 Anglers fishing with me on the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, had good action with trout during the past couple of weeks. In addition, anglers caught and released Spanish mackerel, reds, snook and flounder on lures and flies in Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.
Fly angler, Mike Perez from Richmond, IN, fished Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor with me on Tuesday, Oct. 31st. Although the fish weren’t large, Mike scored a slam with a fly, a snook, redfish and several trout. Also, included in the catch for the day was a nice flounder and Spanish mackerel.
The next day, fly anglers Jim Martin, from Sarasota, FL and his son, Randall Martin from NM, fished the same area with me. We waded a sand bar where Jim caught and released a pair of nice trout, both better than 20”. Although we were hoping for reds and snook, it wasn’t in the cards that day. They had plenty of action on deep grass flats with trout and lost a nice mackerel that bit through the leader before we could land it.
I spent the next several days visiting family in Delaware and squeezed in a day of fishing in the Chesapeake Bay out of Crisfield, MD with my brother, Kirk Grassett from Middletown, DE. We had fast action with stripers to 24” caught on Clousers, Half and Half’s and Enrico Puglisi’s Mullet flies fished on 225 to 325 grain fly lines. We probably caught and released about 70 fish that were all nice, fat fish.
I attended the Orvis Southeastern Guide Rendezvous in Ft. Myers on Friday. We spent the morning reviewing new products and cast the new Zero Gravity fly rods before heading for the water for an informal tournament in the afternoon. These rods are the best casting fly rods that Orvis has ever produced. We fished Pine Island Sound starting at a low tide, which was a good condition for tailing redfish. Capt. Duane Baker, from Tavernier, FL and CB’s Saltwater Outfitters manager, Doug Forde from Sarasota, FL, fished with me. We found tailing reds pretty quickly near Regla Island. Doug caught and released a nice 28” redfish with my Flats Minnow fly. I entered my fly in their fly contest and won it. Capt. Ed Hurst’s boat won the tournament with a pair of reds and a snook.
Yesterday fly anglers Darrell Doane, his son Josh Doane and Nick Pesce, all from Memphis, TN fished lower Tampa Bay with me. We fished from the mouth of the Manatee River all the way to Bishop Harbor. They caught and released more than 25 trout to 18”, a couple of flounder and a bluefish on my Flat’s Minnow fly, Clousers, jigs and DOA Deadly Combos. Most of the trout were caught and released in potholes near Joe Island. We also cast to several tailing reds in the same area, but they didn’t eat.
Reds and snook on shallow flats should be good options next week, particularly in Charlotte Harbor and lower Tampa Bay. There are reports of Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf off Sarasota. With a little cooler weather, the surface action for mackerel, bluefish and little tunny should take off.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett |
