Beiträge von fishbuster

Monday, 5/13/13, I fished the backwaters of Estero Bay with David Bloomfield and David Price. Using live shrimp, the guys caught three redfish, two of which were keepers at 19 ½ and 20 inches. They also caught two 14-inch sheepshead and a 15-inch black drum. They released mangrove snapper shorts.

Thursday, 5/16, I headed offshore with Jim and Darlene Welch, hoping to get out about 20 miles in the predicted two-foot, calm seas. But seas were anything but calm—three-to-four-feet, in fact, and we plodded out my near-shore spots and fished about six miles off the beach for a while. As the morning progressed, seas calmed somewhat, and we headed out to about 10 miles, then eventually to 19 miles offshore. The couple caught and released a 24-inch gag grouper on a pinfish. Using shrimp, they caught and released red grouper shorts to 19 ¾ inches, along with a short, true black grouper and some yellowtail snapper shorts. They also released a 38-inch sharpnose shark. As for food-fish, the couple bagged a half dozen good-sized whitebone porgies and half dozen grunts to 13 inches.

Friday morning, I fished a catch-and-release trip inshore, in Estero Bay, with Steve Camelin and friend, Brian. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release fifteen mangrove snapper, ten of which would have been keepers if desired, along with a 13-inch black drum, four sheepshead to 14 inches, and a stingray. They had two nice redfish hooked too, but lost one to too much enthusiasm (ie: pulling the hook out of its mouth) and one to snag on an oyster bar.

Dr. Meir Daller and wife, Dr. Rie Aihara (Daller), and their two young sons, Julian and Brenden, fished with me Saturday, 5/18, about 26 miles west of New Pass, in calm seas. The family did well, using live shrimp, with steady action all morning. They caught a 38-inch king mackerel, five keeper whitebone porgies to 17 inches, fifteen keeper lane snapper, and a 13-inch keeper yellowtail snapper. All the red grouper they caught were short of keeper size, and they released thirty of those to 19 ½ inches. They also released five sandbar sharks to 40 inches.

Monday morning, 5/20, I headed out to 19 miles west of New Pass to fish with the Slabberkorn family: Jeff and Tina and their children, Zayda and Max. The goliath grouper were quite the nuisance, swiping a few catches from us, but the family still managed to keep a few. They used live shrimp to catch a half dozen keeper lane snapper, five nice whitebone porgies, and a few grunts. They used shrimp and pinfish for grouper bait, and released fifteen red grouper shorts to 19 1/2 inches, and a 22-inch gag grouper, which is out of season.

Jim Dean and nephew, Ryan Diggleman, fished with me on Tuesday morning. We intended to have some fun catching and releasing some of the big goliaths that were a nuisance the previous day, when I was fishing for food-fish. The goliaths were contrary on Tuesday, though, and refused to bite the crevalle jacks and bluefish we baited our heavy poles with. Instead, two goliaths waited until we had switched to light spinning tackle, then bit the catches we wanted to reel in! The goliaths were too big for light tackle, so we never got one of them to the surface. The guys caught a half dozen keeper whitebone porgies, and released lots of red grouper shorts. They have another day of fishing scheduled for Wednesday, so we'll decide what to go after then.

Jim and Ryan fished with me again on Wednesday, 5/22, and we had better luck with the goliaths then. Ryan caught and released a 170-pound goliath, and Jim caught and released a 75-pound goliath. Both were caught on grunts, about 20 miles west of New Pass. The guys also caught a half dozen keeper whitebone porgies to 14 inches, a keeper porkfish, and a few grunts. They released twenty red grouper shorts to 19 inches, along with ten mangrove snapper shorts to 11 inches and a few yellowtail snapper shorts, all on live shrimp.

Saturday morning, 5/25, I fished the backwaters of Estero bay, on an incoming tide, with Bob and Stephanie Rose. The couple used live shrimp to catch two keeper redfish at 22 inches each, a brace of 18-inch, keeper black drum, a keeper 16-inch sheepshead, and a keeper mangrove snapper. They released five mangrove snapper shorts and a 16-inch snook.

The photo shown below is of angler John Stauffer with a, 27-inch red grouper, caught on a bait-fish on a recent offshore trip.

The photo shown below is of angler Frank Partee with a, 22 1/2-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:
fishing action videos

:toocool:

:toocool: Monday, 4/29/13, seas were supposed to be two-to three feet, out to sixty miles, when I headed offshore with Scott Savaraid and four of his friends. But it was a lot rougher than that, in windy conditions, and we ventured out to 18 miles, where the group used live shrimp to catch fifteen keeper lane snapper, nine whitebone porgies, and a mess of grunts. All in all, they caught about thirty fish, so they had plenty to eat. They released lots of red grouper shorts and two amberjack at 16 and 18 inches. Scott plans to fish with me again on Wednesday, and seas are predicted to be calm that day.

Tuesday morning, the only rain showing up on radar was way south of us, around Marco Island. But, as I headed out with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, Bob Mayer and friend, Ray, a light rain had begun. It got heavier too, but we idled out for a while so as not to get soaked, and finally got through it to clearer skies. We fished between 19 and 22 miles west of New Pass. One of my favorite red grouper spots was invaded by dolphins, which put a quick end to fishing there. But Eddie caught two gag grouper, 23 inches and 28 inches, which we released due to closed season. He also released a 5-foot sandbar shark. The group caught twenty keeper lane snapper and a mess of grunts and porgies, using live shrimp.

Wednesday, I remained in port, due to a last minute cancellation. And, Thursday, it rained relentlessly all day long, causing me to reschedule a backwater trip planned for that day.

Friday morning, I fished Estero Bay with John & Carla Vepraskas. The couple used live shrimp to catch and release a brace of 17 ½-inch redfish, a couple of stingrays, and three 13-inch black drum. Keepers included a 15-inch sheepshead and a 12-inch mangrove snapper, all caught on shrimp.

I had planned a full-day offshore trip for Saturday, but winds and seas kicked back up, and with three-to-five foot seas well offshore, I deferred that trip to a later date this month.

Monday morning, 5/6, I fished in windy conditions in Estero Bay with Gerry and Jane Loftus. Fishing was a little slow at first, but picked up a little later and we had a productive morning. Jane caught a 24-inch redfish, and Gerry caught a 22-inch red. The couple also caught four keeper sheepshead, all on shrimp. They released some mangrove snapper shorts and two stingrays.

Tuesday morning, I fished inshore again, this time with Bob and Katie Sawyer and friend, Shannon Carpenter. The group used live shrimp to catch and release two 17 3/4-inch redfish (just 1/4 inch short of legal size), some mangrove snapper to 12 inches, sheepshead shorts, and five stingrays.

Thursday, 5/9, I headed out 22 miles west of New Pass with John Stauffer and Joe Colecki. John caught a beautiful, 27-inch red grouper on a pinfish. The guys used live shrimp for the rest of their catches, which included thirty-four keeper lane snapper to 13 inches, and a mess of grunts. They released lots of red grouper shorts, mangrove snapper shorts, and an 18-inch gag grouper short.

Saturday, 5/11, I fished offshore with Randy Buster, his girlfriend, Zeny, and friend, Rodney Drenning. We fished spots between 28 and 35 miles west of New Pass, using bait-fish for grouper and live shrimp for everything else. The group would have had seven red grouper in all, but the sandbar sharks were a nuisance, and they ate four of the seven grouper. Still, we managed to cull three keepers, two at 22 inches and one at 21 inches. One of the shark-bitten groupers was 18-inches even without its back end, so it was probably a nice one! The group also caught fifteen keeper lane snapper, an 18-inch Spanish mackerel, and a half dozen whitebone porgies to 15 inches. They released lots of red grouper shorts, two short gag grouper, some yellowtail snapper shorts, and two 35-inch sharp-nose sharks.

The photo shown below is of angler Eddie Alfonso, with a 28-inch gag grouper caught on bait-fish and released on a recent offshore trip.

The photo shown below is of angler Gerry Loftus, with a 22-inch redfish, one of two keeper reds 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:
fishing action videos

:toocool: Monday, 4/15, I fished twenty miles west of New Pass with Richard Pyper and friends, Steve, Craig and Carey. The guys used live shrimp to catch twenty-five lane snapper to 14 inches, a half-dozen whitebone porgy keepers to 14 inches, and ten grunts, all about 12 inches. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 19 1/2 inches.

Tuesday, frequent fishers, Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Bob Mayer fished with me in a couple of spots, 20 miles and 29 miles west of New Pass. We used pinfish to catch and release six red grouper to 19 inches. Using live shrimp, the guys caught twenty keeper lane snapper to 14 inches, and five nice whitebone-porgies to 15 inches.

Wednesday was a day off the water for me, to attend to personal business.

Thursday, I headed back offshore and had the best day of fishing in a good while. I fished 19 to 25 miles west of New Pass with Kari Vilamaa, Paul Kikendall, George Dyer, and Gary Wilson. The guys cleaned up on red grouper, catching five keepers in all, two at 22 inches, one at 25 inches, one at 29 inches and one at 30 inches. The two smaller ones were caught on shrimp, and the three larger ones on bait-fish. They released lots of red grouper shorts, as well as a 30-inch king mackerel, a bunch of blue runners, and grunts. They also added to the fish box two keeper hogfish at 15 inches and 16 inches, two keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches and two dozen keeper lane snapper, which were caught on shrimp.

Friday, seas were a lot rougher near-shore than the predicted two-to-three feet, when I fished the reefs off Bonita Beach with Tom Koontz and his friends, Dave, Paul and Howard. The guys used live shrimp to catch three keeper Spanish mackerel and a mess of grunts, but fishing was tough—nothing like the calm seas and catches well offshore the previous day. The guys released lots of blue runners and some mangrove snapper shorts.

Weather deteriorated over the weekend, and even by Monday morning, the gulf was still all churned up, and scattered showers remained offshore. My full-day offshore trip planned for that day deferred to a day with better conditions sometime in the future.

Gusty winds persisted on Tuesday, but I was able to fish inshore with Vern DeLang, who used live shrimp in Estero Bay to catch a brace of keeper redfish at 20 inches, and two keeper black drum at 18 inches and 15 inches. He released a short redfish at 17 ¾ inches and also a smaller drum, along with two stingrays.

Thursday, 4/25, I headed offshore and fished in spots between 24 miles and 29 miles west of New Pass with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, Bob Mayer and John Ebbrecht. The guys caught a brace of 21-inch, keeper red grouper, on bait-fish, as well as a 30-inch king mackerel. They released lots of red grouper shorts. Live shrimp yielded us two dozen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with fifteen whitebone porgies to 14 inches. Ron got to battle a 6 ½ foot sandbar shark, hooked on a bait-fish and released after photographing.

Saturday, 4/27, I fished 22 miles offshore with Dave & Diane Carey and John and Luann Petterson. Seas were a lot rougher than the two foot seas predicted, but the fishing was good. The group caught two keeper red grouper at 23 and 24 inches, half a dozen keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, and a dozen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with a 15-inch whitebone porgy. We used bait-fish for the groupers, and live shrimp for everything else.

The photo shown is of angler Gary Wilson, with a 30-inch red grouper, one of five keeper 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:
fishing action videos

:toocool: Monday, April 1st was the first day of red grouper season re-opening, and I headed out to fish in spots 28 miles and 36 miles west of New Pass with Ron Lash, Kelley Wood, Peter Vitale, and their friends Bob and John. We used a few different live baits—shrimp, pinfish and grunts—to catch a bunch of fish of all kinds. The guys caught seven red grouper, including two at 21 inches and 22 ½ inches, which they kept, and five that were just barely at 20 inches, which we released to be on the safe side. We also released six gag grouper (which are still out of season) to 25 inches. Added to the fish box were ten nice whitebone porgies to 17 inches, three yellowtail snapper all 13 to 14 inches, four mangrove snapper all 15 to 17 inches, six keeper lane snappers (of the ten caught), and some large grunts. The guys got to exercise their muscles on a couple of sharks too—a four-foot sandbar shark and a nine-foot hammerhead--both released, but we got a photo of the hammerhead—No April foolin’!

Tuesday, I headed out 30 miles from New Pass on a full-day trip with frequent fishers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, Bob Mayer, and friend Wayne. We were in dense fog until about 3PM, with about 400 feet of visibility. But that didn’t stop the guys from reeling in some nice red grouper. They caught three keepers, at 22 inches, 24 inches and 27 ½ inches, all on grunts. We lost two that were even bigger to a big shark who decided he needed them more than we did! The group also caught ten porgies, and released all but the largest one at 16 inches. They also bagged a few keeper lane snapper, caught on shrimp.

Brad DeWise, his fourteen-year-old son, Cole, Brad’s dad, Randy DeWise, and friend, Dave Storm, fished 20 miles west of New Pass with me on Wednesday, the last day this week likely to be good for offshore fishing, with a weather front due in Thursday to kick up winds and seas. The group used live shrimp to catch a keeper, 21-inch red grouper along with two dozen keeper lane snapper. They released twenty red grouper shorts, some mangrove snapper shorts, blue runners, and two nice bonito that weighed 8 pounds and 9 pounds each.

Thursday, with the front approaching, seas were beginning to get choppy in the gulf. Frank Partee and son-in-law, Joe Regan, traded their offshore fishing plans for a morning of fishing Estero Bay’s backwaters. The pair caught two keeper redfish at 19 ½ and 22 ½ inches, and released one redfish-short at 17 inches. They also caught three keeper sheepshead at 13 inches, 15 inches and 19 ½ inches, and they reeled in a 20-inch crevalle jack that broke off boatside, just before release.

Friday morning, we awoke to rain that didn’t quit until well into the afternoon. I cancelled the near-shore excursion scheduled for that day. By Saturday morning, 4/6, the cool front had moved through, and skies were clearer, but winds had the gulf churned up. I fished inshore, in Estero Bay, with Ryan Patzfahl and son, Jared. The father-son team used live shrimp to catch three keeper sheepshead to 15 inches and nine keeper-sized black drum to 19 inches. They chose to keep three drum, and released the rest, along with some smaller sheepshead, mangrove snapper shorts, and a crevalle jack.

Monday, 4/8, I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Rob Atwood, along with his two sons, Robbie and Jake, and his daughter, Patience. The family caught ten red grouper, including two keepers at 21 inches and 22 ½ inches. They also caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 13 inches, a 15-inch keeper mangrove snapper, and a 20-inch Spanish mackerel, all on live shrimp. The group released lots of blue runners and mangrove snapper shorts.

Marcel and Christine Andrey and their two young sons, Gian, age four, and Laurin, age three, fished Estero Bay with me on Tuesday morning. The family used live shrimp to catch six black drum, including five keepers to 22 inches, and four sheepshead, including a nice keeper at 17 inches. They also caught a keeper, 11-inch mangrove snapper. The little boys were tuckered out after about 3 ½ hours of fishing, but they sure hung in there well for their ages!

Wednesday morning seas were rougher than predicted when I headed offshore with frequent customers Mike & Leah Connealy. So we made way slowly out to 19 miles, where we used live shrimp and pinfish for our morning of fishing. Mike caught a keeper red grouper at 23 inches, and Leah caught and released a 28-inch gag grouper. The couple added to the fish box three porgies to 16 inches and five good-sized grunts. They released a dozen red grouper shorts and another smaller gag.

Thursday, my offshore trip cancelled, due to another weather-front bringing three-to-five foot seas.

Friday morning, I fished in a windy Estero Bay with Brian and Leah Thurston and Bob Morris. The trio used live shrimp to catch two keeper black drum at 15 inches and 17 inches, and they released four sheepshead.

Saturday morning, 4/13, I fished inshore in Estero Bay with Mike Rohbach and his nine-year-old grandson, Matthew. The pair used live shrimp to catch lots of fish—Matthew himself caught twenty-two in all! Those included a keeper 19-inch redfish, a keeper black drum at 15 inches, a half-dozen short sheepsheead (released) and about twenty-five small snappers (released.) Grandpa Mike also released his share of small sheepshead and mangrove snapper, along with a crevalle jack. He also caught one keeper-sized mangrove snapper at 11 ½ inches.

The photo shown is of young angler, Cole DeWise with a 9-pound bonito, caught on shrimp and released on a recent offshore trip.

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

Monday, 3/18/13, I fished about 19 miles west of New Pass with Chris Ernberger, his son, Carter, Chris’ dad, Jerry Ernberger, and friends Greg and Spencer. The group used live shrimp to catch five nice sheepshead, all 15 and 16 inches, four whitebone porgies, all around 14 inches, two keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, three keeper porkfish, and an 18-inch hogfish. They released a 22-inch red grouper and several gag grouper to 22 inches, due to closed season.

Tuesday morning, I headed to the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach with Scott Saveraid, his daughter, Caroline Saveraid, and four of her friends, Ana Kugler, Elise Castro, Anna Delleman, and Claire Rayburn. The group used live shrimp to catch thirty sheepshead to 17 inches and four Spanish mackerel to 22 inches. They released half a dozen mangrove snapper shorts.

Wednesday morning, weather was a little unsettled, in advance of an approaching cold front. But, that didn’t stop my six, hardy young anglers, here on spring-break, from heading out about 19 miles west of New Pass to catch some fish. Matt Meade and friends rode out a small squall with me, and then resumed using live shrimp to catch a nice variety of fish. Catches included three nice sheepshead to 18 inches, five whitebone porgies, all in the 14 to 15-inch range, and a keeper 12-inch porkfish. They released six gag grouper to 21 inches, seven red grouper to 22 inches, ten bluefish to 14 inches, blue runners, one short porkfish, and a few mangrove snapper shorts.

Jerry, Chris and Carter Ernberger, who had fished offshore with me on Monday, fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Thursday morning. The guys used live shrimp to land a 22-inch redfish, a brace of 18-inch black drum, three 14-inch sheepshead, and three 11-inch mangrove snapper. They released ten smaller sheepshead and five crevalle jacks to 20 inches.

Frequent customers, Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett, fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Friday morning, and landed two nice, keeper redfish at 22 ½ and 25 ½ inches, along with a 15-inch black drum. They released five smaller black drum a 20-inch ladyfish, and sixteen sheepshead to 14 inches. All were caught on live shrimp.

Saturday morning,, 3/23, seas were predicted to be fairly calm until afternoon, but the winds were strong, and the time-line on the predicted rough seas was questionable. Brothers Brett, Andrew and Kurt Dargis, along with friend, Bob Rose, decided that inshore fishing would be the safest bet, and we had quite a productive morning of fishing, along the channel edges in Estero Bay, where the wind was a little calmer. The group used live shrimp to catch six nice, black drum that ranged in size from 15 to 19 1/2 inches. They also caught a 15-inch, keeper sheepshead and a keeper mangrove snapper. They released a bunch of smaller sheepshead, as well as crevalle jacks.

By Sunday evening, another of our all too frequent weather fronts this season came through our area, bringing very rough seas and gusty winds that persisted into mid-week of the following week. I remained in po0r 3/25, 3/26, and 3/27. The northerly winds pushed the water out of the bays and estuaries, making inshore fishing a poor option too. So there was nothing to do but cancel trips on one of the busiest weeks of the year.

Thursday, 3/28, with the gulf still churned up from days of windy conditions, Richard Dahnke, son Jeff, grandson Nate, and friend John McClure decided to try some inshore fishing instead of their planned offshore excursion. Conditions were far from optimal, with low tides and muddy waters, but the group used live shrimp to catch and release four sheepshead to 13 1/2 inches, one 13-inch black drum, and a 22-inch ladyfish.

Friday morning, I managed to fish near-shore, at the reefs off Bonita Beach, as seas were finally beginning to calm. I fished with Rich Driscoll and family, and they used live shrimp to catch seventeen sheepshead in all, including two keepers to 17 inches, along with two 24-inch Spanish mackerel. They released eight mangrove snapper shorts and ladyfish to 24 inches.

Saturday morning, 3/30, seas were finally calm enough to get offshore a ways, and I headed out nineteen miles from New Pass with Chris Bumgartner, his dad Larry, Chris’ daughter Madeline, and Madeline’s friend, Hannah. The group used live shrimp to catch thirty-five lane snapper, twenty-five of which were keepers to 13 inches. They also caught two 12 ½-inch keeper mangrove snapper and a 23-inch Spanish mackerel. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

The photos shown are of angler, Ron Musick, with a 29” gag grouper, caught on shrimp and released on a recent offshore trip.

and:
Angler, Jim McGrath, with a 25 1/2” 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:

fishing action videos

Finally, a day with warmer temps, light winds and calm seas—That was just what frequent customers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett were hoping for on Tuesday, 3/5, when we headed out to fish about twelve miles west of New Pass, with a bait-well full of live shrimp. And, what a glorious day it turned out to be. By about 2PM, the group had caught a 33-inch, 20-pound black drum, sixteen nice, keeper sheepshead to 17 inches, a dozen nice mangrove snapper keepers to 15 inches, and a keeper triggerfish at 14 inches. They also released a 28-inch, 10-pound gag grouper.

What a difference a day makes—Wednesday brought a new cold front, with small craft advisories, 25 knot winds and morning rain. I cancelled my offshore trip and remained in port.

Thursday, 3/7,was a no-go for offshore again, but it wasn't quite as windy as Wednesday had been, and there was no rain. Canadians, Jeff Perom and his two young sons, Charles and Ben, were well trained for tolerating the colder temperatures that began the morning, and they decided to fish inshore, since that sounded like more fun than cancelling the trip. The boys had fun using live shrimp to catch and release two crevalle jacks and six sheepshead to 13 inches.

Friday, though it was a bit sloppy first thing in the morning, calm seas returned, as did our lovely moderate temperatures. I fished nineteen miles west of New Pass with frequent customers, Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett. The guys used live shrimp to catch twenty-five mangrove snapper, and kept a dozen of those that ranged in size from 13 1/2 to 17 inches. They caught several different kinds of porgies, and released all but two whitebone porgies that were 14 inches long. They also caught a half-dozen nice sheepshead to 17 inches, but chose to release those, as they already had enough fish. They released a few yellowtail snapper shorts to 11 inches, along with grunts and several gag and red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

By Monday, rougher seas were here again and my offshore anglers were leery of the two-to-four footers predicted, but did not want to fish the backwaters. So that day was a no-go. Tuesday, 3/12, brought much worse conditions, with three-to-five foot seas, and my offshore trip for that day also cancelled.

Wednesday morning, 3/13, Jim Jambor, Jim Burton and two friends of theirs fished the backwaters of Estero Bay with me, where we puddle-jumped a bit to stay as sheltered from the wind as possible. The guys used live shrimp to catch twenty-five fish in all, releasing seventeen sheepshead to 12 inches, a crevalle jack, and a 13 ½-inch black drum. They caught and kept a 14-inch pompano and a 19 ½-inch redfish.

Thursday, winds howled and small craft advisories remained in effect. My offshore trip cancelled and, though I had several potential customers waiting for an opening to fish the bay, it looked like an exercise in frustration, with high winds and low tide, so I remained in port.

Friday morning, 3/15, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay’s backwaters with Garrett and Jill Zielinski. The couple used live shrimp to catch a two-foot long ladyfish, eight sheepshead to 14 inches, a brace of 13-inch black drum, and a crevalle jack.

Saturday morning, seas were calm, at last, and I headed out nineteen miles from New Pass with Justin Rupert and his dad, Dennis Rupert. We had a great morning of fishing, using live shrimp to catch nine nice whitebone porgies, all 14 to 16 inches, a 23-inch Spanish mackerel, a 20-inch kingfish, five porkfish and four large sheepshead to 19 inches. Had grouper season been open, we would have scored big with gags—We released four would-be-keepers to 24 inches. We also released six red grouper to 19 7/8 inches.

The photo shown is of angler, Richard Arnett with a 28-inch, 10-pound gag grouper, 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:
fishing action videos

:toocool: 03/04/13- SW FL-Bonita Beach: Near-shore Reefs Productive
After a cancelled trip on Monday, I got out fishing Tuesday, 2/19, as winds and seas finally began to calm down from their week-long highs of 30 knot gusts and 4-12 foot seas. It was still a little sloppy so I stayed near-shore, about 12 miles off Naples Beach, where I fished with frequent customers Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, joined by friend Kay Daugherty. The group used live shrimp to catch eleven nice, keeper mangrove snapper to 15 ½ inches and ten nice sheepshead keepers to 16 inches. They released five would-be-keeper gag grouper to 29 inches, but had to release them all, due to closed season.

Larkin Hosmer, friend Eric, and Eric's son-in-law, Merrill, fished a catch and release trip with me in Estero Bay on Thursday, 2/21, where they used live shrimp to catch a dozen sheepshead and a 13 1/2 inch black drum.

Friday morning, I fished near-shore, about 5 miles out of New Pass, with long-time customers Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett. The guys used live shrimp to catch thirty-five sheepshead, releasing all but fifteen of those, which were between 14 and 16 inches long. They also caught a keeper hogfish at 17 inches, and released lots of short mangrove snapper. Lines were broken off four times by something big, but we never got to see what it was.

Saturday morning, seas kicked up somewhat, though not as much as they are predicted to do for much of the following week. I fished a catch-and-release trip at the Bonita Beach near-shore reefs with Greg Haas and Rick John. The guys used live shrimp to catch sixty sheepshead to 15 inches, mangrove snapper to 12 inches, red grouper and triggerfish shorts, and a 21-inch gag grouper.

Monday, 2/25, I fished the near-shore reefs with frequent customer, Mike Connealy, his daughter, Mandy Ewig, and her husband, Brett Ewig. The sheepshead bite was on, and the group used live shrimp to catch twenty-four of those in all, keeping the nine largest ones in the 15-to-16-inch range. They also caught grunts, and released mangrove snapper shorts, puffer-fish, and two gag grouper at 25 1/2 inches and 23 inches.

By Tuesday, a very windy weather pattern was here, with seas building to seven feet offshore, along with low tides and gusty winds in the bay, and I remained in port. The seas forecast was just as bad for Wednesday, though the winds had subsided quite a bit. John and Jane Vilkaitis traded their original offshore fishing plans for a morning of fishing the backwaters of Estero Bay. The couple used live shrimp to catch seventeen sheepshead in all, keeping two of those and releasing the rest.

Thursday, 2/28, seas were calmer than they had been and calmer than they were predicted to be in a few days. So, I took that window of opportunity to fish about twelve miles west of New Pass, where we had about a three-foot swell, but tolerable seas, for most of the day. Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso and friends, Bob and Jack, used live shrimp to box sixteen mangrove snapper to 14 inches and seven sheepshead to 15 inches.

Friday, seas were rougher, but Dennis page, Arnie Sancaitier, Jack Scott, and Jack’s son, Kevin Scott, were hardy enough to fish the near-shore reefs on a catch-and-release trip, using live shrimp for bait. They caught and released eleven sheepshead to 16 inches, two Spanish mackerel at 22 inches and 24 inches, and several gag and red grouper to 20 inches.

Saturday brought hard winds and seven-foot seas. I cancelled my planned trip for that day, and remained in port through the chilly and blustery weekend. Monday’s 43-degree temps weren’t too enticing to many anglers, but I am happy to see warmer temps and calm seas predicted for Tuesday.

The photo shown is of angler Brett Ewig with a 16-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip. These larger sheepshead are one of the best parts of winter fishing.

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

Monday, 2/4, I headed offshore with Barry Pflueger and friends. I hadn’t been offshore in nearly a week, due to rough conditions out there. Seas were still fairly choppy early on, but they calmed down by mid-morning. Fishing was kind of slow although, if it weren’t for grouper season closing, we might have brought home a couple of nice ones. But we had to release six gags to 23 inches, and several red grouper too, with all grouper now out of season. We also released a few undersized triggerfish. Fortunately, we caught enough porgies and grunts and a 13-inch hogfish, so the guys had plenty of food-fish to take home.
Tuesday, I fished offshore, 28 to 36 miles west of New Pass with Ron Musick and friends, where we used live shrimp to catch and release lots of gag grouper to 21 1/2 inches and twenty amberjack to 24 inches. As for food-fish, the guys caught five keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches, twenty keeper lane snapper, and nine good-sized whitebone porgies to 17 inches. Sharks were a nuisance, but we managed to keep most of our catches.
Rudy Dinnocenzo and son, Dave, fished with me on Thursday, about ten miles west of New Pass. Despite forecasts for calm seas, we had three-footers even that close to shore. The guys used live shrimp to catch three keeper sheepshead, all about 15 inches, a keeper porkfish, and a mess of grunts. They released eight smaller sheepshead, a few triggerfish shorts, and two red grouper, which are currently out of season.
Rough seas and high winds persisted into Friday and Saturday, and I remained in port for the weekend. Monday morning, with 4 foot seas offshore, Marshal Swain and friends traded their offshore plans for some inshore fishing instead, in Estero Bay. The group used live shrimp to catch snapper and sheepshead, including an 11-inch keeper mangrove snapper, and four keeper sheepshead to 15 inches.
Tuesday morning, I fished in Estero Bay again in very windy conditions and low tide. Brothers Mike and Joe Dumbrowski used live shrimp to catch fourteen sheepshead along with a few mangrove snapper, and took home two keeper sheepshead.
Wednesday's winds and seas had me back in the backwaters, this time with Troy Buschard and friends, who used live shrimp on a catch-and release trip to catch thirteen sheepshead to 15 inches and a puffer-fish.
Thursday and Friday brought two days of rain—weather not even fit for a duck—along with persisting high seas and wind, and I had no choice but to cancel trips for a few very disappointed anglers. Saturday, seas were building even more, predicted to reach 10-12 feet by Sunday, when temps will also plummet to the 40’s. My customers for Saturday decided to give Estero Bay a try, since fishing offshore, as they’d planned, was out of the question. So I headed out to the best spots I could find, with as much wind-shelter as possible, with long-time customer Stuart Norris, his son, Mike, and grandson, Nate. They used live shrimp to catch mostly sheepshead, three of which were keepers to 14 inches. They also released a crevalle jack. It was far from an optimal morning in the bay, but at least Nate got to catch a keeper sheepshead, and the family enjoyed being together on the water.
Monday, 2/18, it remained too rough offshore for my planned deep-sea trip, and I cancelled that trip and remained in port.
So that’s a wrap for now—We did the best we could, given what Mother Nature handed us. And, I am sure hoping from some kinder weather for the rest of this month.

The photo shown is of angler Jim Swanger 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:
fishing action videos

After cancelling six consecutive fishing trips, due to weather conditions offshore and red tide in the bays, I finally got to fish again on Thursday, 1/24.I headed out about 18 miles from new Pass with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse and Jack Dee. Fishing was a little slow, perhaps due to the cold nights we experienced for a week, as well as some churning seas over the past week. But the guys used live shrimp to catch and release a bunch of red grouper and gag grouper shorts. They also got six keeper lane snapper to 12 inches and three nice mangrove snapper to 17 inches, along with five whitebone porgies to 15 inches. Sharks were a nuisance, and robbed us of a couple fish.

Friday, I was happy to see a second consecutive day of calm seas, and I headed out 19 miles with Wes Bentrude and his grandson, Brandon Bentrude, on a catch-and-release trip. The guys used live shrimp to catch a brace of 18 ½-inch sheepshead, eight mangrove snapper shorts, two 14-inch triggerfish, six red grouper shorts, and four gag grouper to 27 inches and eleven pounds. (see photo)

I was back offshore again on Tuesday, hoping for more calm seas just ahead of yet another front, due to pass through on Wednesday and Thursday and predicted to bring high winds and seas. It wasn’t quite as calm as I’d hoped, even on Tuesday. But Leonard Tatum and four friends toughed it out and caught a good variety of fish on live shrimp. They released fifteen gag grouper, three of which would have been keepers to 25 inches, had they been in season. They also released twenty-five red grouper to 19 ¾ inches, just short of keeper-size. They bagged six nice mangrove snapper, all about 16 inches and six yellowtail snapper, all 14-to-15 inches, along with fifteen assorted porgies (jolthead and whitebone.) They released twenty additional porgies, having no need for them, along with twenty-five small amberjacks to 20 inches.

Wednesday and Thursday provided no fishing opportunities whatsoever, with high winds and seas, as well as a good bit of rain on Thursday. I cancelled both trips. Friday morning, 2/1, I fished inshore in a very windy Estero Bay with Robin Latham and friends, Rick, and Dave Ricardi. The guys used live shrimp, as we tried our best to fish spots with decent action that were somewhat sheltered from the wind. They caught a brace of 17-inch black drum, a 16-inch trout, a 14-inch sheepshead, and an 11-inch mangrove snapper. They released an 18-inch snook.

Winds were a little calmer Saturday morning, which was still too rough to head offshore, but the lighter winds and warmer temps certainly made the inshore fishing more pleasant for Dick Hall and family. They used live shrimp to catch two nice trout, 16 inches and 18 inches, along with an 18-inch black drum, a 14-inch sheepshead, and an 11-inch mangrove snapper. They released lots of ladyfish and smaller sheepshead.

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

Tuesday, 1/8, I headed well offshore, 37 miles west of New Pass, with frequent customer Ron Musick and friends, Eddie Alfonso, Dick Arnett and Ralph Lussluer. We had a good day fishing with live shrimp, and the guys landed four keeper red grouper, 21 ½ inches, 22 ½ inches, 24 inches and the prize winner at 27 inches. They also kept seven whitebone porgies to 18 ½ inches, and released eighteen others, since they had no need for that many fish. Added to the fish-box were four keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches. The guys released a 16-inch amberjack and six gag grouper to 18 inches. A couple of big sharks were around and bit off a couple catches but we managed to reel in most of them!
Wednesday morning I fished Estero Bay's backwaters with Vince Graham, Bernie Saltor, and Denny Mascioli. The guys used live shrimp to catch two keeper redfish at 19 inches and 21 inches, along with a 15-inch keeper sheepshead an 18-inch black drum keeper, and a 12-inch keeper mangrove snapper. They released ten smaller sheepshead.
Thursday, with seas predicted to be two-to-three feet offshore, I headed out only about seven miles before we encountered three-to-five-foot seas. John Leahy and friends toughed it out, and caught and released a 28-inch gag grouper, which bit a grunt that was being reeled in. They also caught and released seven additional gag and red grouper shorts, a small triggerfish, and a bunch of blue runners. They took home some pan-fish too, with four porgies to 14 inches, a 22-inch Spanish mackerel, and seven good-sized grunts.

Friday, seas were considerably calmer than they’d been the day before, and I was able to get out nineteen miles, with frequent customer Mike Connealy and his friends, Rick Rosen and John Pound. The guys used live shrimp to catch a mess of lane snapper, ten of which were keepers to 12 inches. They also caught porgies to 14 inches, and released lots of gag and red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

Saturday morning, seas were still calm enough to head offshore, where I fished, using live shrimp in 38 feet, with brothers Bill and Bob Latham, Bob graham, Dell Bowden, and Rich Meyer. The guys caught a keeper hogfish at 13 inches and released a 22 ½-inch gag grouper, due to closed season. They also caught a mess of porgies, including half a dozen nice-sized keepers, some large grunts, a brace of 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper, and a 20-inch Spanish mackerel. In addition to the extra porgies, they released two smaller snapper, a dozen red-grouper shorts, fifteen gag grouper shorts, a 15-inch scamp grouper, triggerfish to 15 inches, and a small kingfish.

Monday, 1/14, I headed out nineteen miles west of New Pass with Fred Matthews, Harry Rigsby, and Hal Bennett. The guys had good success fishing with live shrimp, and caught a keeper red grouper at 21 ½ inches, five nice whitebone porgies to 17 inches, a 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper sheepshead at 13 inches, and a mess of grunts. They released lots of red grouper shorts, a gag grouper (due to closed season) and a short triggerfish.

Tuesday morning brought calm seas, and I headed out 22 miles from New Pass with Mike and Barb Haacke and Bruce and Beth Garner. The couples planned to head back north the following morning, so they had no interest in keeping fish—just catching them! They did well with that mission, using live shrimp and small grunts to land three keeper-sized red grouper to 22 inches, as well as the largest hogfish I’ve encountered in my many years of catching them: This beauty was a full 20 inches, and was gratefully accepted as a gift to the captain! The group also released a few gag grouper, a few short yellowtail snapper, porgies and grunts. There were signs of red tide out there, with lots of dead mullet around, but it sure didn’t hurt our fishing one bit!

Wednesday, I fished all day with John Rankin, Norm Grieve, Ferrell Fulkerson, Peter Tam and Gary Jackson, and Bob Fulertec, 37 miles west of New Pass, where the guys used live shrimp to catch a nice variety of fish. Red grouper were abundant, but we only got one that was a keeper, at 22 inches. We released lots of red grouper shorts, along with four scamp-grouper shorts. Added to the bag were a mess of nice whitebone porgies, all of which were about 17 inches, along with a dozen nice keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches, three keeper 12-inch yellowtail snapper, a keeper porkfish at 12 inches, and a keeper triggerfish at 14 1/4 inches. We had several sharks try to terrorize our catches, along with sea turtles also out for a free meal. The turtles managed to eat a couple of our catches as they were being reeled in, and the turtles' powerful jaws actually crushed the heads of a few fish, leaving jaw imprints. But the guys came in with plenty of fish, despite the competition!

Thursday, a weather-front came through the area, and small craft advisories were in effect by 10 AM, so I had to cancel my offshore trip for that day. Friday brought howling winds, cold temperatures, low tide, and a bit of drizzle, and I cancelled my bay trip, due to poor conditions. Add to that a little red tide, which has been plaguing our inland waterways for the past week or so, and conditions remained poor in the bay for Saturday's trip, which I also cancelled. So that's it for now, and I am hoping for some improved conditions soon.

The photo shown is of angler Mike Haacke with a 20-inch hogfish (the largest I have seen around here), 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:
fishing action videos

:toocool:

:toocool: After Wednesday's trip on 12/19, our weather began deteriorating, with a very windy, cold front that arrived late Thursday into Friday and Saturday. I cancelled my offshore trip for Friday with the Graham family, but I was able to reschedule that for a bay trip with them the morning of Christmas Eve. Bob Graham, his daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Ryan Ness, and his young grandson, Graham Ness, used live shrimp to catch twenty-two sheepshead, eight of which were nice keepers that ranged from 15 to 18 1/2 inches. The family also caught six black drum, four of which were keepers at about 16 inches each. They also released a juvenile goliath grouper.

Christmas Day and the day after were reserved for family events, so I wasn't back on the water until Thursday, 12/27, when I fished Estero Bay's backwaters. Seas offshore were four-to-six feet, with small craft advisories, so heading offshore was out of the question. Jim Madson and family used live shrimp to catch three keeper black-drum to 18 inches, fifteen sheepshead, including eight keepers to 16 inches, and a brace of 12-inch mangrove snapper. The group also released a couple of 16-inch crevalle jacks.

Friday, 12/28, I fished Estero Bay with Brian Clark and Julie Meng. The couple used live shrimp to catch seven keeper sheepshead to 17 inches. They released smaller sheepshead, along with a couple of puffer-fish and stingray.

Saturday morning, in advance of the next cold front predicted to come through the area, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with Dave Carey, his two sons, Dan and Joel, and Joel’s girlfriend, Debbie. The group used live shrimp to catch twenty sheepshead to 17 inches, an 18-inch crevalle jack, two black drum at 17 inches and 18 inches, a sand bream (also known as a striped mojara), and puffer-fish.

Monday, the last day of 2012, I spent the morning fishing Estero Bay with Tony and Becky Struble and their three lovely daughters, Katie, Anna and Daisy. The family used live shrimp to catch seventeen sheepshead. They kept a couple of 13-inch sheepies and released the rest. They also caught a 17-inch black drum keeper and a brace of 18 ½ inch sea-trout. They released a 17-inch redfish and a puffer-fish.

New Years’ Day was a day off the water for me, spent with family. On Wednesday, 1/2/13, I headed offshore, about 12 miles west of New Pass, with Bill and Linda Latham, their son and his wife, John and Shannon, and their two young children, Ian and Elle. The family used live shrimp to catch five keeper mangrove snapper, all around 14 inches, two whitebone porgies to 18 inches, a keeper porkfish and a half dozen nice-sized grunts. They released a hogfish short, gag grouper shorts to 19 inches, red grouper shorts to 18 inches, two under-sized triggerfish, and a puffer-fish.

Kari Vilamaa and Jim Swanger fished offshore with me on Thursday, nineteen miles west of New Pass. The guys used live shrimp to catch a keeper hogfish at 15 inches, a keeper red grouper at 24 inches, seven porgies (all between 14 and 16 inches), and a 14-inch mangrove snapper keeper. They released seventeen smaller porgies, a bunch of short mangrove and yellowtail snapper, lots of grunts and a would-be-keeper porkfish.

Friday morning, I headed out nineteen miles again, this time with long-time customer Ron Musick and friends, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett, Tom Collins and Mark Mewhorter. Seas were calm enough but there was a pretty good swell out there. That didn’t stop the guys from catching fish, though! They used live shrimp to catch two keeper hogfish at 15 inches and 17 inches, a dozen keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches, a mess of whitebone porgies to 16 inches and a keeper porkfish at 11 inches. The guys released a bunch of additional porgies, twenty red grouper shorts to 18 ½ inches, and (sadly) three would-be-keeper gag grouper to 30 inches, which had to be let go, due to closed season.

Another weather-front passed through the area, bringing higher winds and seas Saturday morning, so I stayed close in at the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach when I fished with Scott Severaid and family. They weren’t interested in keeping any fish—just showing the kids a good time—and we fulfilled that by using live shrimp to catch and release seven nice sheepshead to 16 inches, lots of mangrove snapper, and a Spanish mackerel.

Monday morning, 1/7, we awoke to rain, but forecasts and radar indicated it would be light and of short duration: the forecasts were wrong. It continued raining into the morning, forcing me to cancel a scheduled inshore trip with a family that included young children.

The photo shown is of angler Tom Collins with a 30-inch gag grouper, caught on shrimp and released (due to closed season) on a recent trip.

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

:toocool: The first week of December was kind of slow around here, which is typical for the few weeks between Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday rush. But I did get out fishing in Estero Bay, on a catch-and-release trip with Dave and Diane Carey on Friday, 12/7/12. The couple used live shrimp to catch twenty sheepshead to 14 inches, eight of which were would-be keepers, along with one keeper-sized mangrove snapper at 13 inches, two puffer-fish and two stingrays.

My next trip wasn’t until ten days later, the interim filled with lots of rainy, windy weather. On Monday, 12/17, I fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with Greg Sturley, his son, Chris, and his father-in-law, Richard. Using live shrimp, the guys caught ten sheepshead, three of which were 14-inch keepers, along with three keeper mangrove snapper at 12 inches each. They released two 16-inch crevalle jacks, a couple of puffer-fish, and a couple of rays.

Wednesday morning, 12/19, I again fished the backwaters, this time with Robert and Kim Rzepiela. The couple used live shrimp to catch three keeper sheepshead, all in the 13-14-inch range, a keeper mangrove snapper, and a 16-inch pompano. They released ten smaller sheepshead and three stingrays.

Today, Friday, 12/21, I cancelled my offshore trip in the face of 25 knot winds and 5-foot seas. A cold front has made it all this way south, and is predicted to drop our usually tropical temperatures to a chilly 40 degrees tonight.

Happy holidays to all!

The photo shown is of angler Rich Honsa, with a 19 ½-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp on a recent trip.

:toocool: Tuesday, 11/20, I fished inshore in Estero Bay with Al Tooley and his thirteen-year-old son, Aiden. The guys caught a 20-inch, keeper redfish, along with five keeper sheepshead to 15 inches, all on shrimp. They released seven smaller sheepshead and two stingrays.

Wednesday morning, I again fished central Estero Bay, using live shrimp, this time with Tim Fox, his son, Eli, and his father-in-law, Alan Zeilinger. The sheepshead were abundant and biting well, and the trio caught fifteen of those in all, including nine nice keepers to 16 inches. We had one sheepie boat-side that was about 20 inches, but it snapped the line at the last minute. The guys also released three crevalle jacks, all about 5 pounds, along with four stingrays and two puffer-fish.

Ron & Janet Farqueherson fished a catch-and-release trip with me Saturday morning in Estero Bay, using live shrimp. The couple caught and released a brace of 17 ½ inch redfish, along with two keeper-sized sheepshead to 16 inches, five keeper-sized mangrove snapper, a brace of 16-inch black drum, and two puffer-fish.

Monday, 11/26, I headed out to fish with Todd Flemmin and Eddie Alfonso, 28 to 35 miles west of New Pass. We had live shrimp and squid, and used both with good success. The guys caught three keeper red grouper at 21 ½ inches, 22 ½ inches and 23 inches. They released about twenty shorter ones. They also caught nineteen beautiful mangrove snapper, all of which were in the 15-inch to 16-inch range, as well as three nice yellowtail snapper that were 13 inches each. The whitebone porgies were large and plentiful, and the guys kept four 15-inch porgies, out of twenty they caught. They also caught nine large grunts, and kept four of those that were 16 inches. They released two gag grouper that were 21 inches each. All in all it was a very productive and beautiful day on the water.

Long time customers, Erwin and Millie Metusiak, fished with me Tuesday morning, about 18 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp. The couple caught three keeper mangrove snapper to 12 ½ inches, and kept six whitebone porgies to 18 inches, out of about twenty caught. They also caught a keeper hogfish at 15 inches. They released three 21-inch gag grouper, ten red grouper shorts, a 15 ½ inch scamp grouper, six triggerfish to 13 ½ inches, and blue runners.

Saturday morning, I fished central Estero Bay with Rich and Nancy Honsa, using live shrimp. The sheepshead bite was hot, and the couple caught fifteen nice ones to 19 ½ inches. They only wanted enough for a meal, so they kept the biggest one and released the rest. They also released five keeper-sized mangrove snapper to 11 inches and two puffer-fish.

The photo shown is of angler, Eddie Alfonso, with a 23-inch red grouper, one of three red grouper keepers caught on shrimp on an offshore trip 11/26/12.

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

:toocool: Monday, 11/5, I fished about 22 miles west of New Pass with Mark Cavanaugh and friends. The four guys used live shrimp to land five gag grouper, three of which would have been keeper-size, to 23 inches, except for the fact that season closed for those five days ago. So we released all of those, along with a dozen red grouper to 17 ½ inches, a mess of yellowtail snapper shorts and two undersized triggerfish. The guys kept fifteen nice lane snapper, two nice porkfish, a mess of large grunts and a white margate. They caught one keeper mangrove snapper at 13 ½ inches, but the dolphin showed up on that spot right afterwards and put an end to the mangrove snapper fishing!

Tuesday evening, a mild cold front moved through the area, with increased winds and seas affecting the gulf. Wednesday morning, 11/7, I fished inshore in central Estero Bay, with Dave Mercer, Tom Butler and his daughter, Molly Butler, and Rob Knudson. The group used live shrimp for bait, and they caught two keeper redfish, one 19 ½ inches and one 24 ½ inches. They also caught an 18-inch sea-trout and two keeper mangrove snapper. They released twenty-five sheepshead shorts to just under 12 inches, along with two sailcats at 17 and 18-inches, and five stingrays to two pounds.

Anglers, Kari Vilamaa, George Dyer and Terry Keever had planned on fishing offshore Thursday, but small craft advisories due to high winds and seas put a crimp on that plan. So the guys decided to fish inshore in Estero Bay, where they used live shrimp to catch a keeper redfish at 19 inches, a 15-inch black drum, and one 13-inch keeper sheepshead, out of twenty sheepshead caught. They also released an 18-inch crevalle jack. We fished the lower part of the bay, out of the wind as much as possible.

Winds and seas remained high on Friday, causing my offshore trip to cancel for that day. Saturday, seas were still three-to-five feet offshore, so Bob and Stephanie Rose decided to fish inshore in Estero Bay with me. The couple caught two keeper black drum, one 15 inches and one 18 ½ inches, along with a 14-inch keeper sheepshead and a 12-inch keeper mangrove snapper. They released about twenty short sheepshead, and caught everything on live shrimp.

Monday morning, 11/12, I fished in central Estero Bay, in wind-sheltered spots, with Jeannine Lamb and Kathy Kunce. The ladies used live shrimp to catch five black drum, three of which were keepers to 18 inches. They also caught three keeper sheepshead to 13 ½ inches, and released twenty-five shorter ones. They caught a keeper permit and a keeper mangrove snapper also, so they were well fixed for a few fish dinners. They released an 18-inch, four-pound crevalle jack and two puffer-fish.

Mike Lischer and girlfriend, Bethany Wilczynski, joined by Mike’s brother and sister-in-law, John and Holly Lischer, their sixteen-year-old son, Cruise, and family friend Jeff Heimlich, fished 28 miles west of New Pass with me on Tuesday. Using live shrimp, the group did very well with red grouper, catching about twenty-five in all, including four keepers, one at 21 inches, two at 22 inches and one at 25 inches. They caught two nice hogfish at 15 inches and 17 inches, and also caught a mess of large grunts, and released all but five of those, and thirty porgies, of which they kept ten. They also released yellowtail and mangrove snapper short and gag grouper to 20 inches.

John and Toni Heinrich fished inshore with me Wednesday, in Estero Bay, using live shrimp. The couple caught a 15-inch black drum, five keeper sheepshead ranging 13-to-15 inches, two keeper mangrove snapper at 12 inches and 13 1/2 inches, and a sand bream. They released about twenty smaller sheepshead.

Thursday morning, I headed out with brothers, Terry and Mike Mooney, and friend, Paul Dalton, to fish 19 miles west of New Pass. The guys caught a keeper red grouper at 20 ½ inches, a 15-inch triggerfish, two 12-inch lane snapper, and fifteen whitebone porgies to 16 inches, of which they chose to keep five. They also released two out-of-season gag grouper to 22 inches, smaller lane and mangrove snapper, along with a 4-foot bull shark. Having seen a big king mackerel jump out of the water, I rigged up a pole with a blue runner to try to catch him, but ended up with the bull shark on the line. The guys took turns fighting him for a while, then released him boat-side.

Friday morning, I fished in Estero Bay on a catch-and-release trip with Mike Lischer and Jeff Heimlich, who had fished offshore with me on Tuesday. This time, Jeff brought his wife, Beth, and young daughter, Maddie. The group had fun catching and releasing twenty sheepshead to 13 ½ inches and four mangrove snapper, all on live shrimp.

Saturday was windy, and seas were not the one-to-three feet that were predicted. So I stayed near-shore at the reefs off Bonita Beach, where I fished with Tom Zensen, John Hamilton, and Greg Bauer. It was kind of a slow bite, but the guys caught a couple of keeper sheepshead and a few grunts, on live shrimp. They released shorter sheepies and small mangrove snapper.

The photo shown is of angler, Holly Lischer, with a 17-inch hogfish, one of two keeper hogs 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:
fishing action videos

Saturday, 10/20, I fished with long-time customer Marshall Swain, along with his family and friends. We used live shrimp, about 22 miles west of New Pass, and the group caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with one keeper mangrove snapper at 13 inches. They released a half dozen smaller mangs, along with fifteen undersized red grouper to 19 7/8 inches (so close but not close enough!) They also released five yellowtail snapper shorts, grunts, porgies and a brace of 18-inch lesser amberjacks.

We had some wild winds and some rain preceding Hurricane Sandy, and we deferred the trip we had scheduled for Friday, 10/26 to Monday, which was the final day of Jalissa Reever’s and Steve Spitzer’s visit. Monday, winds and seas were still way to strong to venture offshore, but there was no rain, and we were able to fish inshore in Estero Bay, where we used live shrimp, along the edges toward Wiggins Pass. The couple released nine sheepshead shorts and three snook that were 16 inches, 18 inches and 19 inches. They caught a keeper permit at 13 ½ inches and a keeper redfish at 18 ½ inches.

After Hurricane Sandy left the coastline, it took until Thursday for seas to be calm enough to tolerate offshore. I fished that day, 11/1, with Bert Van Kooten, Ron Dallimore, Norman Grieve and John Rankin. We fished 17 miles west of New Pass, using live shrimp, and the guys caught a good variety of fish. Catches included twenty keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, fifteen decent-sized grunts, and ten porgies to 12 inches. They released fifteen yellowtail snapper shorts, five red grouper shorts, and a 30-inch bonnet-head shark.

Friday morning I fished several spots in central Estero Bay and down toward Wiggins Pass with Greg Sills and Phil Jicklititer. The guys used live shrimp to catch a 19 ½-inch redfish and three keeper sheepshead, two at 15 inches and one at 13 inches. They released ten shorter sheepshead, two crevalle jacks and a stingray.

The photo shown is of angler, John Rankin, with a 30-inch Bonnethead-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:
fishing videos

After some rainy days, one no-show customer (that makes twice within a month, and is oh-so annoying), and a few seasonally slow days, I finally got out fishing again on Tuesday, 10/9, when I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Scott Severaid, Gregg Hass, Todd Vershaw, Jason White and Mike Wernsman. We used pinfish for our big-game fishing and shrimp for table-fare. The guys caught and released an 80-pound goliath grouper (photo shown). Red grouper were abundant, though we didn’t land any keepers. We released about fifty of those, to 19 ¾ inches, just shy of keeper-size. The group also released twenty mangrove snapper shorts. They caught about twenty lane snapper, a dozen of which were keepers, along with a keeper porkfish and a mess of grunts.

Thursday, 10/11, I headed out 22 miles from New Pass in some rough morning seas, which calmed somewhat later in the day. I fished with Dave Carey, Steve Wanner, John Faletto and George Siamuanes. We used live shrimp for everything but the groupers, which preferred pinfish. The guys caught about forty lane snapper, twenty of which were keepers at 11-12 inches. They also caught a half dozen 11-inch, keeper porkfish, a keeper mangrove snapper, a mess of grunts and a few nice whitebone porgies. They released twenty red grouper to 19 ½ inches, along with ladyfish, two dozen yellowtail snapper shorts and a couple dozen mangrove shorts.

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

Labor Day Monday, 9/3, I fished at the near-shore reefs with Brian Lucas and his two young sons, Grady and Grant, along with Cadrin Cojanu and his two young children, Ben and Emily. The group used live shrimp to catch four Spanish mackerel to 23 inches, five pompano, all around 14 inches, a keeper mangrove snapper and a keeper lane snapper. They released a 24-inch cobia, along with blue runners and ladyfish.

After a couple of weeks off the water, due to lots of rain, wind, and our typical late-summer scarcity of bookings, I fished a catch-and-release trip in the backwaters of Estero Bay on Wednesday, 9/19, with Chris Romey and his wife, Kaylyn. The couple used live shrimp to catch and release ten mangrove snapper, two sheepshead, a 17-inch snook, and a crevalle jack.

Thursday, 9/20, I fished Estero Bay with Erinn Hanson and Liz Sherer, of Minnesota. The girls used live shrimp to catch four sheepshead, one of which was a keeper at 13 inches. They also caught a 14-inch permit and a 14-inch flounder. They released a stingray and fifteen small mangrove snapper.
Friday, we awoke to some unexpected rain showers, so I delayed my near-shore trip for a while, until the rains passed through. I headed to the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach with Bob Wickham, his son, John Wickham, and friend, Stephen Schoepfer. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release thirty mangrove snapper shorts, gag grouper shorts to 20 inches, and a few whitebone porgies. Keepers included six lane snapper to 12 inches, a 16-inch flounder. a 15-inch sea-trout and a silver porgy.

Saturday morning also began with rain, but it was light and sporadic, so I figured I could dodge it, and I headed out about 19 miles west of New Pass with Drs. Meir and Rie Daller, their young sons, Brenden and Julian, and friends Alejandro Miranda-Sausa and his teen-aged son, Gabriel. The group used live shrimp to catch twenty keeper lane snapper, all around 11 inches, a keeper yellowtail snapper, three keeper whitebone porgies, two Spanish mackerel keepers to 25 inches, and a 16-inch keeper scamp-grouper. They released two red grouper to 18 inches, ten yellowtail-shorts, and a mess of blue runners. One angler hooked a big shark, but it cut the line before we could identify what kind it was.

The photo shown is of angler, Stuart Wisely, with a 29-inch gag grouper, caught on a pinfish, 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/fishing%20videos.htm

:toocool: Monday, 8/20, I fished with Steve Spitzer and Jalissa Reever again. They had fished with me the previous Wednesday and caught a couple of keeper gag grouper. But, Monday, conditions were different. Despite forecasts for one-to-two foot seas and 5-10 knot winds, we encountered steady 15-18 knot winds and two-to-three foot seas. We fished the near-shore reefs with live shrimp, and the couple caught six mangrove snapper, three of which were keepers, one 14 1/2-inch flounder, and a half-dozen Atlantic croakers, all 13 to 14 inches. They also released a small silver trout, a small whiting, and ladyfish.

Tuesday, we awoke to rain along the coast, coming in from the gulf, with clearing later in the day. On Wednesday morning, 8/22, I headed to the near-shore reefs with cousins Michael and Doug Cook. Seas were pretty sloppy early on, calming slightly by late morning. The guys used live shrimp to catch nine croakers, an 11-inch keeper lane snapper, and a few keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches. They released about twenty mangrove shorts, along with pinfish, small sheepshead, ladyfish and crevalle jacks.

Thursday, 8/23, was the last day to fish offshore for a while, as soon-to-be Hurricane Isaac makes it's way toward Florida, kicking up winds and seas. I fished with Greg Bauer and Ryan Link, about twelve miles west of New Pass. We used pinfish for the big guys and live shrimp for the table-fare, and we did well on both counts: The guys caught a 29-inch, 13-pound gag grouper, and they released a 100-pound goliath grouper and a four-foot nurse-shark. They also caught a few keeper lane snapper, and released twenty-five mangrove snapper shorts, a red grouper short, some blue runners, twenty ladyfish and some crevalle jacks.

So, we' battened down the hatches and hoped for the best. We were fortunate that Isaac took a westerly turn, and produced only some rain and gusty winds...it definitely made it too rough to fish for a few days but that is minimal compared with what might have happened, so we are thankful.

I had planned to fish inshore, in Estero Bay on Thursday, 8/30, but, as happens only a couple times per year (fortunately) I was stood up by the party who had booked the trip just a couple days before. Most customers understand that a captain arises early in the morning to ready his boat, and is likely to purchase near $50.00 worth of live bait for a scheduled fishing trip, so a no-show can cause a guide to be near $100.00 in the hole, not to mention losing the day’s income and denying another customer the chance to fish that day.

Saturday, the first day of September, I fished with Dustin Duba, brothers Stuart and Kyle Wiseley, Justin Rupert and Nate May. We fished at a few different spots between 18 and 28 miles west of New Pass, and the guys did well with a nice smorgasboard of catches. The catch-of-the-day was a 29-inch gag grouper that Stuart reeled in on a pinfish. A pinfish was also the bait of choice for a 5-foot nurse-shark that Kyle caught and released. The group also caught fifteen yellowtail snapper, but only two of those were keepers at 13 inches. They also caught fifteen keeper lane snapper and six nice mangrove snapper to 15 inches. At one point, we had a 19-inch mangrove snapper on the line, but a 5-foot long barracuda decided to grab that one before we could get it reeled in. The guys also caught a half-dozen keeper whitebone porgies to 15 inches. They released lots of gag grouper to 21 1/2 inches and red grouper shorts to 18 1/2 inches.

The photo shown is of angler, Greg Bauer with a 29-inch, 13-pound gag grouper, caught on a pinfish, on a recent offshore trip.

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

Monday, 8/6, I headed out to 35 feet to fish with Brian Woeste, Adam Bodkin and Tim Powers. The guys wanted to experience the thrill of big game, but also wanted some food fish. We started out catching blue runners and Spanish mackerel for goliath grouper bait. The guys caught and released a 70-pound goliath grouper, which bit a blue runner. They lost a bigger one that broke the line before they could reel him to the surface. Next, we set about catching dinner-fish, using live shrimp for bait. The guys caught seven keeper lane snapper to 11 inches, a half-dozen whitebone porgies to 14 inches, and a half-dozen Spanish mackerel to 24 inches. They released undersized yellowtail and mangrove snappers, blue runners, grunts, and red grouper shorts to 18 inches. Seas were predicted to be calm, at one-to two feet, but we had some sloppy conditions and two-to-three foot seas, even relatively close-in, ahead of some rain showers that followed us back to shore.

Wednesday, 8/8, I fished in 45 feet, west of New Pass, with father-and-son team, Tim Miller and Tim Miller, Jr. We caught some blue runners and Spanish mackerels to use as bait for big-game, and the guys caught and released three goliath grouper, 50 pounds, 70 pounds, and 80 pounds. After some rest and recovery (those goliaths exhaust every muscle in an angler's body we baited with shrimp to catch a few dinner-fish, which included six keeper lane snapper and a few whitebone porgies. The guys also released a 40-inch sandbar shark and a two-foot cobia. At one point, there were five cobia schooling by the boat, but we only got the one to bite.

I had planned to fish on Saturday, 8/11, but we awoke to thunderstorms, and it was still raining by 11AM, so we bagged the trip. It rained most of the day Sunday also but, by Monday morning, 8/13, we were back in a more typical afternoon rain pattern, which allowed me to fish the morning with Mike Wethington, his son, Mike Jr., and friend, Rob. We fished in 38 feet, first going after some goliath-grouper fun and, second, going after some fish for dinner. We used blue runners and crevalle jacks for goliath bait, and the guys battled a 70-pound goliath and a 90-pound goliath to the surface for pics before releasing them. They agonized over the mammoth that broke the line just five feet below the boat! They also released a 40-inch sandbar shark, caught on live shrimp, along with some undersized yellowtail snapper, a couple of gag grouper shorts, and a moonfish. They caught plenty to eat, including eight keeper mangrove snapper (out of about twenty-five caught), three Spanish mackerel (out of fifteen caught) and a half-dozen keeper lane snapper.

Tuesday, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with Robert & Roberta Dulberg and their children, Daniel and Rebecca. We used live shrimp to catch and release a 17 3/4-inch redfish, a 16-inch snook, two crevalle jacks, two stingray and seven mangrove snapper.

Wednesday, I fished the near-shore reefs with frequent customers Steve Spitzer and Jalissa Reever. We caught some pinfish to use for grouper bait, and the couple landed two keeper gag grouper, 22 inches and 25 1/2 inches. They also used live shrimp to catch three Spanish mackerel to 22 inches and a half-dozen keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches. They released small kingfish to 22 inches, ladyfish, and crevalle jacks.

Kal and Rachelle Johnson fished in Estero Bay with me on Thursday, where they used live shrimp to catch an 18-inch keeper redfish and some mangrove snapper. They also released a puffer fish.

Friday morning, I fished with Calvin and Heather Horst. Calvin wanted to catch something big and, since he and his wife were returning home from their stay in Bonita the next day, they weren't interested in keeping any food-fish. So we caught some ladyfish, crevalle jacks and Spanish mackerel to use as bait for goliath grouper. Calvin battled an 85-pound goliath to the surface for a few pics, before releasing the monster. It bit a blue runner and Spanish mackerel combo-bait. The couple also released about fifteen would-be-keeper mangrove snapper, along with some Spanish mackerel to 23 inches, and a few small lane snapper.

I had planned to fish offshore on Saturday, 8/18, but it was raining by about 8AM, with lots of moisture still rolling in from the gulf, so we had to cancel that trip.

The photo shown is of angler, Jalissa Reever, with a 25½-inch gag grouper, caught on a pinfish, on a recent offshore trip.

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

After several weeks off the water because of a family reunion trip, followed by lots of rainy days unsuitable for fishing, I finally got offshore on Friday, 7/20/12 with John Hamilton and friends. We fished 36 miles west of New Pass, where we got into some red grouper. We didn't get a keeper, though, out of the 100+ reds we caught and released. All were between 16 and 19 1/2 inches. The guys did catch some food-fish, however: Six large grunts, six big whitebone porgies, and six yellowtail snapper to 14 inches. They also released a 38-inch sharp-nose shark and a 70-pound goliath grouper.

I had an offshore trip scheduled for Monday, 7/23, but the rains of the weekend threatened to persist into Monday, so I postponed that trip to Tuesday morning. I headed out about 18 miles on Tuesday with Ron Sticha and his twelve-year-old son, Noah. We used live shrimp to catch a variety of fish, including a 17-inch keeper hogfish, four keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, two keeper lane snapper, three keeper porkfish, three Spanish mackerel to 26 inches, grunts, and eight whitebone porgy keepers to 14 inches. We released fifteen additional mangrove snapper that were shorts, a few yellowtail snapper to 11 1/2 inches, a half dozen gag grouper to 20 inches, six red grouper to 18 1/2 inches, a triggerfish-short, and some blue runners.

Friday morning, 7/27, I headed offshore to about 18 miles west of New Pass with Joel Anderson, his nine-year-old son, Samuel, Joel's brother Chris, Chris' daughter and son-in-law, Ashley and Jonathan Metcalf, and Chris' other daughter, Amber Anderson. We used live shrimp and caught a good variety of fish, including three hogfish, one of which was a keeper at 14 inches, eight keeper lane snapper, four porkfish keepers, and five whitebone porgies, all around 14 inches. The group also released yellowtail and mangrove snapper shorts to 11 inches, a small Spanish mackerel, and gag and red grouper shorts to 18 inches.

Saturday, I headed out about twelve miles to fish in 35 feet with Dr. Meir Daller, wife Mie, and their two sons, Julian, age eight, and Brenden, age four. It's nice that gag grouper season recently re-opened because Meir got to keep the 23 1/2 inch gag he caught on a bait-fish. The family also used live shrimp to catch a 17-inch keeper hogfish, a couple of keeper porkfish, three keeper mangrove snapper, grunts and whitebone porgies. They released some shorter mangrove snapper, along with most of the fifteen Spanish mackerel they caught, keeping only four of those to 24 inches.

Monday, 7/30, I fished with Paul Fenwick, his two young children, Emma and Spencer, along with John Purdy and daughter, Jordan, and friend, Susan Carlisle. We fished with live shrimp in 38-40 feet, targeting anything that the kids would enjoy catching. The group caught four keeper Spanish mackerel all 20-22 inches, ten keeper lane snapper, two keeper porkfish and some grunts. They released about twenty red grouper shorts, measuring all the way to 19 7/8, just missing the 20-inch legal size. They also released a triggerfish–short, and had a ton of fun!

Thursday, 8/2, I fished inshore in Estero Bay with David Rosati, son Tanner, and Tanner's friend, Kyle. We used live shrimp to catch three redfish, two of which were keepers at 18 inches. The group also caught fifteen mangrove snapper, seven of which were keepers at 11 inches, one 14-inch black drum, and a 12-inch sheepshead. They released one small stingray and one 16-inch snook.

Friday, I headed out to fish in 30 feet with Mark and Nina Dulberg and their three children, Jessica, Jason and Max. We caught twenty-five Spanish mackerel to 24 inches, and the group kept a dozen of those. They released mangrove snapper shorts and small grunts. At one point, we had a very big hogfish hooked, but a goliath grouper decided he deserved that dinner more than the Dulbergs did!

The photo shown is of angler, Dr. Meir Daller, with a 23 1/2-inch gag 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:
fishing videos

We have had a lot of rain recently and, prior to that, I was off the water for a couple of weeks, due to a family reunion. So there isn’t a whole lot to report, but I did do a couple of trips inshore and near-shore. Last Monday morning, I headed to the near-shore reefs with Steve and Lori Greiner and their two young sons, Derek and Jared. Winds had picked up over the weekend, and it was beginning to get a little sloppy in the gulf, despite NOAA’s forecast for two-foot seas. We used live shrimp to catch three Spanish mackerel to 23 inches and five keeper trout, three spotted sea-trout to 18 inches and a 16-inch silver trout. We released a smaller silver trout, some croakers, ladyfish, small sheepshead and mangrove snapper.

Tuesday brought high winds and a small-craft-caution. My offshore trip deferred to Friday, hoping for calmer seas by then.

My next trip was inshore, by necessity, on Thursday morning, when Steve Spritzer and Jalissa Reever gave up their offshore plans and fished with me in Estero Bay. Luckily, we beat the rain back to shore by a few minutes. The couple caught and released a 17-inch redfish and two stingray to 7 pounds. They also caught a 15-inch sheepshead and two 11-inch mangrove snapper, all on shrimp.

The photo shown is of angler, Patrick Dreyer, with an eleven-pound, 28-inch gag grouper caught on a bait-fish 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:

fishing videos

:toocool: Tuesday, 5/29, I spent the day fishing in 47 feet, using live shrimp, with Robert Pierce, Brian Clark, and Julie Meng. The trio hoped to catch some good table-fare, along with doing some sport-fishing for bigger fish. I had hoped to put them on some goliath grouper for the latter, but the goliaths were nowhere to be found on this particular day. Just a few days ago, they were so abundant that it was difficult to reel up any catches without them attacking, but today, they were in hiding. We did hook and release a 40-inch sharp-nose shark, though, and then we set about finding some food-fish. The group caught a dozen nice, keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches, two keeper hogfish at 12 ½ and 17 inches, five keeper yellowtail snapper to 14 ½ inches, and five whitebone porgies to 14 inches. They released seven smaller mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel to 20 inches, crevalle jacks, blue runners, grunts to 14 inches, and gag and red grouper shorts.

After about a week of being land-locked, with unsettled weather, I got back out fishing on Saturday, 6/9. NOAA's forecast was for one-foot seas out to twenty miles, but I knew that would not be the case, after a hellacious thunderstorm rolled through our area during the wee hours of Saturday morning. Gary and Gina Freels and their eleven-year-old son, Cole, were hoping to fish the gulf this time, since they fished bayside last time they went with me. So, we headed to the reefs, about five miles offshore, and conditions there told us not to venture any further. We did well there, using live shrimp to catch three keeper Spanish mackerel to 24 inches, five keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches, and three keeper flounder at 14, 15 and 17 inches. We released fifteen croakers to 15 inches, gag grouper shorts, ladyfish, crevalle jacks, and two snook at 18 inches and 26 inches.

Monday morning, 6/11, I headed out to about 44 feet, where I fished with Terry and Linda Hedrick and their two daughters, Sarah and Natasha. We did well with red grouper, using pinfish as bait, and catching about thirty of them in all, four of which were keepers ranging from 20 ½ inches to 22 inches. Using shrimp, we caught and released mangrove snapper shorts, yellowtail snapper shorts, lane snapper shorts, one short hogfish, and a 40-inch sharp-nose shark. We also caught a keeper porgy and a 23-inch Spanish mackerel on shrimp.

Tuesday morning I again headed out to fish in depths of 45-50 feet, this time with Scott Coon, John and Diana Finney, and Rich Reber. We used pinfish and live shrimp to catch about twenty-five red grouper, all of which were released, except for the 22-inch keeper that Rich landed. The group also caught a half-dozen nice lane snapper to 15 inches, and Diana caught a 12 ½ inch hogfish, all on shrimp. We released two 35-inch sharp-nose sharks and also had a big barracuda harass our catches for a while.

Wednesday, I fished with Dr. Mark Dreyer and his son, Patrick. We began in about 50 feet, where we caught some Spanish mackerel in the 23 to 26 inch range, to use for goliath-bait. We caught and released two goliaths, one 65 pounds and the other 150 pounds. We continued out 37 miles to about 71 feet, where we fished with live shrimp. The father-son team caught and released a 12-pound bonito and two sharp-nose sharks. Tears were nearly shed when we landed a 28-inch, eleven pound gag grouper that had to be released, due to closed season! We also released about fifty red grouper shorts. We caught fifteen nice yellowtail snapper, all in the 14-15-inch range, along with a couple of big lane snapper at 15 inches, and two keeper mangrove snapper. We also caught five nice whitebone porgies, all around 15 inches, and five large grunts. We released eight smaller mangroves, five smaller yellowtails, and nine smaller lanes, since the guys wanted only enough fish for a couple of meals, and they planned to fish with me again the next day.

Thursday, Mark and Patrick Dreyer fished offshore with me again. Patrick was in awe of the goliaths he caught yesterday, and wanted to battle another one. So we fished a couple of ledges and wrecks, out to about 30 miles and 65 feet. The first goliath we hooked was about 40 pounds and, although it put up a darn good fight, it paled in comparison to what Patrick hooked next: a six foot long goliath, estimated at about 450 pounds! Patrick managed to get it to the surface for some video, before releasing it. It had been chasing the 40-pounder as we reeled the smaller fish in, so we immediately dropped another line and got the big boy! The Dreyers also caught a 39-inch cobia, for which we used a jig and a plastic tail, along with about thirty mangrove snapper and thirty lane snapper. They kept seven of each snapper species, and released the rest, since they had caught more than enough to eat already. They also released fifteen crevalle jacks, some whitebone porgies, three king mackerel just short of keeper-size at 23 1/2 inches, and two sandbar sharks. We sighted about thirty sandbar sharks on one of the wrecks. We also sighted about sixty permit, but they appeared during the cobia frenzy and quickly left the area, before we could drop a crab over the side for them.

Friday morning, I headed to the near-shore reefs with Jeremy Havrilla and his nine-year-old son, Josh. We used live shrimp to catch and release a few triggerfish, along with red and gag grouper shorts. The guys also caught some dinner fish, including grunts, mangrove snapper, porkfish and Spanish mackerel.

The photo shown is of angler and well known local outdoorsman, Trapper Rudd, with a 23-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:
fishing videos

:toocool: Monday, 5/7, I fished at the near-shore reefs with Joe and Donna Corso. The couple used live shrimp to catch a 14-inch keeper-pompano, two keeper flounders at 14 and 18 inches, a keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper sea trout at 20 inches, a half dozen Spanish mackerels in the 22-23-inch range, and three grunts. They released five southern croakers, a whiting, and a few crevalle jacks.

Tuesday, 5/8, I headed out 38 miles west of New Pass for a full day of fishing with Phil Griffo, his son, Chris Griffo, and Phil's nephew, Jeff Miller. We had a great day of fishing, using live shrimp and bait-fish. The guys caught about 75 groupers in all, including a 25-inch red grouper keeper. We released a couple more red groupers that were just at 20 inches, but allowing for shrinkage made give those up. We also caught what would be a keeper-sized gag grouper, if gags were back in season, which they are not. So we released that 23 inch gag, along with all the rest of the groupers, except for the keeper red, which weighed 7 1/2 pounds. The guys also caught a dozen keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, a dozen keeper lane snapper, a bunch of white-bone porgies, of which they kept six, along with a half-dozen big grunts. We also got to experience a few cool sightings, including several big sharks and sea turtles. And, the best sighting of all was a whale--I have no idea what kind--it had a blunt nose, was about twenty feet long, and came up right by the boat, so I got some video of that, and I'm eager to see how visible it is in the video clips.

With a seasonal slack-off in trips, coupled with some rainy weather, I was off the water until Thursday, 5/17, when I fished the backwaters with frequent customer Steve Spitzer and his son, Jeremy. We fished various spots in Estero Bay, using live shrimp. The guys caught a keeper 15-inch trout and a keeper 14-inch flounder. They released two undersized sheepshead, an undersized trout, ladyfish, and a redfish-short.

Friday, I headed out in pursuit of catch-and-release big game with Casey Miller, Bob Fejfer, and Jake Annonson. We fished in 56 feet, using shrimp at first, and saving some Spanish mackerel we caught for big-fish bait. The guys caught three cobia on shrimp, all 32 inches, just an inch short of keeper-size, so we released those. We hooked two of them simultaneously, which was a neat trick and photo-op! We also released a 14-inch pompano, Spanish mackerels to 21 inches, and crevalle jacks. We used some Spanish macks to lure a few goliath grouper, and the guys got to battle an 80-pound goliath and a 150-pound goliath to the surface. A third goliath we hooked was a monster that snagged on the rocky bottom and eventually broke the line.

Monday morning, 5/21, I fished Estero Bay with Jim Dean, who was planning to fish a couple of backwater trips on Monday and Tuesday with me. But, the fishing was very tough and slow in the bay Monday, so we decided we'd fish offshore on Tuesday. There was an abundance of glass minnows and a variety of live baits in the bay, so the fish weren't real interested in our baits. They scaled a few of our pinfish, mostly holding bait but not eating it; that is, all but the ever-present catfish!"

Tuesday, Jim Dean fished offshore with me, in depths between 35 and 42 feet, west of New Pass. Offshore fishing sure beat the slow fishing we'd experienced in the backwaters the day before. We used live shrimp to catch and release fifteen gag grouper to 23 inches, two of which would have been keeper-size, if it were not for closed harvest. We also caught two 22-inch Spanish mackerel, a 14-inch keeper pompano, seven keeper mangrove snapper to 12 inches, a keeper porkfish at 13 inches, a few grunts, and a keeper hogfish at 17 inches. We released blue runners and crevalle jacks. Next, we used a mackerel and a jack on a big-rig, and caught and released a 100-pound goliath grouper. Jim got to feel a monster goliath too, which eventually broke the 275-pound steel cable, and got away, sparing us the sore muscles that we'd have had if we had wrestled him to the surface.

Wednesday, I fished all day with Terry Novak, his sons, Ryan and Kyle, and family friend, Trapper Rudd. We headed out about 36 miles from New Pass, with about 250 live shrimp in the bait well, and we used every last one of them! The guys caught sixteen keeper mangrove snapper—nice ones to 15 inches—along with a couple of 13-inch yellowtails, and twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper. We released all but three of the biggest lanes, since we had an abundance of fish. The group also caught and released over thirty red grouper to 19 inches, and landed one keeper red grouper at 21 inches. They caught and released fifteen gag grouper to 21 inches. They also caught two pompano, including a 15-inch keeper, along with a couple of 24-inch Spanish mackerel. They caught a total of twenty-five white-bone porgies to 15 inches and kept four of those, along with a few big grunts at 15 inches. They released about ten additional grunts and two small, 22-inch kingfish. We switched to bait-fish after a while to lure some bigger fish our way, and got more than we asked for, with Kyle battling and releasing a 250-pound goliath, and also releasing a 45-inch sharp-nose shark. At one point, the goliath grouper were so abundant, they caused ten break-offs as we were reeling in other fish.

Thursday, I fished in 40 feet with Bob Ganger, using live shrimp. Seas were sloppier than predicted, but we did pretty well. We caught and released two 32-inch, 15-pound cobia, a 15-inch scamp-grouper, red and gag grouper shorts, mangrove snapper shorts, a 15-inch bluefish, and ten Spanish mackerel to 22 inches. We had something big hit a couple of times: one that ate a crab and broke the hook, and one that broke 30-pound braided line.

Dick Bromby and Paul Gilbert fished offshore with me all day Friday, about 37 miles west of New Pass. We did well with snapper, using live shrimp—the guys caught ten yellowtail snapper to 16 inches and four mangrove snapper to 16 inches. They also caught a dozen white-bone porgies to 15 inches, and we used three of those for goliath grouper bait, which worked well—we caught and released three goliaths, at 60 pounds, 80 pounds and 175 pounds. We also released ten gag grouper to 21 inches and about fifty red grouper to 19 7/8 inches, just short of keeper size. We released a triggerfish short and a 3-foot long remora.

Saturday morning, I fished in Estero Bay on a catch-and-release trip with Bill and Alyce Geronimo and their daughter, Tori. The family has recently relocated to our area, and wanted to see Estero bay and catch a few fish. We used live shrimp to catch and release fifteen mangrove snapper, two stingray, and a sheepshead.

Sunday and Monday of the long Memorial-Day weekend was reserved for family events, but I’ll be fishing again on Tuesday.

The photo shown is of angler, Casey Miller, with a 32-inch cobia, 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://www.fishbustercharters.com/fishing%20videos.htm

:toocool: After about six days off the water, due to high winds and seas offshore and shallow, muddy conditions in the bay, I finally got offshore with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett, Bob Mayer, and Matt Watson on Thursday, 4/26. We headed out of New Pass to 36 miles, where we fished with live shrimp and pinfish. The group caught a keeper, 21-inch red grouper on a pinfish, and used live shrimp to catch two 14-inch yellowtail snapper, three mangrove snapper in the 13-14-inch range, fifteen keeper whitebone porgies, a 14-inch porkfish, nine keeper lane snapper, and a 14-inch triggerfish. They released red grouper shorts to 19 ¾ inches and gag grouper to 18 ½ inches. We also had a nine-foot sandbar shark eat a big gag grouper as we reeled it in, leaving us only the head.

Friday morning, Nick Siska and his dad, Fran, fished with me, 22 miles west of New Pass. We used live shrimp, which landed Nick a 22-inch red grouper. We released twenty-five red grouper shorts to 19 ½ inches. The guys also caught eight keeper lane snapper to 12 inches and released king mackerel shorts and blue runners.

I was off the water Saturday, due to a family event and, by Sunday, weather had again deteriorated, with a rainy, windy front that had reversed direction from the beginning of the week, and returned to us as a warm-front. Winds and rough seas persisted into the beginning of the next week, cancelling a planned offshore trip on Tuesday, 5/1. Our fishing schedule is also lighter, now that seasonal residents and tourists have mostly returned north for summer.

It was Saturday, 5/5, before I got back to fishing. I fished 22 miles west of New Pass, in 44 feet, with Nick Blanchard and his two sons, Mike and Brandon. The guys used live shrimp to catch keeper mangrove snapper to 18 inches, a few keeper lanes, a half dozen keeper porgies and a few grunts. They released lots of red and gag grouper shorts to 19 inches.

The photo shown is of angler, Brandon Blanchard, with an 18-inch mangrove snapper, caught on shrimp, on an offshore trip, Saturday, 5/5/12.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://www.fishbustercharters.com/fishing%20videos.htm
fishing videos

Monday, 4/9, seas had calmed at last, and I headed out to fish in spots between 22 and 28 miles west of New Pass with Bill Conklin, his son, Eric Conklin, and friend, Rick Weigand. Bill caught a keeper red grouper at 21 inches, and we released lots of red grouper just short of keeper size. The group also caught fourteen keeper lane snapper. They released gag grouper and mangrove snapper shorts, along with two sandbar sharks, one at 38 inches and the other at 40 inches. We used live shrimp for all but the grouper, which ate bait-fish.

Tuesday morning, I headed out 21 miles from New Pass with Larry Baumgartner, his son, Chris, Larry's granddaughter, Hannah Stanfield, and Chris's daughter, Maddie, who was celebrating her birthday. We did great with lane snapper, catching thirty-four nice keepers to 14 inches, on shrimp. The group also caught a 23-inch Spanish mackerel, and released a 23-inch kingfish, along with some red grouper shorts.

Arno Trinkl and his girlfriend, Katherine, both from Austria, had been planning to fish with me this Wednesday, ever since early December, when they began planning their trip to the U.S. Arno really wanted the experience of catching something big, especially after watching a few of our goliath action videos. So, we headed out in search of bait to use for big fish. We caught some Spanish mackerel to 23 inches, about four whitebone porgies to 16 inches, some blue runners, some gag grouper shorts, and some crevalle jacks. We’d intended to use the blue runners for bait, but along came a goliath grouper as we reeled in a 16-inch porgy. The goliath ate the porgy, and Arno had a 200-pound goliath battle on his hands! We shot some video of that, released the goliath and all our other catches, and sent Arno home with a sore arms and a big story to tell!

Thursday, frequent anglers, Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett and Tom Collins, fished with me about 28 miles west of New Pass. The group caught a dozen keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, fifteen whitebone porgy-keepers to 18 inches, four grunts to 12 inches, four keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches, and a Spanish mackerel. They had fun with a 4-foot sandbar shark and a 200-pound nurse shark, before releasing them, along with twenty-five red grouper to 19 7/8 inches and a half-dozen gag grouper to 19 inches.

Friday morning, I headed out of New Pass about 21 miles with Karai Vilamaa and Bernie Kirsh. The guys used live shrimp to catch two keeper red grouper at 20 ¼ inch and 20 1/8 inch, both just over the legal size limit. They also caught fourteen keeper lane snapper, a few large grunts, and a 23-inch Spanish mackerel. They released about twenty-five short red groupers, along with two gag grouper shorts and some short triggerfish.

The high winds and seas that had been promised earlier in the week finally made it into Saturday’s weather. Tom Monoghan and his dad, Brian, had planned to fish offshore with me, but the small craft advisories in the gulf forced us to change plans and fish the backwaters. The guys used live shrimp to catch two keeper sheepshead, 12 to 13 inches, a keeper mangrove snapper at 12 inches, and a 14-inch flounder. They released a five-pound stingray and crevalle jacks.

Monday morning, 4/16, NOAA had predicted two-to-three-foot seas, out to twenty miles. But, when I fished just six miles off the beach with Terry Hopkins and his daughter, Kelly, we had three-to-five footers, with winds blowing 20-25 knots. We used live shrimp to catch ten Spanish mackerel, a keeper mangrove snapper, and grunts. We released blue runners, red grouper shorts, and five of the mackerel that weren’t needed for dinner.
Tuesday, I had planned a full-day, offshore trip but, after the seas I faced on Monday, I advised my customer to reschedule that trip for Thursday, to allow seas to calm down additionally. Now that seasonal rush is slowing down, there are sometimes opportunities to reschedule for better conditions.

Wednesday's forecast was for calming seas of two-to-three feet out to 60 miles offshore, but the trip I had scheduled that day had little faith that would be the case, given the persistent winds, and they canceled their day.

Thursday, I headed offshore with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse and Bob Mayer, on a trip we had rescheduled from Tuesday, due to rough seas. NOAA and local weather stations all predicted two-foot seas for Thursday, and we thought that all we’d have to worry about was a possible scattered shower or two. But, five miles off the beach, we had steady three-to-fours, with occasional five-footers—very rough. We toughed it out and caught nine whitebone porgies and four grunts. We released a gag grouper short and two red grouper shorts, all caught on shrimp.

By Friday, I’d had about enough of the week’s incorrect marine forecasts so, despite predictions for calm seas offshore, I advised frequent customers Steve Spitzer and Jalissa Reever to fish in the backwaters. Fishing was a little slow, but it beat getting tossed around in the waves. The couple caught two redfish, one of which was a 20-inch keeper, along with a 15-inch flounder. They released a 16-inch redfish, two short black drum, and a mangrove snapper short.

Saturday brought more gusty winds, along with some much needed rain. That pattern was predicted to persist throughout the weekend, so I remained in port. Monday was still too rough offshore and, though I could have fished inshore, I did not recommend doing so until the muddy conditions in the bay subside. This week's weather pattern was one we fortunately avoided most of the winter season this year, but it definitely played havoc with April's fishing schedule.

The photo shown is of angler, Rick Weigland, 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://www.fishbustercharters.com/fishing%20videos.htm

Monday morning, 3/26, I fished over hard bottom in 35 feet, with Chris Ernberger, his dad, Jerry, and Chris's son, Carter. There was about a 3-foot roller left over from the windy Sunday that preceded our trip, so we didn't venture too far offshore. The guys used live-shrimp to catch six keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, a keeper lane snapper, a keeper triggerfish, and some whitebone porgies. They released additional mangrove snapper that were shorts, along with six additional triggerfish shorts, and gag and red groupers to 19 inches.

Tuesday, I headed offshore to fish with live shrimp in 38 feet, about 15 miles west of New Pass, with frequent fishers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse and Dick Arnett. Dick’s family was visiting so his two sons, Josh and Nate, and Nate’s young son, Jack, went along this time. The guys caught five keeper mangrove snapper, a few keeper porkfish, a keeper triggerfish, a half-dozen 14-inch whitebone porgies, a mess of grunts, a 16-inch sheepshead, a 23-inch Spanish mackerel, and a 14-inch keeper hogfish. They released lots of grouper shorts—gags to 20 inches and reds to 18 inches.

Young Alex Goodall, who has been fishing with me each year since he was a toddler, brought his dad Joe, and family friends, Dave, Tony, and Fred to fish the reefs Wednesday morning. Seas had kicked up quite a bit over night, with steady winds of 15-20 knots, so we spent most of our time at the Five-Mile Reef off Bonita Beach, fishing with live shrimp. The guys caught more than twenty sheepshead, but only two of those were keepers, which was unusual, since the reefs have been producing lots of big sheepies lately. They also caught a keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper lane snapper, a 14-inch flounder, and a half-dozen Spanish mackerel in the 20-22-inch range. They released gag grouper shorts.

Stuart Norris, who has fished with me each March for years, headed out to 43 feet with me on Thursday morning. Predictions for calm seas were incorrect. We had a three foot swell with a one-to-two foot chop on top of it, and the winds blew strong all morning. We used live shrimp to catch a 15-inch keeper-sheepshead, a keeper mangrove snapper, two triggerfish, one of which was a keeper at 14 inches, and a 14-inch whitebone porgy. We released gag grouper to 21 ½ inches, as well as red grouper to 19 inches. We also released blue runners and grunts. There were some big fish eating our due catches, and I’m suspecting goliath grouper were the culprits.

Friday, I was hoping to fish an incoming tide, albeit low, all day with Andy Haas and Tucker Dahl. But the tide was strange—It came in and went out again, and it made fishing a little tough in the backwaters. But the guys used live shrimp to catch four sheepshead, one of which was keeper-size,along with a keeper mangrove snapper. They released a 14-inch trout, three 17-inch redfish, two snook that were17 and 18 inches, and four big stingrays to 20 pounds.

Saturday morning, rather than face another low tide in the backwaters, I headed to the near-shore reefs with Ed Oleksy and his twelve-year-old son, Nick. Seas were sloppy, even close-in, and by the time we headed in around noon, seas were hitting four feet. The guys caught and released a couple of gag grouper, one 20 inches and the other 23 ½ inches, a would-be-keeper, if it were not for closed gag season. They also caught two keeper sheepshead, a keeper lane snapper, a couple of grunts, and nine Spanish mackerel. They released all but one of the mackerels, along with lots of ladyfish and a few crevalle jacks. Everything bit shrimp.

Monday morning, 4/2, seas were calmer than they’d been in several days. I headed offshore with Bill Conklin, Jan & Sara Range, their five-year-old daughter, Libby, and father-son duo Rick Weigand Sr. and Jr. We fished about 22 miles west of New Pass, in 45 feet. Being as red grouper season opened as of April 1st, we were hoping to find some of them. We did so, and got one keeper red grouper 23 inches long, and released lots of red grouper shorts. The keeper-grouper ate a spot-tail grunt. We used live shrimp for all our other catches, which included a dozen grunts, all about 12 inches long, a half-dozen whitebone porgies, five keeper lane snapper, and two hogfish, one of which was a keeper at 15 inches. The group also released lots of gag grouper shorts, along with short mangrove snapper, short lane snapper, and triggerfish.

Tuesday, I headed offshore in pursuit of red grouper again, this time with frequent fishers Ron Musick, Dick Arnett, Eddie Alfonse, and Justin Baker. We had the full day, so we headed out to 70 feet, about 35 miles west of New Pass. The prize of the day was caught by Ron, who landed a 15-pound, 28-inch red grouper, which ate a bait fish. The guys caught two additional red grouper keepers on shrimp, measuring 21 inches and 22 inches. They caught about thirty red groupers in all, two additional that were probably keepers, but right at 20 inches, and we released those, along with all the other shorts. They also caught six nice whitebone porgies to 16 inches, a keeper yellowtail snapper, and fifteen keeper lane snapper. They released gag grouper shorts, and battled something big that eventually snapped the line.

Wednesday, winds began picking up somewhat, but we had 2-3 foot seas, so we were still able to get out a way. I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Dick Driscoll, his son Rich, Rich’s son Jack, Jack’s uncle, Steve Calhoun, and Steve’s daughters, Emma and Sadie. The red grouper bite was on, but keepers were hard to find. We had one that measured right at 20 inches, but fish tend to shrink once in the cooler, so I don’t keep borderline-sized fish. We released it, along with many other shorts. We did well with lane snapper, landing fourteen keepers, along with three keeper mangrove snapper, whitebone porgies and grunts. We had a big cobia on for a little while—it was about 4 ½ feet long—It bit a mangrove snapper that we were reeling in, but it was on a light pole, and we couldn’t get the cobia boated before he spit the hook. We tried to lure him back, but to no avail. Cobia can be finicky and opportunistic.

Thursday, I headed out with Bob Sawyer and family, hoping to get one more good day offshore before winds and seas kicked up. According to the NOAA forecast, I was thinking correctly; but we needed only to get to the pass to see that waves were every bit of five feet, and I deemed it unsafe to proceed even to the near-shore reefs with my group of six. The wind was blowing so hard that it didn’t even seem very appealing or productive to fish the back-bay, or we would have gone back to the dock to trade boats. Instead, we decided to reluctantly bag the trip, and we headed back to shore.

Friday, I tried fishing the backwaters with Larry and Jackie Wagner, Pat Cunningham, and friend, Dara. The wind was gusting to 25 mph. Once again, NOAA's forecast was behind the actual weather event's schedule. The rain that was predicted to hold off until afternoon began, sporadically, in the morning. Fishing was tough. We managed to catch and release a sheepshead and a couple of stingrays before spotting an especially ominous cloud overhead. We decided to cut our losses and come back to shore. Winds and seas persisted into Saturday, so I cancelled that trip also.

The photo shown is of angler, Ron Musick, with a, 28-inch, 15-pound red grouper, caught on a bait-fish, on an offshore trip two days after red grouper season opened.

You can check out all of our shark and goliath grouper action videos at the following link:
http://www.fishbustercharters.com/fishing%20videos.htm

Monday, 3/12, after a windy weekend, winds were predicted to calm somewhat, and seas were forecast at two-to-three feet near-shore, and three-to-five feet beyond twenty miles. But, as I approached the near-shore reefs with Mark McCarthy, Mark and David Hatch, and Rich Jenkins (who was celebrating his birthday) I knew we were in for some rough seas, even six miles off the beach. We had three-to-four foot seas all morning, with winds of 15 to 25 knots. But the guys were hardy, and they did well, using live shrimp, with sheepshead, grouper, and mackerel. They caught five nice sheepshead to 19 inches, and they released eight smaller ones. They also caught an 18-inch pompano, and they released eleven gag grouper to 23 ½ inches and eight Spanish mackerel, all in the 22-to-23-inch range.

Tuesday morning, winds were quite a bit calmer than they were the day before, but seas were still kind of sloppy, so I returned to the near-shore reefs, this time with long-time customers, Lee Larsen and Tom Batchlor, joined by friends, Rich Alick and John Egeland. Using live shrimp, the guys caught eleven keeper sheepshead to 17 ½ inches, and released nine smaller ones. They also caught seven Spanish mackerel, all around 22 inches, and chose to keep three of those. The gag grouper were biting well, and we caught and released ten of those, to 22 inches. We also released a twenty-pound stingray, grunts, puffer-fish, and three crevalle jacks.

Wednesday morning, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with Brian Wilson and his daughter, Allison Wilson. We used live shrimp to catch and release four sea-trout, a crevalle jack, and an 8-pound stingray.

Frequent customers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett, and Bob Mayer, joined by friend, Tom Lammert, fished the near-shore reefs with me on Thursday. The guys caught two keeper mangrove snapper, a Spanish mackerel keeper, a few grunts, and twenty-two nice, keeper sheepshead to 19 ½ inches, all on live shrimp. They released eleven gag grouper to 23 inches, along with two red grouper shorts.

Friday morning, I returned to the near-shore reefs, this time with frequent fishers, Jim Mcgrath and Bill Crockett. We used live shrimp to catch a half dozen keeper sheepshead to 19 inches. We released five smaller sheepshead, nine gag grouper to 22 1/2 inches, a 12-inch mangrove snapper, a 14-inch grunt, and eight 20-inch Spanish mackerel.

Saturday, I headed back to the reefs, this time with Sue Augustine, her daughter, Alanta, and her son, Mitch. They wanted only enough fish for dinner, so we released most of what we caught. We caught fourteen sheepshead, eight of which were keeper-size, to 16 inches, and a few grunts in the 13-14-inch range. We also released blue runners, puffer-fish, and gag grouper to 19 inches, all caught on shrimp.

Monday, 3/19, I fished the near-shore reefs with Rodney and Cass Bromm. The sheepshead bite had slowed down a bit, but we still caught five of them on shrimp, four of which were keepers at 16-to-16 ½ inches. We also caught a 20-inch Spanish mackerel and a 20-pound, 45-inch king mackerel. We released all but the sheepshead, along with about ten mangrove snapper shorts and a few gag grouper shorts.

Tuesday morning, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with newlyweds, Mike and Miriam Pavlicek. The couple released four crevalle jacks, a sheepshead, two stingrays weighing about five pounds each, and two redfish. They lost three additional redfish to break-offs. We used live shrimp for all.

I was back at the near-shore reefs on Wednesday, where seas were building throughout the morning, but were mostly two-to-three feet, which didn’t bother brothers, Greg and Dave Bauer, at all. They used live shrimp to catch eight nice sheepshead to 19 inches and three Spanish mackerel to 20 inches. They released six gag grouper to 23 inches, along with some mangrove-snapper-shorts.

Thursday morning, I fished the near-shore reefs with Tom Batchlor and son, Joe Batchlor, Lee Larsen, and Bud Glazier. We used live shrimp, which lured fifteen sheepshead our way, ten of them keepers,to 18 inches. We also caught ten Spanish mackerel to 22 inches, and released five gag grouper to 22 ½ inches.

Friday morning, I fished the last in a series of seasonal fishing trips with long-time customers Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett. We fished with live shrimp in 35 feet, off Naples. The guys caught two hogfish, one of which was a keeper at 15 inches. They also caught three 15-inch sheepshead, four keeper porkfish, a 14-inch whitebone porgy, five keeper mangrove snapper, and three 20-21-inch Spanish mackerel, along with some grunts. They released six triggerfish shorts, gag grouper to 21 inches, and three red grouper shorts. Something big ate one of our Spanish mackerel as it was being reeled in, and also broke the line—It could have been another big kingfish, like the one caught the day before.

Saturday, I fished in 45 feet with Rick Steiger and friends. Using live shrimp, the guys caught several Spanish mackerel, all about 22 inches long, ten keeper mangrove snapper in the 13-14-inch range, four whitebone porgies, all around 14 inches, and a mess of grunts. They released a half dozen triggerfish shorts, a few porkfish, ten gag grouper to 20 inches, ten red grouper to 16 inches, and a 140-pound nurse-shark.

The photo shown is of angler Rodney Bromm (and Captain Dave) with a 45-inch, 20-pound king mackerel, 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:
fishing videos

Although, after a windy, rough weekend, seas were calming to two-to-four feet on Monday, my planned gulf-trip canceled, as they thought seas would still be too rough. So I missed that day on the water. But, I got back offshore on Tuesday, 2/28, with Kari Vilamaa, George Dyer, Paul Kikendall, and Don Holsinger. We headed out of New Pass to fish in 45 feet, using live shrimp. Another one of the big sandbar sharks that have been abundant lately provided us with a fun battle; this one was about 175 pounds. The group also caught three keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, a brace of 23-inch Spanish mackerel, some large blue-striped grunts, and a couple of 14-inch whitebone porgies. They released one hogfish-short, a 17-inch red grouper, and two gag grouper that would have been keepers, if not for closed season, at 23 inches and 24 inches.

Frequent customers Jim McGrath and Bill Conklin fished offshore with me on Wednesday morning, in 33 feet, fourteen miles west of New Pass. The guys fought and released a 75-pound goliath grouper, then set about catching some food-fish, using live shrimp. They caught five nice sheepshead to 17 inches,four whitebone porgy keepers, and a mess of grunts. They released lots of smaller sheepshead, blue runners, lizard-fish and puffer-fish.

Thursday, Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, John Ebbrecht, Hank Sherkowski and Larry Mottice fished with me, 36 miles west of New Pass. The group caught twenty nice whitebone porgies to 17 inches, two keeper triggerfish and a brace of 16-inch mangrove snapper. They released a 19-inch red grouper. A battle with a seven-foot sandbar shark got everyone excited, and left a couple of anglers with sore arms!

Friday morning, Chuck Nebes and son, Steve, fished Estero bay with me, using live shrimp. We did well with redfish, and caught six of those, four of which were keepers at about 20 inches each. We released two snook, a couple of crevalle jacks, and five stingrays that were all about 5 pounds.

Saturday morning, the Dargis family took a chance on beating the time-line for a predicted weather-front approaching our area. We knew the winds and seas would be picking up during the course of the day, though we weren't sure just when. We decided to head to the near-shore reefs and see how conditions were there. We had 4-5 foot seas by 11AM, even just 6 miles off the beach, so we headed back to shore about then. But, by that time, Leon and his four adult sons, Brett, Kurt, Andrew and Bob, had caught six nice sheepshead to 19 inches, a 17-inch hogfish, and a 16-inch sea-trout. The guys released two gag grouper, a lot of smaller shepshead, and a few small mangrove snapper. Everything was caught on live shrimp.

Winds howled and seas built throughout the weekend, leaving Monday, 3/5, with dead-low tides in the bay and seas of five-to-seven feet offshore--no good options for fishing anywhere, so I canceled my trip for that day. Rough seas persisted into Tuesday, forcing me to cancel my offshore trip that day also.

Wednesday, I fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with Jalissa Reever and Alyce Mehring. The ladies caught and released five trout, two black drum, a whiting, two sheepshead, ladyfish and two stingrays, all on shrimp.

Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett usually fish offshore with me but, with seas still sloppy and rough on Thursday, we decided to fish inshore in Estero Bay. The water was muddy and he tide wasn’t ideal, but the guys managed to catch a 17-inch keeper sheepshead, and released smaller sheepshead and stingrays. We lost a decent-sized redfish about five feet from the boat, when the hook pulled out.

Friday, 3/9, was the first day this week that I was able to get offshore, with seas calmed to two-to-three feet. I fished about 19 miles west of New Pass in 43 feet with Ernie Troisi, Ed Hoffman, Chris Dougherty, Steve Rahaim, Bill Hessler and Bart DetliObizzi. We caught and released nine gag grouper, the biggest of those measuring 30 inches and weighing twelve pounds, along with four red grouper. The guys also caught porkfish, grunts, and nine whitebone porgies. They released a few odd catches, including puffer-fish, a ramora and lizard-fish. We used live shrimp for all.

I was off the water all weekend for a family reunion, and got back to fishing on Monday, 3/12.

The photo shown is of angler, Bill Hassler, with a 30-inch, 12-lb. gag grouper, caught on live shrimp and released, on an offshore trip 3/9/12.

To view our action videos with goliath grouper and shark, check out the following link:

http://www.fishbustercharters.com/fishing%20videos.htm

After a couple days off the water, due to a cold front that brought frigid temps, high winds, low tides and rough seas, I headed to the near-shore reefs Monday, 2/13/12, to fish a catch-and-release trip with Richard and Trish Burdow. Seas had calmed to two-to-three feet near-shore, and the sheepshead bite was strong. We released a dozen of those all large, to 20 inches. We also released two 20-inch Spanish mackerel and some ladyfish, all caught on live shrimp.

Wednesday, I headed further offshore, with seas calm, to about 20 miles west of New Pass, where I fished in 45 feet, using live shrimp, with long-time customers Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett. The duo caught a keeper hogfish at 14 inches, four keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, and four 14-inch porgies (joltheads and whitebone.) They released grunts, smaller porgies, porkfish, and scamp, red and gag grouper shorts.

Thursday, I fished in 30 feet, using live shrimp, with frequent customer, Ron Musick, and friends, Eddie Alfonse, Bob Mayer, and Kay Daugherty. The group caught fourteen big sheepshead to 19 ½ inches, thireteen nice mangrove snapper to 16 ½ inches, two keeper hogfish at 14 and 15 inches, two keeper porkfish, and grunts. They released fifteen smaller sheepshead, along with a 22-inch gag grouper, which is currently out-of-season.

John Pound, son-in-law, Dan Bow, and friends Al Armstrong and Troy Bouchard spent Friday fishing with me, in 70 feet, about 36 miles west of New Pass. We encountered another big sandbar shark, as I’d done on an offshore trip the previous week. This one was another 200-pounder, and we videoed the ensuing battle, then released the monster, which had eaten a blue runner. We also released a half-dozen amberjacks, all about 20 inches, a 22-inch bluefish, ten triggerfish shorts, a dozen porgies, and a bunch of grunts, all caught on live shrimp. The guys did keep one big whitebone porgy that measured 18 inches. They also caught ten nice mangrove snapper, the biggest of those also measuring nearly 18 inches.

Saturday morning, Gary Hested, eight-year-old grandson, Nathan Faga, and eleven-year-old grandson, Kade Faga, fished Estero Bay with me. Using live shrimp, the trio caught three redfish, two of which were keepers at 19 inches, two pompano, one of which was a 15-inch keeper, and a 19-inch trout. We released a 25-inch snook, a puffer-fish and a few ladyfish.

Monday morning, 2/20, looked good on shore but, offshore, small craft advisories and five-to-seven-foot seas thwarted the gulf fishing trip I had scheduled.

By Tuesday morning, seas were calming and, though it was still a little sloppy heading out, it calmed down considerably by noon. I headed out of New Pass to fish in 30 feet with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett, Bob Mayer, and Larry Laudick. We did very well with snapper and sheepshead, ending up with twenty-five nice mangrove snapper to 17 inches, eighteen good-sized sheepshead to 17 inches, and one keeper triggerfish at 13 inches. The group released gag grouper to 21 inches, red grouper shorts, small porgies, grunts, and blue runners.

Wednesday, I headed offshore, about 20 miles west of New Pass, with John Rankin, Bert VanKooten, Peter Crego, Gary Jackson, Norm Grieve, and Brian Ostrowski. We mixed a little sport-fishing with a lot of food-fishing. We got our sports-fix with another one of the big sandbar sharks that have been biting lately. This one was another 200-pounder, and we videoed the fight before releasing it. The rest of our fishing was devoted to mostly snapper and sheepshead. The group caught ten nice mangrove snapper to 17 inches, six large sheepshead to 20 inches, a 14-inch, keeper triggerfish, porgies and grunts. They released gag grouper to 20 inches, along with two hogfish shorts.

Frequent customer Mike Connealy fished with me Thursday morning, along with his nephew, Quinton Connealy and his wife, Jill. The winds had changed direction and picked up speed since the day before, so we decided to stay near shore and fish the reefs off Bonita Beach. Even there, we had three-to-four foot seas most of the morning. We did well with snapper and sheepshead, though, catching ten nice-sized sheepshead to 17 inches and fifteen mangrove snapper to 11 inches, along with a 14-inch triggerfish-keeper and five Spanish mackerel, all caught on live shrimp. We released two gag grouper shorts.

Friday, winds and seas were even rougher than Thursday, but my three hardy anglers, Karl Buckholz, Matt Brady, and Mike Bramwell, wanted to fish the near-shore reefs, rather than the back-bay, so we headed out there with plenty of live shrimp. The gag grouper were thick out there, and the group caught and released many of those to 23 inches. We also had several break-offs, most likely by bigger gags. We caught seven nice sheepshead to 17 inches, three Spanish mackerel to 18 inches, and a 14 ½-inch flounder.

Saturday and Sunday brought a cool front with seas of five-to-seven feet and 25-knot winds. I remained safely in port. My Monday, seas were predicted to calm to two-to-four feet; however, my party scheduled to fish the gulf did not think it would be calm enough for them, and canceled their trip.

The photo shown is of angler, Dan Bow, with an 18-inch mangrove snapper, caught on live shrimp, on a recent offshore trip.

To view our action videos with goliath grouper and shark, check out the following link:
http://www.fishbustercharters.com/fishing%20videos.htm

The week of 1/30/12 began with a cold-front that brought high winds and seas and small-draft advisories, which forced me to cancel both offshore trips planned for those days. Wednesday morning, 2/1, began a little rough offshore, but quickly calmed down and was flat by afternoon. I fished about 20 miles west of New Pass with Kari Vilamaa, Gary Wilson, Paul Kikendall, and George Dyer. The group caught two keeper hogfish, 14 inches and 17 inches, along with five nice mangrove-snapper keepers to 17 inches, a 17-inch mutton snapper, two 15-inch sheepshead, eight nice-sized whitebone porgies, and a mess of large grunts, all on live shrimp. They released porkfish, triggerfish and yellowtail snapper shorts, along with about twenty-five grouper: Reds to 19 inches and gags to 21 inches.

Thursday, I fished with frequent customers Dick Arnett, Eddie Alfonse, Fred McNeal and friend, John. We fished with live shrimp, twenty miles west of New Pass in 43 feet, where the group caught thirteen nice mangrove snapper to 17 1/2 inches, a 15-inch sheepshead, a 22-inch king mackerel, two keeper porkfish, a 15-inch hogfish, a mess of whitebone porgies to 15 inches, and some large grunts. They released lots of gag grouper to 21 inches and red grouper to 18 inches, along with a couple of puffer fish and two ramoras.

I had high hopes of duplicating Thursday’s trip when I headed offshore Friday morning with long-time customer, Mike Connealy, and three of his friends. But the weather had changed, with the winds kicked up to 15 to 20 knots, which made for some sloppy conditions. Fishing wasn’t nearly as productive as it had been Wednesday and Thursday. The foursome managed to catch a few keeper mangrove snapper and lane snapper, three keeper porkfish, and some grunts. All the porgies were smaller than they have been lately, so we released those, along with three gag grouper to 20 inches and two 18-inch red grouper. We tried to do some sport fishing, with blue runners as bait, but even the goliaths weren’t interested. We did get to see a turtle skillfully eat the bait off one of our hooks without getting hooked himself—whew!

Saturday morning, the winds were howling once again. I fished a catch-and-release trip inshore, in Estero Bay, with John Boulger, Jimmy Hessel and two of their friends. We released ten sheepshead, a 24-inch ladyfish and a puffer fish.

Monday morning, 2/6, I fished Estero Bay in a light drizzle part of the morning, with John Kimmins, his brother, Brian Kimmins, and John’s son, Tom Kimmins. We used live shrimp to catch five redfish, three of them keepers between 18 ½ and 21 inches long. We released two stingrays, an 18-inch Gaftail Sailcat, five sheepshead to 12 inches, and a 19-inch snook.

Frequent customers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett, Fred McNeal and Bob Mayer fished with me Tuesday, using live shrimp in 43 feet. The big mangrove snapper were biting well again, and the group caught five of those to 17 ½ inches, along with five keeper porkfish, a keeper sheepshead at 15 inches, a 14-inch keeper hogfish, and a mess of large grunts. We released one smaller hogfish, lots of triggerfish shorts to 13 ½ inches, and lots of red and gag grouper shorts to 18 inches. We had a seven-foot sandbar shark hanging around for a while, harassing our catches, but he never managed to bite any of them.

Wednesday morning, I delayed my departure time with Jim and Marge Jambor and friends, Bill and Joan Fabian, in order to catch the best tide in Estero Bay. We fished an incoming tide, but it was a slow one, and not ideal. Jim caught a 21-inch black drum and Bill caught a 13-inch keeper sheepshead. We released stingrays, puffers, and some undersized others.

Thursday, Terry Howell and friends, Fred and Jerry, had planned to fish the gulf. But the weather had other plans, with high winds and seas of three-to-five feet offshore. So, we switched tracks and fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay, where we used live shrimp to catch five sheepshead and three crevalle jacks. The bite was slow, and the bay was on the muddy side that morning.

Friday morning, seas calmed temporarily, and I got out offshore 19 miles to fish with Roger Gordon, Rich Nelson, and Rich Pearson. We caught a mess of about thirty grunts to 12 inches and a keeper triggerfish at 14 inches. We released three smaller triggerfish, three porkfish, a few porgies, and a hogfish-short. Our most exhausting and exciting catch was an 8-foot sandbar shark that weighed about 200 pounds--we shot some video of that one before releasing it. By the time we headed in, there was a sizable swell building in advance of the next cold-front, which was due to arrive Saturday into Sunday, bringing high winds and seas and probable rain. And, Monday, 2/13, brought frigid temps and very low tides in the bay, so I advised my planned inshore trip to defer their trip to a day with more promising conditions.

The photo shown is of angler, Kari Vilamaa, with a 17-inch mutton snapper, caught on live shrimp, on a recent offshore trip.

Check out our new shark-fishing video: 200lb Sandbar Shark 2-10-2012 Roger Gordon.avi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54xG5fHJP7w w
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