Beiträge von fishbuster

Sara Liegel had arranged an offshore fishing trip for herself, her husband Ryan, her parents, Wyon and Mary-Jo Wiegratz, and her brother, Nathan, for Tuesday, 11/17/15. But, the winds and seas began building over the preceding weekend and, by Tuesday morning, they were four-to-six feet offshore. We rescheduled the trip for Thursday, 11/19, when seas had calmed down considerably, though it was still a bit sloppy offshore. We fished near-shore, in spots eight to twelve miles west of new pass, using live shrimp. The family released ten red grouper to 20 inches. They boxed fifteen keeper lane snapper to 13 inches and a dozen grunts to 12 inches.

The trip I had planned for Monday, 11/23, followed another couple days of increasing winds and seas. Seas were four-to-six feet, with small craft advisories issued through at least Tuesday. The party scheduled for Monday deferred their trip to Wednesday, hoping seas might calm by then so they could fish offshore, which they preferred to backwater fishing.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, 11/24, I fished the backwaters of Estero Bay with Jeremy Gettell and his ten-year-old son, John. We tried to get the best of the tide, but it was still pretty low, as the winds howled across the bay. The boys caught and released three sheepshead, a crevalle jack, and two stingray, all on live shrimp.

Wednesday, 11/25, winds were still strong and seas still rough offshore. So, Stephen Sennett and his two young sons, Aiden and Zion, ended up fishing a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay. We fished with live shrimp, alongside the channel and at the edge of the bay, where the boys had fun catching and releasing three stingray to 4 pounds, four mangrove snapper, and eight sheepshead.

Thursday was a day off the water for family Thanksgiving festivities. Winds and seas remained high throughout the holiday and into Friday. With small craft advisories still in effect Friday, 11/27, I had to cancel my planned offshore trip for that day.

Winds and seas were slightly calmer on Saturday, 11/28, and the small craft advisory was downgraded to a small craft caution. I managed to get offshore about ten miles with Max Mitchley, friend Kevin Labrecque and his sons, Randy and Andrew, along with the boys’ grandfather, Ray Mansour. The group used live shrimp to catch twenty lane snapper, fifteen of which were keepers to a nice size of 14 inches. They also caught a dozen grunts, including four keepers, along with two Spanish mackerel at 22-inches and 23-inches. They released a few mangrove snapper shorts, five red grouper to 19 ½ inches, and a 42-inch blacknose shark.

The photo shown above is of angler Ray Mansour, with a 14-inch lane snapper, caught on shrimp today on a near-shore trip.

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 above is of angler John Weigle, with a 25-inch redfish caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.

After several weeks off the water, with a week-long family reunion to attend, and some rainy weather once back home, I finally got offshore fishing on Friday, 11/6/15, when I headed out to fish twelve to twenty-two miles west of New Pass with Glen Harris, his girlfriend, Dawn Welch, his son, Tripp, and family friend, Lisa Booth. The group wanted a catch and release trip, and they used live shrimp to catch and release twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper, six mangrove snapper shorts, a 13-inch triggerfish, a 12-inch tripletail, and ten porgies to 14 inches. They used bait-fish to catch and release fifteen out-of-season red grouper to 20 inches.

Monday morning, 11/9, I headed offshore to fish in various spots ranging from twelve to twenty-one miles west of New Pass, with Annabelle McCalister, her dad, Geoff, and her brother-in-law, Neil. The trio caught a nice variety of fish, using live shrimp. Catches included twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper, of which fifteen were boxed, three red grouper to 22 inches, including two would-be-keepers, had it not been for closed season, twenty-four grunts, of which four were boxed, a 14-inch porgy, a 13-inch triggerfish released, and several yellowtail and mangrove snapper shorts released. About the time we were winding in our lines, the goliath grouper invaded, so it was good timing on the food-fish catches.

Tuesday morning, 11/10, the Glennon family—John and Dauma, Pat, Matt, and Jimmy—dodged a few scattered showers offshore with me, and did well fishing with live shrimp, eighteen miles west of New Pass. The family caught five nice porgies to 17 inches, a dozen grunts to 13 inches, seventeen keeper lane snapper to15 inches, a 23-inch red grouper, released due to closed season, along with six smaller red grouper.

Wednesday morning, 11/11, found me back offshore, where I fished twenty miles west of New Pass with long-time customer, Mike Connealy, and his brother, Pat. The guys used live shrimp to catch two red grouper, 20 inches and 21 inches, which had to be released due to closed season. But, they did box a pair of 14-inch grunts, out of a half dozen they caught, along with two nice porgies, a keeper lane snapper and a 20-inch Spanish mackerel. Pat had never experienced a monster-fish on his line, so we baited a pole with a blue runner and Pat hooked and fought a 100-plus-pound goliath grouper, which we photographed in the water and released.

The out-of-season red grouper bite was on again, about 23 miles west of New Pass, when I fished with Jim and Marilyn Casper on Thursday morning, 11/12. The couple released five of those, including several keeper-sized ones to 24 inches, all of which bit on baitfish. Lane snapper were abundant in various spots from twelve to twenty-three miles offshore, and the Caspers boxed a dozen of those to 12 inches, and released an equal amount of them, having no need for more than a dozen.

The photo shown is of angler Mark Daberkow, with a 40-inch bonnethead shark, caught on shrimp and released 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

Season is gearing up for a busy fishing calendar around here, that is, if weather will cooperate. Thursday morning, 9/24/15, I fished Estero Bay’s backwaters, around the Horseshoe Keys, with Tennessee bass fisherman, Rick Dann. It took rick a little while (and one lost redfish) for Rick to quit fishing like a bass angler, and to use less aggressive tactics (I do have his permission to say that!) But, once he got the hang of it, he reeled in a 22-inch keeper redfish, which he caught on shrimp. We got cut off by good sized reds a couple more times, and also released a 20-inch crevalle jack. Added to the box were three 11-inch mangrove snapper.

We had a lot of rain for a few days, which got in the way of a few fishing trips. The next time I fished was on Thursday morning, 10/1/15, with Scott and Karen Green and Mark and Linn Daberkow. We used live shrimp in lower Hickory Bay’s backwaters, and the group caught and released a 40-inch bonnethead shark, a 25-inch snook, and a brace of 3-pound stingray. They also caught a couple of keeper mangrove snapper to take home for a meal.

I had an offshore trip planned for Monday, 10/5, but the rains, 25 knot winds and five-foot seas put an end to that.

On Wednesday, 10/7, I had an offshore trip planned with Alan and Donna Clothier, but seas were still a bit on the rough side, and scattered rain hung over the gulf. So, the Clothiers deferred their trip to Friday, 10/9, when we had much better conditions with light winds and calm seas. The couple fished 19 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp, and caught a variety of fish, including four 14-inch whitebone porgies, a half dozen large grunts, and five keeper lane snapper. They released lots of red grouper shorts, along with one red grouper that was 21 inches but had to be released, due to closed season for red grouper having taken effect a few days prior.

Steve and Annie Tobin fished a near-shore, catch-and-release trip with me on Monday, 10/12/15. They used live shrimp twelve to fourteen miles west of New Pass, and released a 27-inch cobia, five would-be–keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, and six red grouper to 18 inches.

Tuesday, 10/13, I headed offshore only about 12 miles west of New Pass with the Strube family--Don and Ellie and their two daughters, Emily and Katie. Especially for being so close to shore, the fishing was outstanding, and the Strubes used pinfish to catch and release ten red grouper to 22 ½ inches, including five would-be keepers, had red grouper not just gone out of season a few days prior. But, they were still fun to catch and release. The Strubes still ended up with plenty of eating-fish, with fifteen keeper lane snapper to 17 inches and a few grunts.

Long-time customer, Craig Royal and his family were anxiously watching the weather leading up to their planned offshore trip on Saturday, 10/17. Winds and seas had begun to pick up late Thursday, resulting in predictions for seas of two to four feet, even within 20 miles of shore. Saturday morning, with a 15 knot wind blowing, and a small craft advisory in effect for beyond 20 miles, I left the decision up to the Royal family. They decided to tough it out, so we headed offshore about ten miles, where we experienced steady three-to-four foot seas, so we ventured no further than that. The group, consisting of Craig, his parents, Ron and Janet Royal, his sons, Eric and Dan, and Dan’s fiancé, Michael Barkley, used live shrimp to box twenty keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with a keeper mangrove snapper at 13 inches. They released a dozen red grouper to 19 ½ inches and some grunts.

The photo shown is of angler, Steve Tobin, with a 27-inch cobia, caught on shrimp and released fourteen miles west of New Pass 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

Labor Day, 9/7/15, I had a morning backwater trip scheduled with Dave Schwanke, his daughter Kaline, and Kaline’’s boyfriend, Tommy. But, when I awoke to get ready for that trip, I heard thunder rolling in the distance. Radar confirmed a mess of thunderstorms rolling in from the gulf. So we postponed our planned 8AM departure to about 10:30AM, which is when the storms finally moved far enough inland to allow us to enjoy a safe and comfortable, catch-and-release fishing trip in Estero Bay. We fished with live shrimp and pinfish, along the mangrove islands and rocks in various spots along the east wall of the bay. The group caught and released three would-be-keeper redfish, two sheepshead to 14 inches and a two-foot bonnethead shark.

Leo Castro fished Estero Bay's backwaters on a catch-and-release trip with me Saturday morning, 9/12. We fished along the east wall of the bay, as well on the inside of the channel north of New Pass. We released seven keeper-sized mangrove snapper, a 19-inch crevalle jack, a stingray, a 23-inch sailcat, two 22-inch snook, and an over-slot redfish at 27 1/2 inches. The jack and the redfish bit pinfish, while the rest of the catches bit live shrimp.

Joe Watton, his daughter, Elizabeth, and friend, Loren Raap, fished the west side of Estero Bay with me, between New Pass and Big Hickory Pass, on Tuesday morning, 9/15, just ahead of the rain that arrived around 1PM. They caught a keeper redfish at 21 inches, along with a keeper mangrove snapper, and released a couple of stingray, all on live shrimp.

Saturday morning, 9/19, the first dry day we had in a good while, Connor and Hannah Beverly and friends, Kayla and Kevin Reilly, headed 22 miles offshore with me, where they fished with live shrimp and pinfish. A pinfish yielded the bigger of two keeper red grouper, a 24-inch, which bit on Hannah’s line. Kayla caught a 21-inch keeper red grouper on live shrimp. The group also caught a dozen keeper lane snapper, along with a 13-inch, keeper mangrove snapper, and a brace of 14-inch triggerfish, all on shrimp. They released a few mangrove snapper shorts, along with twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches.

The photo shown is of angler Leo Castro, with a 27 ½-inch bull redfish, caught on a pinfish and released in Estero Bay on an inshore trip this month. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link.
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday morning, 8/3/15, I headed twenty-two miles offshore with Ron Sticha and his son, Noah. They had planned to go last Thursday, but that day was rained out, so we rescheduled, hoping to beat the PM showers predicted for Monday. Seas would have been calm, but some squalls kicked up in the late morning, making seas rougher, and prompting us to return to the dock a little bit earlier than planned. Still, the guys did well with snapper and grouper. They caught thirty lane snapper on shrimp, ten of which were keepers to 11 inches. They also caught thirteen red grouper, including one keeper at nearly 21 inches. We made it back in ahead of any big rains, but the winds and seas were definitely on the increase.

David and Melanie Yoder fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on a catch-and-release trip Tuesday morning, 8/4, which yielded two mangrove snapper, a 17-inch snook, and a 3-pound stingray, caught in spots from Mound Key south to the Imperial River. The recent heavy rains have greatly reduced the salinity in the bay.

Thursday morning, 8/6, I fished the backwaters again, this time with Steve Lynch, on a catch-and-release trip, using live shrimp in lower Hickory Bay. Steve caught a would-be-keeper redfish at 21 inches, and lost one bigger red that pulled off on an oyster bar. He also released a 25-inch black drum, twenty mangrove snapper, including ten would-be-keepers, a 17-inch permit, and a 15-inch crevalle jack.

Mark Aldridge, his two sons, George and Alfie, and his business partner, John, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me on Monday morning, 8/10. The group used live shrimp to catch a dozen keeper lane snapper and a few grunts, along with twenty-five throw-back red groupers to 18 ½ inches. They did catch one 22-inch keeper red grouper also, which bit a pinfish.

Wednesday morning, 8/12, I fished 22 miles offshore with Paul Fenwick, his young daughter, Emma, and friends, Susan Carlisle, John Priddy, John’s daughter, Jordan Priddy, and her boyfriend, Zack. The group used live shrimp to catch twenty keeper lane snapper and four nice-sized grunts. They released twenty-five red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

An early rain pattern offshore began on Friday. Also, the dog days of summer have brought their usual slow-down in bookings, so I will likely be fishing a bit less frequently over the next month or two. But I will be sure to report on whatever trips I take. Tight lines, everyone!

The photo shown is of angler Steve Lynch, with a 25-inch black drum, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay 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

Been trying to fish around the rain lately… Monday morning, 7/20, I headed offshore, 22 miles west of New Pass, with Patrick and Jessica Goodman and friends Ally Janson and Blake Cissell. The group used live shrimp and bait-fish to catch a nice variety of fish, including twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 inches, which we released, along with a short yellowtail snapper and seven mangrove snapper shorts to 11 ½ inches. As for keepers, we boxed a 14-inch yellowtail snapper, a 15-inch porgy, six keeper lane snapper, a dozen grunts, and a nice, 17-inch hogfish.

Thursday morning, 7/23, Jeff Blanton and his son, Joel, fished Estero Bay’s shoreline by the water tower with me. The guys used live shrimp to catch seven keeper mangrove snapper to 11 ½ inches and one 15-inch permit.

Friday, 7/24, through Monday, 7/27 were complete wash-outs, as a low pressure system stalled over our area, producing lots of rain, heavy thunderstorms an rough conditions. I had planned to fish twice over those days, but had to cancel both trips.

Wednesday morning, 7/29, we were still dodging a few scattered showers, when I fished in Estero Bay’s backwaters, north of Broadway Channel, with Bill Parks, son, Eric, and seven-year-old granddaughter, Olivia. The family had a good time using live shrimp top catch twenty mangrove snapper, including five keepers to 11 inches.

Thursday morning brought more AM-rains, some in the form of heavy squalls, and the offshore trip planned for that day rescheduled for the following week.

On Friday, 7/31, we finished out the month with some drier conditions, but with heavy surf and rip currents, and conditions not safe or pleasant for heading offshore with the family of six that had planned to go. We cancelled that trip also.

The photo shown is of angler Ally Jansen, with a 17-inch hogfish, 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

Joe George and his two sons, Eric and Brad, fished 23 miles west of New Pass with me on Monday morning, 7/6. The catch-of-the-morning was a 27-inch red grouper, which bit a baitfish. The guys also caught a dozen keeper-sized lane snapper, which they chose to release, along with yellowtail and mangrove snapper shorts and eight red grouper shorts.

Wednesday morning’s tide in the backwaters wasn’t optimal, when I fished in lower Hickory Bay, Fish Trap Bay, and central Estero Bay with John and Dauma Glennon, but the couple did catch a 14-inch permit to keep, along with a 12-inch keeper mangrove snapper, on shrimp. They released a dozen mangrove snapper shorts, along with three stingray.

Thursday morning, 7/9, though NOAA had predicted seas less than two feet, it was a little sloppy heading offshore, probably due to the strong thunderstorms of the previous night. So, I stayed 10-12 miles from shore with Jack Carey, his fourteen-year-old grandson, Jack, and Jack's fourteen-year-old friend, Beck. The boys used live shrimp to catch and release red grouper shorts and grunts. As for keepers, they landed fourteen lane snapper to 13 inches, and planned to have those for dinner.

Larry Jack, who usually fishes with me a couple days each summer, was joined by friend, Ernie Morrison on Monday morning, 7/13, when we fished the east wall of Estero Bay. I netted a bunch of whitebaits on the way out, and we caught everything on those. The guys caught two limits of keeper mangrove snapper to 12 inches. They released two crevalle jacks, each about two pounds, along with a redfish short. They both got a chance to catch and release the same big snook—first it bit Ernie’s bait, ran with that, then bit Larry’s bait, and both hooks in its mouth! It was a fun battle for both guys, over slot at 39 inches, and out of season anyway.

Larry and Ernie had planned to fish offshore with me on Tuesday, but with scattered storms across the gulf, they decided to do another morning in the backwaters. They used shrimp and whitebaits to fish lower Hickory Bay, where they caught a keeper mangrove snapper, released a few short mangs, and caught two redfish to 18 ½ inches.

Wednesday morning, 7/15, Dennis Blais and friends fished offshore with me. NOAA had predicted two-foot seas, but there were a lot of storms over the gulf, kicking up seas and making for pretty rough conditions. We managed to get out only about seven miles, and came in just a bit early, due to rain. But the group brought home a mess of keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches and grunts, which bit live shrimp. They released five red grouper shorts. After a night of heavy thunderstorms,

Thursday morning, 7/16, the rains quit in our area around 8AM, and I headed out shortly afterwards to fish Estero Bay’s backwaters with Mark and Pam Solloway and their two sons, Jared and Shane. The family used live shrimp to catch ten keeper mangrove snapper to 11 inches.

The photo shown is of anglers Larry Jack and Ernie Morrison, with a 39-inch snook, caught on a whitebait and released in Estero Bay on a recent inshore trip. This snook bit Ernie’s hook first, ran with it, then came back and bit Larry’s bait, so they both caught the same fish!

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

Evan Hamilton, Arly Smart, and Arly’s son, Justice, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me in calm seas on Monday morning, 6/22/15. The guys used live shrimp to catch a 24-inch keeper red grouper, along with twenty keeper lane snapper, a keeper mangrove snapper, and three 13-inch porgies. They released a dozen red grouper shorts, four mangrove snapper shorts, and a few yellowtail shorts.

Tuesday, 6/23, Long-time customer Russ Maavich and his three sons, Alex, Brett and Ryan fished in spots from 28 to 35 miles west of New Pass. They used pinfish to land three keeper red grouper, two at 20 ½ inches and one at 21 1/2 inches. Using live shrimp, they added six yellowtail snapper to 15 inches, a 14-inch mangrove snapper, fifteen keeper lane snapper 11-13 inches, and three porgies to the fish box. They released two dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, two dozen lane snapper shorts, a dozen yellowtail shorts, and five sharpnose sharks between 35 and 38 inches.

Mike and Carol Lee fished 20 miles offshore with me on Thursday morning, 6/25. They had no interest in keeping fish—only in catching them--so it was a catch-and-release trip. Catches included two red grouper at 22 inches and 22 ½ inches, along with two dozen red grouper shorts. The larger of the two legal sized red grouper bit a pinfish, while the other bit on shrimp. Also caught on shrimp were thirty would-be-keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, yellowtail and mangrove snapper shorts, grunts, and a 35-inch sharpnose shark.

Saturday morning, 6/27, I dodged a few rain showers offshore, 20 to 22 miles west of New Pass, with Karen Droke, her 12-year-old granddaughter, Riley, and friend, Joe Simeone. They caught two keeper red grouper at 22 ½ inches and 23 inches, which bit on pinfish. Using live shrimp, the group caught thirty keeper-sized lane snapper, but chose to keep only the largest two of those, at 14 inches. They also released a 15-inch triggerfish, a 20-inch Spanish mackerel, some mangrove snapper shorts, and lots of red grouper shorts.

Bob Schaefer and son Nick with friends, John Lunden and son, Michael fished with live shrimp 20 to 28 miles offshore with me on Monday, 6/29. The guys did well with lane snapper, catching twenty-eight keepers to 15 inches. They also caught two keeper 13-inch mangrove snapper, grunts and porgies. They released four mangrove snapper shorts, lots of red grouper shorts to just under legal size, and four sharks--four sharpnose and one bonnethead--all around 40 inches.

Bud Baker and three friends fished Estero Bay's backwaters with me, along the east wall, south of Mound Key, on Tuesday morning, 6/30. The guys caught two redfish, including one keeper at 21 inches and one 17 1/2 inches, which we released. They also caught five keeper mangrove snapper to 11 1/2 inches, all on live shrimp.

Rich Mohr took three young anglers on a catch-and-release backwater trip with me on Wednesday morning, 7/1/15. The boys had fun catching and releasing two 14-inch permit, a sand bream, a small snook, and 40 undersized mangrove snapper, all on live shrimp in central Estero Bay.

J. Weigle and son, J. Weigle, Jr., fished the west wall of Estero Bay with me, south of New Pass, on Thursday morning, 7/2. Using live shrimp, they caught a 25-inch redfish, four keeper mangrove snapper to 12 inches, and a 15-inch sheepshead. They released two four-pound stingrays and fifteen mangrove snapper shorts.

Friday morning, 7/3, Jim & Dawn Jenkins and their two daughters fished near-shore with me, nine miles west of New Pass over hard bottom. They used live shrimp to catch five keeper lane snapper to 12 inches and some grunts. They released thirty lane shorts, along with fifteen red grouper shorts to 19 3/4 inches, just short of keeper size.

The photo shown is of angler Betty Bergland, with a 35-inch blacknose shark, 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

Ryan Hall, Matt Hoffman, Greg Wetzel, and Tom Brackmann headed 25 miles offshore with me on Monday, 6/8, hoping to catch some grouper. The guys did well, catching twenty-eight red grouper in all, three of which were keepers at 24 inches each. Those larger grouper bit on bait-fish, while live shrimp lured some smaller ones, along with grunts, porgies, lane snapper and yellowtail snapper. The guys added one nice-sized lane to the fish box, and released the rest, along with two 40-inch sharp-nose sharks.

Tuesday, 6/9, Adam Bennett and son, Max, fished offshore with me in spots ranging from 23 to 29 miles west of New Pass. We used bait-fish to catch three keeper red grouper that were all around 21 inches, and a slightly smaller keeper at 20 ½ inches bit on a live shrimp. In addition to the four keepers, the guys caught thirty red grouper shorts, which they released. They added a dozen keeper lane snapper to the fish box. They released a 30-inch sharp-nose shark, two goliath grouper, one about 25 pounds and one just under 200 pounds, as well as a 15-inch triggerfish, fifteen yellowtail snapper shorts, ten mangrove snapper shorts, and a few grunts.

Seas were rougher than predicted Saturday morning, 6/13, when I headed out with Joe Hogue, his son Adam, and son-in-law, Dave. We braved the seas to get out twenty miles from New Pass. The guys caught a 23-inch, keeper red grouper on a baitfish, and released twenty-five red grouper shorts. Using shrimp, they added a few more fish to the box, including eight 15-inch porgies, a dozen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, nine 11-13-inch grunts, and a nice hogfish at 18 inches.

David and Susan James and their son, Matthew, and daughter, Katerina, fished offshore with me Tuesday, 6/16, in spots ranging from 12 to 20 miles west of New Pass. The family caught three keeper red grouper, including a brace of 20 1/2-inch and one 22 inch. They released twenty additional red grouper to 18 inches, along with some grunts, yellowtail snapper and mangrove snapper shorts. They also boxed ten keeper lane snapper, and released five lane shorts. The larger red grouper bit on baitfish, while everything else was caught on live shrimp.

Brian and Julie Clark, who have fished with me several times, were joined by their friends Arthur and Dana Ashby for an offshore trip on Wednesday, 6/17. We fished in various spots out to 25 miles west of New Pass, and the group had a few fun sport-fishing experiences, along with catching a good variety of table-fare. A 24-inch red grouper keeper that bit on a pinfish went into the fish box, along with shrimp-eaters that included a 13-inch mangrove snapper, a dozen lane snapper keepers to 12 inches, two porgies 13 and 14 inches, two porkfish keepers, and a dozen 12-inch grunts. We released twenty-five red grouper shorts, a few yellowtail snapper shorts, and two triggerfish to 15 inches. As for big game, the group battled and released three sharpnose sharks, all about 35 inches, as well as a 40-pound goliath grouper.

Thomas Kane and fiancé Monica Alarcon, joined by Thomas’s son Edward, Thomas’s brother and sister-in-law, Kevin and Kim Palmer, and their daughter, Morgan, fished all day with me on Thursday, 6/18, in spots ranging from 20 to 29 miles west of New Pass. The group had a great time catching a variety of sport-fish and food-fish. One keeper red grouper at just under 24 inches bit on a pinfish, and made it into the fish box, joined by a 13-inch mangrove snapper, a 13-inch yellowtail snapper, and two dozen lane snapper to 14 inches that all bit live shrimp. The group battled and released ten sharpnose sharks and one bonnethead shark, all between 38 and 45 inches long. They also released thirty red grouper shorts, a few mangrove and yellowtail snapper shorts, and a few grunts to 13 inches.

Peter Halunen and his son, Clayton, fished calm seas 22 miles west of New Pass with me on Saturday morning, 6/20. Using live shrimp, the guys caught a 21-inch keeper red grouper and nineteen nice lane keepers to 17 ½ inches, with four of those being in the 17-inch range and another half dozen in the 15 inch range, They caught and released a 40-inch blacknose shark, along with lots of red grouper shorts and mangrove, lane and yellowtail snapper shorts. The photo shown is of angler, Peter Halunen with a 17 ½-inch lane snapper, caught on shrimp Saturday.

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

Monday morning, 5/18, Mike and Casey Calvert fished a catch-and-release trip with me in Estero Bay’s Mound Key area, using live shrimp for bait. The couple caught and released a good variety of fish, some of which were would-be keepers. The couple released a pair of 18-inch snook, a 16-inch black drum, two redfish at 17 inches and 22 inches, two sheepshead to 14 inches, two mangrove snapper to 12 inches, and a 12-inch mutton snapper. The mutton is kind of an unusual catch in the backwaters.

Ron and Betty Bergland fished offshore with me Tuesday morning, 5/19, about 20 miles west of New Pass. Ron caught a nice, keeper red grouper at 24 inches, which bit on a bait-fish. The rest of the couple’s catches were on shrimp, and included fifteen red grouper shorts to just below the 20-inch legal size, thirteen yellowtail snapper, including one keeper at 13 inches, three keeper lane snapper, all about 12 inches, a half-dozen porgies, including one keeper, and fourteen grunts. The Berglands also released a 3 ½-foot blacknose shark and a 9-foot nurse shark.

Wednesday morning, 5/20, John Fiorito and his son, Mike, fished Estero Bay's backwaters with me, in the area around New Pass. Using live shrimp, they caught four keeper mangrove snapper, all measuring about 11 inches, along with a 12 1/2-inch sheepshead. They released fifteen mangrove snapper shorts and two sheepshead shorts. Thursday, 5/21, Mark Weikel and son, Zach, wanted to learn about fishing in Estero Bay, and chose a catch-and-release trip that covered a lot of territory. We fished in spots from Mound Key south to the Imperial River, using live shrimp. The guys released three redfish all about 17 inches, along with three sheepshead and a dozen would-be-keeper mangrove snapper at 11 to 12 inches. They also released a short mutton snapper, which is the second mutton I have seen in the backwaters this week—very unusual.

Saturday morning, 5/23, Bob Miller, son Jeff, and thirteen-year-old grandson, JJ, fished 22 miles offshore with me, using live shrimp. The guys caught two keeper red grouper at 22 inches and 24 inches, JJ having landed the larger one, which weighed nine pounds. The group added a 13-inch mangrove snapper to the fish box, along with five keeper porgies to 14 inches. They released about thirty red grouper shorts, along with a three-foot bonnethead shark.

I was off the water for about a week, given the typical end-of-May lull, plus some family plans that took up most of the Memorial Day weekend. I got back out fishing on Monday June 1st, when I fished the west wall of Estero Bay on an inshore catch-and-release trip with Keith and Chris Miller. The couple had no desire to keep fish, but enjoyed a relaxing morning on the water catching a good variety. They released a 14-inch flounder, two sheepshead to 14 inches, a 12-inch mutton snapper (yes, another one of those in the bay, which is odd), a 13-inch pompano, seven mangrove snapper to12 inches, and three sail-cats to 23 inches.

Scott Saveraid and friends usually book a few goliath grouper trips each year, for the thrill of reeling in the big ones. Scott was joined by Mike Wernsman, Terry Brandt, and Ran Woodsin this trip, which was on Tuesday morning, 6/2. The guys used blue runners to lure four goliaths to the surface, where they were photographed and released. The weight estimates on those were 50 pounds, 65 pounds, 180 pounds and 200 pounds, which made for lots of sore arms. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release two cobia, one 26 inches and one 30 inches.

Wednesday morning, 6/3, I headed 25 miles offshore with long-time customer, Bob Sawyer, joined by his friends, Bill Jameson, Bill Teutsch, and Keith Kies. The guys caught twenty-eight red grouper, including three keepers at 21 ½ inches, 23 inches, and 26 inches. The keepers all bit on bait-fish, and the 25 shorts to 18 ½ inches bit on live shrimp. Also on shrimp, the guys caught eighteen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, and four 14-inch grunts.

Scott Saveraid, Mike Wernsman, Terry Brandt, and Ran Woodsin, who fished for catch-and-release goliaths with me on Tuesday, fished again with me Thursday morning, 6/4, this time going after table-fare. The guys caught three keeper red grouper, two of which bit bait-fish, and one that bit on shrimp. The group boxed a 20 ½, 21 and 23-inch trio of red grouper, and released thirty shorts. Two big ones also broke the line and got away. Added to the fish box were a couple of keeper lane snappers and a 13-inch mangrove snapper. The guys released ten mangrove snapper shorts, four lane snapper shorts, a 36-inch bonnet-head shark, and a 38-inch sharp-nose shark, along with lots of blue runners.

The photo shown is of angler Keith Kies, with a 26-inch red grouper, caught on a bait-fish 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

Stormy weather began setting in on Monday, 4/27, with lots of moisture over the gulf. By the time Tuesday rolled around, there were scattered showers over much of the area, but Mike Boden and I managed a morning of bay fishing, with just a few drizzles, and returned to the dock just before the heavy rains began. Mike used live shrimp in central Estero Bay to catch a trio of redfish, two of which were keepers at 18 ½ and 19 ½ inches. He lost a much bigger one that broke the line boat-side. He released four stingray to 4 pounds.

Winds remained strong and seas remained choppy on Saturday, 5/2. Gene and Yoshimi Issacs fished with live shrimp in central Estero Bay with me, in somewhat muddy conditions that were far from ideal. But the couple had a good time catching and releasing fifteen mangrove snapper shorts, one keeper-sized in the bunch, along with eight sheepshead shorts.

There was no getting offshore for the next couple of days, with small craft advisories in effect. I cancelled my offshore trip for Monday, 5/4, and was able to reschedule my Tuesday trip for Wednesday, 5/6, when seas finally calmed down and were actually nearly smooth, 22 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with brothers Tom and David Duval and their wives, Kate and Bev. The group did well using live shrimp. They boxed six keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, four keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, three porgies to 15 inches, and a 22-inch keeper red grouper. They released four mangrove snapper shorts, along with twenty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, within a half-inch of keeper-size.

Thursday morning, 5/7, was another nice one offshore, where I fished 20 miles west of New Pass with Don and Cathy Balas and their friends, Richard and Louise Guimond. Using live shrimp, the couples landed fifteen keeper lane snapper, a half dozen keeper porgies to 14 inches, an 18-inch Spanish mackerel, and a keeper red grouper measuring 21 ½ inches. They released twenty-five additional red grouper that were shorts.

Friday morning, 5/8, I fished 21 miles offshore with Jim Jenkins, father-son team David and Eric Ewing, and Ken Fiedler. The group caught a lot of fish, including two keeper red grouper at 20 inches and 22 inches, the larger of them biting on a bait-fish, and the smaller on a live shrimp. The guys also used shrimp to catch and release twenty-eight red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches. They boxed twenty keeper lane snapper and released an equal number of lane shorts, along with a half dozen mangrove snapper shorts. They topped off the fish box with two keeper porgies, and released four porgy shorts.

Monday, 5/11, seas were predicted to be two feet, but both winds and seas were higher than predicted 26 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with long-time, annual customers Doug and Wade Shepherd, father and son. We cut the planned full-day trip a little short, having caught plenty of fish and having had enough sloppy seas and heat by mid-afternoon. The guys caught three keeper red grouper, one at 22 inches, and a brace of 21-inchers. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 inches. They also caught eleven keeper lane snapper, and released lots of lane shorts. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Tuesday morning, 5/12, Justin Padgett, Ty Cooper, Randy Parks, and Doug Winters headed out with me to 22 miles west of New Pass. The guys caught thirty red grouper, including a keeper at 23 inches, which bit on a bait-fish. The shorts, to 18 ½ inches, bit on shrimp. The guys also got twenty lane snapper keepers, and released several shorts.

Good friends, Alan Upin, Richard Gerstein, and Ed Blackman, fished the backwaters of central Estero Bay on a catch-and-release trip with me on Wednesday morning, 5/13. Using live shrimp, they released a 17 ¾-inch redfish, a dozen mangrove snapper including five would-be-keepers, and two stingray to ten pounds.

The photo shown is of angler Bradley Miller, with a 25 ½-inch gag grouper, caught on a bait-fish 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

Stormy weather began setting in on Monday, 4/27, with lots of moisture over the gulf. By the time Tuesday rolled around, there were scattered showers over much of the area, but Mike Boden and I managed a morning of bay fishing, with just a few drizzles, and returned to the dock just before the heavy rains began. Mike used live shrimp in central Estero Bay to catch a trio of redfish, two of which were keepers at 18 ½ and 19 ½ inches. He lost a much bigger one that broke the line boat-side. He released four stingray to 4 pounds.

Winds remained strong and seas remained choppy on Saturday, 5/2. Gene and Yoshimi Issacs fished with live shrimp in central Estero Bay with me, in somewhat muddy conditions that were far from ideal. But the couple had a good time catching and releasing fifteen mangrove snapper shorts, one keeper-sized in the bunch, along with eight sheepshead shorts.

There was no getting offshore for the next couple of days, with small craft advisories in effect. I cancelled my offshore trip for Monday, 5/4, and was able to reschedule my Tuesday trip for Wednesday, 5/6, when seas finally calmed down and were actually nearly smooth, 22 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with brothers Tom and David Duval and their wives, Kate and Bev. The group did well using live shrimp. They boxed six keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, four keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, three porgies to 15 inches, and a 22-inch keeper red grouper. They released four mangrove snapper shorts, along with twenty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, within a half-inch of keeper-size.

Thursday morning, 5/7, was another nice one offshore, where I fished 20 miles west of New Pass with Don and Cathy Balas and their friends, Richard and Louise Guimond. Using live shrimp, the couples landed fifteen keeper lane snapper, a half dozen keeper porgies to 14 inches, an 18-inch Spanish mackerel, and a keeper red grouper measuring 21 ½ inches. They released twenty-five additional red grouper that were shorts.

Friday morning, 5/8, I fished 21 miles offshore with Jim Jenkins, father-son team David and Eric Ewing, and Ken Fiedler. The group caught a lot of fish, including two keeper red grouper at 20 inches and 22 inches, the larger of them biting on a bait-fish, and the smaller on a live shrimp. The guys also used shrimp to catch and release twenty-eight red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches. They boxed twenty keeper lane snapper and released an equal number of lane shorts, along with a half dozen mangrove snapper shorts. They topped off the fish box with two keeper porgies, and released four porgy shorts.

Monday, 5/11, seas were predicted to be two feet, but both winds and seas were higher than predicted 26 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with long-time, annual customers Doug and Wade Shepherd, father and son. We cut the planned full-day trip a little short, having caught plenty of fish and having had enough sloppy seas and heat by mid-afternoon. The guys caught three keeper red grouper, one at 22 inches, and a brace of 21-inchers. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 inches. They also caught eleven keeper lane snapper, and released lots of lane shorts. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Tuesday morning, 5/12, Justin Padgett, Ty Cooper, Randy Parks, and Doug Winters headed out with me to 22 miles west of New Pass. The guys caught thirty red grouper, including a keeper at 23 inches, which bit on a bait-fish. The shorts, to 18 ½ inches, bit on shrimp. The guys also got twenty lane snapper keepers, and released several shorts.

Good friends, Alan Upin, Richard Gerstein, and Ed Blackman, fished the backwaters of central Estero Bay on a catch-and-release trip with me on Wednesday morning, 5/13. Using live shrimp, they released a 17 ¾-inch redfish, a dozen mangrove snapper including five would-be-keepers, and two stingray to ten pounds.

[img/]http://fishbustercharters.com/…255GagRel%20(365X274).jpg[img]

The photo shown is of angler Bradley Miller, with a 25 ½-inch gag grouper, caught on a bait-fish and released on a recent offshore trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link.
[URL/]http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.htmlhttp://</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>[url]http://fishbustercharters.com/image/BradleyMiller255GagRel%20(365x274).jpg

Monday, 4/13/15, seas were predicted to be two feet or less, but NOAA definitely underestimated those. I fished with long-time customers Clement and Evelyn Wong, along with their son, Nathan and daughter-in-law, Joy. Seas were three feet or more, about 18 miles west of New Pass, and we actually cut the morning of fishing short, as a couple of anglers were feeling a bit seasick. The family managed to catch a few keepers, though, before we headed back to terra firma. They boxed a keeper-sized mangrove snapper, porkfish, and five grunts. We also had a goliath on that broke the line.

Tuesday morning, 4/14, there were some leftover swells from Monday’s unsettled weather, but it calmed down offshore, with no early rains, and I fished 19 miles west of New Pass with long-time customer, Robin Latham, his niece and her husband, Jolene and Andrew Davis, and family friend, Chris McFarland. The group kept the twenty largest of thirty-five keeper porgies to 17 inches, along with a few of the fifteen 13-inch and 14-inch grunts they caught. They also released four red grouper shorts to 18 inches, one lane snapper short, and lots of blue runners. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Carl and Sharon Simonin and son, Austin, along with friends, Gina and her son, Logan, fished 18 miles offshore with me Wednesday morning, 4/15, using live shrimp. The group caught fifteen nice porgies to 16 ½ inches, along with a half dozen good-sized grunts. They released ten red grouper shorts.

Frequent customers, Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Richard Arnett, fished 29 miles offshore with me on Thursday, 4/16. The guys wanted to fish for grouper, and we used shrimp and a few pinfish to catch a bunch of red grouper--forty in all--but they were short of keeper size, with a few of them only 1/4 to 1/8 inch short. We had fun catching and releasing, even if we didn't get to box any of them. The guys did get five keeper lane snapper and five porgies to keep, along with a 32-inch king mackerel. They released a three-foot sharp-nose shark.

Friday, 4/17, seas were rougher than predicted and definitely choppier than they had been all week. I fished 18 miles west of New Pass with John Pear and three of his friends. The guys used live shrimp to catch twenty keeper lane snapper to 14 inches. They caught one keeper porgy before the dolphins showed up at our porgy spot, putting an end to adding any more porgies to the box! The guys released five red grouper shorts and lots of blue runners.

Saturday, 4/18, Donnie Miles, son-in-law, Orry Andrew, and friend, Brad Wheeler, fished the east wall of Estero Bay’s backwaters with me, from Mound Key to the Imperial River, using live shrimp. The guys released three redfish to 17 inches, along with three sheepshead to 14 inches, and eleven mangrove snapper. They kept four of the good-sized snapper for dinner.

Monday morning, 4/20, I had planned an offshore trip with the family and friends of Tom Rylander, but an unsettled weather pattern with rain over the gulf and increasing winds and seas required that we change plans and fish inshore in Estero Bay’s backwaters. The group fished the bay down toward Wiggins Pass, using live shrimp. They caught a couple keeper mangrove snapper, and released some smaller ones, along with six stingray to 8 pounds.

Tuesday morning, 4/21, there was widespread rain over the gulf, and my offshore trip cancelled.Wednesday morning, 4/22, there were still a few residual rain showers to dodge, but nothing as widespread or heavy as we'd seen the previous day. Prepared with rain slickers on board, I headed out 18 miles to fish with long-time customer Tom Batcheller and his friends, Gary and Steve. The guys used live shrimp to catch as many as forty lane snapper, fifteen of which were keepers to 14 inches. They released lots of blue runners, a Spanish mackerel, and a dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

Larry Leach and Wayne Bauman scheduled two days of offshore fishing with me on Thursday, 4/23 and Friday, 4/24. Thursday, we headed out to about 36 miles west of New Pass, where the guys fished with live shrimp. They boxed fifteen nice-sized mangrove snapper to 16 inches, along with three yellowtail snapper, all 14 to15 inches. They chose to release a brace of 32-inch king mackerel, along with twenty must-release-red-grouper-shorts, a few of which were just 1/8 inch short of keeper size. The guys hooked two nice red grouper that probably would have been about 26 inch keepers, based upon the ten pound heads that were reeled up, after a big shark decided to make have dinner on us!

Larry and Wayne, returned to fish again on Friday, and we had hoped to get back out to catch that demon shark who ate our big groupers the day before—or at least catch some big grouper! But we didn’t have the calm sea conditions we’d had on Thursday. The winds had picked up considerably, and seas were pretty rough, even relatively close to shore. So we decided to do some goliath-grouper sport fishing at one of my spots just 14 miles offshore. We caught a bunch of blue runners, which we used for goliath bait, and we photographed and released two goliaths, estimated at 150 pounds and 320 pounds. Goliaths must be released while still submerged in the water, so the guys couldn’t pose with their catches, but they got a few good pics of the fish. Those goliath battles were enough to give the guys some sore arms and, after that excitement and also catching a 14-inch pompano, they decided to head in a bit early to relax before catching their flight back to Michigan.

Saturday, 4/25, was windy again and, although NOAA’s prediction remained for two-foot seas, I knew it would be rougher than that. I headed out 19 miles from New Pass with Peter Halunen and his son, Clinton, where we fished with live shrimp in mostly three-foot seas. The guys caught three nice porgies, all 14 inches, and a half dozen 13-inch grunts, along with two keeper porkfish and a keeper lane snapper. We would have managed a few more lanes if the dolphin hadn’t showed up on our spot to feast! We also released six red grouper shorts to 17 inches. On the way back in, we encountered mating sea-turtles, which we stopped to video! The photo shown is of angler Bill Crockett, with a 19 ½-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp. You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link.
http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday morning, 3/30, after a windy weekend, seas had calmed down to two-to-three feet, and I headed twenty miles offshore with Paul Kikendall and friends, Greg, Rick and Tom. The guys did very well snapper-fishing with live shrimp, and caught forty keeper lane snapper to 14 inches. They released tree red grouper shorts.

Tuesday, 3/31, frequent customers, Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, joined by friends, Bob Meyer, Bob’s son, Brian Meyer, and Terry and her son, Brennen, fished nineteen miles west of New Pass with me, using live shrimp. The snapper bite was good for mangrove and yellowtail snapper, and the group caught six keeper mangs, all 12-to16 inches, along with three keeper yellowtails to 14 inches. They added twenty-five porgies, all nice ones about 15 inches, along with a mess of grunts to 15 inches. The group released red grouper shorts to 18 ½ inches and gag grouper shorts to 20 inches.

Rob and Sherry Steffen enjoyed a calm morning of fishing offshore with me on Wednesday, 4/1/15. We fished 23 miles west of New Pass, over rocky bottom, and did well with grouper and snapper. The couple caught three keeper red grouper, at 21 inches, 22 inches, and 23 inches. They released forty additional red grouper shorts, including a half dozen that were only ¼ inch short of keeper size—heart-breaking! But they ended up with plenty of good eating fish, adding to the box a mess of nice, keeper lane snapper to15 inches. They caught one of the keeper red grouper on a bait-fish, one on a piece of octopus, and one on a shrimp. The snapper all bit shrimp.

Bill and Marie McSkimming, daughter, Jenn McSkimming, and grandsons, Austin and William Spooner, fished 20 miles west of New Pass with me on Thursday morning, 4/2, using live shrimp for bait. The family caught two king mackerel, one at 26 inches and one at 34 inches. They did well with lane snapper too, culling twenty-five keepers to 14 inches. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 17 inches, along with some blue runners.

Friday, 4/3, I headed offshore with Gary Brooks, his son-in-law, Justin Herman, future son-in-law, Sean Montellese, and friend, Hans Cooper. The lane snapper bite was hot again, as it has been recently, and the guys caught twenty keeper lanes on shrimp. They added to the box a couple of nice red grouper at 21 inches and 22 inches, both of those also caught on shrimp, and they released another seventy-plus red grouper shorts to 18 inches. A half dozen nice-sized grunts topped off a full fish box.

Saturday morning, 4/4, I fished a catch-and-release trip in the backwaters of Estero Bay with Tom Anderson and his two sons, Ben and Chris. The guys used live shrimp to catch three mangrove snapper, one sheepshead, one snook, and five stingray. One of the stingrays was a big one at about 10 pounds, making for a worthy battle.

Monday morning, 4/6, I fished with long-time customer, Frank Partee, joined by his extended family, Joe, Joe’s three sons, Jack, Dave and Michael, and Joe’s brother and dad, Pat and Jeff. The guys did well with snapper fishing, using live shrimp, and culled thirty-five keeper lanes to 12 inches, along with four good-sized grunts. They released a dozen red grouper shorts to 17 inches, 22 miles west of New Pass.

Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, who fish with me frequently each winter and spring, fished 29 miles west of New Pass on Tuesday, 4/7. The guys loaded up on lane snapper, with twenty-five keepers. They caught about as many porgies and grunts as they did lanes, so there was plenty of table-fare to choose from. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Wednesday morning, 4/8, Nick and Christa Brown, son, Jake, daughter, Marissa, and Nick’s parents, Glen and Bernie, fished 19 miles offshore with me, using shrimp for bait. The group caught a total of forty keeper-sized lane snapper, kept eighteen of those, and released the rest. They also caught a 14-inch porgy, an 18-inch Spanish mackerel, and a few grunts. They released ten red grouper shorts to 17 inches, and also released what would have been a 40-inch long king mackerel, that is, if a big barracuda hadn’t decided to make it its lunch as it was being reeled in. The ‘cuda bit the kingfish off at its dorsal fin, and there was still 25 inches of it remaining on the hook!

Jim Novy has been taking his children, Jimmy, Jacklyn, Jordan and Julia, fishing with me annually for years, ever since the kids were very young. They fished with me offshore on Thursday, morning, 4/9. Conditions were a little sloppy offshore, so we stayed within ten miles of land, and used live shrimp for bait. Action was steady, and the kids counted 104 total fish caught, most of which were released. They boxed two Spanish mackerel and about fifteen keeper lane snapper, along with a few grunts. They released lots of lane snapper shorts, red grouper shorts, and ladyfish.

NOAA’s forecast for seas of less than two feet out to twenty miles for Friday morning, 4/10, was not accurate—maybe seas were two feet right off the beach, but they were a lot choppier where I fished, 19 miles west of New Pass, with Roy Mittman and his son-in-law, Zach. The guys braved the waves, and used live shrimp to catch four 14-inch porgies, two keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, a 13-inch mangrove snapper, and a few grunts. They released a dozen red grouper shorts.

Saturday morning, 4/11, I fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with Sam Sommer and his friend, Jerell. The tide was not optimal, and there was heavy boat traffic and jet-ski traffic, making fishing more of a challenge. The guys had fun, nonetheless, using live shrimp to catch and release some lane snapper shorts, along with two stingray, one of which was a big one at nearly ten pounds.

The photo shown is of angler Sherry Steffen, with a 23-inch red grouper, 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, 3/16/15, I headed offshore nineteen miles west of new Pass with frequent angler, Mike Connealy and his friend, Roger. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release lots of red grouper shorts to 18 inches, lots of mangrove snapper shorts, and lots of blue runners. As for keepers, they boxed nine lane snapper to 12 inches, a 13-inch mangrove snapper, and a few grunts.

Tuesday, 3/17, frequent customers, Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, fished offshore with me, 19 miles from New Pass, where they used live shrimp to catch a 20-inch keeper red grouper, fourteen keeper lane snapper, a 13-inch mangrove snapper, a 16-inch sheepshead, a 15-inch porgy, and seventeen grunts to 14 inches.

Wednesday, 3/18, I fished in central Estero Bay's backwaters with Dean Bitter, his son, Andrew, and his daughter, Sarah. The family used live shrimp to catch and release three sheepshead shorts and a ten-pound stingray. They boxed an 18 1/2-inch redfish and a 17-inch whiting.

Stuart Norris, who has fished with me each March for many years, brought his son, Buzz, along to fish twenty miles west of New Pass on Thursday, 3/19. The guys had a good morning of fishing, using live shrimp. They caught three king mackerel to 31 inches, twenty lane snapper keepers to 13 inches, and a few grunts. They released a 17-inch red grouper short.

Jim McGrath, son Steve, and family friend, Bill Crockett, fished twenty miles west of New Pass with me Friday morning, 3/20. The lane snapper were biting well on shrimp, and we caught 40 keeper-sized lanes to 13 inches. The guys also caught three king mackerel, ranging 28 inches to 32 inches. They released a red grouper short, a few short porgies, and blue runners.

Saturday morning, 3/21, long-time customers Robin Latham and Chris Welch fished with me, 20 miles west of New Pass. Robin and Chris typically fish inshore but, with very low tides in the bay and calm seas offshore, I recommended they try the gulf this trip, which proved to be productive, especially for snapper. We caught twenty-five lane snapper to 15 inches, along with a 25-inch kingfish and three keeper porgies, including two at 15 inches, all on live shrimp. The guys released four red grouper shorts, all 17-to-18 inches.

Monday morning, 3/23, seas were predicted to be two-to-three feet, but they were four foot, just 5 miles off the beach, at the near-shore reefs I fished with Jim Jensen, Jeff Keiner, Brian Davis and Kevin Ransom. The guys used live shrimp to catch six nice sheepshead to 18 inches and eight grunts to 12 inches. They released a red grouper just ½ inch short of keeper size, along with eight mangrove snapper shorts and eight yellowtail snapper shorts.

Tuesday, 3/24, frequent fishers, Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, fished twenty miles west of New Pass with me. Heading out, there were some big rollers, left over from the previous day’s windy conditions, but seas calmed down nicely after a while. The guys used live shrimp to catch thirty-nine keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, and added a keeper porkfish and a few grunts to the fish box. They released red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

Greg Greutman and his two sons, Sergei and Carl, fished 18 miles offshore with me on Wednesday morning, 3/25. Heavy fog was over the area until about 10AM. The boys used live shrimp to catch a 23-inch Spanish mackerel, a half dozen 13-inch porgies, and six grunts all about 12 inches. They released red grouper and porgy shorts, along with four out-of-season triggerfish.

Thursday morning, 3/26, long-time customer Pat Fitzgerald, his two sons, Jimmy and Tommy, along with Brent Thompson and son, Nick, and friend Brandon Linn, fished 20 miles west of New Pass with me, using live shrimp. The group did well with snapper, and caught thirty keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, along with a 13-inch, keeper mangrove snapper. They added to the box a few grunts and a 20-inch Spanish mackerel, and they released a 15-inch, out-of-season triggerfish.

With small craft advisories and seas of three-to-five feet on Friday, 3/27, ahead of a cool front, Rusty Hook and son, Jeremy, and Ryan Abbott and son, Reid, traded offshore plans for a morning of fishing in central Estero Bay, around the islands and as much out of the wind as possible. Using shrimp, the guys caught three redfish, one of which was an 18 ½-inch keeper, and fifteen mangrove snapper, one of which was a keeper. They also released a 17-inch snook and a big, 20-pound stingray. I had an offshore trip planned for

Saturday, but four-to-six feet seas offshore nixed that one.

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

This pic did not display in post, and I was unable to edit--sorry!

Monday, 3/2/15, I headed offshore in calm seas—what a treat that was, after a couple of battling or surrendering to windy, rough conditions. Long-time customers, Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett had a good morning of fishing 22 to 25 miles west of New Pass. They caught two keeper red grouper, both 23 inches, and released a 24-inch gag grouper, along with twenty-five red grouper shorts and several undersized mangrove snapper. One of the keeper red grouper bit a shrimp, while the other keeper red and the gag both bit on bait-fish. The guys added to the fish box a dozen keeper lane snapper

Tuesday, 3/3, I fished with frequent anglers, Ron Musick, Dick Arnett and Eddie Alfonso, in various spots out to 35 miles west of New Pass. Oddly, there was no snapper bite, but the guys caught sixteen nice porgies, all 14-to15-inches, and some grunts. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, along with two out-of-season gag grouper, including one short and one 23 inches. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Brothers Greg and Jeff Meyer and friend, Nick Neher, fished the backwaters of central Estero Bay with me on Wednesday, 3/4. The guys caught three redfish on live shrimp, including two keepers at 19 inches and 22 inches, and a 17-inch red that they released. They added to the box a 13-inch sheepshead, and they released a half dozen stingray, all of which were two to three pounds.

Thursday, 3/5, I fished the east wall of Estero Bay with father and son anglers, Harry and Bill Easom. The first fish caught was a bull red at 31 inches, which had to be released, but the guys also caught a keeper redfish at 18 ½ inches and released two shorts at 17 inches and 17 ½ inches. They also caught eight keeper-sized sheepshead, and boxed the six largest of those, which ranged 13 ½ to 18 inches. They released nine sheepshead shorts. We also had a huge stingray bite and run about 100 yards before breaking the line.

Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett, who fished offshore with me on Monday, fished the backwaters with me on Friday morning, using live shrimp along the east wall of Estero Bay. Sheepshead action was good, and the guys boxed ten keepers ranging in size from 13 ½ inches to 19 ½ inches. They released six shorts.

Saturday, 3/7, in the aftermath of another weather front that rolled through over-night, seas were three-to-five feet offshore, with small craft advisories issued. My six-man offshore trip had to be cancelled, due to those conditions.

Monday, 3/9, seas were predicted to be two feet or less, but they were two-to-four feet just 19 miles offshore, where I fished with Steve Davis, his son, Matt Davis, and friend, Eric Goodmanson. Matt caught the only keeper red grouper, at 21 inches, which bit a bait-fish, but the group released twenty additional red grouper in the 18-to 19-inch range. Those smaller grouper bit on live shrimp, as did the two 13-inch triggerfish we released, due to closed season. Also on shrimp, nine nice porgies to 14 inches were boxed, along with ten 12-inch grunts, and a pair of 17-inch sheepshead. The group released ten additional smaller grunts and fifteen smaller porgies.

Tuesday morning, 3/10, I fished inshore in lower Hickory Bay with Tim Ellis and Ken Anderson, using live shrimp. The guys caught a 25-inch black drum, along with seven nice sheepshead ranging in size from 14 inches to 19 ½ inches. They released an additional fifteen sheepshead that were short of keeper size.

Wednesday morning, 3/11, Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett, who fished inshore with me last Monday, headed offshore to 19 miles west of New Pass, where they fished with live shrimp. They caught twenty-eight porgies in all, thirteen of them keepers to 14 inches. They also caught a dozen keeper-sized grunts, of which they kept the six largest, and released the rest. They topped off the fish box with a 15-inch lane snapper, and they released twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 inches.

Thursday, 3/12, I fished from 18 to 25 miles offshore with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, Dick Arnett and Bob Meyer. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release twenty red grouper shorts to 19 inches. They boxed six h keeper porgies, three keeper lane snapper, and a few grunts. We noticed lots of bait fish on the bottom, especially squirrel fish.

Friday, 3/13, Joe Watton and Wayne Bauman had planned on a full-day offshore, but with the winds having increased substantially, they decided a morning of backwater fishing would be best this time. The guys used live shrimp in central Estero Bay to catch eight sheepshead, one of which was a 15-inch keeper. They released the shorts, along with a 15-pound stingray, fishing on an outgoing tide all morning.

Saturday, 3/14, seas were still a little sloppy, but not rough, and I fished 27 miles offshore with Dave and Judy Eckrich, their son and daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. The family used live shrimp to catch and release twenty-two red grouper shorts to 18 inches. They boxed sixteen porgies to 14 inches, three mangrove snapper to 15 inches, and some good-sized grunts. The photos shown are of angler, Jim McGrath, with a 24-inch gag grouper, caught on shrimp and released 25 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore trip, and of angler Harry Easom with a 31-inch bull redfish, caught on shrimp and released in Estero Bay on a recent inshore trip.

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

Monday, 2/16/15, I fished the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay with Patrick Gartland, his dad, Tom Gartland, and friend, Chris Ladtke. The guys used live shrimp to catch four nice sheepshead to 16 inches. They released four redfish shorts in the 17-to-18-inch range, along with a dozen mangrove snapper shorts and a 15-inch snook.

Tuesday, 2/17, high winds and seas prevented an offshore trip, and I fished the backwaters with Steve Fisher and Dale Neil. The spots that had been productive the previous day for large sheepshead were not as productive in terms of keeper-sized fish. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release two 17-inch redfish shorts, three sheepshead shorts, a puffer-fish and a stingray.

Wednesday through Friday, 2/18 through 2/20, brought more winds, rough seas, low tides, and frigid temperatures. I canceled my fishing trips for those days.

Saturday morning, 2/21, I fished in lower Hickory Bay, trying to fish on the best of the morning’s low tide. Joe Haberkorn and friends, Jerry and George, released nine ladyfish and a couple of three-pound stingray, caught on shrimp.

Monday morning, 2/23, I headed offshore 22 miles west of New Pass to fish with long-time customer, Kari Vilamaa and his friend George. The guys caught twenty nice lane snapper to 15 inches, three 14-inch porgies, and a few good-sized grunts. They released ten red grouper shorts to 18 inches and two 18-inch gag grouper shorts.

Tuesday 2/24, began foggy and ended foggy, with only a little clearing in between. I fished all day with Jack Miller, his son, Vince, and friends, Alan Feingold, Tim Moore, and Dick Deldello. We went out about 18 miles, and with winds and seas picking up, decided not to venture too much further. The snapper bite was good and the guys boxed eighteen nice mangrove snapper, all 14 and 15 inches, caught on live shrimp. They added to the box a dozen keeper lane snapper, a half dozen 14-inch porgies, a few good-sized grunts, and a brace of 17-inch sheepshead. They released two dozen grouper shorts, a mix of reds and gags, to 18 inches.

Wednesday, 2/25, I fished in various spots between 18 and 28 miles west of New Pass with long-time customer Tony Rolli and his grandsons, A.J. Rolli and Cory Bomer. It was another foggy morning, but it cleared up for most of the day, and got foggy again when the wind changed on our way in. The guys did well fishing with live shrimp, and caught a brace of 21-inch red grouper, a 24-inch king mackerel, a dozen keeper lane snapper to 15 inches, and a few grunts. They released twenty-five porgy shorts, all about 11 ½ inches.

Thursday and Friday, 2/26 and 2/27 brought rain, winds and small-craft advisories yet again--a familiar theme this month. I had to cancel my offshore trips, and the bay was not an option, with barely enough water to float the boat, with negative tide conditions persisting most of each day.

Saturday, 2/27, winds and seas began to calm down, but were still up to 4 feet well offshore. My full-day offshore trip scheduled for that day decided to cancel.

The photo shown is of angler, Tom Gartland 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. fishing videos http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Monday, 2/2/15, brought a cold front, right on the heels of a previous front. It was raining by early in the day, and winds and seas kicked up to small craft advisory levels—not a happy way to begin a new month of fishing!

Tuesday, 2/3, brought an even more blustery day, with seas of 4-6 feet offshore, which canceled out my planned offshore trip for that day.

Wednesday morning, 2/4 Randy Peterson and his friend, Al, had an inshore trip scheduled with me. Tides are super low right now, but we planned on a later departure to get the best of a bad tide. Still, fishing was tough in lower Hickory Bay, where the guys used live shrimp to catch and release two sheepshead shorts, two mangrove snapper shorts, and a stingray. Winds and seas were relentless all week, and Thursday also brought rain and thunderstorms.

I cancelled both my Thursday and Friday offshore trips, due to rough and miserable conditions. Bay fishing was also compromised by dead low tides, the north wind adding to the shallowness there.

By Saturday, 2/7, winds were somewhat calmer. Seas were a little sloppy, but had subsided to two-to-three feet. I headed 18 to 22 miles offshore to fish with long-time customer, Leonard White, who was accompanied by his son, Steve, his teen grandson, Colin, and two family friends, Henry and John. Colin got the catch-of-the-day, a keeper red grouper at 22 inches, which bit a pinfish. The group released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 inches, caught on shrimp. They boxed a few good-sized grunts, a couple of porgies, a 13-inch sheepshead, and a keeper lane snapper, also caught on shrimp.

I don’t generally fish on Sundays but, having canceled several trips, due to rough conditions, I offered the calmer conditions on Sunday to the anglers who had been forced to cancel a trip that had been scheduled for Friday. So, Sunday, 2/8, I headed offshore with Gary Liesmann, Lenny White and Ted Davies. Seas were a little sloppy heading out, but calmed down nicely, as predicted, and we made it to 35 miles west of New Pass, where the guys fished with live shrimp. They caught and released thirty red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, along with two 23-inch gag grouper, which are currently out of season. Boxed fish included some huge porgies—ten of those were 19 to 19 1/2 inches—along with an 18-inch mangrove snapper and a 13-inch yellowtail snapper. The guys released about ten additional porgies that were slightly smaller than the ones they boxed.

Monday morning, 2/9, rains were predicted for the afternoon, but seas were relatively calm, and the morning looked like a good opportunity to get offshore with John and Carla Vepraskas and friends, Mark Miller and Michelle Tate. We did have some light rain earlier than expected, but nothing that we couldn’t handle. On the way back in, however, we had some heavier rains chasing us. The group used live shrimp 22 miles west of New Pass, and caught twenty-six red grouper, including one keeper at 21 inches. Many of the shorts we released were just short of the 20-inch legal size by about ½ inch. The group also caught thirty-four porgies, and kept a couple of the largest ones at 14 inches. They added to the fish box five 13-inch grunts and fifteen keeper lane snapper.

Tuesday, 2/10, the winds from the cold front that arrived on the heels of the previous day’s rain were gusty, and seas were four to seven feet offshore. My fishing trip canceled, and hoped to reschedule form a better day.

Wednesday, 2/11, was moderately windy, much less so than the day before. But seas were in the three-to-four foot range offshore, too rough for Don Kalmey and friends, Jim and Bill, especially with Bill’s young grandson along. The tide in the back-bay was supposed to be incoming all morning, with high tide at noon, but we fished a very low tide that first started to come in around noon. The guys released a half dozen undersized sheepshead, caught on shrimp in lower Hickory Bay.

Thursday, 2/12, winds and seas were much calmer until late afternoon, so fishing in two-foot seas, 22 miles west of New Pass with frequent fishers Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, joined by friends, Fred, Kay, and Liz, was no problem. The ride back in, however, was a slow one, as winds picked up considerably by then. The group used live shrimp to catch four nice mangrove snapper to 14 inches, as well as a big lane snapper at 16 inches. They added to the box a dozen porgies to 14 inches, along with a few 13 and 14-inch grunts. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 19 inches, along with an 8-foot sandbar shark that bit a bait-fish.

Friday, 2/13 brought rough seas of three-to-five feet back again, and my offshore trip canceled.

My trip for Saturday, 2/14, deferred to Sunday, 2/15, when seas were predicted to be slightly calmer than the two-to-four feet predicted for Saturday, and temperatures would be far warmer than the 41 degrees of Saturday morning. So, Sunday, 2/15, I headed 19 miles offshore with Alec Bayer, his uncle, Bob Snyder, Bob’s son, Zack Snyder, and friends, Buck Bachura and Cameron Kovach. Winds were calm at first, and seas nicer than they had been but, by late morning, conditions were getting a little sloppier, as winds again picked up speed. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release fifteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and two out-of-season triggerfish at 14 ½ and 15 ½ inches. They boxed a dozen keeper lane snapper to 15 inches and a half dozen grunts.

The photo shown is of angler Lenny White, with a 19 ½-inch porgy, 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, 1/19/15, predictions for 15-knot winds and seas of two to three feet were just wrong! The wind blew 20 to 25 knots and seas were four-feet-plus at times, 18 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with David Bloomfield, David Price, and David Price, Jr. the guys used live shrimp to catch fifteen porgies to 15 inches, boxed six of those for dinner, and released the rest. They also boxed a keeper mangrove snapper at 15 inches, and a few grunts. They released a dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with some lane shorts, and also released an 8 ½-foot sandbar shark that bit on a porgy being reeled in.

Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett, who usually fish with me weekly during winter season, fished offshore, 18 miles west of New Pass, on a cloudy, dreary-looking Tuesday, 1/20/15. The rain was predicted to hold off until later in the afternoon, but it began raining offshore about 1:30PM, so we headed in then. The guys used live shrimp to catch a keeper red grouper at 20 ½ inches, and they released lots of red grouper shorts and mangrove snapper shorts. They boxed five porgies to 15 inches, and they had two fun battles with sharks: One was with a 7-foot tiger shark, and another with an 8-foot sandbar shark, both of which bit on blue-runners.

Skies were clear, seas were calm, and the air temperature was pleasant Wednesday morning, 1/21, when I fished 18-to-20 miles offshore with Leo Walsh and friends, Jim, Jack & Dave. The fish weren’t as active as they had been in the preceding days, though. The guys boxed a dozen grunts, a few porgies to 14 inches, and a few keeper lane snapper. The rest of the action was on lots of undersized red grouper to 18 inches, which we released.

Thursday morning, 1/22, Long-time customers Clement and Evelyn Wong, along with their son, Daniel, and his girlfriend, Tiffany, fished 20 miles west of New pass with me. The group used live shrimp to catch and release twenty red grouper shorts, all the way up to within a half inch of keeper size, along with a few gag grouper shorts. They boxed fifteen keeper lane snapper and three porgies to 14 inches.

Rex Crandall and friends tried to get offshore fishing with me on Friday morning, 1/23. The guys had wanted a full day, but I told them we’d get as much time as we could before the approaching weather-front kicked up winds and seas. NOAA had forecast winds of 10-15 knots, and seas of two-to-three feet out to 60 miles—NOT! Just out of the pass, we encountered boat soaking waves of nearly 4 feet. We had a choice to deal with, at best, sloppy seas close-in and try for some action at the near-shore reefs for the morning, or to scrap the trip entirely. The guys decided on the latter, and they rescheduled for a date in February.

Saturday, 1/24, brought rain and gusty winds. I canceled my planned fishing trip and remained in port. We had more of the same, plus some rain squalls on Monday, 1/26, which canceled out that day’s trip also.

Tuesday, 1/27, I had a bay trip scheduled, and winds had calmed significantly, with warming temperatures, but my clients decided they would rather defer their trip, given all the nasty weather days that had just preceded.

Wednesday morning, Tom Bacheller and friends had hoped to get offshore with me, but small craft advisories remained in place, with seas of 4-6 feet, and winds picking up once again, as a reinforcing cold front hit the area. The guys fished inshore instead, in lower Hickory Bay on an outgoing tide that was pretty low. Conditions were not optimal. The guys released a couple of stingray, four sail-cats, one keeper-sized sheepshead and five croakers. T

hursday, 1/29, remained windy, though seas were predicted to calm to two to three feet. I didn’t really believe that prediction and, as it turned out, my scheduled angler had to cancel his trip that day anyway, due to illness.

By Friday, 1/30, winds really had calmed down and seas were about two feet—what a treat! I headed offshore with Dave and Judy Eckrich and friends, Frank and Ruthie Tarnawski. The group had a productive morning fishing with live shrimp 22 miles west of New Pass. They caught three keeper red grouper, a 21-inch, a 22-inch and a 23-inch. They also boxed four nice keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches, along with ten keeper lane snapper and nine porgies about 15 inches. They released nearly thirty short red grouper, a dozen smaller porgies, and nine lane snapper shorts. Saturday morning, 1/31/15, winds were stronger once again, but I had an inshore trip scheduled, so there were no rough seas to worry about.

Corey Elzner, his girlfriend, Lindsey Young, Lindsey’s son, Ivan, and Ivan’s grandpa, Bobby Woodard, fished a catch-and-release trip in lower Hickory Bay with me, using live shrimp. The group released six sheepshead to 15 inches, a 12-inch mangrove snapper, and a redfish short. The photo shown is of angler Hib Doe, with an 18-inch hogfish, 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

The photo shown below is of Hib Doe, with an 18-inch hogfish, caught on shrimp 22 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore trip.

http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

As a windy weather front approached the area on Monday, 1/5/15, small craft advisories were issued, and my anglers, Allen Jacobs, Phil Corey, and friend, Lenny traded their offshore plans for a morning of fishing in central Estero Bay. Using live shrimp, the guys caught a half dozen nice sheepshead to 18 inches. The reds were biting too, but all five redfish that the guys caught were short of keeper size, at about 17 inches, so we released those.

Fishing in various spots ranging from 18 miles to 29 miles west of New Pass with anglers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, Dick Arnett, Tom Collins, and Jim Mix Tuesday 1/6/15, proved productive for table-fare catches, all of which bit on live shrimp. The guys boxed a brace of keeper red grouper at 21 inches, eight keeper lane snapper, ten porgies to 15 inches, and a half-dozen 12-inch grunts. They released lots of red grouper shorts, and a few mangrove snapper shorts.

Wednesday and Thursday, 1/7 and 1/8, brought winds and high seas, with the second weather front in a week arriving. Bay conditions were shallow and muddy and far from ideal, and I remained in port.

Friday morning, 1/9, the bay was still shallow, and seas were slightly calmer offshore, though still a little sloppy. Chris Baumgartner, his dad, Larry, and Chris’ daughter Madeline decided they would rather deal with some sloppy conditions offshore than fish in the mud inshore, so we headed out 18 miles from New Pass, with a bait cooler of shrimp. The trio caught thirty nice porgies to 16 inches, kept about half of those, and released the rest. They also caught and released two gag grouper, one at 19 inches and the other at 22 inches, along with a dozen red grouper shorts. They added to the fish box two keeper mangrove snapper at 13 inches and 15 inches. A shark bit off a couple of the groups’ catches, but we never got to see what kind of shark it was.

The next weather front came through Friday night into Saturday, and winds and seas again increased, making for rough conditions offshore, and continued shallow conditions inshore.

Monday morning, 1/12/15, there was scattered rain predicted in the morning, with an increased chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon. It looked like a safe bet to get a morning of fishing offshore, with seas calm. Brothers, Loren and Hib Doe, joined by friends, Andy Hoadley and Jim Greene, headed out to 20 miles west of New Pass with me, where we fished with live shrimp. Andy caught a keeper red grouper at 23 inches, and the group released lots of red grouper shorts. Hib landed a nice 15-inch triggerfish, along with an 18-inch hogfish, and released one short trigger. Jim caught the only keeper mangrove snapper of the morning, but it was a good one, at 16 inches. Loren landed the largest porgy and grunt. Collectively, the group caught ten grunts to 14 inches, of which they kept a few, along with twenty-seven porgies, of which they kept a dozen.

I fished about 20 miles west of New Pass again on Tuesday, 1/13, as I had on Monday, but the grouper and snapper bite was dampened by a few dolphins that chased us off two of my most productive spots. The waters were crowded with boats, unlike the day before when the threat of rain had kept many anglers in port. Still, frequent customer, Mike Connealy, along with his friends, Greg Eaton, Chris Meyer and Kevin Christenson, had a good morning catching a dozen nice porgies and some large grunts. The guys released lots of red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches, along with a few mangrove snapper shorts.

Wednesday morning, 1/14, was cloudy and windy, and seas were a little sloppy, but still calm enough to head offshore 19 miles, which I did with Marshall Swain and friends, Paul Roundtree and John and Suzanne Charnes. The group used live shrimp to catch 13 red grouper, including one keeper at 20 ½ inches. Along with the red grouper shorts, they released six gag grouper, two of which were 22 inches and would have been keepers, had it not been for closed gag season. The anglers boxed five porgies, a keeper mangrove snapper at 12 inches, three 12-inch lane snapper keepers, and some grunts. They released lots of short mangrove snapper, along with ten smaller porgies. We had what appeared to be a big sandbar shark bite off a few of the biggest porgies before we could boat them.

Frequent fishers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso and Dick Arnett, joined by friends Jim Lynch and Tom Youtsos, fished all day with me Thursday, 1/15. It was a cloudy day, but winds were light and seas were calm, even 30 miles west of New Pass, where the guys fished with live shrimp and pinfish. They caught lots of red grouper, including two that were keepers at 20 ½ inches and 21 inches. They also caught a couple of triggerfish keepers at 14½ and 15 inches, as well as a half dozen lane snapper keepers. They added to the box five porgies to 15 inches, a 15-inch hogfish, and a 37-inch king mackerel, the first king I have seen in a while. It bit on a pinfish, while everything else took live shrimp.

Bob Graham and friends, Phil and Kelley had their hopes set on an offshore trip Friday morning, 1/16. The forecast called for two-to-three foot seas, and I offered them the option of fishing the backwaters, knowing that it might be even choppier than predicted offshore. But the guys said they would tough it out in the gulf, so we headed out to fish in spots between 18 and 20 miles west of New Pass. It wasn’t bad running out but, by about 11AM, winds picked up significantly, and seas built rapidly. It took us a long time to return to shore, traveling home in 4 to 4 ½ foot seas, trying to make it as comfortable as possible. The guys boxed seven porgies to 14 inches, along with a half dozen12-inch grunts, and a keeper lane snapper at 12 inches. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 inches, along with ten mangrove snapper shorts.

Saturday morning, 1/17, predictions for seas of two to three feet were not to be believed, after the rough conditions I had encountered the previous day, given that very same prediction. Winds were still blowing mightily, and I advised Nick Visnich and his fifteen- year-old son, Nicholas, to fish the backwaters. We fished in lower Hickory Bay, using live shrimp, in pretty low-tide conditions. But the guys landed two keeper sheepshead, one at 13 inches and one really nice one at 19 inches. They released smaller sheepshead, several mangrove snapper shorts, and a 3-pound stingray.

The photo shown is of angler Jim Lynch, with a 37-inch king mackerel, caught on a pinfish on an offshore trip this past week.

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

Monday, 12/22/14, there was a weather front approaching our area, and winds, though calm in the early morning, were predicted to pick up, with seas rising as well. Bradley Miller had a choice between trying to beat the worst of the wind and fish offshore, or playing it safe in the backwaters. He decided to fish offshore. We had a great morning of fishing and caught a bunch of fish, all in shrimp. It was worth putting up with 3-foot seas, and we were back to the dock before they got any worse than 3-foot. Bradley released a dozen out-of-season red grouper, two of which were would-be keepers at 22inches and 23 inches. He also released two beautiful gag grouper, also out of season currently, at 25 and 25 ½ inches. Brad also caught seven mangrove snapper, three of which were keepers at about 13 inches each. He also caught a 13 ½-inch hogfish and eight good-sized grunts, and released two porkfish.

Tuesday, 12/23, Ed Bernicke and Daiva Lenauskas filed the backwaters in lower Hickory Bay with me. The couple used live shrimp to catch fifteen mangrove snapper, nine of which were keepers to 13 inches. They also boxed two keeper sheepshead at 13 inches and 15 inches, and released five smaller sheepshead, along with two crevalle jacks.

Christmas-eve morning, I fished the backwaters, along the east wall of Estero Bay, with Brian and Julie Clark. It was a windy morning, ahead of a cool front that was to bring rain later in the day, but the tide was favorable, and the couple had some great redfish and sheepshead action. Using live shrimp, Julie caught and released a brace of 29-inch bull reds (slot-size is 18-27inches.) The second of those was caught on 8-pound test, which was a challenging battle, for sure! She also caught an 18-inch sheepshead. Brian landed a keeper 25-inch redfish, along with a 15-inch sheepshead. The couple released a few short sheepshead and mangrove snappers, along with a trio of two-pound stingrays. Christmas-eve morning, I fished the backwaters, along the east wall of Estero Bay, with Brian and Julie Clark. It was a windy morning, ahead of a cool front that was to bring rain later in the day, but the tide was favorable, and the couple had some great redfish and sheepshead action. Using live shrimp, Julie caught and released a brace of 29-inch bull reds (slot-size is 18-27inches.) The second of those was caught on 8-pound test, which was a challenging battle, for sure! She also caught an 18-inch sheepshead. Brian landed a keeper 25-inch redfish, along with a 15-inch sheepshead. The couple released a few short sheepshead and mangrove snappers, along with a trio of two-pound stingrays.

Thursday, Christmas Day, and also the day after Christmas, were reserved for family events, off the water.

Clement and Evelyn Wong, and son, Joshua, fished offshore, 18 miles west of New Pass with me on Saturday morning, 12/27. It was foggy nearly the entire morning, but seas were calm, and the family had some good snapper action, culling twenty keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches. Evelyn landed a nice, 17-inch hogfish to add to the box, and the group also boxed four 14-inch whitebone porgies. They released a small gag grouper, along with four 18-inch red grouper.

Monday morning, 12/29, I fished 18 miles west of New Pass with Brad and Amanda Clemmons and Amanda’s parents, John and Debbie McCracken, along with friend, John Lyons. The group used live shrimp to catch fifteen whitebone porgies to 18 inches, seven mangrove snapper to 14 inches, and a dozen good-sized grunts. They also caught eight red grouper to 26 inches, two of which were keeper-size, but all of which had to be released due to closed season.

Tuesday morning, 12/30, I headed back out 18 to 20 miles from New Pass with The John Duritsh family—John, Eric, Dave, Tim and Matt. The guys used live shrimp to catch twenty nice whitebone porgies, ten nice lane snapper, all about 12 inches, and a 13-inch mangrove snapper. They released several gag grouper.

Wednesday, Mike Rohrbacher and his two young grandsons, Matt and Michael Casey, spent the last morning of 2014 fishing 18 miles west of New Pass with me, using live shrimp to lure a nice variety of fish. The guys caught and released several red grouper to 23 1/2 inches, along with some small gag grouper. They got into some very nice lane snapper, and kept four of those that were 14 inches, and one just short of 15 inches, which is quite big for a lane. They added to the box a 16-inch hogfish, and a half-dozen porgies to 14 inches. They released a bunch of smaller porgies, along with fifteen short mangrove snapper.

After a day off the water on New Years’ Day, I headed back offshore on Friday morning, 1/2/15, with Bob and Katie Sawyer and friend, Bill Teutsch and his son, Nick. The red grouper bite was hot for live shrimp, about 22 miles west of New Pass, and the group caught twenty-five of those, boxing three keepers, two at 21 inches and one at 23 inches. There were four others that were right about at the 20-inch mark, but a little too close to call, so we released those, along with the remaining shorts. The anglers also caught ten keeper lane snapper, all about 12 inches, and about twenty-five grunts, of which they boxed the four largest. They released a few mangrove snapper shorts. As for big-game, we hooked up with a 5-foot tiger shark, which bit a piece of a grunt, and which provided a great battle, photographs and video before we released it. It was a beautiful fish, prettiest tiger I have seen.

Winds picked up Saturday morning, 1/3/15, and seas were choppy 19 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with Bob Eckle and his sons, Nick and Jason. Nick caught a beautiful gag grouper at 30 inches, which we photographed and released, due to closed season still in effect for gags. Bob released a nice triggerfish at 17 inches, and the group released lots of red grouper shorts. They also caught twenty-five porgies to 17 inches and kept a half dozen of the largest, releasing the rest, along with a couple of porkfish and some grunts. Everything bit on shrimp.

The photo shown is of angler Julie Clark, with a 29-inch bull redfish, caught on shrimp and released 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

Long-time customers, Erwin and Millie Metusiak fished the backwaters with me on Monday morning, 12/8/14. Using live shrimp, the couple caught and boxed two pompano at 14 inches and 15 inches, along with a 13-inch sheepshead. They released some smaller sheepshead, along with four crevalle jacks.

My next planned fishing trip was to be offshore on Wednesday, 12/10, but it was mighty cold that morning, in the mid-forties, and the winds were still blowing hard and causing some rough conditions offshore,. My anglers rescheduled their trip for the following week.

Friday morning, 12/12, I fished offshore, 18 miles west of New Pass, with long-time customer, Mike Connealy. NOAA had predicted calm winds and seas, but that wasn’t what we encountered. The two foot seas predicted turned out to be four-footers, with a steady, chilly 15-knot wind blowing all morning. But, the fishing was good for snapper, porgies, and some big-fish battles. Mike boxed a dozen porgies to 16 inches, and released a few smaller ones. He also boxed two nice mangrove snapper at 15 inches and 16 inches, all caught on shrimp. He had fun battling and releasing a 100-pound goliath grouper that bit a on a 15-inch porgy, as did an 8-foot blacknose shark that provided a fun fight as well.

Monday morning, 12/15, I fished inshore with Frank Richards, his son Tony, Tony's grandfather, Largus Bruer, and family friend, Alvin Bodin. The guys used live shrimp to catch six nice sheepshead to 15 inches and two trout, one at 15 inches and one at 17 inches. They released some smaller sheepshead, a ladyfish, and a stingray.

Tuesday morning, 12/16, I fished again in lower Hickory bay, this time with sister and brother, Shirley and Dan Host. They used live shrimp on a catch-and-release trip, and released a 17-inch redfish, four sheepshead to 14 inches, a 22-inch ladyfish, two stingray, and two puffer-fish.

Wednesday, 12/17, seas were calm and conditions were great 19 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with Joe George and his son, Brad. We had steady grouper action, which was great, even though they all had to be released, due to closed season. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release fifteen red grouper, five of them keeper-sized at between 22 and 27 inches. They also released seven gag grouper, two of which were keeper-sized, along with an 18-inch hogfish. They boxed three 15 and 16-inch mangrove snapper, out of five mangs caught, and added twenty nice whitebone porgies to 16 inches to the fish box. They released a brace of 15-inch triggerfish, along with a porkfish, and they battled, photographed, and released an 8 1/2 –foot sandbar shark, which bit on a porgy. All in all, it was a great morning of fishing.

Paul Oleff and friends, Sandy and Howard, wanted to explore Estero Bay and check out various fishing spots with me on Friday morning, 12/18. They released sheepshead to 15 inches, and learned a good bit about the bay.

The photo shown is of angler, Joe George, with an 18-inch hogfish, 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 morning, 11/24/14, was windy, as had been the case for several days, and I fished inshore in Estero Bay’s flats with Jim Fares and his father-in-law, Doug, on a catch-and-release trip that yielded five sheepshead and a crevalle jack.

Tuesday, 11/25, I had an offshore trip scheduled, and I was glad to see the weather front approaching the area would be delayed until evening, allowing us to get the half-day trip in. Unfortunately, after confirming the trip the evening before, that party canceled at the last minute Tuesday morning, making it too late to call anyone on the waiting list for this busy holiday week.

On Wednesday, 11/26, the front had moved through in the wee hours, with rain lingering until nearly 9AM, so I delayed my inshore fishing trip with Luke Pringle until 9AM that morning. We hid from the high winds as much as possible, while fishing with live shrimp in lower Hickory Bay. Luke caught a keeper redfish at 21 inches and two keeper sheepshead at 13 inches and 18 inches. He released a 22-inch sail-cat, a few smaller cats, and a puffer-fish.

Thanksgiving was a day off the water, spent with family, as yet another cold front moved across, with temperatures hitting the mid-forties by early Friday morning, 11/28. Phil Beuth and two of his friends fished a catch-and-release, inshore trip with me on that chilly Friday morning. We made the most of what tide there was in the backwaters, but it was pretty low, especially toward the end of the morning. The guys released fifteen sheepshead to 14 inches, a small snook, and a crevalle jack, all caught on live shrimp.

Saturday, 11/29, I had an offshore trip scheduled, but the predictions for residual two-to-four foot seas, as well as the morning temperature of 46, scared off my anglers.

By Monday, 12/1, temperatures had warmed considerably, and morning lows were pleasant in the low sixties, reaching the low eighties by afternoon. Winds had calmed somewhat too, and with their easterly direction, seas were fairly calm twenty miles west of New Pass, where I fished with Mike and Bethany Lischer, Bethany’s sister, Allison, and the ladies’ dad, Donald. The group used live shrimp to catch thirty-four whitebone porgies, all measuring around 14 inches. They boxed ten of those and released the rest. They also caught fifteen 13-inch grunts, kept five of those, and released the rest. We also released twenty out-of-season red grouper to 25 inches, mostly caught on shrimp, except for the largest, which bit a blue runner. Winds blew hard most of the week, and Friday brought some rain to the area. The next time I fished was Saturday morning, 12/6, in lower Hickory bay, on an inshore trip with Bob Eckle and friend, Ken. The guys used live shrimp to catch two keeper sheepshead, a 13-inch and a 16-inch. They released three sheepshead just under 12 inches, along with a redfish pup.

The photo shown is of angler Mike Lischer, with a 25-inch red grouper, caught on a blue runner 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

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Now, let’s go fishing!

Tuesday, 11/11/14, I fished 19 miles west of New Pass with brothers, Mike and Pat Connealy. We had steady action, and the guys used live shrimp to catch and release lots of red grouper to 24 inches, many of which would have been keepers, had red grouper been in season. Mike also caught a nice triggerfish at 14 inches, which is also currently out of season and had to be released. But the guys only needed enough fish for dinner, and they had plenty of 13-inch grunts and 14-inch whitebone porgies boxed for that.

Another pair of brothers fished with me on Wednesday, 11/12: Brian and Gary Lampner headed 25 miles offshore with me, hoping for grouper and snapper action. We did well with both. With gag grouper still in season, the guys were happy to land a 29-inch, nearly 12-pound gag. They caught and released twenty-five out-of-season red grouper to 25 inches, along with ten out-of-season triggerfish to 16 inches, also released. In addition to the gag, the guys boxed fifteen whitebone porgies in the 14-15-inch range, a half dozen 14-inch grunts, and a half dozen keeper lane snapper. They released shorter lanes and some yellowtail snapper shorts. The gag grouper and the 25-inch red grouper both bit on spot tail grunts, while everything else bit live shrimp.

Dave Mercer and father-in-law, Rod Knudsen, fished a catch-and-release, inshore trip in lower Hickory Bay with me on Thursday morning, 11/13, using live shrimp for bait. The guys released twenty-five sheepshead to 13 inches, a 19-inch snook, a couple of puffer fish, a couple of 2-pound sail cats, and a nice 26 ½-inch redfish.

Gerry and June Loftus and friends, Jim and Connie, fished lower Hickory Bay with me on Friday morning, 11/14, after we ruled out fishing offshore due to rough seas of three-to-five feet. Conditions were a lot different in the backwaters than they had been the previous day, with a windy front having come through, and extreme low tides. It was tough going, but the group caught a couple of keeper mangrove snapper and sheepshead, on shrimp. They released smaller sheepshead and a couple of sail cats.

As the folks all over the country to our north endured a bone-shilling arctic blast, our weekend here brought wind and rising seas, with small craft advisories following on Monday. Tuesday was a blustery, rainy day, culminating in low temps into the 40's overnight, with a chilly, windy Wednesday to follow. I remained in port, hoping for seas to calm in time for my next scheduled trip at week's end. Thursday, 11/20 was still blustery, with high seas, as had been the case all week, and my planned offshore trip canceled.

Friday morning, 11/21, was drizzly and windy, but Dave and Diane Carey and son, Dan, who had hoped to fish offshore, traded those plans for a calm, inshore trip in lower Hickory Bay, where the family used live shrimp to catch and release three redfish to 17 3/4 inches and five sheepshead shorts. They boxed a 15 1/2-inch sheepshead and a 21-inch black drum. Darren and Linda Rachman and Linda’s mom, Paula, fished inshore with me on a very windy Saturday morning, 11/22, using live shrimp to lure three keeper sheepshead to 14 inches and a 16 ½-inch black drum into the fish cooler The trio released several smaller sheepshead.

The photo shown is of angler Gary Lampner, with a 12-pound, 29-inch gag grouper, caught on a spot-tail grunt and released (due to 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

Tuesday, 10/28, I fished with repeat customers, Clement and Evelyn Wong, joined by their son, Aaron. After a windy weekend, seas were still a bit choppy twenty miles offshore, where we fished with live shrimp. The bulk of our catches were red grouper, which had to be released, due to closed season, but the family had fun catching six of those, to 23 inches, all of which would have been keepers if in season. The group also released a couple of triggerfish, which are also out of season, along with a few mangrove snapper shorts. They boxed three lane snapper keepers, all about 12 inches, some grunts, and a 14-inch whitebone porgy.

Dave and Judy Eckrich, daughter, Francine, and son-in-law, Joe, fished with me on Wednesday, 10/29, using live shrimp in spots located 22 miles and 25 ½ miles west of New Pass. Out-of-season red grouper were biting like crazy, and the family released about fifty of those to 25 inches. They boxed a half dozen keeper lane snapper, a couple of 13-inch mangrove snapper, a few 13-inch porgies of the fifteen they caught, and a few of the fifteen grunts they caught, to 14 ½ inches, along with a 24-inch Spanish mackerel. They sacrificed a couple of porgies to a greedy barracuda, which began terrorizing our catches at our final spot of the day.

Thursday, 10/30, long-time customer, Dave Carey, fished with me, along with his friends, George Siambanes, Scott Erhardt, and Steve Wanner. We used live shrimp for everything we caught, 36 miles west of New Pass, and the guys caught quite a variety. They boxed fifteen yellowtail snapper keepers to 14 ½ inches, a 13-inch hogfish, a brace of 13-inch mangrove snapper, twenty whitebone porgies to 15 inches, and a dozen grunts, all 14 to 14 ½ inches. Red groupers were biting big-time, and we released fifty of those, including many in the 20 to 25-inch range that would have been keepers if in season. The guys released four triggerfish to 15 inches, which are also currently out of season. George also caught an unusual fish, a yellow jack, at 21 inches.

The next time I headed offshore was on Saturday, 11/8, when I fished with Desiree Juarez and friend, Vince, twenty miles west of New Pass. They used live shrimp to catch and release about twenty red grouper to 19 inches, and they boxed a half dozen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, a 13-inch mangrove snapper, three 14-inch porgies, and six large grunts, all around 14 inches. As we headed in and were about six miles off Naples Beach, we spotted a big algae bloom, and wondered if it is the red tide that has been reported in the area. From what I have read about this particular bloom, it is not expected to cause much trouble for anglers, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed! The photo shown is of angler Scott Erhardt, with a 25-inch red grouper, caught on shrimp 36 miles west of New Pass 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

Paul Szemplenski, his young daughter, Evie, and his father-in-law, Ed fished inshore with me on Friday, 10/17/14. The group had originally planned to fish offshore, but residual seas from the weather front that passed through a couple of days prior were still too rough for gulf fishing. So, we fished in lower Hickory Bay, around the mangrove islands, using live shrimp. The group caught and released two redfish to 17 ½ inches. They also caught two sheepshead, one of which was a 13-inch keeper, along with a dozen mangrove snapper, two of which were keepers, and the others just short of keeper-size.

Monday, 10/20, I fished 18 to 20 miles west of New Pass with John Liebenow and his son, David. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release twenty-five red grouper to 19 inches, three small amberjack, and a half dozen yellowtail snapper shorts. As for boxed catches, they got nine keeper lane snapper, all around 11 inches, three keeper porkfish, and a dozen grunts to 13 inches.

Tuesday, 10/21, I cancelled my planned offshore trip, with lots of rain and some heavy thunderstorms over the Gulf. By Wednesday, 10/22, skies were still cloudy, and there was a light drizzle onshore, but the rain was over with offshore, and seas were pretty well calmed down. I fished about twenty miles west of New Pass with John Hornberger, his son, Luke, and Luke’s girlfriend, Taylor Caretti. The grouper bite was on, and the group used bait-fish to catch and release three red grouper at 21 inches, 22 inches and 27 inches. Unfortunately, red grouper season closed on October 3rd. But Taylor also landed a 23 ½ inch gag grouper, which bit a bait-fish. And the group added to the box a few other catches that bit on live shrimp, including two of the five whitebone porgies they caught to 16 inches, a 15-inch mangrove snapper, a 25-inch Spanish mackerel, a dozen keeper lane snapper, and a few grunts.

Thursday, 10/23, the winds were howling across the bay, where I fished inshore on a catch-and-release trip with Mike Sower and Mike Kenney. We fished mostly in the Little Carlos-Lovers’ Key area, using live shrimp. The guys released two redfish, 17 and 18 inches, a few sheepshead, three crevalle jacks to 2 pounds, an 11-inch mangrove snapper, and the biggest pinfish I have ever seen at 14 ½ inches!

Twenty knot winds and seas of four to six feet, with small craft advisories, cancelled out my planned offshore trips on Friday, 10/24, and Saturday, 10/25.

The photo shown is of angler, Taylor Caretti , with a 23 ½-inch gag grouper, caught on a bait-fish 20 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore trip trip.

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

Paul Szemplenski, his young daughter, Evie, and his father-in-law, Ed fished inshore with me on Friday, 10/17/14. The group had originally planned to fish offshore, but residual seas from the weather front that passed through a couple of days prior were still too rough for gulf fishing. So, we fished in lower Hickory Bay, around the mangrove islands, using live shrimp. The group caught and released two redfish to 17 ½ inches. They also caught two sheepshead, one of which was a 13-inch keeper, along with a dozen mangrove snapper, two of which were keepers, and the others just short of keeper-size.

Monday, 10/20, I fished 18 to 20 miles west of New Pass with John Liebenow and his son, David. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release twenty-five red grouper to 19 inches, three small amberjack, and a half dozen yellowtail snapper shorts. As for boxed catches, they got nine keeper lane snapper, all around 11 inches, three keeper porkfish, and a dozen grunts to 13 inches.

Tuesday, 10/21, I cancelled my planned offshore trip, with lots of rain and some heavy thunderstorms over the Gulf. By Wednesday, 10/22, skies were still cloudy, and there was a light drizzle onshore, but the rain was over with offshore, and seas were pretty well calmed down. I fished about twenty miles west of New Pass with John Hornberger, his son, Luke, and Luke’s girlfriend, Taylor Caretti. The grouper bite was on, and the group used bait-fish to catch and release three red grouper at 21 inches, 22 inches and 27 inches. Unfortunately, red grouper season closed on October 3rd. But Taylor also landed a 23 ½ inch gag grouper, which bit a bait-fish. And the group added to the box a few other catches that bit on live shrimp, including two of the five whitebone porgies they caught to 16 inches, a 15-inch mangrove snapper, a 25-inch Spanish mackerel, a dozen keeper lane snapper, and a few grunts.

Thursday, 10/23, the winds were howling across the bay, where I fished inshore on a catch-and-release trip with Mike Sower and Mike Kenney. We fished mostly in the Little Carlos-Lovers’ Key area, using live shrimp. The guys released two redfish, 17 and 18 inches, a few sheepshead, three crevalle jacks to 2 pounds, an 11-inch mangrove snapper, and the biggest pinfish I have ever seen at 14 ½ inches!

Twenty knot winds and seas of four to six feet, with small craft advisories, cancelled out my planned offshore trips on Friday, 10/24, and Saturday, 10/25.

The photo shown is of angler, Taylor Caretti , with a 23 ½-inch gag grouper, caught on a bait-fish 20 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore trip trip.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link.

fishing videos

http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

http://fishbustercharters.com/…tti235Gag%20(365x274).jpg

My first trip of this season with long-time customer and seasonal resident, Ron Musick, was on Thursday, October 2nd, our last chance to keep red grouper before the season for them closes. Ron was joined by Eddie Alfonso, and we headed out to about twenty-two miles west of New Pass. The guys landed two keeper red grouper at 20 inches and 21 inches, a keeper hogfish at 15 inches, four nice mangrove snapper all 14 to 15 inches, a dozen keeper lane snapper, and five 15-inch whitebone porgies. They released a lot of red grouper shorts, along with one smaller hogfish. Everything bit on live shrimp.

Long–time customer, Scott Saveraid, brought a few friends along to fish a catch-and-release trip offshore with me on Monday, 10/6. The guys wanted to battle a goliath grouper or two, plus fish for whatever else was biting. They caught and released a 100-pound goliath grouper, twenty-one mangrove snapper, six of which were keeper-size, a mess of Spanish mackerel between 23 and 24 inches, a 25-inch cobia, a 12-inch lane snapper, and a lot of blue runners. We were fishing 10-12 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp and bait-fish.

Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, who fished with me the previous Thursday, fished again offshore on Tuesday, 10/7/14, ahead of a rainy depression headed our way. Fortunately, the rain on Tuesday was mostly inland, and we managed to stay dry. We fished with live shrimp, eighteen miles west of New Pass, where the guys caught two nice triggerfish keepers at 14 ½ to 15 inches, four keeper mangrove snapper 14-15 inches, a keeper lane snapper, a 15-inch whitebone porgy, and a mess of grunts. They also released a 50-pound goliath grouper, which bit a shrimp on a light spinning rod, making for a fun battle to the surface.

Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso added three more people for their next fishing trip, which was on Friday, 10/10. Bob Mayer and his two sons, Mike and Brian, joined the group. Winds were a little stronger than predicted, but we did fine 18 miles west of New Pass, fishing with live shrimp. The guys caught and released seventeen red grouper, two of which would have been keepers had the season for those not recently closed. Those two were 21 and 22 inches. As for boxed fish, the group went home with four keeper porkfish, a brace of 15-inch mangrove snapper, a 14-inch grunt, and twenty-five whitebone porgies to 15 inches.

The photo shown is of angler, Ron Musick, with a 15-inch hogfish, 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

http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html

Joe Hahn is expecting delivery of his new bay boat soon, and he took a morning to fish Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Monday, 9/8/14, hoping to learn the best techniques for fishing in the backwaters. Prior to now, most of Joe’s fishing experience has been from shore. So we headed out to fish various spots in Estero Bay and Hickory Bay, and fished with live shrimp on a favorable tide. Joe landed a keeper sheepshead at 15 inches, a 12-inch sand bream, twenty mangrove snapper, three of which were keeper size, a 16-inch redfish, which he released, and two keeper redfish at 23 inches and 24 ½ inches. It was a pretty productive morning, and I think Joe is looking forward to spending many mornings that way.

Gordon and Emily Levy fished the backwaters with me on Tuesday morning, 9/16/14. Fishing a catch-and-release trip with live shrimp in lower Hickory Bay, the couple caught and released three redfish, all 16-17 inches, twenty mangrove snapper to 12 inches, a 12-inch sand bream, and a 16-inch sheepshead.The photo shown is of angler Joe Hahn, with a 24 ½-inch redfish, 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