Good Action on Charlotte Harbor Flats & in ICW near Venice

Anglers fishing with me, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released snook, jacks and blues at night in the ICW near Venice on flies, trout in Sarasota Bay and trout, reds and snook in Gasparilla Sound on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms and during the past couple of weeks. The best action was in shallow water, where long casts with spinning tackle paid off and catch and release snook fishing in the ICW at night. Jerry Poslusny, from Rochester, NY, and Rich Hunter, from Longboat Key, FL, fished dock lights in the ICW near Venice with me on Sunday night, 2/12. They had steady action catching and releasing snook on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly and Rich caught his first snook on a fly! {%image_id=52634%} Mark and Sarah Phelps, from Charleston, SC, fished the same area with me on Monday evening, 2/13. Mark is a great fishing guide in the Charleston area and also guided in our area when they lived in Bradenton several years ago. Action was slower than the night before to start, but turned on later in the trip. In addition to snook, they also caught and released several jacks and a nice bluefish. Sarah had some action with a CAL jig with a shad tail on spinning tackle and Mark finished the night with a nice snook caught and released on a glass minnow fly pattern with a 6-wt. {%image_id=52635%} Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL and Jack McCulloch, from Lakewood Ranch, FL, fished the backcountry of Gasparilla sound near Boca Grande with me on Friday, 2/17. Although fish in shallow water were very spooky, they caught trout to 19" and a couple of reds on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms. {%image_id=52637%} I was one of the instructors, along with IFFF Master Certified Fly Casting Instructors Capt. Pete Greenan and Capt. Rex Gudgel, for the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers annual free fly casting clinic on Saturday morning, 2/18 at The Meadows. The event was well attended and introduced some new anglers, including several youngsters, to fly fishing. Ashley Jade Little and Walt Plasson of CB's Saltwater Outfitters, Capt. Josh Greer of West Wall Outfitters and The Compound, were on hand with numerous brands of fly tackle available for participants to try out. Kayak fly fishing guide, Steve Gibson of Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing, was also there to demonstrate fly fishing out of a NuCanoe Pursuit kayak. A great event! Keith McClintock, from Lake Forest, IL and Jim Pociask, from Sarasota, FL, fished the backcountry of Gasparilla sound near Boca Grande with me on Monday, 2/20. They caught and released trout to 21" and snook to 26" on CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms. {%image_id=52636%} Siesta Key and Longboat Key winter residents, Joe Brinkmeyer and Jim Brady, and Ray Brinkmeyer, from Indianapolis, IN, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Thursday, 2/23. We worked deep grass flats on the west side of the bay and they had steady action with trout to 18" on CAL jigs with shad tails. Capt. Ed Hurst and I were the instructors for a CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing School on Saturday, 2/25. Students received instruction in fly casting basics, line control, shooting line and the roll cast. We also covered leader construction, fly selection and saltwater fly fishing techniques. Contact CB's Saltwater Outfitters at (941) 349-4400 or [email protected] to make reservations for the next school on Mar 25th. You should find snook, larger trout and reds in shallow water when conditions are good. Wading with a fly rod or making long casts with spinning tackle are good tactics for fishing shallow water. Catch and release night snook fishing around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW with flies and DOA Lures continues to be a good option. Trout should also be a good option on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Tight Lines, Capt. Rick Grassett IFFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide at CB's Saltwater Outfitters Orvis Outfitter of the Year-2011