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Fishing Report: Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 4/10 through 4/17/2005
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict caught and released a variety of fish during the past week. Reds, snook, trout, ladyfish and a bluefish were caught and released by fly anglers. Spin anglers also scored with reds, trout and ladyfish. The best action was on the flats with reds and trout earlier in the week. A front moved through later in the week and persistent, strong north winds and cooler air blasted the area, dropping the water temperature into the high 60’s, making fishing challenging.
Bob Cimarusti, and his 7-year old son, Luke, from Oak Park, IL, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Monday morning. They had fast action with trout to 17”, ladyfish and a flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails near Big Pass. Young Luke did a great job, casting with spinning tackle and hooking and landing fish on his own.
That evening Capt. Roy String and I fished Dave and Hobie Hinchman from Manasota Key, FL and Jon and Nancy Poffenberger from Naples, FL on a snook trip in the ICW near Venice, FL. We caught several trout and ladyfish on flies and jigs in Roberts Bay near Venice at dusk. After dark, we shifted to fishing lighted docks and bridge fenders. Each boat caught and released about 6 or 7 snook.
Fly anglers, Gene Leverone from Lynnfield, MA, and his son, Dick Leverone from York, ME, fished an afternoon/evening trip on Wednesday with me. We opted to fish a different area and headed north from Venice into Blackburn and Little Sarasota Bays. They caught and released trout and ladyfish on Clouser flies on deep grass flats in the early evening and several snook on Grassett’s Grass Minnow flies around lighted docks after dark.
Jim Strouth, from VA, fished Sarasota Bay with me the next day. Jim’s goal was to catch a redfish with a fly and he was successful! We fished sand bars and skinny water along Longboat Key near Buttonwood Harbor with my Flats Minnow fly. He sight-cast to reds cruising a sand bar, had several strikes and connected with a pair of fish. He also caught and released trout and ladyfish on a Clouser fly fished over deep grass on an intermediate fly line.
Kent Funderburke, from Atlanta, GA, fished the same areas with me on Thursday. He had a good day with trout to 21” and a pair of reds to 24” caught and released on CAL jigs with shad tails near Buttonwood Harbor.
The wind really cranked up on Friday morning and we were greeted with air temperatures in the mid 50’s and wind gusting over 20 mph. Dick Smith, from Sarasota, FL, and retired general, Arnold Braswell from McLean, VA, fished with me that day. There weren’t many places that we could fish and unfortunately not many fish. Although we hoped to catch reds, it wasn’t in the cards that day. They caught trout and ladyfish on CAL jigs with shad tails along the east side of Sarasota Bay. We hit a spot on the Radio Tower Flat at the end of the day where they caught a couple of slot-size trout.
The wind continued into Saturday. Tim and Sandy Cahill, from Sarasota, FL, fished Sarasota Bay with me that morning and caught and released numerous trout, ladyfish and a “monster” sail cat on DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with grubs near Stephen’s Point and Big Pass. That afternoon, fly angler Jim Hitchen from Portsmouth, RI, joined me on a mission for snook and reds. We fished hard but came up empty. A strong north wind made boat handling tough and limited us to only a few fishable spots. It is what it is!
Next week’s tides will be favorable for reds, snook and trout on the flats and snook at night. It will take a few days for the water to warm back into the 70’s, but then fishing should take off. If you are looking for some fun next weekend, there are still some spots available in the angler division (spin, ladies and youth) of the Sarasota CCA Photo All-Release Challenge on Saturday, April 23rd. The unique format tournament has a relaxed atmosphere and pits anglers against each other fishing with identical boxes of lures or flies. All fish are photographed and released. Anglers and their guests will attend an awards dinner on Saturday evening that features an upscale raffle and a silent auction. It is a fun day of fishing that also raises money for conservation. Anglers should pre-register, so if you are interested you can contact me at (941) 923-7799 for an application. 
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