Fast Action in Sarasota Bay and Coastal Gulf

Action in the coastal gulf shut down due to dirty and rough water following the first strong front of the season. However Sarasota Bay action turned on, particularly in shallow water. Action with albies also returned to the coastal gulf after conditions settled. Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released reds, trout, snook, blues, Spanish mackerel and albies on lures and flies during the past couple of weeks. John Evans, from the UK, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 10/17. It was breezy and the action wasn't fast, but he caught and released trout on Clouser flies along the east side of the bay and near Long Bar. We had windy and rainy conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10/ 18 and 19, as the first strong front of the season pushed through, so those trips had to be rescheduled. I attended a continuing education seminar for fly casting instructors at the annual FFF-Florida Council Conclave in Kissimmee, FL on Thursday, 10/20. It was time well spent covering various topics related to teaching fly casting. After weather conditions settled a little, Tim Graham, from Nokomis, FL, and Dale Vollrath, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 10/21. They had a great day catching and releasing trout and more than 10 reds on CAL jigs with shad and grub tails. They sight fished some of the reds in potholes in north Sarasota Bay at the bottom of the tide. A great day! Fly angler Richard Gilliam, from CA, fished the same areas with me on Saturday, 10/22. He was weathered out on Tuesday and this was our only chance to make the trip up. He caught and released numerous trout, several Spanish mackerel and connected with a red. He used an Ultra Hair Clouser fly on deep grass flats for the trout and mackerel and my Grassett Flats Minnow fly for the red. Orvis representative Robert Bryant, from Greensboro, NC, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Sunday, 10/23. We caught a few trout and a Spanish mackerel on Ultra Hair Clouser flies fished on sink tip fly lines along the east side of the bay before heading for shallow water. Robert had several eats, connected with a couple of reds and landed one on my Flat Minnow fly. The reds got more aggressive as the water warmed and the tide rose. He had numerous sight fishing opportunities and we worked hard to get the bites, but it was very rewarding! {%image_id=23241%} Mark Eddy and his son-in-law, Andy Sherman, both from CO, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 10/24. They had good action on deep grass flats near Buttonwood Harbor with trout and blues on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Jon Yenari and Kyle Ruffing, both from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Tuesday, 10/25. We had planned to fish Gasparilla Sound in Charlotte Harbor, but due to reports of red tide along the coast in that area, we opted to fish Sarasota Bay instead. We spent some time in skinny water sight casting to reds, but they didn't cooperate. We fished a couple of deep grass flats along the east side of the bay in the afternoon and caught and released trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Jerry Roth, from Longwood, FL, fished a couple of days in Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday and Friday, 10/26 and 28. We fished the west side of the bay near Buttonwood Harbor where he had good action both days with a slam on Wednesday, including a couple of snook to 27", several reds and nice trout on CAL: jigs with grub tails. Action was a little slower on Friday, but he caught and released a 5-pound blue on a top water plug. What an explosion! Patrice Camillieri, from France, fished a couple of days with me. We fished the coastal gulf on Thursday, 10/27. False albacore returned after disappearing for a week or so following the first strong front of the season about 10 days ago. He caught and released 7 albies to 10-pounds on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. They were very tough at first, not staying up long and moving fast, but as the day went by they got more aggressive. What a great fish to catch on a fly! {%image_id=23242%} Patrice also fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday, 10/31. It was cool, rainy and windy that morning, but we decided to give it a shot. We waded on the east side of the bay, which was the best way to deal with the wind. Patrice caught and released several trout on my flats Minnow and Clouser flies, including a couple in the 2-1/2 to 3-pound class and he ended the day with an over slot 9-pound red! {%image_id=23243%} I fished the 7th annual MCFF/CCA "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge" with my son-in-law, Capt. Andy Cotton and Jeremiah Acevedo, both from Sarasota on Saturday, 10/29. It was a good event with 36 anglers targeting reds, trout, snook and more in a CPR format (catch, photo, release). Since we had 3 anglers and it was a windy day, we waded a couple of spots to best deal with the conditions. We had a great day, although not good enough to win any awards. Andy and I each had a pair of reds and several nice trout to 23" on my Flats Minnow and Clouser flies. I also caught and released a 4-lb blue while wading in 2' of water. Jeremiah had a good day with several nice trout on Clouser flies. Next week's tides will improve towards the end of the week. Action should be good in skinny water in Sarasota Bay for reds, trout and snook and for Spanish mackerel and albies in the coastal gulf. Tight Lines, Capt. Rick Grassett FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor www.flyfishingflorida.net