The picture here is of a dad and his two boys who were down from Tennessee. They enjoyed every minute fishing in Sarasota Bay. The best time to go fishing is when you can, so make it happen.

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.

Let’s go fishing, there’s nothing like it when you need a good dose of Vitamin Sea.

This week, fishing aboard the “Gone Coastal” with Captain Terry Simmons, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key.

Although I generally do not take 4 anglers on a tarpon charter, this week, I made an exception.

I had some friends from all over the country that were here to bury their parents. After they were buried all the family wanted to do was catch a tarpon, to show their love and respect for their parents, who loved fishing for tarpon so much.

They bought a house here so they could stay during the season and catch as many as they could. Their family charted me for the entire week so that various members could get the chance to catch a tarpon. Some wanted to see them and some wanted to catch them.

On our first day out we saw thousands of tarpon, but tarpon being tarpon, just didn’t want to eat. We threw the kitchen sink (pinfish and crabs) at them but on our second day out we boated 1 for 3. Once we hooked up, two of the grandsons helped their father fight a 90 – 100lb tarpon to the boat. They all took turns getting that fish to the boat for picture sharing.

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.