International fishing website casts Venice as top place to lure a big one on Memorial Day

VENICE – International fishing website FishingBooker.com has listed Venice among its top 10 Memorial Day fishing destinations in the country.

The list included coastal communities such as San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Montauk, New York; as well as inland destinations Nashville, Park City and Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River.

Joris Zantvoort, a spokesman for the site – which connects anglers with fishing guides worldwide – said areas on the sixth-annual list were chosen in part because of available options for family-friendly activities on Memorial Day weekend.

“We look primarily at the quality of fishing and we look at whether or not the season is up and coming,”  Zantvoort said. “We also look at other activities, if there's great beaches or music festivals, also Memorial Day remembrance ceremonies or fireworks.”

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While Venice is specifically highlighted, Zantvoort said the recommendation technically includes most of the local Gulf Coast, with fishing guides out of Charlotte Harbor, Englewood, Nokomis, Osprey, Sarasota and Bradenton factoring into the decision.

The site did specifically highlight the availability of snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, bass, king mackerel, cobia, amberjack and – what it referred to as “the ultimate trophy fish,” tarpon.

The main non-fishing activity highlighted, the Myakka River Blues Festival at Snook Haven, is already sold out.

While several events commemorating Memorial Day are planned in the region, one of the larger public displays will be the annual Memorial Day Parade, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m., May 27, at the intersection of Osprey Avenue and Main Street in Sarasota.

It should end at 11 a.m., with a ceremony at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park, located at Main Street and Gulfstream Avenue.

Wreaths Across America will place wreaths on graves at Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Rd 72, Sarasota, starting at 8 a.m., May 25.

The Sarasota National Cemetery Advisory Committee will host its annual ceremony starting at 10 a.m.

The Venice Symphony hosts its annual American Heroes Patriotic Pops Concert and Fireworks at CoolToday Park, 18800 S. West Villages Parkway, North Port. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale online or at the CoolToday Box Office, 941-413-5000. Ticket prices start at $49.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: International fishing website casts Venice as top place to lure a big one on Memorial Day