Captain Favorite's Fishing Forum Oct. 7, 2012

Catch of the Week
Jason Richardson caught this giant 27-inch trout on greenback shiners in Sarasota Bay

BRADENTON – It's the countdown to stonecrab season, which begins on October 15. Soak season stared on October 5, that means you can start placing your traps -- up to five are allowed for recreational anglers.  Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is asking for input on Gulf of Mexico gag groupers.  The fifth annual Ben Gullett Mullet Invitational and fish fry will be held on Oct. 12 and 13, then the Fall Fly Fishing Challenge will be held this  weekend. 

Fishing Updates

Public Input Requested at Oct. 11 Gulf of Mexico Gag Grouper Workshop

• The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will host a workshop next week to gather public input on Gulf of Mexico gag grouper. The workshop focus will be determining the public’s preferred dates for the 2013 Gulf gag grouper recreational fishing season. Potential changes to the Gulf of Mexico gag grouper bag limit will also be discussed.
• The workshop is from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Perry City Council Meeting Room, 224 S. Jefferson St., in Perry.

This workshop is a first step in determining the 2013 federal and state Gulf gag grouper recreational season.

Fifth Annual Ben Gullett Mullet Invitational and Fish Fry

• The fifth Annual Gullett Mullet Invitational and Fish Fry is scheduled for October 12 and 13th and is sponsored by Manatee-Sarasota Fish and Game Association, Inc. and the Gullett Family to benefit outdoor activities for youth such as the Annual Jerry Hill Memorial Kids’ Fishing Tournament.
• To register for the mullet fishing tournament, call 792-8314 for a registration form. The contestants will attend a Captain’s Meeting on Friday, October 12, 6:30 p.m. at the Palmetto Point Civic Association, 637 43rd St. Blvd. W., Palmetto. Weigh-in will begin on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. with the awards ceremony at 6:00 p.m.
• An old fashioned fish fry will be served on Saturday from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at the Palmetto Point Civic Association for $10 a plate and is open to the public. Diners will have choice of smoked or fried mullet, hush puppies, cheese grits, slaw, cookie and tea. For fish fry tickets call 792-8314.
• The event on Saturday, October 13 will also include a mullet cast netting contest, salt water and fresh water fly tying demonstrations, silent auction and other activities of interest to fishing enthusiasts. 

 Fall Fly Fishing Challenge

• The Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers and Sarasota Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association will hold their 8th annual Fall Fly Fishing Challenge Oct. 27.
• The catch, photo and release event will feature an Open Division for guides and anglers fishing with guides (all anglers are eligible to compete in the Open Division}, and a Fly Angler Division (no guides).
• In the Open Division, eligible species include snook, redfish and spotted seatrout. Those in the Fly Angler Division will fish for a variety of species, including snook, redfish, spotted seatrout, bluefish, ladyfish, flounder, snapper, jack crevalle, pompano and permit based on a points-per-inch system.
• Entry fee is $50 and includes an awards barbecue at Ken Clark Auditorium, 3000 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.
• Tournament applications are available at area tackle shops or online at http://ccaflorida.org and http://mangrovecoastflyfishers.com.
• Competitors’ meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Trader Vic’s, 351 N. Cattlemen Rd., Sarasota.
• For information, call Rick Grassett at (941) 923-7799 or Steve Gibson at (941) 284-3406.

Weekly Fishing Report by Capt. Rick Grassett

Joey Grassett, from Seaford, DE, and Kirk Grassett, from Middletown, DE, with a Chesapeake Bay spotted sea trout double caught and released on flies in Tangier Sound.

 I was away visiting family in Delaware last week, so I don’t have a Sarasota fishing report. However, I did have an opportunity to fish Tangier Sound in Chesapeake Bay a couple of days while I was there. My brother Joey Grassett and I fished with our brother, Kirk Grassett, on his Jones Brothers 18’ Cape Fisherman, a perfect boat for those waters. One day we launched at Hooper’s Island, MD and another day we began our trip out of Crisfield, MD.

We fished submerged stump fields, sod banks and grass flats in shallow water surrounding the many islands in the area. We had good action both days catching and releasing numerous striped bass (locally know as rockfish or stripers) and spotted sea trout on flies and jigs. It was great to have good action with trout! That area is at the northern extreme of the spotted sea trout’s range. We caught more than 15 trout with many of them from 18” to 22”.  The larger stripers were about the same size and very scrappy. We also caught and released a couple of blues and 3 small reds.

Wide profile Clouser and Half & Half (half Deceiver & half Clouser) flies accounted for most of the fish, including a Deceiver fished as a dropper with a jig on spinning tackle. Chartreuse, olive and gray over white all produced fish. My largest trout was a fat, 22-inch fish, caught and released on a gray over white Grassett Flats Minnow fly. Good action on light spinning tackle or 7 and 8-weight fly tackle! Although the water was shallow, fast sinking fly lines from 225 to 300-grains worked the best.

One of the highlights of the trips was a visit to historic Smith Island, MD. The island, located 13 miles west of Crisfield in Chesapeake Bay, is comprised of the villages of Tylerton, Ewell and Rhodes Point. We stopped in Tylerton where the primary mode of transportation is golf carts. An easy walking tour of the settlement took us past a tiny post office, a beautiful old church and the volunteer fire department. Some homes have a boardwalk from the cart path to their house to keep their feet dry on a high tide. We had a seafood lunch that was the real deal, crab cake and soft shell crab sandwiches, at the Drum Point Market (general store and grill)!

The island communities of Smith and Tangier Island, further south in Tangier Sound, are steeped in history. British settlers arrived in the 17^th century from Cornwall and Wales by way of Virginia. What began as farming communities, turned to the sea to make a living as the islands eroded, saltwater encroached and portions became submerged. Smith Island has lost 3300 acres of its land mass in the last 150 years. To prevent the island from being lost to erosion, restoration efforts will be ongoing for the next 50 years. The unique local dialect still has some surviving remnants of the dialect of the West Country of England. It also has similarities to dialects of other island communities in the Chesapeake Bay and Outer Banks regions. There is a tour boat that you can take you over to Smith and Tangier Islands from Crisfield. Worth a visit!

Back at home in Sarasota, fishing for false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel and more in the coastal gulf should continue to get better as the water cools and baitfish schools become more concentrated. Although there have been reports of red tide from Blind Pass south into Charlotte and Lee counties, it is currently clear in Sarasota. Fish deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay for trout, Spanish mackerel, blues and more. Shallow water fishing for reds, trout and snook should also improve as it gets cooler.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Rick Grassett

FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor

Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide

CB’s Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year

Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.

(941) 923-7799

E-mail snookfin@aol.com

www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com

Fishing Forecast 

To create a forecast specific to your zip code visit www.wunderground.com

Weak high pressure will hold over the waters today. A weak frontal boundary will move over the northern waters tonight and dissipate Monday. Reinforcing high pressure will build over the waters Monday night through Thursday.

Monday

East winds around 10 knots then becoming north around 5 knots in the afternoon. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Monday night will bring northeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Isolated showers in the evening.

2012/10/08Mon05:43 a.m.2.21H

2012/10/08Mon02:39 p.m.0.51L

2012/10/08Mon09:48 p.m.1.71H

Tuesday

Northeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop. Scattered showers in the afternoon. Tuesday night will bring northeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.

2012/10/09Tue01:54 a.m.1.54L

2012/10/09Tue07:17 a.m.2.13H

2012/10/09Tue03:39 p.m.0.53L

2012/10/09Tue10:16 p.m.1.8H

Wednesday

North winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.

Wednesday night will bring northeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.

2012/10/10Wed03:27 a.m.1.38L

2012/10/10Wed08:50 a.m.2.12H

2012/10/10Wed04:30 p.m.0.55L

2012/10/10Wed10:39 p.m.1.89H

Thursday

Northeast winds around 10 knots. Bay and inland waters a light chop.

2012/10/11Thu04:32 a.m.1.14L

2012/10/11Thu10:05 a.m.2.15H

2012/10/11Thu05:12 p.m.0.61L

2012/10/11Thu11:00 p.m.2.0H

Solunar Forecast