Beiträge von fishbuster

We had heavy rains most of the week of 6/5/17, then rough seas for a couple of days. I was in port most of that week, but got to fish in the backwaters of south Estero Bay on Friday, 6/9, with Ashton Lockhart and his nine-year-old daughter, Barrett. Barrett is proud to say she caught more fish than her dad did, but they collectively caught two limits of keeper mangrove snapper to 12 inches, along with a 14 inch black drum and a 16-inch black drum (Barrett is also proud to say she caught the bigger one!) They released a 3-pound sail-cat probably due to all the rain and fresh water influx), along with one short sheepshead and six smaller snapper. They lost a couple of fish that snapped the line--maybe reds. Everything bit on live shrimp.

After more rain over the weekend, I headed offshore Monday, 6/12. With Mark Paradise and his son, Luke. We fished 19 miles west of New Pass with squid and cut bait, and the guys boxed a dozen nice-sized grunts, a 15-inch whitebone porgy, and a couple of keeper lane snapper, which were all destined for a fish tacos dinner. They released a few mangrove snapper shorts and red grouper shorts.

Jose and Demi Diaz and family fished 17 miles west of New Pass with me on Tuesday, 6/13/17, and used cut-bait and squid to box twenty keeper lane snappers to 12 inches, along with a mess of grunts. They caught and released about twenty-five red grouper, all shorts and had to be released, all the way up to 19 7/8 inches, just short of the 20-inch legal size.

Dobbs Ackerman and his son, Angus, fished their first of two consecutive mornings with me on Friday, 6/16, 20 miles west of New Pass, using squid for bait. They released fifteen red grouper to 19 7/8 inches, and boxed seven keeper lane snapper and grunts to 13 inches. Dobbs and Angus had planned to fish the backwaters the following day, but they enjoyed the offshore experience so much on Friday that they decided to head offshore again on Saturday, 6/17. Seas were calm, and we got out 22 miles from New Pass, baited with squid and cut-bait. Angus reeled in a nearly 23-inch red grouper keeper, and the guys released twenty red grouper shorts. They added a dozen keeper lane snapper to 17 inches to the fish box, and kept one 14-inch grunt out of the fifteen grunts they caught in all. They battled a 4 ½-foot blacknose shark for a while, until it pulled off and got away.
The photo shown is of young angler, Angus Ackermann, with a 23-inch red grouper, caught on squid on a recent offshore trip.

Thursday, 6/29, I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Brian Vandeventar, T.J. Duran, and Alan Smith, The guys did well with snapper and grouper, using squid and cut-bait. They landed two keeper red grouper, 23 inches and 25 inches, and released thirty-some red grouper shorts. They added to the fish box twenty keeper lane snapper to 16 inches.

After a lot of rain and stormy conditions, I finally got back on the water on Saturday, 6/24, and headed 23 miles offshore with Chris O’Hern and his friend, Charlie. Seas were still a little choppy heading out, but they calmed down nicely over the course of the morning and early afternoon. The guys boxed fifteen keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, which bit on squid. Red grouper shorts to 19 inches bit on squid and cut-bait, and were released.

Wednesday, 6/28. I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with the McLrazy clan—Charlie, Alpen, Lindsay, Katie, Annie, and Katherine. The group used cut-bait and squid to catch two dozen keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, along with a keeper 21-inch red grouper. They released red grouper shorts.

Winds and seas were higher on Friday than they were the previous day. I headed offshore 17 miles from New Pass with Patrick Williams and his teenaged sons, Ryan and Carter, who were interested in catching, but not keeping, fish. The tide was moving pretty fast, making it difficult for the boys to keep their bait on the bottom, but they rose to the challenge and caught and released two dozen would-be-keeper lane snapper. They also released six red grouper shorts. Everything bit on cut-bait.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday, 5/15, I headed out to spots fifteen and seventeen miles west of New Pass with Dave and Debra Brinkmann and family. Using both squid and cut-bait, the family boxed twenty-one keeper fish, consisting of lane snapper and grunts. They released fifteen red grouper shorts, along with a 30-inch sharpnose shark.

Brian Hale and friends, Julie and Emily, fished south Estero Bay with me on Tuesday morning, 5/16. They used live shrimp to catch and release several stingray, the largest of which was 15 pounds. They also released six sheepshead shorts and one mangrove snapper short. They kept one 12-inch mangrove snapper and two sand bream. Julie had a big snook hooked, which looked about 25 inches when it jumped, but it threw the hook and got away.

Wednesday, 5/17, winds picked up and so did the seas. I fished offshore with Vince Rosetti and his son, Mike. The guys did well, especially considering we were only 17 miles out, and in rough conditions. They boxed a 24-inch red grouper, ten keeper lane snapper, and a few good-sized grunts. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with three sharpnose sharks, all of which were in the 30 to 35 inch range. Friday, 5/19, winds were steady at 15 knots, with gusts to 25 knots.

Clint Malikowski and his wife, Ashley, weren’t intimidated by choppy seas, and we made it out 15 miles from New Pass. The catch of the day was Ashley’s 36-inch cobia, which bit on cut bait. She also had a large shark hooked at one point, but it popped the line. The couple used squid to catch keeper lane snapper, grunts, and a soapfish. Below is a photo of Ashley Nord-Malikowski with her 36-inch cobia:

The departure of our winter residents, paired with some rough and windy conditions the week of 5/22 made for some time in port. I got out again on Friday, 5/26, after several days of big winds, heavy surf, and some much needed rain. Seas were just beginning to calm down, but were still 3 feet, when I headed offshore 17 miles with John Cory and family. Using squid and cut-bait, the group boxed twenty keeper lane snapper to 15 inches and some grunts. They battled and released three sharpnose sharks, which were all around 35 inches long. They also released a few red grouper shorts.

Monday, 5/29, I fished in spots 22 to 25 miles west of New Pass with long- time customers, Doug Shepherd and his son, Wade. The guys used squid, cut-bait and baitfish for a productive day of fishing. They boxed a 24-inch red grouper, and released twenty-five red grouper shorts. They added to the box thirty keeper lane snapper, the largest of which were 17 ½ inches. They also caught a few grunts, as well as four porgies that included whitebone, jolthead, and silver varieties. They had fun battling and releasing five sharpnose sharks to 40 inches.

Steve Cooke, his son Kolhan, and Kolhan’s girlfriend, Lauren, along with friends Phil and his son, Mason, fished with me Tuesday, 5/30, in various spots 17 to 22 miles west of New Pass, using squid and cut-bait. They caught a total of twenty-six keeper lane snapper and nine grunts. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 19 inches.

Seas were calm on Thursday, 6/1, when I headed out to fish in spots 20 to 25 miles west of New Pass with long-time customers, Brian and Julie Clark, accompanied by their friend, Rob. The group used cut-bait and squid to box twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, along with a half-dozen nice sized grunts. The red grouper were biting, but the twenty that we caught and released were short of keeper size, some by just 1/8 of an inch—ouch! The group also fought and released three sharpnose sharks that were all about 40 inches long.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday morning, 4/24/17, winds were howling, as they had been for several days and, with small craft advisories offshore, the Stevens family, Mike & Michelle and young sons, Ryan and Jonah, traded offshore plans for a backwater trip in southern Estero Bay. The family used live shrimp to catch six sheepshead to 18 inches, along with a spadefish, two puffer fish (a southern spiny puffer and an oyster-cruncher puffer), and a 3-pound stingray.

Wednesday, 4/26, seas were choppier than predicted heading out of New Pass, but they did calm down later in the morning. Bruce Debuke treated his son and three grandsons to an excursion 17 miles offshore, where the family used cut-bait and squid to box two dozen keeper lane snapper and a few grunts. They released eleven red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and experienced two sharpnose shark battles before releasing one 35-inch and one 40-inch.

Friday, 4/28, though NOAA had predicted two-foot seas out to 60 miles, seas were much rougher than that at spots 22 and 24 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with Roland Roth and his friend, Doug. The lane snappers bit well on squid until the dolphin showed up, so we boxed a dozen lanes and moved on. The guys added a few 13-inch grunts to the box, and released five red grouper shorts, before calling it a morning. After rough seas and gusty winds over the weekend and into Monday and Tuesday,

I finally got to take an offshore trip on Wednesday, 5/3, and seas were pretty calm even 26 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with Mark Vale and his friend, Dave. The guys limited out on keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, keeping forty of the largest and releasing lots more. They also released twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 inches, along with a four-foot barracuda, caught on the big pole, and a 40-inch sharpnose shark, caught on a light spinning rod. Everything bit on squid and cut-bait.

Randy and Beth Bartz and their friend, Rick Barstow, had planned to fish offshore with me a week ago, but they had to reschedule for Monday, 5/8, since the previous Monday’s winds and seas were prohibitive. We were able to head out 29 miles from New Pass, and used cut-bait and squid for bait. The group caught a keeper red grouper at 21 inches and released thirty-five red grouper shorts to 18 inches. They added to the fish box thirty lane snapper keepers to 15 inches, a 15-inch mangrove snapper, and three grunts. They also released a 35-inch blacknose shark, and battled a big hammerhead that bit on light tackle until he broke off.

Seas were calm on Tuesday, 5/9, when I headed out 25 miles from New Pass with long-time customer, Dick Wilson, and our mutual friend, Captain John Vest. We used pinfish, squid, shrimp and cut-bait for a nice mess of fish that included a keeper 21-inch red grouper, twenty keeper lane snapper, two yellowtail snapper keepers, and a few nice sized grunts that were about 14 inches. We released lots of red grouper shorts to 19 inches, thirteen yellowtail shorts, and three sharpnose sharks that were all around three foot long.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The photo shown below is of Nate Binder, with a24-inch redfish, caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

The photo shown below is of Turner Holthaus, with a 21-inch red grouper, caught on squid on a recent offshore trip.

Monday morning, 4/10, seas were a little choppy and sloppy, after a very windy weekend. But, hardy anglers John King, his sons, Chris and Dan, Dan’s girlfriend, Nora, and the boys’ grandfather, Dick, withstood conditions to fish fifteen miles west of New Pass with me. The family used squid to catch a keeper red grouper at 21 inches, twenty-five keeper lane snapper, and a dozen grunts. They released lots of red grouper shorts.

Mark and Monica Kusterer and their two young daughters, Jillian and Amanda, fished 15 miles offshore with me on Tuesday morning, 4/11, using squid for bait. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and boxed ten keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts. It was the girls’ first fishing experience, and I think they are sold on the sport!

Seas were easily three-to-four foot Wednesday morning, 4/12, though they calmed down toward the noon hour. Roy Mittman and his son, Zach, have braved choppy waters with me before, and they don’t mind a bit of chop in order to get to the fish. So we headed out 22 miles from New Pass to fish with squid and cut bait. The guys caught a brace of 21-inch, keeper red grouper, and added twenty-five keeper lane snapper and a half-dozen 12-13-inch grunts to the box too. They released lots of red grouper shorts. A huge shark—either a tiger or a hammerhead would be my guess—grabbed a fish on the line, spun the drag, and ran 300 yards of 100 lb. Power-Pro line off the pole before finally cutting the line on a crab trap. The best view we got of the monster was way below the surface, and it was tough to discern what type of shark it was.

Thursday morning, 4/13, I fished a catch-and-release trip in southern Estero Bay with Robert and Diane Murphey, and their two young grandchildren, Elena and Colin. The kids had a good time catching and releasing sheepshead, crevalle jack, and mangrove snapper.

Friday, 4/14, I spent the morning fishing 22 miles offshore with the Bockhorst family: Bob, his son, Don, and Don’s adult children, David, Kevin, and Kristen. The family used squid and cut-bait, and managed to get some big game excitement, as well as plenty of food-fish. A fifty-inch blacknose shark provided a fun battle and, shortly after we released that beast, a big sandbar shark grabbed one line and tangled it with all the others, eventually cutting all the lines and escaping. Calmer catches included two dozen keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts. The family released thirty red grouper shorts to 19 inches.

Winds and seas increased Saturday, 4/15, but my young, hardy anglers toughed it out to fish 22 miles west of New Pass with squid and cut-bait. They caught a 21-inch, keeper red grouper, and released at least forty red grouper shorts to 19 inches. A couple of bigger ones were hooked and lost. The guys added thirty keeper lane snapper to the fish box, and released one undersized triggerfish.

Monday morning, 4/17, I headed offshore 22 miles with Sean & Jennifer Ball and family/friends Jared, Jack, Kevin, and another Jack. The group used squid and cut-bait to box thirty keeper lane snapper and to release a dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches. The dolphins seemed to be everywhere that morning, so we had to pull anchor and change spots several times. Seas were predicted to be calm on Tuesday morning, 4/18, when I headed offshore with Jack Miller, Leo Walsh, and their friends, Tim and Alan. Though winds were stronger than predicted and seas a little choppy, the guys managed okay, fishing in spots 17 miles and 20 miles from New Pass. They used squid to box a dozen grunts and eleven keeper lane snapper. They released fifteen red grouper shorts.

Bill Bredbenner and his fiancé, Teresa, fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Wednesday morning, 4/19. Conditions were not optimal, with hefty winds, low tides and some muddy waters, but the couple used live shrimp to catch and release mangrove snapper and a crevalle jack.

Seas were choppy again on my offshore trip Thursday morning, 4/20, when I fished 20 miles west of New Pass with Terry O’Neil, his son, and two grandchildren. The family used squid to box fifteen keeper lane snapper and a mess of grunts. They released twenty-one red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

A catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay Friday, 4/21, with Matt Birnie and his young son, Frasier, yielded four sheepshead and a spadefish, caught on live shrimp.

The overcast conditions on Saturday morning, 4/22, seemed to give the inshore fishing a boost. I fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with John Abernathy and his son, Ryan, and the pair caught nineteen fish all together, which beat any previous action in the bay recently. Catches, all on live shrimp, included two black drum to 20 inches, an 18-inch whiting, four mangrove snapper shorts, and a dozen sheepshead shorts.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The photo shown below is of Aiden Matchette , with a 24-inch red grouper, caught on a pinfish 24 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore trip.

The photo shown below is of Karen Bach, with a 24-inch black drum, caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

Five-year-old Ben Dwyer had a great time fishing with his dad, Sean, and his grandpa, Mike, in the backwaters of southern Estero Bay on Saturday morning, 3/25/17. Using live shrimp, the guys caught a total of twelve black drum ranging from 14 inches to 22 inches, and Ben caught three of those by himself, a 14-inch, a 17 inch and a 22-inch. They boxed three of the smaller keepers, which are good to eat, and released the rest. Ben also caught an 18-inch sheepshead by himself, which he added to the fish box.

Monday morning, 3/27, I fished a near-shore, catch-and-release trip with the Russ MiIler family. We began at the reefs off Bonita Beach, but action was slow there, so we moved to some other spots about six miles off the beach, where the family used live shrimp to catch a 14-inch pompano, a 24-inch guitarfish, a dozen blue runners, twenty whitings to 14 inches, and some lane snapper shorts.

Tuesday, 3/28, I headed 22 miles west of New Pass to fish with long time customer, Mike Connealy, and his friend, Ken Kulus, along with Ken’s son and daughter, Zach and. Abbey. The group had a very productive morning of fishing, using squid and pinfish. They caught five red grouper, including a nice 25-inch keeper, along with over fifty keeper-sized lane snapper to 15 inches. They kept eighteen of those lanes, along with the keeper grouper, and released the rest.

The photo shown above is of Abbey Kulus, with a 25-inch red grouper, caught on a pinfish.

Wednesday, 3/29, was another calm day on the gulf, and I headed out of New Pass to fish 22 miles offshore with long time customer, Frank Partee, his son, John, and Frank’s grandchildren, Dave, Michael, and Jack. The family used squid and pinfish to catch twenty-seven red grouper, including two keepers at 21 inches and 23 inches, and shorts to 19 ½ inches that were released. They also boxed twenty-three keeper lane snapper to 13 inches, and released lots more lanes. The larger keeper red grouper bit a pinfish, and was a fun battle on light spinning tackle.

Thursday, 3/30, I spent a windy morning fishing in a pretty low tide in Estero Bay, just south of Mound Key, with Clay and Katie Hall and Katie's brother, Jeff. The family used live shrimp to box three keeper sheepshead, all of which were 15 inches, and to release a half-dozen mangrove snapper shorts.

Friday, 3/31, long time customers and hardy anglers, Lee Larsen, Bud Glazier, and Tom Batchellor were joined by their friend, Alan, to fish 17 miles offshore with me, just ahead of a windy front that was beginning to make seas kind of sloppy by the time we headed back to shore. The guys boxed a keeper red grouper at 21 inches, and released ten red grouper shorts. They added fifteen keeper lane snapper to the fish box, and released two bluefish and some grunts. As we were reeling in a lane snapper, a big king mackerel hit it, then let go. We hooked the chewed-up lane on a heavier pole and cast it out again, this time catching the king, which was 45 inches long. We photographed it at the water’s surface and released it.

Joe Lehner, his cousin, Ken, and both their young daughters, Emma and London, fished in southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Saturday morning, 4/1/17. The family used live shrimp to catch an 18-inch black drum and three keeper sheepshead, all around 13 inches. They released a 20-inch snook and a 2-pound stingray.

Estero Bay’s action was a little slow on Monday morning, 4/3. When I fished its southern end with Brad Miller. Brad had hoped to fish offshore, but seas of three-to-five feet in the gulf forced a change of plans. Using live shrimp, Brad caught five mangrove snapper, two sheepshead, and a 3-pound jack crevalle, which he released.

Lee and Karen Bach, joined by friend, Tony Mymo and his son, Anthony, fished southern Estero Bay with me on a windy morning Tuesday, 4/4. The group used live shrimp to catch nine black drum to 24-inches, keeping three of those that were 16 inches, since those are the best size to eat. They released the rest of the drum, along with one sheepshead short, two 20-inch snook, and two mangrove snapper shorts.

It was another gusty morning in the backwaters of southern Estero Bay on Wednesday, 4/5, when Leo Walsh and his friend, Jerry, used live shrimp to catch four sheepshead, including two keepers, and released two mangrove snapper shorts and two stingray.

The winds weren’t too much calmer on Thursday morning, 4/6, in southern Estero Bay, and Leeds Hutchinson and son, Bill, had to dodge a couple of rain showers with me, but their catch-and-release trip was productive, with three black drum, a sheepshead, a half-dozen mangrove snapper and 29-inch redfish released, after biting on live shrimp.

The photo shown below is of Bill Hutchinson, with a 29-inch bull redfish, caught on shrimp and released.

On Friday morning, 4/7, when I returned to southern Estero Bay to fish with Ray Ford, his son, Brian, and their friend, Stu, the winds persisted, but from a different direction, which pushed the water out of the bay and made for a very low tide. So the fishing was not as productive as it had been the previous day in favorable tide conditions. The guys caught and released three black drum, two sheepshead, two mangrove snapper, and four spadefish.

Saturday morning, 4/8, I fished the backwaters of Estero Day with Don Parsons, his dad, Bob, and another family member, Alan. The waters were muddy and the tide low, so conditions were not optimal, but the guys used live shrimp to catch and release spadefish, black drum, and crevalle jack.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The winds that had been blowing hard for the past several days continued into Monday and Tuesday, 3/6 and 3/7, with gusts still at 20 knots and seas offshore still too choppy for my fishing party, Shawn Enoch and his parents, Janie and Monty. So we fished south Estero Bay’s backwaters instead of heading offshore. The group caught two sand bream, five sheepshead that included one keeper at 13 inches, and a half-dozen black drum short, all on live shrimp.

Seas were calm Wednesday but, unfortunately, my fishing client for that day took ill, and we had to cancel the trip. Thursday, 3/9, seas were still calm, though they picked up in the afternoon, while I fished 26 miles west of New Pass with Ken Spaulding and his friends, Dave, DeeDee, Lee, and Wayne. The group caught and released over thirty red grouper up to 19 7/8 inches, just 1/8 inch short of keeper size. But, even if not keepers, they had fun reeling them in on light tackle. As for food-fish, the lane snapper were biting like crazy, and the group boxed thirty of 70-plus keeper-sized lanes. They added a few nice grunts to the fish box for some variety. We used squid and cut-bait.

Friday morning, 3/10, calm seas greeted us once again, and I headed offshore 22 miles with Pat Dombrovski and his son, Noah. The guys used cut-bait and squid to catch two keeper red grouper at 21 inches and 22 inches, and released a dozen red grouper shorts. They also caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 14 inches and a half-dozen grunts. They released a 15-inch, out-of-season triggerfish.

Monday, 3/13, I headed 22 miles offshore with Janice Penland, her grandchildren, Joe and Samantha, and their friends, Mackenzie and Kabon. The group used squid and cut-bait to box twenty keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, and they released an equal number of those. They also released sixteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

As a weather front approached in the over-night hours, the winds and seas picked up and, by Tuesday morning, 3/14, there were wind gusts approaching 30 mph, along with big waves and small craft advisories offshore. Nate Binder and his friend, Reno, had planned to fish offshore but I had to advise them otherwise. So we headed into the backwaters of southern Estero Bay, seeking good fishing holes and protection from the wind. First cast yielded a 24-inch redfish, followed quickly by another bite that took the bait, but not the hook, and got away. A 14-nch sheepshead was added to the box, and the guys released one short sheepshead short, one black drum short, and a 6-pound, 19-inch crevalle jack. Everything bit on live shrimp.

With slightly decreased but still hefty winds blowing Wednesday morning, 3/15, I fished the backwaters of southern Estero Bay with Bill and Terri Tank, who used live shrimp to catch five keeper sheepshead to 14 inches. They released three mangrove snapper shorts.

Overnight temperatures dropped to 43 degrees in in Bonita Beach, and I spent a chilly, windy, but productive morning on Thursday, 3/16, fishing in south Estero Bay with Michael Want and his thirteen-year-old son, Kevin, who had also fished with me last March. The guys used live shrimp to catch twelve keeper-sized sheepshead to 16 inches, which they chose to release.

Friday, 3/17, Mark and Sherri Gahl and their son, Zach, spent St. Paddy’s Day fishing southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with me, using live shrimp. They caught nine sheepshead, including six keepers to 17 inches, and released a few mangrove snapper shorts.

Jim Danfort, Sr. and son, Jim Danfort, Jr. fished 23 miles west of New Pass with me on Saturday, 3/18, using squid, cut-bait and pinfish. They caught two keeper red grouper on pinfish, one 22 inches and one 25 inches. Lane snapper were biting well, and the guys added to the fish box thirty keeper lane snapper to 15 inches.

Monday, 3/20, seas were too rough offshore for my planned trip, and those guys rescheduled. Chuck Spears and his son, Jason, fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with me on Tuesday, 3/21, using live shrimp. They guys released six sheepshead to 13 inches, a small crevalle jack, a 15-inch whiting, and seven mangrove snapper shorts.

Wednesday, 3/22, I had another catch-and-release trip in south Estero Bay’s backwaters, this time with Dan and Amber Swanson, who landed eleven black drum to 25 inches, a 13-inch sand bream, and a spade fish, all on live shrimp, and all released, after a few photos.

Friday’s windy morning found me back in the backwaters, this time with father and son, Jim and Brad Large, who used live shrimp to catch eleven black drum to 23 inches, a 13-inch sheepshead, and a sand bream. They released eight of the drum and the sand bream, and boxed the rest of their catches.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The photo shown below is of Jim Danfort with a 25-inch red grouper, caught on a pinfish 23 miles west of New Pass on n offshore trip 3/18/17.

The photo shown below is of Amber Swanson with a 25-inch black drum, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on an in shore trip 3/22/17.
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Long-time customer Kari Vilamaa, along with three of his friends, George, Don, and Dick, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me on Friday, 2/17. The guys used squid to catch a mess of keeper lane snapper, and kept forty of those, releasing an additional twenty. They also boxed a 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper and a 15-inch jolthead porgy. They released two red grouper shorts and two mangrove snapper shorts.

Saturday, 2/18, I headed 28 miles offshore with long-time customers, father and son, Mark and Patrick Dwyer. This time, Mark also brought his brother and sister-in-law along, Bruce and Kathleen. Using squid and cut-bait, the family caught over fifty lane snapper, and kept thirty-five of those. They added to the fish box two 14-inch keeper mangrove snapper, one porgy (of half a dozen caught) and a 24-inch keeper red grouper. They released twenty-four red grouper shorts.

Jeff and Beth Heinrich and their children, Maddie and Tanner, are part of an extended family of folks who have all fished with me for many years. Monday, 2/20 offered up some perfect conditions for their offshore trip, so we ventured out nearly 29 miles, with squid and cut-bait to feed the fish. The family caught two keeper red grouper at 21 inches and 23 inches, and released nearly fifty red grouper shorts. They also caught twenty-four keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, and fifteen grunts, of which they kept five. The kids also enjoyed examining and releasing a blowfish that Maddie caught.

The photo shown is of young angler, Maddie Heinrich, with a 23-inch keeper red grouper, caught on squid on an offshore trip 2/20/17.

Seas were not nearly as calm on Tuesday 2/21 as they were the previous day. But, eight-year-old, Lucci Beattie toughed it out with his dad, Peter, his grandfather, Bruce, and family friends, Eric and George. We fished with squid and cut-bait, 22 miles west of New Pass, and caught twenty-five lane snapper keepers and ten grunts. The group released fifteen red grouper shorts. Tim Clifford and his two sons, Johnny and Chris, were rained out of their planned fishing trip on Wednesday, 2/22 but, fortunately, I had a cancellation for the following day, so the Cliffords fished lower Hickory Bay’s backwaters with me Thursday morning, 2/23, using shrimp for bait on their catch-and-release trip.The guys released nine black drum to 20 inches, along with a crevalle jack.

As winds and seas continued to be substantial on Friday, 2/24, Sue Augustine and her young daughter, Alana, traded their offshore fishing plans for a catch-and-release trip in southern Estero Bay’s backwaters, where they used live shrimp to release a 15-inch seatrout, a half dozen mangrove snapper shorts and two stingray.

Saturday morning, 2/25, seas were pretty calm heading offshore with Quentin and Jill Connealy and Jill’s mom, Linda Connot, all from Nebraska. Mid-morning, some fog rolled through, it got chillier, and seas picked up, but we were able to snapper fish about 16 miles west of New Pass, where the group used squid to box fifteen keeper lane snapper and a few grunts. They released a 22-inch Spanish mackerel and a 15-inch bluefish.

Monday morning, 2/27, was a windy one, and I fished a catch-and-release trip in southern Estero Bay‘s backwaters with Mike Woods and his friend, Scott. The guys released five black drum, five sheepshead shorts, two crevalle jacks, a stingray, and a sand bream, all of which bit on live shrimp.

Offshore action was steady Tuesday, 2/28, when I fished various spots out to 35 miles with Mike McCarthy and his step-dad, Ken. We caught more red grouper than we could count, but they were all shorts, many of them 19 ½ inches, just short of keeper size. The guys did catch plenty of keeper food-fish, though, including lane snapper, big grunts to 15 inches, and porgies. They released fifteen yellowtail snapper shorts and a few mangrove snapper shorts. Everything bit on squid and cut-bait. Once the table-fare was taken care of, the guys had fun battling a couple of goliath grouper until they ran off.

Seas were sloppy heading offshore Wednesday morning, 3/1, so I ventured only 17 miles with Robin Latham, Dave Ricardi, and Ricky Cross. The guys had fun catching and releasing fifteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and managed to fill the fish box with a mix of lane snapper and grunts, all caught on squid and cut-bait.

Seas calmed down nicely for my offshore trip on Thursday, 3/2, although conditions are predicted to deteriorate over-night. But John and Holly Lischer and son, Kruz, had a perfect window of opportunity to fish 36 miles offshore, using squid, cut-bait, and baitfish. The family hauled in three keeper red grouper, two at 22-inches and one at 21 inches. They added twenty-five additional food-fish to the box—lane snapper and grunts to 16 inches—and released a few red grouper shorts. With plenty of table-fare caught, Kruz decided he’d like to battle a big fish, so we moved to one of my goliath grouper holes, where he battled one to the surface that was over 400 pounds. Kruz might have wanted a dose of Advil with his fish dinner that night!

Winds blew hard on Friday, 3/3, when I fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with Paul Stanek and his friends, Rich and Jill. The group used live shrimp to catch two keeper mangrove snapper at 12 inches and a black drum at 15 inches. They released half a dozen smaller drum, along with a 24-inch lady fish and three stingray, all about two pounds. Winds howled throughout the weekend, producing rough seas offshore and dead-low tides in the backwaters. I remained in port.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The photo shown is of Bill Tank with a 20-inch, keeper redfish, caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

Seas were choppy Saturday morning, 1/28, when brothers, Nick, Andy, and Ken Eckle, fished with me 17 miles west of New Pass, using squid for bait. The guys decided to brave some rougher than ideal conditions offshore, rather than fish the backwater in the extreme low tide that accompanied a cold front that arrived over-night.The guys caught fifteen keeper lane snapper and a half dozen grunts, and released a few red grouper shorts.

I was off the water for a few days, but headed 22 miles offshore in nice conditions on Friday, 2/3, to fish with Scott Matchette, his son, Aiden, and friend, Will. The guys used squid to catch fifteen lane snapper keepers, including some really nice ones at 15 inches. They also caught a mess of grunts, but chose to keep only a few of those. They released 23 red grouper shorts, and were about to give up on landing a keeper grouper but, with a bait fish rigged up, they landed a keeper at almost 24 inches.

Mike and Mary Campbell fished 17 miles west of New Pass with me on Saturday morning, 2/4, using squid for bait. They were after some food-fish, and they achieved their goal, with fifteen keeper lane snapper and a mess of grunts. They kept a dozen of the 25 grunts they caught. We also landed a very unusual catch: An 11-inch black seas bass, which we photographed and released. That was only the second one of those I have ever caught in local waters.

Seas were choppier than predicted Monday morning, 2/6, when I headed 17 miles offshore with Pat Cunningham and friends, Mitzy and Dave. The group used squid to box a dozen keeper lane snapper and a half dozen grunts. They released red grouper shorts. I fished inshore in southern Estero Bay with long-time customers, Bill and Terri Tank on a windy Friday morning, 2/10. Using live shrimp, the couple caught and released eight black drum to 20 inches, a crevalle jack, a stingray, and a sheepshead short. They kept a 20-inch redfish and an 11-inch mangrove snapper for dinner.

The wind laid down nicely overnight Friday, and I was able to get offshore Saturday morning, 2/11, to fish with John Rabe, his son, Mike, and Mike’s son, Ryan. We fished spots from 17 to 22 miles west of New Pass, using squid, and baitfish. The guys landed two keeper red grouper on baitfish, one 22 inches and one 25 inches. Squid yielded twenty keeper lane snapper, which we added to the fish box.

The photo shown is of young angler Ryan Rabe with a 25-inch red grouper, the larger of two keeper red grouper he and his family caught on squid 22 miles west of New Pass.

Monday morning, 2/13, I fished offshore 17 to 22 miles west of New Pass with long-time customers, Bill and Nicki Conklin and their friends, Mark and Julia. Using squid for bait, the group caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, and released fifteen red grouper shorts.

Seas were calm on Tuesday morning, 2/14, which allowed me to get 24 miles offshore with Ralph Marino and his friends, Bud Mulchy and Ron and Debbie. The group fished with live squid, and caught twenty-four red grouper, including one keeper at 23 inches. They also caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 15 inches and a half-dozen grunts to 14 inches. They released two remoras.

The timing on a weather front predicted to bring high winds and seas for Wednesday, 2/15, was for late afternoon, so Paul Russell, his son-in-law, Jeff Hoffman, and Jeff’s two sons, Jeff, Jr., and Dillon decided to head offshore with me to fish as long as conditions would allow. It was sloppy heading out, first thing in the morning, so we tried fishing the near-shore reefs for a while, but the action was slow there. A little later, winds calmed enough that we could head out further, and we fished between 17 and 26 miles west of New Pass, using squid and cut-bait. The guys caught twenty-five lane snapper, and kept fifteen of those to 17 inches. They also caught a half dozen grunts to 14 inches, and two keeper porgies. They released twenty-six red grouper shorts, along with a 14-inch black sea bass, which is the second black sea bass I have seen caught this week.

By Thursday morning, 2/16, winds were howling, and seas were four-to-six feet offshore. I canceled my gulf trip for that day.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

A strong cold front came through our area the weekend of 1/7, bringing blustery winds, cold temps, and high seas. Dave Carr and his friend, John Kinkaid, had hoped to fish offshore Monday, 1/9, but seas were high and small craft advisories were in effect. The tide in the backwaters was far from optimal, but the guys decided to try some backwater fishing, rather than cancel. We fished with live shrimp in southern Estero Bay, where the guys caught six sheepshead, including two keepers at 13 inches and 15 inches. Along with the four short sheepshead, they also released a small flounder and a stingray.

Glenn Wright fished in southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Tuesday morning, 1/10, where he used live shrimp to catch six black drum to 22 inches, along with a half dozen sheepshead shorts. He kept one 15-inch drum for his dinner, and released all the rest.

Chad Moening took his daughter, Sydney Bonnell and her friend, Madeline Damico backwater fishing in south Estero Bay with me on Thursday, 1/12. The group used live shrimp to catch fourteen black drum, eight of which were keepers to 19 inches, along with eleven sheepshead, three of which were keepers at 16 to 17 inches each. They added to the fish box a nice 17-inch trout.
The photo shown below is of Madeline Damico with a 17-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on a inshore recent trip.

Four brothers, Dan, Randy, Roman and Ryan Jahnke fished 36 miles offshore with me on Thursday, 1/19, where they caught nearly 60 red grouper, but only one of them was keeper size at 22 inches. They also released six nice, but out-of-season, triggerfish to 17 inches, along with one mangrove snapper short and an 8-foot sandbar shark that showed up for battle at the end of the day. In addition to the keeper grouper, the guys boxed fifteen grunts to 16 inches and a dozen porgies in the 13-14-inch range. Everything was caught on squid and cut-bait.

The Jahnke brothers, who had fished with me Thursday, had also reserved Friday, 1/20, initially to fish in the bay. But, after having such a good time fishing the gulf the day before, they decided to head offshore again. This time, we fished closer in, about 22 miles west of New Pass, hunting for lane snapper. We found them! The guys caught twenty-five keeper lanes, along with one keeper red grouper at 21 inches and a half-dozen grunts, all on cut-bait and squid.

The nasty weather that swept through the south over the weekend arrived here overnight Sunday into Monday, 1/23. Gusty winds and seas of 12-18 feet offshore were good reasons to remain in port. It was still too rough on Tuesday, 1/24, to get my scheduled offshore trip out.

By Thursday, 1/26, the day began with calmer seas, but they began to pick up pretty quickly, ahead of another weather front arriving. So I only went as far as 17 miles west of New Pass with frequent customers, Mike Connealy and his daughter, Paige. They had their sights set on a fish-fry, and they managed to catch the makings for that, with fifteen keeper lane snapper and a half dozen grunts, caught on squid. They released six red grouper shorts.

Joe Evans and three of his friends braved some rougher than ideal seas Friday morning, 1/27 to fish 17 miles west of New Pass with me. The group caught twenty-one keeper lane snapper, along with ta brace of 14-inch mangrove snapper and a half dozen grunts, all on squid. They released two shorter mangrove snapper, along with some red grouper shorts. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The photo shown below is of John Rankin with a 17-inch lane snapper, caught on squid on a recent offshore trip.

Monday, 12/19, seas were calm, and I fished in spots between 17 and 28 miles west of New Pass with Josh and Mikelle Schmitt and their friends, Laura and Evan Kemp. Using squid, the group caught fifty-four lane snapper in all, twenty-five of which were nice keepers at 13 to 14 inches, and went into the fish box. They added a 16-inch whitebone porgy and a few grunts. They released, ten yellowtail snapper shorts, one 12-inch triggerfish, thirty red grouper shorts, and two 45-inch sandbar sharks.

Tuesday morning, 12/20, was foggy until around 11AM, but that didn’t stop me from getting 17 miles offshore with Shannon McGee and his thirteen-year-old son, Nicholas, who had never fished offshore before. Using squid, the guys released fifteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with all but six of a mess of grunts they caught. Added to the grunts they kept were seven keeper lane snapper, the makings of a pretty good fish dinner!

Although temperatures were predicted to be unseasonably warm all week, Wednesday morning, 12/21, arrived with total cloud cover and some wind and, without the sun to warm things up, it remained chilly in southern Estero Bay, where I fished with Joe Watton, his sister-in-law, Regina Theobald, and Regina’s daughter, Emily Hansard. Using live shrimp, the trio caught six black drum ranging in size from 16 inches to 22 inches. They kept a couple of the smaller ones, which are good to eat (the big ones are prone to worms) and released the rest, along with a couple of small sheepshead and two crevalle jacks.

Thursday, 12/22, Marissa Gesell, her parents, Lily and Rick Gesell, and her fiancé, Simon, fished 20 miles offshore with me using squid and cut-bait. Marissa landed a keeper red grouper at 22 inches, and the group added ten keeper lane snapper to the fish box. They released a few grunts.

Friday morning, 12/23, was a windy one in southern Estero Bay, where I fished the backwaters with Claire Reilly, her mom and dad, Mary Pat and Paul, and her sister, Nora. The black drum bite wasn’t as active as it was the last time I fished there, but the family caught two of those, including one keeper, along with some sheepshead and crevalle jacks, all on live shrimp. They lost two larger fish when the hook pulled free, most likely drum.

I was off the water for a few days, with family visiting for the Christmas holiday, but I returned to fish offshore on Tuesday, 12/27, with Bob and Martha Graham, their daughter Jennifer Ness, and their twelve-year-old granddaughter, Katie Ness. The group caught eleven red grouper, including one keeper at 21 inches, along with a dozen keeper lane snapper to 11 inches and a few grunts. Everything bit on squid or cut-bait, 18 miles west of New Pass.

Wednesday morning, 12/28, Bob Eckle, his sons, Nick and Jason, and their friend, Clayton Sekel, fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with me, using shrimp for bait. Nick landed a beauty of a redfish at just under 30 inches. The group also caught three black drum, including one keeper at 17 inches. They released four sheepshead shorts, two crevalle jacks, and a five-pound stingray.

Rich Driscoll, his son, Jack, and friends, Steve, Emma, and Sadie Calhoun fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me Thursday morning, 12/29, using squid for bait. The group caught a mess of 25 keeper lane snapper, of which they kept a dozen to 16 inches. They chose to release the rest of those, along with a dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

Ten-year-old Owen Grimes had a good time catching and releasing in southern Estero Bay, where he fished with his dad, Gavin, and his grandpa, Gary, on a windy, chilly morning Friday, 12/30. Using live shrimp, the family released eight black drum, ranging from a pair that were 18 inches to the largest, at 29 inches. Owen reeled in a 28-inch drum himself, which was a lot of fun for him. We also released four sheepshead shorts, as well as puffer-fish.

The photo shown is of Gary Grimes with a 29-inch black drum, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay.

Winds and seas were decreasing Saturday, but there were residual seas of up to four feet offshore, so Vicki Dilane, her son, Malcolm, and her daughter, Rachel, decided to fish inshore in southern Estero Bay with me on the final day of 2016. The family spent the morning catching black drum and sheepshead, mostly, all on live shrimp. They caught five drum, ranging 17 inches to 23 inches. They kept the smaller drum for dinner and released the large ones, along with four sheepshead shorts and a 13-inch mutton snapper.

Jim Madsen, his daughter, Stacy, and his son and daughter-in-law, Nick and Hillary, were the first party of the new year to fish with me. We fished 22 miles west of New Pass on Monday, 1/2/17, using live squid. The family boxed twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 13 inches, along with a dozen grunts. They released twelve red grouper shorts.

Edward and Lorrie Tritt and their daughter, Sarah, fished in calm seas with me twenty miles west of New Pass on Tuesday morning, 1/3. The lane snapper bite was good on squid, and the family caught thirty keeper lanes to 13 inches, and released twenty smaller ones. They also caught sixteen red grouper, including a very nice keeper at 26 inches, which bit on a baitfish. We also had an 8-foot hammerhead shark on for a while, until it snapped the line, so there was plenty of action, excitement, sore arms, and food-fish in the box!

The photo shown is of Edward Tritt with a 26-inch red grouper, caught on a baitfish20 miles west of New Pass.

Leo Walsh, his son-in-law, Bob, and his grandson, Sam, fished near-shore with me on Wednesday morning, 1/4. We had planned to head out further in what was predicted to be calm seas, but a small weather-front came through, bringing some wind, drizzles and rougher seas, so we ended up fishing about seven miles off Naples Beach, where the guys used squid to box a mess of grunts and a keeper porgy. They released quite a few, out-of-season gag grouper shorts to 20 inches. They headed home with plans for a dinner of fish tacos!

John Fuglsang, his grandchildren, Julia and Jimmy Novy, and two of their friends, Lindsay and Kevin, fished 20 miles west of New Pass with me on Thursday morning, 1/5, using squid and cut-bait. The group had great success with lane snapper, catching twenty-five keeper-sized lanes to 13 inches, but choosing to release ten of those. They also caught a mess of twenty-five grunts to 12 inches, and also released ten of those. They released two out-of-season triggerfish, one at 15 inches, and the other a short, at 12 inches. They also released twenty-eight red grouper shorts to 18 inches. The kids were keeping count of all the fish caught, and were proud of their total of eighty!

Friday, 1/6, I spent the day fishing in spots from 20 to 28 miles west of New Pass with John Rankin, Norm Grieves, and brothers, Peter and Tommy Tan. Seas were a little choppy early on, but calmed down nicely later. The fog was a different story—it was pretty dense until mid-morning. Despite all that, the guys caught a bunch of fish, including thirty lane snapper keepers to 17 inches, twenty-six red grouper, including one keeper at 22 inches, a keeper, 13-inch mangrove snapper, and a dozen grunts, all around 13 inches. The grouper bit on pinfish, and everything else was caught on squid and cut-bait.

Saturday, 1/7, brought a rainy, windy day, ahead of a cold front that would plunge temps into the 40's. I remained in port.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

I had quite the active morning of fishing the south end of Estero Bay on Wednesday morning, 11/2, with Dave Mercer, friend Rod Knudson, and Rod’s ten-year-old grandson, Gavin Knudson. The trio, who were fishing a catch-and-release trip using live shrimp, landed ten would-be-keeper black drum: a 21-inch, 24-inch, 25-inch, 26-inch, 28-inch, three 30-inch and two 31-inch. The guys also released a 20-inch bonefish, a 12-inch mutton snapper, a short sheepshead, a sand bream, and two 11-inch mangrove snapper.

Friday, 11/4, was the first day in several weeks that was calm enough to head offshore. With winds predicted to howl again by the following day, it was a short window of opportunity for Dick Wilson and John Vest, who fished with me 22 miles west of New Pass. The guys caught two keeper red grouper, one just over 21 inches and one just over 22 inches. They also caught a 6-pound bonito, and lost two other bonitos that broke the line. We added to the box twenty keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, and released short lanes and short red grouper. We used pinfish for the grouper; shrimp and squid for the rest.

Brothers, Joe and Mark Shamroske fished south Estero Bay’s backwaters with me Monday morning, 11/7. The guys had an active morning of catch-and-release fishing, using live shrimp. Black drum were biting well, and the guys caught eight of those, including some big ones to 34 inches. They also caught a 15-inch sheepshead.

The black drum were out in force again on Wednesday morning, 11/9, when I fished Estero Bay with Ralph Percasio, his son, Sal, and Ralph’s brother, Steve. But, even though we clearly saw thirty-some drum as large as 35 inches, none of them would take a bait. The difference in the bite this day was probably due to the fact that the tide was super slow—high enough, but hardly moving. The guys did catch and release five sheepshead, a sand bream, and two mangrove snapper.

Thursday morning, 11/10, winds calmed down quite a bit, and I was able to get 22 miles offshore with Ashton Lockhart and Joey Beach. Joey caught a 22-inch, keeper red grouper, which bit on a small grunt. Using shrimp, the guys caught eight grunts and eight keeper lane snapper. They released numerous red grouper shorts.

Friday, 11/11, I headed offshore 27 miles from New Pass with brothers, Mike and Patrick Connealy. With squid for bait, the guys caught a keeper 25-inch red grouper, along with fifteen keeper lane snapper to 16 inches. They released ten large grunts and a 15-inch triggerfish, along with lots of red grouper shorts.

Ronald and Audrey Secrest, their son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Sue, and their two grandsons, T.J. and Parker, fished 17 miles offshore with me Saturday morning, using squid for bait. The family caught two keeper red grouper at 21 inches and 23 inches, along with fifteen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, and a dozen grunts to 13 inches. They chose to release twenty-six additional grunts.

Christina Tinucci, her mom, Andrea Tinnuci, and Christina’s boyfriend, Sean O’Malley, fished the south end of Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Wednesday morning, 11/16. The group caught eight black drum ranging in size from 15 inches to 27 inches. They kept seven of the smaller ones, which are good to eat, and released the larger ones, along with five sheepshead shorts. Christina also landed a nice, 26-inch redfish. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Seas offshore were rougher than predicted on Thursday morning, 11/17, when I headed out 20 miles west of New Pass to fish with Chris and Debbie Ledley, Bill Conklin, and friends, Mike and Bill. It calmed down some a little later in the day, and the group used squid to catch a 21-inch, keeper red grouper, along with fifteen keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts. A goliath grouper that was in excess of 200 pounds provided an exhausting and fun battle, when it bit on a pinfish.

I had a gulf trip planned for Monday, 11/21, but the cold-front that came through kicked up seas offshore, and foiled those plans. By Tuesday morning, 11/22, seas had begun to calm down, and I was able to get offshore 20 miles to fish with Donald Rokas and his son-in-law, Jeff Ralson. It was still windy, and it was sloppy heading out, but it calmed down nicely about mid-morning. The guys caught fourteen red grouper, including two keepers at 21 inches and 25 inches, which bit on small grunts. They added to the fish box a dozen keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, along with twenty grunts, and released an equal number of grunts. The snapper and grunts bit on squid.

Wednesday morning, 11/23, I headed back out to 20 miles offshore with Jerry Farina and his family, including two young children. The family caught and released sixteen red grouper shorts to 19 7/8 inches, just 1/8 inch below legal keeper size. But the group got to box plenty of fish, including half a dozen lane snapper keepers and ten grunts. They released thirty additional grunts, having no need for that many fish. We had four cobia around the boat, only one of which bit on our squid bait. It measured 27 inches, and we released it.

After a day off for Thanksgiving, I headed offshore on Friday morning, 11/25 to fish 19 miles west of New Pass with Jake Widner and his dad, Mike. Using squid, the guys caught and released seven red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches. They boxed four keeper lane snapper, fifteen of the twenty-five grunts they caught to 13 inches, a 12-inch porgy, and a 13-inch porkfish.

Saturday morning, 11/26, I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Jim Jensen, and his son and daughter, Eric and Stephanie. The family used live shrimp and frozen squid to catch and release ten red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and to box ten of the twenty-five grunts they caught, along with three keeper lane snapper.

Monday morning, 11/28, was windy, but I had an inshore trip planned, so we managed okay fishing in south Estero Bay, using live shrimp. Dave and Wendy Boehm caught four keeper sheepshead to 14 inches, and released nine short ones. They also released two puffer-fish and one crevalle jack.

Long-time winter customers, Ernie and Millie Metusiak, fished south Estero Bay with me on Tuesday morning, 11/29, where they used live shrimp to box five keeper sheepshead to 14 inches. They released a dozen sheepshead shorts, along with one ladyfish. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html
The photo shown is of Joe Shamroske with a 34-inch black drum, one of many drum caught on shrimp in Estero Bay this month.

Hannah Merter, her parents, John and Tammy, and her boyfriend, Lance, fished near-shore with me on Thursday morning, 9/29. We dodged rainstorms most of the morning, running about fifteen miles to various close-in spots. The group used squid to catch fourteen keeper lane snapper and a half-dozen grunts. They released ten smaller grunts, along with two bonnethead sharks, one 30 inches and one 40 inches.

Jamie Fishbeck spent a morning fishing the backwaters with me on Friday, 9/30, with live shrimp for bait. He landed two keeper redfish, one at 20 inches and one especially nice one at nearly 27 inches. He released five sheepshead shorts, one just-keeper mangrove snapper, a pair of two-pound stingrays, and a 2 ½-pound crevalle jack.

Doug Duncan and friends, Eric and Randy, would have liked to battle some goliath grouper on Monday, 10/3. Usually, goliaths are fairly easy to locate, but there were no bites at any of my favorite goliath spots. We finally gave up on goliaths, and fished for snapper, and the guys caught four keeper lanes, along with a few grunts, which all bit on squid.. It was a tough day on the water, with lots of wind and waves, and with lots of small dead fish on the surface about six to seven miles offshore. Fortunately, the wind direction is such that any red tide would be blowing out to sea. There had been an outbreak of red tide to our north, around Englewood, and it was thought to be moving toward us.

Kim Fischer took her mother, Shirley Tyson, on an inshore, catch-and-release fishing trip with me on Tuesday, 10/11. Kim and Shirley had originally planned to fish offshore on Monday, but seas were too rough, and I was available Tuesday, so we awaited a possible calming then. That calming never came, however, so we decided to fish inshore on Tuesday. Baited with live shrimp, we fished the south end of Estero Bay, where the ladies caught a 21-inch redfish, three sheepshead to 17 inches, two mangrove snapper, and four stingray that were all about two pounds.

Tony Stinson and friends, Brad and Jackie had planned to fish offshore with me on Wednesday, 10/12, but with winds still howling and small-craft advisories in effect offshore, they traded those plans for some inshore fishing at the south end of Estero Bay. The group used live shrimp to attract an active sheepshead bite. They caught seven keeper sheepshead to 15 inches, and released a half-dozen shorts.

Friday morning, 10/14, Darwin Brown took his young grandson, Trey, fishing in south Estero Bay with me, where live shrimp yielded seven sheepshead including a keeper, along with a keeper mangrove snapper, two short snook, a spadefish, and one short redfish. Something big bit at one point—most likely a black drum—but it cut the knot right at the hook, and got away.

Friday, 10/21, I spent the morning fishing the backwaters of south Estero Bay with Keith Foreman and his friends, Ken and Kirsten Bailey. Using live shrimp, the group caught four keeper sheepshead ranging 13 to 16 inches, a 13-inch sand bream, and a 22-inch Spanish mackerel. Spanish mackerel are not typically caught in the bay, but this one must have wandered in. The group also released lots of short mangrove snapper—there was a school of about 150 of those under a tree on one of the mangrove islands. They released three crevalle jacks, all of which were about two pounds, along with a couple of 3-pound stingray.

My planned offshore trip for Saturday was blown out by small craft advisories and four-to-six-foot seas

Tuesday morning, 10/25, Jeff and Nicole Krajewski fished south Estero Bay’s backwaters with me, using live shrimp. The couple caught seven keeper sheepshead to 15 inches, and release five shorts. They also caught a keeper mangrove snapper at 12 inches, along with a 16-inch black drum.

I spent a windy Wednesday morning, 10/26, fishing Estero Bay with Marie and Bill McSkimming, and their family members, Rose and Michael. Using live shrimp, the group caught four keeper sheepshead to 14 inches, and released five sheepshead shorts, a 17-inch redfish, and two two-pound stingray.

A steady 25-knot wind blew across Estero Bay Thursday morning, 10/27, when I fished the southern end of the bay in as many wind-sheltered spots as I could find, with Doug Strempek and Katherine Braun. The couple caught eighteen sheepshead in all, including eight would-be-keepers to 16 inches, though we released all of them, along with a couple of crevalle jacks. Katherine bragged that she out-fished Doug, but it was a tight contest!

I fished another catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay on Friday morning, 10/28. Mike Henson released five sheepshead to 13 inches and a sand bream, all of which bit on shrimp. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

The tropical system, Hermine, which wreaked havoc upon many areas to our north, spared us its worst, but brought high winds and torrential rains for several days, and fishing was out of the question.

The ill effects of the storm were gone by Saturday morning, 9/3, but residual rough seas changed Mark Gordon’s plan to fish offshore that morning. He, joined by friends, Josh Shapiro and John Hurst, traded those offshore plans for some backwater fishing in central Estero Bay. Using live shrimp and pinfish, the guys caught five mangrove snapper, a three-pound crevalle jack, and a couple of two-pound stingrays. They had a big redfish or black drum hooked at one point, but it ran under a dock and was lost.

Bob March was wanting to fight some big fish on Tuesday morning, 9/6, so we headed out about 17 miles to a few goliath grouper hide-outs, where Bob battled and released a 50-pound goliath and an approximate 200-pound goliath, both of which bit on blue runners. Bob also caught and released some lane and mangrove snapper, as well as crevalle jacks, all of which bit on squid.

Ingo Merz and his two sons fished with me on Wednesday, 9/7, 23 miles west of New Pass, where they used baitfish to land two keeper red grouper at 21 inches and 22 inches. They used squid to catch a mess of keeper lane snapper—about 50 in all--but they released all but ten of those, needing only enough for a couple of family meals. They also released grunts and about thirty red grouper shorts. Friday, 9/9 was one of those days on the water when, although you try everything, productive catches were hard to come by.

Tim Gustin and his son, Chase, have fished with me several times for various species. This time, having noted the fun goliath trip I took earlier in the week with another party, they thought they might also like to go after those big fish. I went to one of my goliath spots, but we got no bites there. I moved to another spot, and the dolphin showed up to disrupt our fishing. Finally, we gave up on goliaths, and began baiting with squid to go after snapper at a different spot. There, the guys caught twelve keeper lane snapper and a few grunts, and released blue runners. Sea conditions were different from what they had been earlier in the week, with winds having picked up and some pretty rough seas where we fished, 17 miles west of New Pass.

Wednesday, 9/14, Jim and Liz Llewellyn fished the Gulf with me. We had planned to head out about 20 miles, based upon the NOAA report of two-foot seas. But, once we got out a way, we knew that prediction was incorrect. Seas were rough, and we ventured no further than the reefs off Naples. We were also keeping an eye on a rain storm that had been predicted to move northeast, but was instead lingering over the coastline. So we fished in the driest, least rough location to be found, using squid. The couple released three red grouper shorts, a blue runner, and a 20-inch ladyfish. At one point, a goliath grouper bit on a fish being reeled in, but it was on light tackle and snapped the line. They also caught a trio of 13-inch grunts.

Thursday morning, 9/15, Michael Arnero and his girlfriend, Karen Tirella, fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me, along the islands east of New Pass, using live shrimp. The couple caught two keeper redfish at 19 inches and 20 inches and three keeper mangrove snapper. One big red and one big snook got caught under the bushes and got away from Karen. But she did catch and release a 19-inch snook.

Joe Hogue, son Adam Hogue, and son-in-law, Dave Piper, fished 35 miles west of New Pass with me on Saturday, using squid for bait. The guys caught two keeper red grouper at 22 inches and 23 inches, and also boxed three keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches and three yellowtail snapper to 15 inches, along with four porgies and a dozen grunts in the 13 to 14-inch range. They released lots and lots of red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, along with a few mangrove and yellowtail shorts. They also released a 30-inch sharpnose shark. Either goliath grouper or shark ate and ran with a couple of fish, but the guys ended up with plenty in the cooler.

Monday, 9/19, Michael Arnero and his girlfriend, Karen Tirella, who had fished Estero Bay with me on Thursday, decided to do the same, this time joined by Michael’s brother, Mario. We did our best to fish the best tide, but the tide was not as favorable as it had been on Thursday, when we caught keeper redfish. The group ended up with four keeper mangrove snapper, and they released a dozen mang-shorts, along with a puffer fish, all of which bit on shrimp. We ventured aout a bit to fish along the beach for a while, and released two black-tip sharks, each about 3-foot long.

Four students visiting our area fished the backwaters with me on Thursday morning, 9/22. George Wecken, Peter Havander, and friends, Paul and Jacob, used live shrimp in Little Hickory Bay and also along Bonita Beach to catch a variety of fish. Catches included a 19-inch keeper redfish, a 17-inch keeper black drum, a flounder, and a whiting. George had either a big black drum or a sheepshead hooked a couple of times, but it popped the line just short of boating it. The guys released a two-foot bonnethead shark and a 2-pound stingray.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Wednesday, 7/27, I fished offshore in spots from 20 to 27 miles west of New Pass with Mark Aldridge, kids, Alfie and George, their cousin, Nick, and family friend, Mark Lansarve. Using baitfish and squid, the group caught thirty-one red grouper, including one keeper at 22 inches, one 14-inch yellowtail snapper, and twenty-five keeper lane snapper. They released three sharpnose sharks, all about 3-foot long.

Friday morning, 7/29, Mike and Patty Tortrup fished with me, 23 miles west of New Pass, using squid for bait. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, and boxed the largest ten of twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper they caught, to 16 inches. They added five 14-inch grunts to the fish box.

Mike and Tracy Boehm, their fifteen-year-old son, Zak, and his friend, Zachary, fished a catch-and-release trip 23 miles west of New Pass with me Saturday morning. Baited with squid, the group caught and released twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 ¼ inches along with twenty-six would-be keeper lane snapper.

Tuesday morning, 8/2, Scott Bury, Scott Lackey, Dean Moore, and Don Law headed offshore with me to 23 miles west of New Pass. They used squid to catch sixteen red grouper, including one 22-inch keeper and shorts to 19 ½ inches. They also caught a half-dozen keeper lane snapper and a couple of grunts. They battled and released a nurse shark estimated at 200 pounds.

Dave Fawver and his young son, Cooper, fished at the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach with me on Wednesday morning, 8/3. It was probably calm enough to head further offshore, but it was Cooper’s first experience fishing in the gulf, and Dave thought it best to stay closer in and avoid the risk of sea-sickness. Goliath grouper were numerous at the reefs, which always makes it difficult to catch fish that are reeled in whole! But, using shrimp, the guys caught two keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper lane snapper, three grunts, and a 14-inch flounder. They also got to battle and release a 50-pound goliath grouper, which bit on a baitfish.

Tyler and Kaitlin Holsinger fished about 12 miles offshore with me on Thursday morning, 8/4, where they battled and released two goliath grouper, 60 pounds and 200 pounds, both of which bit on baitfish. Kaitlin also caught a keeper lane snapper at 15 inches, which bit a shrimp and which was one of the few keepers that were able to escape the predator-goliaths and get to the boat!

The photo shown is of angler Tyler Holsinger releasing a 200-pound goliath grouper, which ate a bait-fish 12 miles west of New Pass.

Shawn Christiansen and friend, John, fished a backwaters catch-and-release trip with me on Thursday morning, 8/11. The guys used live shrimp in various spots from Intrepid Waters, south to Wiggins Pass. They released three stingray, two sheepshead, five mangrove snapper, and one crevalle jack.

It is slow time in SW FL now, with family vacations over, kids back to school, and our seasonal residents still at their northern homes. We also have had a good amount of rain and lots of heat, which tends to keep locals in port. So fishing trips have been few and far between, as is typical for this time of year. I did get out offshore again on Saturday morning, 8/20/16, with Billy and Chelita Sabinson, their young son, Bryce, and family friend, Brian Osterhout. We used squid and cut-bait 22 miles west of New Pass, where the group caught and released twenty-five red grouper to 19 7/8 inches. They also had one big red grouper hooked, but it snapped the line. They kept ten nice lane snapper and seven grunts for a couple of tasty meals.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday, 7/11, Mike Kownacki fished the first of two trips he had with me this week. Mike was mostly interested in grouper, so we used live shrimp to catch some baitfish, then caught a couple keeper red grouper, on the baitfish--one 21-inches and one 23-inches. We released a dozen red grouper shorts, fishing 23 miles west of New Pass.

Mike fished with me again on Wednesday morning, 7/13. There weren’t any keeper red grouper that day, though we released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches. But the lane snapper were biting on shrimp, and Mike caught twenty-one keeper-sized lanes, boxed six of them for dinner, and released the rest. He also released a 13-inch grunt and a 20-inch Spanish mackerel, 20 miles west of New Pass.

Thursday morning, 7/14, I headed offshore 20 miles with Dustin Reaves and Bill Reed. The guys used squid to catch and release twenty red grouper shorts to 18 inches. The lane snapper were also biting well on squid, and Dustin and Bill caught twenty-five keeper sized lanes, of which they kept six. They also caught five grunts to 14 inches, and chose to keep four of those. As for excitement, they got to battle and released a 4-foot barracuda.

Friday, 7/15, seas weren’t as calm as they had been all week, with a steady 15 knot wind 2o miles west of New Pass. I fished with Brian Kenedy, Sr, his son, Brian Kenedy, Jr., and Brian Jr.’s daughter, Shannon Kenedy. Using shrimp and squid, the family caught 20 red grouper in all, including one keeper at 21 inches, and they released shorts to 19 7/8 inches. They also caught five keeper lane snapper to 15 inches and a half-dozen grunts to 14 inches.

Tuesday morning, 7/19, I fished in Estero Bay’s backwaters with long-time customer Peder Engebretson and his eleven-year-old grandson, John. The guys used shrimp and shiners to catch 25 mangrove snapper, 20 of which were keeper-size, though we released them on this catch-and-release trip. We also released three stingray, and had a line broken off once by something large. We released a couple of catfish too, a by-product of the plentiful rains and fresh water in the bay.

Wednesday, 7/20, Armando Rodriguez and his two sons-in-law, Ross and James, fished offshore with me in spots ranging from 20 to 27 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp, squid, and baitfish. The guys caught three keeper red grouper, one at 21 inches and two at 22 inches each. They also caught 28 keeper lane snapper to 16 ½ inches and a half dozen grunts to 14 inches. They released lots of red grouper shorts and a few lane shorts.

Thursday morning, 7/21, I headed 22 miles offshore with Frank Fanta and his wife, Heidi. It was Heidi’s first time fishing, and she caught the biggest lane snapper of the eight keeper lanes we boxed, using squid for bait. Hers was 17 inches. The couple added three grunts to the fish box. We probably would have gotten a red grouper or two, if not for being harassed by dolphins at one spot, and by a goliath grouper at another favorite grouper hole. We released two red grouper at 19 ½ inches before the predators began eating our catches!

Long-time customers, Paul Fenwick and son Spencer, joined by friends, John Priddy, daughter Jordan Priddy, and Jordan’s boyfriend, Zak Foster, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me on Friday morning, 7/22. Using squid, the group caught twenty red grouper, but all were short of the 20-inch mark, so we released those. We did get to box 26 keeper lane snapper though, which will make for plenty of dinner for the two families.

Saturday morning, 7/23, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with Kris Outman, his son, Jack Henry, and daughter, Emerson. The family used shrimp and shiners for bait, and released seven mangrove snapper, a sheepshead, five stingray to 3 pounds and, after a mighty battle, a ten-pound crevalle jack. A manatee swam up to the boat, and it was trailing bunch of fishing line with sea grass tangled in it, so we managed to get it all untangled, and it swam off happy and unencumbered. This is one reason that it is so important for anglers to dispose of their fishing line appropriately.

The photo shown is of angler Kris Outman with a 10-pouind crevalle jack, caught on a shiner, fought hard, and released in Estero Bay on an inshore trip 7/23/16.
You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Tuesday morning, 6/14, I fished a catch-and-release, inshore trip in Estero Bay with Mark Basrap and Shannon Featherman. The guys did well using live shrimp. Catches included a 32-inch bull-redfish, a 19-inch redfish, a 17-inch sheepshead, eleven mangrove snapper ranging 11 to 12 inches, a six-pound crevalle jack, and two stingrays, one weighing two pounds and the other twenty pounds. So there was plenty of variety and plenty of muscle exerted!

The photo shown is of Shannon Featherman with a 32-inch bull-redfish caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

After a lot of rainy days in port, I was looking forward to an offshore trip scheduled for Monday, 6/20. But there were 20 knot winds and small craft advisories that morning. I had nothing on the books for Tuesday, so I asked Greg Rundy and his son, Jacob, if they could fish Tuesday, 6/21 instead. That was a better day, by far, though still a bit choppy. We managed to get out 28 miles, where the guys used baitfish to catch lots of red grouper, including two keepers at 21 inches and 22 inches. They added to the fish box a brace of 13-inch porgies, along with ten of the twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper they caught on shrimp, and released the rest, along with some yellowtail snapper and mangrove snapper shorts. They released ten 3-foot sharpnose sharks, and battled and released a 9-foot nurse shark. They also had a couple of big fish break their lines, most likely goliath grouper.

Wednesday, 6/22, I spent the day fishing offshore, 28 miles west of New Pass, with long-time customer Russ Maavich, his three sons, Alex, Brett, and Ryan, and two of their friends, Nathan Hovlovic and Brenton Payne. The guys had a great day of fishing, boxing four keeper grouper, including a 28-inch gag grouper, a 21-inch red grouper, and two 22-inch red grouper. Those all bit on baitfish. The group released 30 additional red grouper that were short of keeper size, along with some yellowtail snapper and triggerfish shorts. They caught so many keeper lane snapper that they ended up releasing eighteen of those, keeping twelve of the largest to 17 inches.

On Monday, 6/27, I headed offshore with Larry Jack, his son, David, and his brother-in-law, Tony Russo. Larry usually fishes with me each summer for a couple of days, usually once offshore and once inshore. We headed out 26 miles from New Pass on Monday in calm seas. Shrimp were in short supply, so we used mostly squid, octopus and grunts for bait, along with some frozen shrimp I had on hand. I guess the fish liked the bait well enough because the guys caught five keeper red grouper ranging 21 to 23 inches and a 15-inch porkfish. They released seventeen red grouper shorts. The guys also caught thirty-five lane snapper, fifteen of which were keepers to 15 inches. So arms were tired, and the fish box was full!

Larry, David and Tony fished again with me Tuesday morning, 6/28, this time in lower Hickory Bay, where the action was nothing comparable to our offshore action of the day before. Lots of rain has dumped fresh water into the bay, which doesn’t help with catfish control! But the guys caught and released a 17 ½-inch redfish, along with a sheepshead short and four mangrove snapper shorts. They also released a two-pound stingray.

Wednesday, 6/29, long-time customers Brian and Julie Clark fished thirty-six miles offshore with me, along with their friend, Rob. We used an assortment of baits, including shrimp, squid, and Spanish sardines. There were lots of red grouper biting, but most of those had to be released, since they were short of legal size. We did get one keeper red grouper, though, at 21 inches. The prize fish of the day was a nearly 21-inch hogfish—yum! The group also boxed six keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, a dozen nice whitebone porgies all 14 to 15 inches, six lane snapper, and five large grunts to 14 inches. They released lots of mangrove snapper and yellowtail shorts, along with five triggerfish, all around 15 inches. The goliath grouper came around at one point, trying to eat our bait, and we actually hooked two of those simultaneously. The lines crossed, and one got off, but we battled a 50-pounder and released it. We had our lines broken six times by those monsters!

The photo shown is of Brian Clark with a 21-inch hogfish caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.

Brad Hayes and his son, Jackson, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me on Thursday, 6/30. We used a cravalle jack to lure a goliath onto the line for a fun battle with one that weighed about 350 pounds, which we photographed it in the water and released. Another fun battle was had with an 8-foot sandbar shark that bit a pinfish. As for table-fare, the guys caught two keeper red grouper at 22 inches and 23 inches, which bit baitfish, along with nine keeper lane snapper that bit live shrimp.

Tai Wallace, his ten-year-old son, Xavier, and Tai’s friend, Nick, had planned to fish a full day offshore with me on Saturday, 7/2. But by the half-day mark, the heat was starting to get to Xavier, with water temperature at over 93 degrees, and the air temp about the same. The guys had caught plenty of fish by then, so we decided to call it at the half-day. Using squid for bait 22 miles west of New Pass, the threesome caught three keeper red grouper at 21, 22 and 23 inches. They also caught fifteen keeper-sized lane snapper, and chose to release all but five of those. Added to the fish box were two additional snapper: a keeper yellowtail and a 13-inch mangrove.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html 8)

Wednesday, 5/25, I headed 18 miles offshore with Dr. Paul Martz and Christian LeClerc. Seas were choppy heading out, but comfortable once anchored, and the guys used baitfish to catch numerous red grouper, including one 21-inch keeper. We also caught a beauty of a hogfish at 19 inches, which bit on live shrimp, along with a keeper lane snapper and four good sized grunts.

The Mazzola family (a combination of brothers and cousins) fished offshore 36 miles with me on a full-day trip Saturday, 5/28. Calm seas allowed us to get out to some good spots, and the guys caught three keeper red grouper on baitfish, consisting of a brace of 21-inch and one 22-inch. Using live shrimp, they caught a mess of lane snapper, and kept a dozen of those to 12 inches, along with a 13 ½-inch keeper mangrove snapper. They added to the fish box a couple of nice porgies, and released ten more of those, and also kept a couple of 13-inch grunts, out of a mess of grunts they caught. They caught a nice triggerfish at 15 inches, but triggers are currently out of season, so we released that, along with twenty yellowtail snapper shorts. It was a productive and fun day of fishing for all!

I returned to fishing on Tuesday, 5/31, after some family events over the Memorial Day weekend, and was happy to see calm seas as I headed offshore with Steve cook, his son, Kullen, and Steve’s father-in-law, Denziel Sturgeon. We fished 20 miles west of New Pass, with baitfish and live shrimp. The red grouper bit on baitfish, and we caught fifteen of those, including one keeper at 21 inches. Live shrimp brought us twenty-two keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, along with a brace of 13-inch porgies. We released a 40-inch sharpnose shark, as well as a 13 ½-inch triggerfish.

Steve Cook and friends had initially planned to fish offshore Tuesday and in the bay on Wednesday, but after so much fun and catching success offshore on Tuesday, they decided to head back into the gulf on Wednesday, 6/1. Their morning was nearly a carbon copy of the previous on. They used baitfish to catch another 21-inch red grouper keeper, and released lots of grouper shorts. They also caught fourteen keeper lane snapper to 14 inches on shrimp, along with a 25-inch Spanish mackerel. They again caught a sharpnose shark, about 40 inches, as was the one the previous day. They released the shark, along with a bunch of yellowtail snapper shorts. They also got to see some dolphin up-close, when those notorious fish-stealers invaded our snapper hole!

Thursday morning, 6/2, I fished inshore in lower Hickory Bay with Will and Melissa Tucker and Melissa’s parents, Bobby and Laura Davis. Using live shrimp, the group caught a 20-inch keeper redfish, and released a 17-inch red. They added to the box five keeper mangrove snapper and a 13-inch sheepshead. They released five stingray.

Walter Mistak, his son and daughter, Walter, Jr. and Monica, fished offshore with me Friday morning, 6/3, about 20 miles west of New Pass, using shrimp for bait. The family caught eleven keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, and released lots of lane shorts. They also released lots of red grouper shorts to 19 inches, as well as three triggerfish, all about 13 inches, and a 25-inch king mackerel. They added to the fish box a couple porgies, and released five additional porgies.They also fought and released a 30-inch bonnethead shark.

Long-time customer, Jeff Heinrich, was scheduled to fish offshore for a full day on Monday, 6/6, but the tropical depression making its way toward Florida was due to arrive on Monday, and to bring rainy weather and rough conditions for much of the week. We tried our best to beat all that by fishing on Sunday, 6/5, when Jeff was joined by his young daughter, Maddie, and by Jeff’s brother, Scott, and his young daughter, Lacey. NOAA had predicted two-foot seas within 20 miles of shore, and two-to-four foot seas beyond 20 miles. We ventured out 20 miles from New Pass, and we encountered three-to-four footers, with a steady 15-20 knot wind. So, we ventured no further than 20 miles. Using live shrimp, the family caught and released fifteen red grouper to 19 7/8 inches, just shy of keeper-size. They did get some fish to eat, though, with a total of twenty lane snapper keepers, one 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper, and a few grunts. They released several yellowtail snapper shorts. About 11AM, rain could be seen over the gulf, and we knew we had to start toward shore, a bit shy of a half-day excursion and nowhere close to the full-day excursion originally planned. Sometimes, Mother Nature throws a wrench into the works. But, at least the family had some fun catching, and will have a couple of fresh fish dinners during their stay.

After that trip, there was nothing but rain and stormy weather for nearly a week. I finally got out fishing again on Saturday morning, 6/11, and headed 23 miles offshore with Darren Rachman, Mike Saxinger, and Mike’s dad, Jere Saxinger. We caught baitfish for grouper fishing, and used live shrimp for everything else. The group caught lots of red grouper, including one keeper at 21 inches. They caught a total of 24 keeper lane snapper to 18 inches, along with a 22-inch Spanish mackerel. They released a triggerfish, as well as four sharpnose shark that were all about 35 inches.

The photo shown is of Alana Augustine with a 23-inch gag grouper, caught on a baitfish and released (closed season) on a recent offshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

I was off the water for a few days, with busy season winding down, and fishing trips not scheduled every day of the week, as they have been for the past several months. On Wednesday, 5/11, I fished inshore in lower Hickory Bay with Nat Drourr and his son, Josh. Using live shrimp, the guys caught and released a 22-inch snook, along with eight mangrove snapper, two of which were keepers.

After another lull in trips, which happened to fall during a period of no rain and calm seas, my next trip out was on Tuesday, 5/17, when rain hung over the gulf, and winds and seas picked up, causing some pretty rough conditions. But long-time customer, Jim Dean, along with his son, Jeremy, headed out 22 miles with me anyway, where they used pinfish to catch a 21-inch keeper red grouper, and released ten smaller ones. They used live shrimp to add a 14-inch porgy and two keeper lane snapper to the fish box, and they released eight lane shorts.

Jim Dean fished with me again on Wednesday, 5/18, following a full over-night of thunderstorms. By early morning, there remained only some residual scattered rains over the gulf, and seas had calmed, compared with their levels the day before. Jim decided to risk getting wet in order to go after some big fish to fight. It never did rain in the spots we fished, mostly about 20 miles west of New Pass. And, Jim definitely got the battles and adrenaline surges he was seeking. He battled a tiger shark that was over ten feet long for about an hour, after it bit on a crevalle jack. Of course, my Go-Pro camera malfunctioned, or I’d have had some great video of that. But Jim was wearing a Go-Pro the entire time, and we are hoping he got some good video that he can send my way. Jim also released three goliath grouper, with estimated weights of 50 pounds, 100 pounds, and 400 pounds. Those also bit on crevalle jacks. Jim is likely to feel those catches on his arm muscles for a few days!

Friday, 5/20, I headed offshore to 25 miles west of New Pass with Mark and Liz Venturin, their son Bob, and uncle, Mike Sturgeon. We fished for grouper with baitfish, and the group caught 26 red grouper, though we had to release all but one keeper at 21 inches. Twelve of the shorts were between 19 and 19 ¾ inches, just shy of keeper size. We hooked and fought a big king mackerel that eventually broke the line, as did a big shark, both of which bit on baitfish and offered some good arm-breaking battles! Using live shrimp, we caught two dozen keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts to add to the fish box, and that, along with the keeper red grouper, provided plenty of food fish for the family.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

After a couple days off, I was back on the water Tuesday, 4/26, when I headed 28 miles offshore in calm seas with frequent fishers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett, joined by friend, John. This was the last fishing trip of the season for Ron, so we had to finish off with at least one keeper grouper, and we got that—a 20 ¾ inch red grouper. We released numerous red grouper shorts, five of which were 19 7/8 inches, just 1/8 inch short of legal size. The guys added to the fish box a mess of keeper lane snapper and a few grunts. The groupers bit baitfish, and we used live shrimp for the snapper.

Wednesday and Thursday, 4/27 and 4/28 were reserved for Barry Garner and his friend, Brad. Barry had thought about fishing the gulf one day, and the bay the next, but after seeing steady action offshore on Wednesday, he and Brad decided to spend both of their mornings fishing the gulf. The guys had no facilities for cooking fish while visiting our area, and were interested only in catch-and-release. On Wednesday, we headed out 20 miles from New Pass, where the Barry and Brad caught two dozen keeper-sized lane snapper, all around the 11-inch mark, ten grunts, all 11 to 12 inches, seven porgies in the 13 to 14-inch range, twenty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, a few yellowtail snapper shorts, and big blue runners that weighed about 4 pounds. The larger red groupers bit on baitfish, while everything else bit live shrimp. On Thursday morning, we headed out to 23 miles west of New Pass, and the guys had pretty much the same kind of action they’d had the day before. They released lots of red grouper shorts to 19 ¾ inches, along with fifteen lane snapper that were keeper-size, 25 yellowtail shorts, a dozen mangrove snapper shorts, three porgies to 14 inches, and a brace of 14-inch triggerfish. The larger red grouper bit baitfish, and everything else bit shrimp.

Patrick Dryer, Josh Langelane, and Ronan Banahan fished 23 miles west of New Pass with me in calm seas, which was a treat, on Friday morning, 4/29. The guys used live shrimp to catch 48 lane snapper, keeping 23 of those to 17 inches, and releasing the rest. They also released twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches. They added to the fish box three grunts to 12 inches and four 24-inch Spanish mackerel, and released four additional mackerel.

Friday’s calm seas turned out to be short-lived. Though predictions were for two foot seas or, at worst, two to three foot seas on Saturday, 4/30, conditions were rougher than that when I headed offshore with Dave and Diane Carey and their friends, John and LuAnn Petterson. We managed to get out 22 miles, in hopes of catching grouper, but the six red grouper we caught on shrimp were shorts to 19 ½ inches, just shy of keeper-size. We released those, along with ten of the twenty keeper-sized lane snapper we caught (the group had no need for more than ten.) We used a blue runner we’d caught as shark bait, and battled a nurse shark estimated at 150 pounds, before photographing it in the water and releasing it.

The winds continued to blow Monday, 5/2, defying NOAA’s two-to-three foot seas predictions for offshore. But, hardy anglers Patrick Dryer and Ronan Bonahan, who had fished with me in calm seas the previous Friday, got a taste of three-to-five foot seas on Monday, 23 miles west of New Pass. They were joined on this trip by Ronan’s dad, David Bonahan. The group used baitfish to catch lots of red grouper, two of which were keepers at 21 ½ inches and 25 inches. Using live shrimp, they caught twenty-five lane snappers to 14 inches, along with one keeper mangrove snapper at 13 inches. They released six additional mangrove snappers that were shorts.

Tuesday morning, 5/3, I fished 13 miles west of New Pass on a near-shore trip with Roger Meir and his son and daughter, Roger, Jr. and Melanie. Using live shrimp, the family caught six keeper lane snapper. They released lots of blue runners, a red grouper short, a triggerfish short, and a 35-inch sharpnose shark.

I had planned to fish offshore Wednesday morning, 5/4, but predictions of severe weather cancelled out those plans, with rains expected by mid-morning, and severe thunderstorms to follow by mid-afternoon. For the next couple of days, seas were predicted to be 4-to-6 feet offshore.

The photo shown is of Patrick Dryer with a 25-inch red grouper caught on a baitfish.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday, 4/11, I headed offshore with Tom Breyer, his son Scott, grandson Reid, and Reid’s friend, Logan. Winds were hefty, and NOAA’s prediction for two-to-three-foot seas was about a foot short of reality. We tried fishing a few spots close-in but the bite wasn’t great, so the group decided to brave the three-to-four-foot seas to get out 22 miles, where snapper fishing with live shrimp has been good. They caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 11 inches, and released twenty-four red grouper shorts to 18 inches. At one point, they almost had a keeper red grouper that bit a pinfish, but it was barely hooked in the lip and popped off just before it got boat-side.

Frequent customers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett were joined by their friends, John and Lauren Smith, Tuesday, 4/12, when we headed offshore 25 miles west of New Pass in calm seas. The group caught four keeper red grouper, three at 21 ½ inches and one at 22 inches. They also caught two dozen keeper lane snapper to 17 inches, along with a few nice-sized grunts. They released lots of red grouper shorts, along with two sharks, one four-footer and one six-footer. The grouper bit on baitfish, and everything else took live shrimp.

Wednesday, 4/13, in calm seas once again, I headed offshore, this time with Russell and Sherri Marcus and their friend, Tony Stinson. Pinfish yielded four keeper red grouper, all between 21 and 22 inches. Live shrimp worked well for snappers, and the group boxed twenty keeper lanes to 14 inches, along with a 14-inch mangrove snapper. They released a 19-inch gag grouper, eleven red grouper shorts, and nine mangrove snapper shorts.

Fishing was pretty slow in Estero Bay’s backwaters Thursday morning, 4/14, when I fished a catch-and-release trip with Leed Hutchinson and his son, Bill. The guys released a mangrove snapper, two stingray and a crevalle jack.

Clint Malikowski, Matt Dubiel, and Alex Grilde took advantage of some time off while their wives attended a professional conference in our area on Friday, 4/15. We headed out twenty miles west of New Pass, where Matt got to feel the pull of an 80-pound goliath grouper, which bit a large baitfish, and provided a good battle before being released. He also landed a keeper, 21-inch red grouper on a pinfish. The group collectively caught and released twenty-five red grouper shorts, seven of which were just ¼-inch short of legal size. Using live shrimp, they caught two dozen keeper-sized lane snapper, but chose to release them, all but the largest one at 14 inches, and they released a half dozen mangrove snapper shorts. Saturday morning, 4/16, Clint Malikowski fished with me again, this time joined by his wife, Ashley Nord, and friend, Mike Jabara. Seas were significantly rougher than they had been the day before, and we only went out about 15 miles from New Pass. The guys caught and released two goliath groupers, estimated at 60 pounds and 100 pounds, which bit on blue runners. They also released all their other catches, which included a dozen lane snapper, a 13-inch mangrove snapper, blue runners, bluefish, and a gag grouper short.

Winds persisted for the next couple days, and seas remained too rough offshore for my Monday, 4/18, trip with Remi McKinnon, his two young sons, Mark and Luke, and the boys’ grandfather, Ian. So I advised the family to fish the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay, where they used live shrimp to catch an 18 ¼ -inch trout and an 11 ½-inch mangrove snapper. They released a 40-inch bonnethead shark and a ten-pound stingray.

Mike Beverstock a, along with family and friends, Frank, Bridget and Liz, managed a near-shore trip with me, as seas began to subside on Tuesday, 4/19. Fishing at the reefs just a few miles off Bonita beach with live shrimp, the group caught and released a 22 ½-inch gag grouper, along with lots of mangrove snapper shorts and grunts. They also caught three nice sheepshead to 17 inches, a 16-inch Spanish mackerel, and a 15-inch flounder.

Jennifer and Shawn Bull, along with teenaged son, Jared, and Jared’s friends Mark and John Polymeros, had hoped to get well offshore on Wednesday, 4/20, but seas were not real cooperative, and we had to stay within 12 miles of shore. Dolphins invaded one of the best spots, which ruined our chances of catching fish there, so we went to several other close-in spots to fish with live shrimp. As for food-fish, the group ended up catching 13 grunts and two keeper lane snapper. They released numerous red grouper shorts. Seas weren’t much calmer Thursday morning, 4/21, though they did calm down some as the day progressed.

Frequent customer, Ron Musick, has only a couple more opportunities to get out fishing this season, and it was worth braving some sloppy conditions to him to ride out 25 miles and go after grouper. Ron brought his friends, Eddie Alfonso, Dick Arnett, and Dick’s brother-in-law, Jim Mix. Each of the four guys ended up with their own keeper red grouper, all measuring between 21 and 22 inches and biting on pinfish. They added four nice porgies they caught on shrimp to the fish box.

Friday morning, 4/22, NOAA got it wrong again, with predictions for two-foot seas out to 20 miles. I headed out with Casey Miller and friends, and seas were a lot rougher than predicted, with a steady wind blowing across the gulf. We fished the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach, using live shrimp. The group caught three sheepshead to 14 inches, and released four gag grouper to 20 inches, along with some grunts. They had a few snappers on the line too, but the barracuda got to those before they could be boated.

The photo shown is of angler, Dave Leesman with a 31-inch gag grouper, caught on a baitfish and released, due to closed season, on a recent trip. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Saturday morning, 3/26/16, I fished 23 miles west of New Pass in calm seas with Bob Bockhorst, his son-in-law, Don Leesman, and Don’s college-aged kids, Dave, Kevin, and Kristen. Dave used a pinfish to reel in a 31-inch gag grouper—it was a beauty, but had to be released after we took its picture, due to closed season. Kristen caught a keeper 23-inch red grouper, though, which also bit a pinfish. The family used live shrimp to add a dozen keeper lane snapper, a brace of 22-inch Spanish mackerel, a 13-inch porgy, and a few grunts to the fish box. They released twenty-some red grouper shorts, and lots of yellowtail snapper shorts, and enjoyed one heck of a battle with an 8-foot sandbar shark before releasing it.

Monday, 3/28, I headed offshore with Roy Mittman and his son, Zack, to fish with live shrimp 22 miles west of New Pass. The guys caught lots of red grouper, including one keeper at 22 inches. They also caught twenty keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, so they ended up with a pretty full fish box. Visibility was poor all day, with heavy clouds hanging over us, but no rain.

Ron Musick, friend Dick Arnett, Dick’s son, Nate, and Nate’s four young sons, Will, Jack, Henry and Ted, fished 20 miles west of New Pass with me, ahead of the rains on Tuesday, 3/29. The boys caught a nice variety of fish on live shrimp, including two keeper red grouper at 21 and 22 inches, twenty lane snapper to 12 inches, a brace of keeper 13-inch mangrove snapper, three porkfish, seven porgies, eight grunts, and a brace of 24-inch Spanish mackerel. They released short red and gag grouper.

Wednesday, 3/30, NOAA predicted calm seas of one-to two feet. But there was a stiff easterly wind blowing in the morning, which was forecast to subdue to 5 knots later: That never happened! I headed out 12 to 18 miles from New Pass with Bill Conklin and family, including a couple of young children. The ride out wasn’t too bad, and seas were tolerable while we were fishing, but the ride back in was slow and tedious, with high surf and winds at 20-25 knots. Bill released a 27-inch (out-of-season) gag grouper, which barely made it to the boat, as it was literally being charged by dolphins. The dolphins were out in force, trying to steal all our fish, so we moved to another spot, where the family caught ten keeper food-fish, including lane snapper and grunts.

Thursday, 3/31, NOAA was still calling for calm seas but I knew better, after the experience of the previous day. The wind was slightly less than it had been, but seas were far from calm. So, I advised Frank Partee that it would be best to take him, his son-in-law, Joe Regan, and Frank’s three young grandchildren, David, Jack and Michael, to near-shore spots, rather than venturing too far offshore. We fished about 8 miles west of New Pass using live shrimp. The group caught three keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, two keeper porkfish, a few grunts, and a 14-inch hogfish keeper. They released red grouper shorts, a couple of small gag grouper, and blue runners.

Friday, April 1st, seas were still three-to-four feet and winds blew 15 to 20 knots, defying NOAA’s predictions, as they had all week. I headed offshore with Bill Conklin again, who had fished with me Wednesday. This trip, Bill brought his daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Jan Ramge, and their daughter, Libby. The family used live shrimp about 10 miles west of New Pass to box three keeper lane snapper, a keeper mangrove snapper, four porkfish, three sheepshead all 14 to 15 inches, and a mess of grunts and porgies. They released four triggerfish shorts, four mangrove snapper shorts, and a 40-inch black-nose shark.

I advised Andy Chezem that seas were likely to be rough Saturday morning, 4/2, when he was scheduled to fish offshore with his fifteen-year-old son, Sam, and his eleven-year-old-son, Gabe, and I offered the option of fishing the backwaters. But, the boys had their hearts set on going offshore, and said they didn’t mind the waves. So, we compromised on a near-shore excursion to the reefs just off Bonita Beach, where the guys used live shrimp in four-foot seas to catch a 16-inch seatrout, three keeper sheepshead to 15 inches, three keeper mangrove snapper to nearly 15 inches, and a half-dozen whiting. They released a few ladyfish and crevalle jacks.

Monday morning, 4/4, was drizzly and still on the windy side, but the light showers were widely scattered, and they did not stop Art Arvanites, his son-in-law, Mark, and Art’s grandkids, Shannon and Adam, from heading out to the near-shore reefs to fish. Using live shrimp, the family caught six keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches and a mess of large grunts. They released lots of lane snapper shorts, and also got to feel the weight of a couple goliath grouper on their lines, until they broke off.

Bradley Miller and his friend, Darren, fished near-shore with me on Tuesday morning, 4/4/16. Seas were still too rough to get out too far, so we fished the near-shore reefs and a few other spots close in. Bradley reeled in a 27 ½ inch snook, on shrimp, photographed it, and released it, as it was ½ inch below legal size. The guys also caught an 18-inch sheepshead and a whiting. They released eight mangrove snapper shorts, two crevalle jacks, a pair of 17-inch ladyfish, and some grunts.

The photo shown is of Bradley Miller with a 27 ½-inch snook, caught on shrimp at the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach on a recent trip, and released, due to being ½-inch short of legal size.

Winds were howling again on Wednesday morning, 4/6, so Mark & Jeanine Miller and Mark’s dad, Gary, decided to fish the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay, rather than heading into the gulf. Using live shrimp, the family caught and released two snook at 17 inches and 20 inches. They caught a few keepers, including a brace of 14-inch sheepshead, along with a 16-inch trout. They also released five sheepshead shorts.

Winds and seas calmed down nicely for Thursday’s (4/7) offshore trip with frequent fishers, Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, and we headed out about 22 miles west of New Pass. The guys did well with lane snapper, boxing thirty-five keepers to 12 inches. They added three nice porgies, and released grunts and short red grouper to 19 inches, all caught on shrimp.

Friday, 4/8, seas were still pretty calm, and I headed offshore 22 miles with Leo Walsh and friends. Two keeper red grouper, each 21 ½ inches made their way to the fish box, after biting on pinfish. Live shrimp yielded twenty lane snapper to 14 inches, so the group ended up with plenty of food-fish. They released red grouper shorts and blue runners.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Sorry for the missing photo in the submitted report--here it is:

Saturday morning, 3/12, I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Mike Wickman and his friend, Paul. The guys used baitfish to land two keeper red grouper at 21 ½ inches and 24 inches. They released numerous red grouper shorts. Using live shrimp, they added to the fish box five keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, along with a few porgies and grunts. They released a 22-inch Spanish mackerel.

Monday, 3/14, I had planned to fish but received a last minute cancellation that did not allow me enough time to re-book the day with another interested party. Fortunately, these situations occur only rarely.

Tuesday, 3/15, I headed offshore 30 miles with frequent customer, Ron Musick, along with his friends, Eddie Alfonso, Dick Arnett, and Kevin. Eddie caught a 23-inch red grouper on a baitfish, and the guys used live shrimp to land twenty porgies, a few grunts, and a half-dozen keeper lane snapper. They also caught five mangrove snapper, but only one of those was slot-size at 13 inches. The fish box was plenty full, however, and it was a great day of fishing in calm seas.

Wednesday, 3/16, I headed offshore twenty miles with Lee Larsen and friends, Bud, Pete, and Dick. The guys used live shrimp to catch four sheepshead to 16 ½ inches, a 14-inch hogfish, three keeper porkfish, five porgies, a mess of grunts, and one keeper mangrove snapper. They released a just-short triggerfish at 13 7/8 inches, along with four red grouper shorts.

I spent St. Patrick’s Day morning fishing the backwaters with Paul Damphousse and family. The bite was on the slow side in lower Hickory Bay, but the guys caught two keeper sheepshead to 15 inches, and released five smaller ones. They also released a redfish short, and got broken off once by something unknown.

Friday morning, 3/18, I fished in lower Hickory Bay on a catch-and-release, inshore trip with Russ Miller, his friend Bill Griffin, and Bill’s three young children, Avery, Alex, and Billy. The kids had a good time using live shrimp to catch and release four sheepshead to 15 inches, a 17-inch redfish, and an 18-inch snook.

Saturday morning, 3/19, Reese Lang took his seven-year-old son, Nicholas, fishing with me in the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay. Nicholas had a great time reeling in four keeper sheepshead to 19 inches. He hooked a big redfish too, had quite a few fun runs with that, and nearly got it to the boat on his kiddie-pole before it broke the line. He also released a stingray. All in all, there was plenty of action, adventure and fish to bring home for dinner.

The photo shown is of young angler Nicholas Lang with a 19-inch sheepshead caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

A cold-front came through the area over-night Sunday, bringing gusty winds and rough seas for Monday, 3/21. Frank Partee, his son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Ginger, and their daughter, Katie, fished in the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay with me instead of heading offshore. The family used live shrimp in whatever active spots we could find that were somewhat sheltered from the wind. They caught four sheepshead to 14 inches, an 18-inch trout, and a keeper mangrove snapper. They released short sheepshead, a crevalle jack, and two stingray weighing two pounds and six pounds.

Michael Want and his twelve-year-old son, Kevin, just wanted to wet a line in the backwaters Tuesday morning, 3/22, and catch a fish or two on a catch-and-release trip. So they were happy to release a 17-inch seatrout, five ladyfish, a big, five-pound sail-cat, and a stingray that weighed over ten pounds. All were caught on live shrimp.

Wednesday, 3/23, NOAA predicted calm seas of two feet, and I headed offshore with Robert Miller, his son, Tim, and Tim’s young children, Cami and Drew. A short time into our journey we knew that seas were rougher than predicted, with a stronger wind factor than predicted also. We decided to fish near-shore in spots ranging 8 to 10 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp for bait. The kids caught lots of fish, including a few keepers. They released ten bluefish to 18 inches, caught nine Spanish mackerel to 24 inches and kept four of those, caught thirty lane snapper including four keepers, and caught twenty grunts, of which they kept two.

Seas were still a little sloppy on Thursday morning, 3/24, when I headed out of New Pass with Ken and Amy Pucel and their ten-year-old son, Joe. We decided to try our luck near-shore, and the family did very well fishing spots 10 to 12 miles out. Joe caught a mangrove snapper, but before he could reel it in, a 23-inch red grouper bit it, and he reeled in the grouper instead, considering it a more than fair trade! Ken caught a near 19-inch flounder on a live shrimp. The family added three keeper lane snapper to the box, and released several lane shorts, along with red grouper shorts and a small gag grouper. They also caught and chose to release a dozen Spanish mackerel in the 22 to 23-inch range.

The photo shown is of angler Ken Pucel with a 19-inch flounder caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.

Friday morning, 3/25, we awoke to thunderstorms and rain. Radar showed a break in the rain for just a few hours before another batch of even heavier storms were due to roll in off the gulf. Dodging rain might have been okay, but with lightening already in the AM storm activity, I had no choice but to cancel my offshore trip for that day.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Saturday morning, 2/27, was chilly at 48 degrees, with a pretty hefty wind blowing and low tide conditions in the backwaters, where I fished a catch-and-release trip with Richard Plum. He caught and released two sheepshead, a 16-inch trout, and a dozen ladyfish, all on live shrimp.

Monday, 2/29, Mike McCarthy and Ken Hubbell fished with me 22 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp. We had a good morning of fishing in warmer temps and calmer seas than have been the case in recent days. The guys boxed a 24-inch keeper red grouper, six nice keeper mangrove snapper to 17 inches, two sheepshead to 20 inches, and four porgies to 17 inches. They released five red grouper shorts, two gag grouper shorts, and a 26-inch bonito.

Tuesday, March 1st, I began the new month right, fishing with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso and Dick Arnett, in spots ranging from 18 to 35 miles west of New Pass. We caught a few blue runners and used them for grouper bait, which landed us three keeper red grouper, a 21 ½-inch, 22 ½ inch, and 24-inch. We used live shrimp for the rest of our catches, which included three keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, a keeper lane snapper, ten nice porgies, and a few grunts.

Wednesday, 3/2, was another calm morning offshore, which I spent fishing with George Sloan, Alan Ladd, and Ken Zurich, 22 miles west of New Pass. The guys used live shrimp to catch eight keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, three keeper sheepshead to 18 inches, and a half dozen large grunts. They released seven red grouper shorts, along with a 22-inch, out-of-season gag grouper.

Thursday, 3/3, winds picked up a bit over the dead calm we had seen the two previous days, and there was a pretty good roller offshore, where I fished 20 miles west of New Pass with long-time customer, Mike Conneally, his brother Paul, and Paul’s son, Connor. The guys used live shrimp to box ten porgies around 14 inches each, three sheepshead to 16 inches, a keeper mangrove snapper, and six grunts, of the twenty grunts they caught. Along with the surplus grunts, they released a couple of porkfish, two mangrove snapper shorts, a 17-inch gag grouper, and eight red grouper shorts to 19 ¾ inches.

Friday morning, 3/4, began with some widely scattered showers, which I managed to dodge as I rode out to 22 miles west of New Pass with Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett to fish for snapper. The guys used live shrimp to catch twenty keeper lane snapper, and also got a couple of nice sized porgies and grunts. They also caught five keeper sheepshead to 18 inches, added the two largest of those to the fish box, and released the other three. They released a 23-inch, out-of-season gag grouper, along with three red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches.

Saturday morning, 3/5, winds had picked up and seas were about 3-foot when I headed 20 miles offshore with Marvin Colona and his friend, Rodney. As the morning progressed, the wind and seas calmed down, and the bite got better mid-morning than it was early on. The guys used live shrimp to catch a half dozen mangrove snapper keepers to 15 inches, twenty grunts, of which they boxed a dozen, six porgies, and four sheepshead keepers to 17 inches. They released a 21-inch gag grouper, along with ten red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches.

Monday, 3/7, father and son team, Harry and Bill Easom had planned to fish all day in the backwaters, but the tide was low, and the winds were whipping at about 25 knots—It was tough to anchor and tough to fish, so we decided to get the most out of the best tide, and then call it a day. We fished at the south end of Ft. Myers Beach, but the deeper holes there had two foot seas—yes, even in the bay. The guys used live shrimp to catch three sheepshead to 18 inches, and they released four stingray.

Tuesday morning, 3/8, didn’t appear too windy at first, but there was a small craft caution in effect for the early morning. In actuality, it got rougher later in the morning than it was initially. Hardy Texans, father and son Cameron Hickman and Cameron, Jr. fished twenty miles offshore with me in two to four foot seas, mostly fours. It was tough to anchor, but we managed okay, and the guys caught three keeper lane snapper and three mangrove snapper keepers to 14 inches, along with three porgies, two porkfish, and a 12-inch grunt. They released four mangrove snapper shorts, as well as lots of red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches.

Winds and seas continued to build, and there was no way I was advising Ernie Bedford and Mark Krueger to go offshore on Wednesday morning, 3/9. I suggested we fish in the backwaters, which we did in various spots of Estero Bay, staying as sheltered as possible from the wind. The guys did well, using live shrimp to box four keeper trout to 18 inches and four keeper sheepshead between 14 and 19 inches each. They released six additional sheepshead, most of which were keeper size, but the guys had no need for that many fish. They also released four stingray, a lady fish, and a few crevalle jacks.

Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett, who book several trips with me each winter season, have only gone offshore with me once this season, thanks to numerous days of high winds and seas. Friday, 3/11, was no exception. With winds blowing hard once again, we opted to fish the backwaters of upper Estero Bay, where the guys used live shrimp to catch four keeper sheepshead to 15 inches. They released a 16-inch trout, a ladyfish, and six smaller sheepshead.

The photo shown below is of angler Eddie Alfonso with a 29-inch gag grouper, one of three nice ones he caught on baitfish and released on a recent offshore trip.

The photo shown below is of angler Mark Krueger with a 19-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday, 2/15, was a windy day, and seas offshore were about three feet and sloppy when I headed out to 22 miles west of New Pass with Brian and Marcia Wilson. The couple used live shrimp to catch six keeper mangrove snapper that ranged 14 inches to 17 ¾ inches. They also caught a 14-inch hogfish, seven porgies to 14 inches, three porkfish, and a half-dozen grunts around the 13-inch mark. They released six short mangs and a few yellowtail shorts, along with a short triggerfish, several red grouper shorts to 19 inches, and a 20-inch gag grouper.

My charter for Tuesday was scared off by the predictions for thunderstorms, and canceled the evening ahead. Actually, the storms had already moved through by early morning, and it turned out to be a nice day.

Wednesday, 2/17, Sue Augustine and her two children, Mitchell and Alana, fished 22 miles offshore with me. Seas were two-to-three feet early, but calmed to one-to-two feet as the morning progressed. The family caught lots of fish, choosing to keep only a few for meals, and releasing all the rest. Catches on live shrimp included thirty keeper-sized mangrove snapper to 18 inches, a pair of 12-inch lane snapper, three porgies to 15 inches, six keeper-sized sheepshead to 19 inches, twenty-five grunts, yellowtail snapper shorts, red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and an out-of-season gag grouper at 23 inches.

Thursday morning, 2/18, was windy and it was tough anchoring on my target spots, but we managed to get out 22 miles and anchor-up for some snapper fishing. Marshall Swain, joined by friends, John, Paul and Jim, used live shrimp to catch a dozen nice mangrove snapper keepers to 16 inches, along with a 14-inch lane snapper. They added a half dozen porgies to 14 inches and a few grunts to the box, and released some red grouper shorts.

Friday brought very gusty conditions, and prohibited my taking the family of six who had scheduled an offshore trip.

By Saturday morning, 2/20, winds had subsided considerably, and I headed offshore to fish with Gary Hested and his two teen-aged grandsons, Kade and Nathan Faga. Seas were still on the rough side, but we made it out 22 miles, where the family used live shrimp with good success. They caught five keeper-sized sheepshead to 17 inches, kept the largest three of those, and released the other two. They also caught porgies to 18 inches and twenty grunts, and chose to keep just a few of each. Added to the box were four mangrove snapper to 15 inches, which were the largest of the seven keeper-sized mangs caught. The group also released nine red grouper to 19 7/8 inches, just 1/8-inch short of keeper-size, along with some yellowtail snapper shorts and a 20-inch gag grouper.

Tim Baker and friend, Barry, fished inshore with me Monday, 2/22, using live shrimp in lower Big Hickory Bay. The guys caught three keeper sheepshead at 16 inches, 14 inches, and 13 inches. They released six sheepshead shorts, along with a dozen mangrove snapper shorts and four stingray to seven pounds.

Bill and Teri Tank fished inshore, using live shrimp in lower Hickory Bay with me Tuesday morning, 2/23, once the early rains cleared out. They hit the trout just right, and limited out on those, with eight keepers ranging 16 to18 ½ inches. They released three additional trout, three would-be-keeper mangrove snapper to 11 inches, and a half dozen sheepshead to 14 inches.

Derrick Axell planned to celebrate his son, Evan’s, fourteenth birthday with a full day of fishing offshore on Wednesday, 2/24, but an approaching weather front that was preceded by four-to-six-foot seas precluded that. We decided upon a half-day of inshore fishing in lower Hickory Bay, with plans to return to the dock before any severe weather arrived. So, we fished with live shrimp in very windy conditions, but did well with seatrout. The guys caught ten keeper trout to 18 ½ inches, and released two of them, per mandated limits. They added to the box a brace of 16-inch pompano, along with two keeper sheepshead at 13 and 14 inches. The photo shown is of angler Evan Axell with an 18 ½-inch trout.

Thursday, 2/25, my planned offshore trip canceled due to gusty winds and seas of four-to-six feet.

Friday, 2/26, the tide wasn’t as favorable as it had been earlier in the week in lower Hickory Bay, where I fished with long-time customers Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett. The guys kept two trout at 16 and 17 inches and one 13-inch sheepshead.

Saturday morning, 2/27, was chilly at 48 degrees, with a pretty hefty wind blowing and low tide conditions in the backwaters, where I fished a catch-and-release trip with Richard Plum. He caught and released two sheepshead, a 16-inch trout, and a dozen ladyfish, all on live shrimp.

The photo shown below is of angler Ralph Marino with a 26-inch bonito, caught on shrimp and released on a recent offshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Tuesday, 2/2/16, I headed 20 miles offshore in calm seas with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett. The guys used live shrimp to catch seven nice mangrove snapper keepers to 16 inches, a dozen lane snapper keepers to 15 inches, seven porgies all around 14 inches, a few 14-inch grunts, and six sheepshead to 18 inches. They released a few red grouper shorts and one 20-inch gag grouper.

Seas were predicted to be only slightly rougher on Wednesday, 2/3, than they had been Tuesday so John Pound and friends, Troy, Jim and Tom weren’t expecting the four-footers we encountered 20 miles west of New Pass. Winds blew considerably higher than predicted, which kicked up the seas. But these four hardy anglers had no problem sticking it out, and it proved worth their while. The guys boxed eight nice sheepshead ranging in size from 15 to 20 inches, ten mangrove snapper that were 14 to 15 inches, a dozen lane snapper keepers to 14 inches, and a few big grunts. They released ten red grouper shorts to 18 inches and, heartbreakingly, six out-of-season gag grouper, five of which were keeper-size. The groupers all bit on baitfish, while everything else bit on live shrimp.

Thursday morning, 2/4, ahead of another weather front expected to drive up winds and seas and bring some rain over-night, I headed offshore 18 miles from New Pass with Ralph Marino, Howard Ramsdale and Fred Mulchy. Seas were three-to-four feet, but fishing was good. Using live shrimp, the guys caught a dozen keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, fifteen mangrove snapper to 16 inches, four sheepshead ranging 16 to 17 inches, five 12-inch porkfish, and grunts to 14 inches. They released a 26-inch bonito, along with a few smaller sheepshead, red grouper shorts, and a 22-inch out-of-season gag grouper.

Friday was a cold, blustery day, and my anglers had no interest in being on the water, even inshore. So, I remained in port, until Saturday morning, 2/6, which was still too rough to fish offshore. But father-son anglers Butch and Chandler Cole fished a catch-and-release trip in lower Hickory Bay with me, using live shrimp. They caught seven sheepshead to 14 inches, a 14-inch black drum, an 11-inch mangrove snapper, a pair of 3-pound stingray, and a 20-inch trout.

The photo shown is of angler Chandler Cole with a 20-inch trout, caught on shrimp in lower Hickory Bay on a recent inshore trip.

Monday and Tuesday, 2/8 and 2/9, winds and seas were high, with seas up to 14 feet well offshore. My planned offshore trips for both those days canceled.

Wednesday, 2/9, Jeff and Beth Heinrich and their two young children, Maddie and Tanner, had planned to fish offshore, but seas were not nearly calm enough to do so, so the family decided to give the backwaters a try instead. Live shrimp yielded some pretty nice catches, including a 30-inch bull-red that Maddie reeled in with very little help! We photographed that fish and released it, since it was outside the slot size. The family also released a big stingray, estimated at about 35 pounds, along with one sheepshead. They also got to see a 5-inch seahorse float by so, all in all, it was a fun excursion.

Thursday, 2/11, began with a temperature of 43 degrees, but hardy anglers John Pound and his sons, Dan and Ryan, along with John’s niece, Chelsea, braved the cold to head offshore, where seas were rougher than predicted. We had a feeling they would be, given the conditions all week, but this group was up for heading out 19 miles. The bite wasn’t as strong as it was when John and his friends fished with me last week, but the group used live shrimp to catch six keeper lane snapper to 13 inches and two mangrove snapper to 15 inches, along with a 13 ½-inch sheepshead. They released a 14-inch mutton snapper.

Seas calmed and temperatures warmed on Friday, 2/12, and the snapper must have liked those conditions better because their bite was on! Kari Vilamaa, Ed Hershey, Jerry Wilson, and friend, Don, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me, using live shrimp. The guys boxed eighteen lane snapper to 13 inches and twenty nice mangrove snapper to18 inches. They added three keeper sheepshead to 17 ½ inches, a couple of porgies, and nine grunts. Winds and seas were forecast to pick up again by Saturday afternoon, but Steve Davis, Jim Grubbs, and Harland Durkin got a fairly calm morning of fishing before that happened. We fished 22 miles west of New Pass with live shrimp, and the snapper were still biting strong. The guys caught an 18-inch mutton snapper, eight keeper lane snapper to 17 ½ inches, and eight mangrove snapper to 15 inches. They added to the fish box four nice sheepshead to 18 inches, a half-dozen grunts, and four porgies to 14 inches.

The photo shown is of angler Tom Picha with a 20-inch sheepshead, one of several large sheepshead he and his friends caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday and Tuesday, 1/18 and 1/19/16, began just as the preceding week had begun, that is, with a cold front that brought high winds and seas, along with some cold temperatures. The two offshore trips I had planned for those days had to be canceled.

Wednesday, 1/20, it was still pretty breezy, but winds were forecast to decrease, and seas were calmer, with two-to-three feet predicted. I headed offshore for a full day of fishing with Dale Beckett and Dave Frantz. Seas were rough first thing, but subsided as the day progressed, and we fished in spots from 18 to 24 miles west of New Pass. The guys caught a nice variety, including a 22-inch keeper red grouper, a brace of 23-inch gag grouper (released), ten keeper mangrove snapper ranging 13 to 19 inches, fifteen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, a brace of 14-inch porgies, some nice grunts to 16 inches, a 13-inch hogfish, and three keeper sheepshead to 19 inches. They released a few short red grouper, smaller grunts, a 16-inch white margate, and a 13-inch mutton snapper short. The grouper bit on baitfish, and everything else was caught on live shrimp.

Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso fished offshore with me Thursday, 1/21, in spots ranging 20 to 26 miles west of New Pass. The red grouper were biting, but they were shorts right up to the 20-inch mark, and had to be released. When a fish measures exactly at its lower limit, it is best to release it, since shrinkage will cause it to be under legal size, once placed in the fish box. We would have been in luck for gag grouper, if only they were in season, but they are not. So we released five would-be-keeper gags to 29 inches. All the grouper bit on baitfish. Using live shrimp, we fished for snapper and other bottom varieties, and we boxed six porgies to 15 inches, fifteen lane snapper all 12-13 inches, and a few grunts.

Friday was a rainy, soggy day, causing me to cancel a trip, and Saturday brought heavy wind gusts and seas to 14 feet—a day that was not suitable for fishing anywhere.

I rescheduled Saturday’s trip, and remained in port until Tuesday. As if weather hasn’t been enough of a hurdle this season, an outbreak of red tide is also upon us. But, though we passed a few areas that were hit pretty hard, there were others that seemed unaffected when I headed out Tuesday morning, 1/26, to fish with Ron Richardson and Dave Aragon. We fished fifteen miles west of New Pass, where the guys used live shrimp to catch three keeper sheepshead to 18 inches, a 17-inch pompano, and a beauty of a 22-inch mutton snapper. They added to the box twenty keeper lane snapper to 12 inches and ten grunts. They released five red grouper shorts. Ron and Dave had planned to fish inshore the following day on Wednesday morning, but rain curtailed those plans. Wednesday, it rained all day, and persisted into Thursday, and I canceled both days’ trips.

Friday, 1/30, the rains were finally gone, but were followed by windy conditions and rough seas, once again. So, Alan Bronson and son, Wendall, along with family friend, Clyde Balsrud, fished the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay with me. The north wind was chilly, and the temperature dropped from an early morning high of 59 degrees to about 56 degrees while we were out, with a chilly night predicted to follow. But the tide was pretty decent, and the guys used live shrimp to box two trout, 15 ½ inches and 16 ½ inches, as well as three sheepshead, all between 14 and 15 inches, and one keeper mangrove snapper at 11 inches. They released a four-pound stingray, along with some sheepshead shorts.

Saturday morning, seas were much calmer than they had been recently, and I fished offshore 15-20 miles west of New Pass with Darren and Linda Rachman and Darren’s dad, Bob. Ever since the cold front came through, the close-in red grouper bite has diminished, and those fish have likely moved further offshore. We released a few red grouper shorts, but no keepers. The group did well with snapper fishing, though, and boxed a dozen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with eight nice mangrove snapper to 16 inches. They added a few good-sized grunts to the mix, and also released a 14-inch bluefish.

The photo shown is of angler Dave Aragon with a 22-inch mutton snapper, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Saturday, 1/2/16, my first day of the new year on the water, was spent in the backwaters with Ann McManus, her brother, Phil Arnes, and their friends, Roger and Maureen Paruie. The group opted to fish the bay instead of the gulf, since a cool front approaching promised some windier conditions and building seas offshore. Fishing the islands in front of New Pass with live shrimp, the group caught three nice, keeper sheepshead, one that was 14 inches, and two at 17 inches. They also boxed a 22-inch redfish.

Monday and Tuesday, 1/4 and 1/5/16, I had offshore trips planned, which both had to be cancelled due to a weather front that brought high winds and seas of four to seven feet. By the time I got out on Wednesday, 1/6, there was a calming trend beginning, but it was still pretty rough heading out in the morning to about fifteen miles west of New Pass with long–time customer Chris Baumgartner, his dad, Larry, and his daughter, Madeline. The family was after red grouper, now in season, and they were willing to endure some rougher than optimal conditions in order to get some. Using live sand perch and pig-fish for bait, the group boxed five keeper red grouper, a 21 ½-inch, a 22-inch, two 23-inch and a 24-inch. They released seven red grouper shorts, along with a 12-inch triggerfish short and some grunts. They added to the box a pair of 12-inch lane snappers, which were caught on shrimp.

Thursday morning, 1/7, I headed out to fifteen miles west of New Pass to fish with father-son anglers, Jim and Reid Dixon. Once again, as had been the case the previous day, sand perch and pig-fish proved to be good baits for red grouper. The guys caught six keeper-sized red grouper to 23 inches, but had to release two of them, due to per-person limits. They also release an out-of-season, 23-inch gag grouper, as well as a 13-inch triggerfish short. They added five keeper lane snapper to 14 inches to the fish box, along with the four red grouper we kept, making for a nice morning’s haul.

Pat Cunningham and her son, Darren Rachman, along with friends, Rick Speicher and John Adams, braved four-foot rollers as we headed offshore Friday morning, 1/8. Despite NOAA’s predictions for seas of two-foot or less, it was a rough ride out to about fifteen miles west of New Pass. But, the group boxed some nice fish, including two keeper red groupers between 21 and 22 inches and ten keeper lane snapper to 13 inches.

Saturday, 1/9, was the calmest day offshore that I have seen in a while. I headed out fifteen miles with Greg Grimes, Matt Morgan, Christian Siard, and Justin Stane. The red grouper bite was hot again, and the guys caught three nice keepers on baitfish, one at 27 inches and two at 23 inches. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 19 7/8 inches, along with one triggerfish short. Using live shrimp, they also caught three keeper lane snapper and a mess of grunts.

The beginning of the next week saw another cold front that brought more windy and rough conditions offshore, along with low tides in the backwaters. I remained in port until Thursday, 1/14, when NOAA predictions called for 15 knot winds, diminishing to 5 knots, and seas of two feet out to 60 miles. So, Roy Mittman and I were a little surprised to see 20 knot winds and some seas as high as four feet all morning, while we fished fifteen miles west of New Pass. But Roy’s trip was worthwhile, all the same. He boxed a 27-inch red grouper that he caught on a baitfish, two keeper lane snapper and a mess of grunts, caught on live shrimp, and he released several red grouper shorts and an 18-inch gag grouper. And that was the last day to get out on the water for this week.

Friday brought lots of rain and wind, which kicked up seas through Saturday, even though the weather was nice on Saturday. Over-night Saturday, we had torrential downpours, with gusty winds that persisted into Sunday, and promise to persist over at least the first part of this coming week. Parts of SW FL even saw some severe weather events this past week and weekend, including several tornadoes to the north of us.

The photo shown is of angler Greg Grimes, with a 27-inch red grouper caught on a baitfish on a recent offshore trip.You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:

http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html</a> <br>

Friday morning, 12/18/15, just ahead of a cold front that was about to bring rain to the area, I headed into the backwaters of Estero Bay with the Lang family--Reese and Kara and their two young children, Nicholas, and Brooklyn. The Langs did not mind if rain cut their trip short, as they mostly wanted the kids to have a couple hours of fun on the water. Not only did they have fun, but the family caught a few nice keepers on live shrimp, over the couple of hours we fished the central bay. They boxed a 22 ½-inch redfish and three keeper sheepshead to 13 inches. They released a couple of sheepshead shorts, along with three stingray, the largest of which was about ten pounds. We returned to the dock just ahead of a short but heavy squall, so our timing was good!

Leo Walsh, Jack Miller, Dave Hone, and Fadoul Pekhazis fished with me Tuesday, 12/22/15, about fifteen miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp. The grouper bite was hot, and the guys had fun catching and releasing them, even though it might have been more fun if they were in season! They released five keeper-sized red grouper to 27 inches and a pair of 23-inch gag grouper. They also released twenty additional short red grouper. As for boxed catches, they got fifteen nice lane snapper to 16 inches and eleven grunts to 12 inches.

I fished about 15 miles offshore on Wednesday, 12/23, with Frank Barry, joined by his daughter and family, Becky, Zach, Tim, and Pete Rivera. The family used blue runners to catch and release two would-be-keeper red grouper at 21 inches and 22 inches. They used live shrimp to catch and box a dozen keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, along with a couple of 12-inch grunts.

Ron Radosh and his grandsons, Sean, Jake and Jon, fished a catch-and-release trip with me Thursday morning, 12/24. Using live shrimp just outside the channel by Bonita Bay, the boys caught and released three stingray to 10 pounds and four sheepshead to 12 inches. They got broken off a time or two by bigger fish, most likely by larger sheepshead or redfish.

I was off the water for Christmas Day and the weekend, with out-of-town family visiting.

Monday, 12/28, I fished in central Estero Bay, east of the water tower, with Erin Bowden, Kristen Bowden-McEnery and her husband, Kevin McEnery. We had a productive morning of fishing for trout, snapper, and sheepshead, using live shrimp. The group caught five keeper trout that measured 16 to 18 inches, three keeper sheepshead 15 to 18 inches, and two keeper mangrove snapper at 11 inches and 13 inches. They released a couple of crevalle jacks and stingray.

Tuesday morning, 12/29, I fished with long-time customer, Peder Engebretson, and his young grandsons, Travis and Will Haby, along the east wall of Estero Bay. With slightly cooler water temps, bigger sheepshead have begun to move in. Using live shrimp, the guys caught five sheepshead to 16 inches, three mangrove snapper to 12 inches, and three trout to 18 inches.

Wednesday morning, 12/30, there was a pretty hefty swell left over from a couple preceding days of high winds and rough seas offshore, but it was calming down, and once we got out about ten miles, it was not as rough as what NOAA had predicted. I fished with Brian Matlock and his two young sons, Eaman and Graham, along with friends Matt Wentzel and his two young sons, Gabe and Luke. The boys released fifteen red grouper to 20 inches, a couple of Spanish mackerel, and a yellowtail snapper short. They boxed five keeper lane snapper and a half dozen grunts.

I have been taking the Novy kids fishing since they were toddlers, usually each spring, when the four children and their dad fish with me. This year, two of the youngest, Jimmy and Julia Novy, were visiting their grandparents over the Christmas holiday, so grandpa, Jim Neville, arranged a back-bay, catch-and-release trip for himself and the two children. Using live shrimp Thursday morning, 12/31, fishing the islands in front of New Pass, the group had fun releasing ten trout, twenty ladyfish, and one sheepshead.

Red grouper season will be open when I fish tomorrow--HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

The photo shown is of angler, Peder Engebretson with a 16-inch sheepshead caught on shrimp on a recent trip. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

After a rainy Monday that caused us to cancel their trip that day, Erwin and Millie Metusiak, who have fished with me yearly for many years, fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me Tuesday, 12/8/15. Winds were strong, so we fished around the islands, close to New Pass, wherever we could stay somewhat sheltered and the fish were biting. The couple caught four sheepshead to 13 ½ inches and an 11-inch mangrove snapper. They released short sheepshead, a pair of two-pound stingrays, and three small crevalle jacks.

Wednesday morning, 12/9, seas were still a little sloppy heading out, but winds and seas calmed throughout the morning, and long-time customer and hardy angler, Mike Connealy, along with friends, Jeff Jones and Sherri Scharff, fished 19 miles west of New Pass with me, using live shrimp. The group caught three keeper lane snapper, the largest at 16 inches, along with five whitebone porgies to 17 ½ inches, three keeper porkfish to 12 inches, and a mess of grunts—they kept a dozen of those to 12 inches, and released the rest. They also released a 20-inch gag grouper, a dozen red grouper to 19 inches, and a few yellowtail shorts.

Bay fishing was kind of slow Thursday, 12/10, when John Jelinek fished with me, down towards Wiggins Pass. John released four sheepshead, an 18-inch sailcat, and a stingray. He had a few bait-stealers hooked several times, but never got to see the culprits!

Greg Haas and his dad, John Haas, fished near-shore with me on Monday, 12/14. There were some residual seas offshore, left over from a windy weekend, and winds were still blowing moderately hard Monday morning. But, even just 12 miles offshore, the guys did well with red grouper, all of which had to be released, due to closed season. Three of the four red grouper they caught bit on blue runners, and they were all would-be keeper-size, the largest at 25 inches. The guys also released a pair of 18-inch gag grouper and eight mangrove snapper shorts. They boxed a brace of 13-inch mangrove snapper shorts and two keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, all of which bit on shrimp.

Another near-shore trip went well on Tuesday, when I fished 14 miles west of New Pass with Brent Jones, Aaron Mead, John Rieckenberg, and Joe Miner. The group caught and released twenty red grouper, including six ranging from 20 inches to 24 inches. They boxed fifteen lane snapper to 13 inches and nine grunts to 12 inches. They released an 18-inch gag grouper, a 13-inch triggerfish and a 12-inch tripletail. The grouper bit on pinfish, and everything else ate live shrimp.

The photo shown is of angler, Greg Haas with a 25-inch red grouper, the largest of four he and his dad caught on pinfish and released on a recent offshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link: http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html