Sarasota, Rick Grassett

A fly angler fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had some action catching and releasing snook and tripletail on flies in Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf recently. Frank Zaffino, from Rochester, NY, fished a couple of days with me during the past week. We were hoping to find false albacore (little tunny) in the coastal gulf, but saw only a couple of schools that were up and down very quickly so we didn’t get a shot at them. However with stone crab season now open, tripletail have more structure available and a few small ones have moved in. Frank caught and released several on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We also fished Sarasota Bay one afternoon and he had some action catching and releasing snook on the same fly.

I was one of the instructors for a CB’s Saltwater Outfitters “Orvis Fly Fishing 101” clinic on Saturday. Students were given an introduction to fly casting basics and had an opportunity to cast with premium Orvis fly tackle. There are still some spots available in CB’s Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing school on Sat, Nov 18, 2017. The school will cover fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. The comprehensive course, designed for beginning and intermediate fly casters, will focus on basics but also work with intermediate casters on correcting faults and improving casting skills. Cost for the school, which will run from 8:30 AM to 2 PM, is $175 per person and includes the use of Orvis fly tackle and lunch. Contact CB’s Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or info@cbsoutfitters.com to make reservations.

With the water temperature still in the low 80’s, baitfish are plentiful but widely scattered in the coastal gulf. The first cold fronts of the season, which should be arriving within a few weeks, should school baitfish more tightly making Spanish mackerel and false albacore easier to target with a fly and move more mackerel, albies, cobia and tripletail into our area.

Look for action in the coastal gulf to take off in the coming weeks. There should also be good action with trout and more on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Shallow water action for snook, trout and reds is picking up due to cooler water. Fishing lighted docks and bridges in the ICW for snook with flies and DOA Lures should also be a good option. You should still find juvenile tarpon in canals and creeks and adult tarpon in upper Charlotte Harbor and some areas of Sarasota and Tampa Bay.

Tight Lines,