Just returned from spending the holidays in Siesta Key (Sarasota). This was my 4th holidays trip down there over the past decade. The guide I like to use (Rick Grassett) was booked solid although I tried to book him in about September. So this trip was totally DIY.
I had 8-weights with floating and intermediate lines and hit up a local shop (CB's Saltwater Outfitters) with a fly section. Pretty much any shift, they have at least one fly guy on staff who knows his stuff. I explained I would be wading and got a few suggestions. I won't spot burn their suggestions, but if you're down that way, hit them up. I always do and they always have great reports and suggestions. I made some purchases, including a couple of important fly recommendations. (Although I had 4 boxes of flies with me.) Although I had planned on prospecting with clousers, the fly shop guy told me to prospect with a popper I bought at the shop. Classic red-face white body. He said once I found fish, I could switch over to a clouser. I found his use of "could" interesting.... He didn't say should.
I got out 3 mornings. Sunrise was ballpark 7:15. I was on the water by 6:35 and off by about 10:30. I took a number of snook, a number of jacks and one spotted trout. I used the intermediate line one time on a higher tide cycle and I really don't think I needed it then. I would have been 100% happy with nothing but the floater.
Took plenty of snook and jacks on topwater on the popper I picked up at the shop and on all white and yellow and white gurglers.
I also took plenty on clousers (tan over white flash blend, pink over white ultra hair and yellow over white bucktail). For those who sat near me at the last beer tie, I tied up a bunch of sparkly white Grassett snook flies. They worked great, too. White deceivers were great. On a high tide cycle when the action slowed and I was worried I wasn't getting deep enough, I used an all white half-and-half and took a solid jack and 20"-plus snook. Chartreuse over white EP fly I picked up at CB's was great on both jacks and snook, too. I used that with both lines.
One day the topwater action never stopped even when the sun was up. Of course then the snook were in the shade lines near mangroves, but I found jacks on the open flats. The other days, once the sun was up, the topwater action pretty much stopped.
I believe my 3 biggest snook (up to 25") took a tan over white flash blend clouser dead drifted in the tidal current near mangroves. Not sure if that's because the dead drift meant the fly got deeper or in the cooler water slow was the key. Lesson: mix it up and don't forget the importance of dead drift in saltwater.
I did better on jacks with the fly moving fast (either popper, gurgler or any of the underwater flies I mentioned). The biggest jack was 18" and came on a yellow over white gurgler.
And the trout took a slowly twitched yellow over white bucktail clouser.
30-pound mono bite tippet worked fine. Didn't break off a single fish. In the past, when I wasn't expecting snook, I had several chafe throughs of 20-pound.
I had been quite worried about the effects of red tide. But I was pleasantly surprised. I caught more and larger snook and jacks than I expected. But the grasses I knew from years past were gone. And I didn't catch (nor see) a single ladyfish or mangrove snapper. I'm not sure if that is red tide related or just luck. Usually, ladyfish have been probably the most numerous fish I get into.
None of the fish were caught by sight fishing. I was fishing structure (points, potholes, mangroves, oyster bars, shade lines). However, I was lucky enough to be near a handful of mini-blitzes of jacks smashing into baitfish. And I managed to feed whatever I had on at the time--popper, gurgler, clouser--into the melee. I could really get used to that, I tell you.
http://www.tpfr.org
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