Sarasota, Rick Grassett

Anglers fishing with me, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action catching and releasing snook on flies and DOA Lures at night in Little Sarasota Bay recently. Mike Watkins, from Sarasota, fished dock lights for snook on a trip with me and had some action catching and releasing snook on CAL jigs with shad tails before dawn. We fished docks and bars after daylight and caught and released a couple more snook on the same lures.

Hilton Bruch and Jan Bailey-Bruch, from St. Pete, also fished dock lights for snook on a night trip with me recently. With a good tide, they had fast action catching and releasing numerous snook and a nice bluefish on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly.

I was the instructor for an “Orvis Fly Fishing 101” introductory fly fishing clinic on Saturday. Students were introduced to the sport of fly fishing and had an opportunity to cast a fly rod. The next fly fishing event will be an Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School on Jan 19, 2019. The school will cover fly casting, leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. The 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 class, which will run from 8:30 AM to 2 PM, is $195 per person and includes the use of premium Orvis fly tackle, workbook and lunch. Contact CB’s Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or info@cbsoutfitters.com to make reservations.

Fishing dock lights in the evening, is a good option for catch and release snook fishing. The key to success is finding clean water, whether it is on the flats or in the coastal gulf. Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by agricultural and residential runoff, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!

Tight Lines,