Capt. Rick Grassett Sarasota

I was away on a family vacation recently, so I don’t have much to report locally. However, I did get out for a trip after we returned. A fly angler fishing Sarasota Bay with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had some action catching and releasing snook, jacks, mangrove snapper and ladyfish on flies on his first ever saltwater fly fishing trip.

Greg Whitledge, from IL, fished a predawn snook/flats trip with me on Friday morning. That trip, which gives anglers a good chance for snook and tarpon on a fly around dock lights before moving to the flats at the best time of day, is a great option this time of year. He did well, catching and releasing several snook before daylight on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. Just as we were wrapping up the snook fishing, a school of jacks erupted in a frenzy, trapping bait along a seawall. He added a few more species to his tally by catching and releasing mangrove snapper, jacks and ladyfish out of the fray!

You may find juvenile tarpon mixed with snook in dock lights or in canals and creeks during the day. You may also find juvenile and adult tarpon in upper Charlotte Harbor and some areas of Sarasota and Tampa Bay. Fishing lighted docks and bridges in the ICW for snook with flies and DOA Lures should be a good option. This is also a good time frame to sight fish for snook in the surf. Remember that snook season is closed on the west coast of Florida until Sep 1st. Please handle them gently and release them quickly.

Tight Lines,