Fishing trips with Quiet Waters have been focused on fly fishing for tarpon, dock lights, and shorter half day trips in Sarasota Bay. Fly fishing for tarpon has been very good over the last few weeks. Tarpon have been chewing and we’ve been able to put a good number of fish in the air and get a few boat side.
Water clarity in the area remains high. We’ve had ideal conditions for sight fishing for tarpon with a fly rod for well over a month. We’ve fed plenty of fish in daisy chains, small groups, and longer strings (herds). We’ve fed tarpon flies throughout the day – starting with low light conditions in the morning, all the way to late afternoon.
Both incoming and outgoing tides have been good times to find willing tarpon. On larger outgoing tides, crabs have flushed which has put tarpon in the mood to chow down. Getting a fly in front of a fish during this time has been rewarded frequently. With that said, it is still tarpon fishing and refusals and denials are part of the game.
At night, the dock lights continue to be a productive place for fly anglers and those using spinning tackle to fish. There have been plenty of snook to target on dock lights and we are beginning to see juvenile tarpon more frequently on the lights at night. Jack Crevalle and the occasional redfish are two additional species that have been taken on recent dock light trips.
Smaller flies are still working well on dock light, we are slowly transitioning to larger patterns like EP baitfish or larger baitfish imitations. Lipped plugs and small to medium size shrimp lures are working best on light tackle. A lot of what we are using is dependent on the tide and what the fish are feeding on at the time.
For anglers looking to bend the rod, the deep grass remains a great place to accomplish just that. There are plenty of seatrout around as well as some bluefish, ladyfish, and jack crevalles. Using brightly colored paddletails has worked well for light tackle anglers while baitfish style flies have worked best for fly anglers.
Thanks for Reading!
Captain Brian Boehm
Quiet Waters Fishing
941-400-6218
Sarasota, FL
