Captain's Weekly Fishing Report

October 31, 2010 Fishing Report - Capt. Jeffri Durrance

Trout, snook and redfish were the highlight of this weeks fishing with a bay slam caught along the east side of Sarasota Bay in the Ringling flats area. The snook were up to 26”, the trout to 20” and the redfish were undersized. The fish were caught on white spro jigs, zara spooks, gold spoons and gulp baits. Also caught were flounder, jacks and ladyfish.

October 31, 2010 Fishing Report - Capt. Rick Grassett

Anglers fishing with me on my flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released little tunny, trout, small gag grouper and a red on flies last week. The fastest action continues to be in the coastal gulf with little tunny. Spanish mackerel are also plentiful but we actually avoided mackerel schools in lieu of their much stronger cousins.

Capt. John Hand, of Redfish Landing Guide Service in Ruskin, FL, and Dr. Ben Estes, from Augusta, GA, fished the coastal gulf off Siesta Key with me on Monday. John was the successful bidder on the trip, which was donated to the Florida Council of Federation of Fly Fishers. They caught and released 4 little tunny in the 8 to 10-pound class and had a couple of other hook ups on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. We fished the west side of Sarasota Bay in the afternoon and caught and released a few trout on Ultra Hair Clouser flies.

David and Linda Kornreich, from Orlando, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday and Thursday. David caught and released numerous trout to 18” and small gag grouper on Ultra Hair Clouser flies at Stephens Point. He also connected with a nice red on a spoon fly and after a couple of short, head shaking runs had the fish alongside the boat.

Good tides as we approach a new moon and this weekend’s front should make fishing good next week. Fish the coastal gulf for little tunny and Spanish mackerel when conditions allow it or fish Sarasota Bay for trout, reds, snook and more for the best action.

October 31, 2010 Fishing Report - Capt. Jim Klopfer

South winds warmed the water temperature up a little, along with stirring up the water, putting a damper on the fabulous beach fishing, but it should bounce back this week. It did seem to push the fish into the bay, especially the Spanish mackerel, which we caught a bunch of this week. My best action came on live pilchards around Marker #5 and Bird key, catching mackerel, speckled trout, ladyfish, gag grouper, bluefish, mangrove snapper, flounder and jack crevelle. We also caught a few small snook on Rapala X-Raps near the mouth of Phillippi Creek in the morning on the outgoing tide.

Captain's Monthly Fishing Forecast

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Forecast for November 2010

Fall fishing will peak this month as hungry schools of Spanish and king mackerel and little tunny feed on southbound baitfish schools in the coastal gulf. Tripletail and cobia will also be options in the same areas. Look for reds and trout in skinny water and you should also find snook staging around sand bars on shallow flats as they move towards their wintertime haunts.

Snook season remains closed this month due to special action taken by the Florida FWC, although there should be great catch and release action. Handle them gently and use tackle heavy enough to land them quickly. You’ll find them in the ICW around lighted docks and bridges where they will feed on glass minnows and small shrimp. I like to fish the ICW from Sarasota to Venice for snook at night. Small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, Gurglers and shrimp patterns will all work well. Fish peak tidal flows with intermediate or intermediate sink tip fly lines. Spin anglers should score with CAL jigs with shad tails.

You’ll also find snook staging around sand and oyster bars in north Sarasota Bay as they move towards rivers and creeks where many of them will spend the winter. I usually use larger lures and flies to duplicate baits found in these areas. Deceivers, EP flies and CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms would be my fly and lure choices. Fish seams where grass meets sand along the edges of bars and potholes.

Reds will spread out on shallow flats where you’ll find them along mangrove shorelines and around oyster bars when the tide is high. Look for them in potholes and edges of flats at low tides, particularly where there is a significant drop off. The negative low tides from Nov. 5-10 and 19-27 should be good for reds in potholes. I like to use CAL jigs with a variety of tails and weighted flies, like my Grassett Flats Minnow. A DOA shrimp rigged weedless and fished backwards is a good lure to fish potholes and the shallow grass that surrounds them. They can be very challenging, especially with a fly, depending on conditions.

Trout fishing should be strong this month. You’ll find them on shallow grass flats in many of the same areas where you’ll find reds and snook this month. I would use the same lures and flies for trout that I use for reds. You’ll also find them on deep grass flats mixed with blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano. I like to drift and cast ahead of the boat with CAL jigs or weighted flies fished on sinking or sink tip fly lines to locate them. You may see surface activity this time of year, such as diving birds or breaking fish, which makes it easier to locate fish. If that’s not happening, I make several drifts across a flat until I locate fish and then shorten my drift as I get dialed into them. Casting fly poppers and top water plugs are good techniques to make fish show themselves. You’ll need to use wire or heavy fluorocarbon when toothy fish, such as blues and mackerel, are present.

You might also find pompano, blues and Spanish mackerel in passes where you’ll need to use heavier jigs and faster sinking fly lines, such as 300 or 350 grain Depth Charge fly lines. These fly lines have 30’ of fast sinking fly line with intermediate (slower sinking) fly line behind it. Drift with the tide and vertical jig with spinning tackle or cast perpendicular to the drift when fly fishing to get your fly close to the bottom.

Along the beach, usually a few hundred yards from shore to no more than a mile offshore, look for schools of breaking fish that could include Spanish and king mackerel and little tunny. Watch which way the birds are moving to get ahead of fish and let them come to you. They often move so fast that they are gone if you cast to where you see them, so you need to cast to where they are headed. Avoid getting too close to schools of breaking fish with your boat or you may put them down. Stop your boat parallel to moving schools of fish so that you can effectively move your fly or lure. If you don’t find them on the surface, try drifting over one of the many artificial or natural reefs in the coastal gulf to find them.

You might also encounter cobia or tripletail when fishing in the coastal gulf. Look for tripletail and cobia around crab trap floats and buoys. Cobia might also be free swimming on the surface or hanging over structure. I would use DOA shrimp or CAL jigs for tripletail on spinning tackle and a slow sinking fly on a floating or sink tip fly line for tripletail. Cobia are suckers for bigger baits, such as DOA Baitbusters, BFL’s or CAL jigs with 5” jerk worms. Fly anglers should score with large profile baitfish patterns, such as EP Peanut Butter flies. The key to being successful is to be rigged up and ready for these fish, so that when they show up you can make a quick presentation.

This is a great month to fish both flats and the coastal gulf. I like to fish the coastal gulf when conditions are good since there are many different things you might encounter there. If conditions aren’t good in the gulf, there should be plenty of action on shallow and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Whatever you choose to do, limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!

Capt. Jim Klopfer’s Fishing Forecast for November 2010

The calendar may say that autumn begins in September, but here on the Suncoast of Florida, November is the month that first feels like fall. Shorter, cooler days and dropping water temperatures result in fish feeding heavily in preparation for winter. This also triggers both resident and pelagic species into making their fall migrations.

Pompano are a prime target in November, especially with speckled trout being closed to harvest. These delicious and hard-fighting fish respond to the cooler water temperatures. Big Pass, New Pass, and the deeper flats throughout the area are reliable spots to catch pompano, but they can be encountered almost anywhere. Small yellow, white, and gold jigs either drifted in the passes or cast out over the grass flats will fool pompano, as will a live shrimp. For best results, fish the passes when the tide and wind are moving in the same direction, resulting in a nice drift. Live or frozen sand fleas are a deadly bait for pompano off the local beaches.

Along with pompano, anglers working the deeper flats should catch speckled trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevelle, ladyfish, small grouper, and mangrove snapper. Traditional spots in the north bay such as Buttonwood Harbor, Bishop’s Pt., Stephen’s Pt, the Moorings, the Middlegrounds, Radio Tower, and Bird Key flats will all produce fish in November when the weather is good. We will get some severe fronts this time of year which will bring cold, dirty water into the bay. When these conditions exist, a move south to the flats between Stickney Pt and Blackburn Pt will often provide better action, particularly on high, afternoon tides. Gold, rootbeer/gold, and olive 1/4 ounce Cotee jigs work very well, allowing anglers to cover a lot of water. Live shrimp under a cork or free lined will also catch plenty of fish.

Snook will be moving towards their winter backwater residences in the creeks and canals. Oyster bars, mangrove shorelines, and docks along Siesta Key south to Albee Rd should produce snook on shallow diving plugs such as Rapala X-Raps and soft plastic baits. Redish will also be feeding on these shallow bars and will hit these same lures along with gold spoons and live shrimp. Reds will still be found on the very shallow flats up north around Long Bar and Whale Key, although the large schools will probably be dispersed. Scented soft plastics such as Gulp baits work very well on a light 1/8 ounce jig head.

The fishing just off the beaches should be outstanding, providing the weather cooperates. Calm seas and clear water will result in the inshore artificial reefs being loaded with king and Spanish mackerel, false albacore and the occasional cobia. Trolling Clark spoons behind a planer and large Rapala plugs will account for plenty of mackerel and schoolie kings, while most of the larger kings will be taken on slow trolled live blue runners. Anchoring over the reefs and chumming with live pilchards practically ensures success, if the bait is still available. Frozen chum and live shrimp will work, too.

Just south of Big Pass is Point of Rocks, another terrific area to fish the beach. The bars in the pass will often times have breaking mackerel, bluefish, and ladyfish on them. The area off the public beach south to the point is usually stacked with large bait. Use a Sabiki rig to catch a few, then free line one out on a heavy spinning outfit. Use either a heavy 100 pound monofilament or wire leader and a 4/0 hook. Kings, blacktip sharks, and even tarpon will give you a great tussle!


CB's saltwater outfitters
1249 Stickney Point Road on Siesta Key
(at Stickney Point Bridge)
Sarasota, Florida 34242
941-349-4400
http://www.cbsoutfitters.com