Fly anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing trout and Spanish mackerel in Sarasota Bay and snook in the ICW during the past week. The best action was with big trout in skinny water in Sarasota Bay and snook in the ICW at night.
Nick Reding, from Longboat Key and Mike Perez, from Sarasota, waded a couple of shallow flats in Sarasota Bay with me on Monday. A front was pushing through and fish turned on. They had good action catching and releasing a dozen or more trout up to 22” on Grassett Flats Minnow and Clouser Minnow flies.
Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, fished lighted docks in the ICW with me on Tuesday evening and had good action catching and releasing snook. Snook gorged themselves on glass minnows and also ate my Grassett Snook Minnow, a glass minnow fly pattern.
Alan Sugar, from MI, fished deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday afternoon and had some action catching and releasing trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. David Coffey, from Toronto, Canada, also fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday and had good action catching and releasing more than a dozen trout and several Spanish mackerel on the same fly pattern.
When fishing docks and deep grass flats in the winter, fish are more likely to be deep in the water column so a clear intermediate sink tip fly line and a weighted fly works well to get the fly down in the water column. Also there may be more toothy fish, such as Spanish mackerel and blues in the mix, so synthetic material flies are more durable.
Fish the windows of stable weather between fronts for the best action. Sunny afternoons and evenings with some protection from the wind should fish better this time of year due to warmer water. There should be good action with trout, blues, Spanish mackerel, pompano and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Fishing shallow water for big trout should also be a good option.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFI Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters
Orvis Outfitter of the Year-2011
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
www.snookfin-addict.com, www.snookfinaddict.com and www.flyfishingflorida.us ;
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
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