Capt. Rick Grassett, Sarasota 1/7/2017

Anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing snook, trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and snook, trout and redfish in Gasparilla Sound on flies and DOA Lures during the past week. The best action was in skinny water in the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound.

Mike Ward, from Asheville, NC and David Ufer, from Ann Arbor, MI, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. We worked deep grass flats on the west side of the bay where they had good action with trout, blues and a Spanish mackerel on CAL jigs with shad tails. Marshall Dinerman, from Atlanta, GA, fished the same areas with me on Friday. Sea fog was heavy when we started, but it dissipated quickly allowing us to move around. He had good action with trout on CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos and flies.

Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL and his son-in-law Rick Anderson, also from IL, fished the backcountry of Gasparilla Sound near Boca Grande with me on Tuesday. They had good action with numerous trout to 20”, several snook to 24” and a nice red on CAL jigs with shad tails. The trout action was very good with the majority of the fish falling in the upper slot. Rick scored a slam, with numerous trout, a few snook and a red at the end of the day to complete his slam!

Nick Reding, from Longboat Key, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday. We waded a couple of sand bars and caught a few quality fish. Nick caught and released a 26” snook and a couple of nice trout on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly. Larger trout are typically found in shallower water this time of year and with water temperatures still around 70 degrees, there are also still plenty of snook on shallow flats.

Trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay should remain to be a good option. Catch and release night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures should also provide good action. Also look for snook in shallow water along with larger trout and reds. There may be some action in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny) and tripletail depending on sea conditions.

Tight Lines,