C208 LNDG SRQ RPTS B737 IN SIGHT; MISTAKING IT FOR AN ATR42; AND CONFLICTS WITH ATR WHEN TURNING FINAL.

Narrative

I WAS APCHING SRQ IN A CESSNA 208B. THE CTLING FACILITY IS TPA APCH. I WAS VECTORED FROM THE S TO A R DOWNWIND TO RWY 14. AS I APCHED TURNING BASE (R BASE) AND IN CONTACT WITH SRQ TWR; I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD FOLLOW A C206 ON ABOUT A 1 MI FINAL. MY TURN TO BASE WAS PREMATURE (POOR VECTOR) AND I WAS TOO CLOSE. TOLD TO CONTINUE. I SLOWED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE; IN FACT TRANSITIONED TO A SHORT FIELD CONFIGN FOR SEPARATION (75-80 KTS). ON SHORT FINAL; IT WAS CLR THE C206 WOULD NOT CLR THE RWY. I INITIATED A GAR; AND WAS HANDED OVER TO TPA APCH. I RECEIVED VECTORS TO THE N AND W TO ENTER THE FLOW FOR RWY 14 AGAIN. CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH (ODD SINCE I WAS VFR) I WAS TOLD TO BE #3 TO THE ARPT FOLLOWING AN ATR42 ON FINAL AT MY 12 O'CLOCK POS. I THOUGHT I HAD THE ATR IN SIGHT AND TOLD EITHER THE TWR OR APCH. I WAS TOLD TO FOLLOW. ON INTERCEPTING FINAL; I HEARD A CAPT ON THE RADIO ASK ABOUT AN ACFT THAT JUST FLEW BENEATH HIM. I LOOKED UP AND SAW TO MY SURPRISE AN ATR42. WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE ATR42 WAS A B737; NOW FAR DOWN THE RWY. I ANNOUNCED TO ALL PARTIES THAT I WOULD CONTINUE ON MY HDG (ROUGHLY 220 DEGS) AND THAT THE ATR42 WAS 'CLR' AND THE RWY WAS HIS. THE ATR LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT; BUT PANICKED THE FO (VIA CONVERSATION WITH THE CAPT AFTER). I WAS CIRCLED ONE TIME AND BROUGHT BACK IN. MY VIEW ON THIS IS THAT FAR TOO MANY ACFT ARE CLRED FOR VISUALS TO THE SAME RWY AT THE SAME TIME. ALTHOUGH IT WAS VFR; IT WAS HAZY; BIGHT; AND THE ACFT I WAS LOOKING FOR WAS NOT WHERE I WAS LED TO BELIEVE IT WAS. ALL INCOMING AND OUTGOING TFC AT SRQ IS WORKED BY TPA -- ALL VFR AND IFR. THE TWR NO LONGER IS ALLOWED TO ASSIST EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE RADAR EQUIPPED. TPA IS THEREFORE 'OVERWORKED' AND SARASOTA IS RADAR BLIND. IT'S A DISASTER IN THE MAKING. OBVIOUSLY; I WILL EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION AT THIS ARPT FROM NOW ON. THIS WAS TOO CLOSE.