About Fish On Fire Charters
Meet the Captains
Captain Marc Laurin-I am a Florida native, originally from Palm Beach County where I grew up fishing local bridges, spillways and inlets, and eventually offshore on the East Coast. I spent the first half of my working life as a executive Chef with companies such as Tommy Bahamas, Radisson Suites, Morton’s Steakhouse and other fine restaurants. In 1995, I took a backcountry flats fishing trip to the Sarasota/Charlotte harbor area, and I was hooked. I was captivated with the area’s endless healthy grass flats, and the mangrove islands teaming with so many varieties of Florida inshore and offshore fish, I decided then and there that I wanted to be a fishing guide in this area. I moved here just over a year later.
25 years later, I am still just as passionate about fishing as the day I started. I specialize in light tackle inshore/nearshore fishing for species such as snook. seatrout, redfish. pompano, mackerel, bluefish inshore, and cobia, king mackerel, triple tail, mangrove snapper nearshore. I am easy going and patient. I am family friendly but also accommodate the avid angler. I like to mix things up during your charter. casting artificial baits in the deep grass flats, and live or cut bait for enticing snook and redfish out from underneath the mangroves or boat dock, and of course snapper, cobia and more off the reefs nearshore. When people ask me what I fish for, I always answer with " whatever is bighting best at that time" Bent rods is always my main goal, please let me know before the trip. If you have you have a certain species, you would like to target. I am able to pick you up by boat at a convenient location whether you are staying on Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Lido Key or Sarasota mainland.
Whether it’s the first time you’ve held a fishing pole, or you are an avid fly fisherman seeking that next trophy fish, we will work hard to ensure you have a great day fishing this beautiful area.
The Boat
Captain Marc Laurin- 2019 Pathfinder 25ft Hybrid Bay Boat with a Yamaha 300 HP engine. This is one of the nicest inshore charter boats in Sarasota county! This boat will run in a foot of water when chasing snook and redfish in the morning then comfortably take you out in the Gulf for a little reef fishing. The boat is equipped with trolling motor, GPS/Fishfinder, VHF radio, shallow water anchor and much more. It comfortably seats and fishes 4 people.
Sarasota Fishing
Sarasota Bay offers a vast array of angling options, including the mile long sand bar (appropriately named Long Bar) where you can sight cast to snook, redfish and trout. Endless deep grass flats like Jon Ringling Museum Flats, Long Boat Key Flats, or Marina Jacks Flats, offer a vast array of species such as Snook, redfish, seatrout, ladyfish, jack crevalle, flounder, snapper and small grouper. Sarasota is the perfect family fishing experience
Sarasota Bay is fed by 3 passes - Big Pass, New Pass and Longboat Key Pass – and this allows migratory fish such as mackerel, pompano, bluefish to move easily into the bay during winter months. All of Sarasota Bay is ringed with boat docks that hold redfish, sheepshead, snapper, speckled trout and snook. Fishing these docks at night is the most reliable way to target snook in Sarasota. These snook happily take flies that will keep fly fisherman busy for hours.
Just outside the passes near shore along Siesta Key, Casey Key, and Longboat Key, there’s Bonita, mackerel, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and triple tail. Sarasota tarpon fishing off the beaches is tremendous when they migrate here in May, June and July. a little further offshore we fish reefs and wrecks for snapper, Cobia, barracuda, key west grunts, Sheepshead, sharks, snapper and more.
If fishing the flats specifically targeting the big three SW Fl gamefish snook, redfish, seatrout. We will be fishing in and around the many mangrove islands and sand bars of Sarasota Bay. This area is loaded with shallow grass flats, miles of mangrove lines, oyster bars and potholes, providing prime fishing grounds for this type of fishing.
