SW FL-Bonita Beach: A Little Boy and a Big Fish
Monday, 4/21, I headed out from New Pass to 43 feet with Bill Story and friends. We caught a keeper hogfish, released a smaller one of those, and caught grunts, porgies and porkfish. A couple of the guys had good-sized gags hooked, but lost them in the rocks.
Tuesday, Ron Musick, Ron Allison, Justin Baker, Eddie Alfonso and Ray Vincent and I headed out to 26 miles out of New Pass to start, and ended up about 35 miles off Naples, fishing with live shrimp. We ended up with ten keeper yellowtail snapper and fifteen large whitebone porgies all around two pounds. We released more porgies, triggerfish and lots of gag and scamp grouper shorts.
Wednesday, in 43 feet out of New Pass, the winds picked up and made it a little sloppy, but it was an otherwise nice day on the water, with comfortable temperatures and low humidity. Anglers Tom Firth, his sister Wendy Borgman, and friends Brad Heckes and Fernando Morias caught three keeper mangrove snapper to 17 inches, grunts and large whitebone porgies on shrimp. We released lots of gag and red grouper shorts to 19 inches, blue runners and triggerfish. We used a couple of blue runners on balloons to hook a couple nice kingfish, but both of them cut the line and broke off.
David & Janice Russell and their two young children fished a catch-and-release trip in Estero Bay with me on Thursday. The bite was slow but we released four snapper, five sheepshead and a spadefish during a morning of fishing with live shrimp.
Friday, Mike & Lea Connealy and daughter, Mandy, fished with me in 43 feet out of New Pass, where we caught mangrove snapper to 14 inches and whitebone porgies to 14 inches. We kept a few of those and released the rest, along with lots of gag shorts to 20 inches and red grouper shorts to 19 inches, grunts and porkfish.
Saturday morning I headed back out to 43 feet, this time with long-time customers Sandy and Rusty Hook, Rusty’s young son, Charlie, and family friend, Sam. We caught lots of porgies and grunts again and we lost a bonito when it wrapped around a crab-trap buoy after running out 165 yards of line. But young Charlie has the best fish story to tell: He had dropped a live shrimp over on a spinning rod with 17 pound test line. A small blue runner bit the shrimp and Charlie started to reel in. Just as he did that, along came Mr. 29-inch gag grouper to bite the blue runner, and Charlie ended up with a much bigger prize than he expected! With a little help from the captain, he landed that gag and was more than happy to be photographed with it!
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
April 24, 2008
INSHORE - Not a lot to report from the inshore this week due to the windy conditions. The anglers that did fish reported good snook action around the lighted docks in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. The top 2 baits were a small live shrimp and a pinfish. The bite has also been good during the late afternoon and after dark for the anglers fishing in the Ft. Pierce Inlet on the tide changes. However, most of the fish have been under or over the slot. I talked to several anglers who tried to get out of the wind and fished out of Round Island this week. They all reported a few small trout and some small snook. They also saw a few small schools of redfish but they couldn’t get them to eat. As the wind switched to a more easterly direction the channel edges started producing a few nice size snapper, sheepshead and a few spanish mackerel. All of these fish were taking a small live shrimp. On the catwalks of the South Bridge the sandperch bite has picked up again. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week the reports were about good catches of sheepshead, spanish mackerel, snapper and black drum. Most of these fish were caught on a live shrimp.
OFFSHORE - The dolphin bite has been good for the bigger boats this week and was very good for all of the boats last Saturday. There were a lot of fish in the 12 to 40 pound range come into the docks. Every boat that left the dock on Saturday came back with several dolphin. Most of the fish were caught in 130 to 260 feet of water to the south of the Ft. Pierce Inlet. The dolphin were taking both naked and skirted ballyhoo. There have been a few kingfish just inside the Offshore Bar and the best bait has been rigged ribbonfish. We did have several small wahoo come into the docks. They were all caught between 120 to 160 feet of water and they took a purple/black skirted ballyhoo. The bottom fishing on Friday and Saturday night of last week was great. We had several snapper to 10 pounds come in to the docks. The anglers were using pinfish and also cut bait.
TEEN ANGLERS - The local chapter of Teen Anglers held their last monthly inshore tournament of the school year last Sunday. Only 2 Teens brought in fish to be weighed — it was a slow day.
In the Middle School Division
1st place - Shane Surrency - Lincoln Park Academy
In the High School Division
1st place - Dillon Roberts-Louria - Westwood High
Biggest fish trophy went to Dillon for his sheepshead.
The fish off for the Teen Angler of the Year will be held on Sunday — May 4th at Jaycee Park in Ft. Pierce. If you would like more info on joining or volunteering for Teen Anglers just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org.
BRAGGING BOARD - On Saturday Danny Maness was fishing on the TEAM PURSUIT boat with Capt. Rob Ward & Jay Sizemore when he caught his 1st dolphin. They were fishing in 260 feet of water to the Southeast of the Ft. Pierce Inlet and dragging a naked ballyhoo. Danny’s dolphin weighed 25 pounds and they also had 4 other dolphin from 12 to 18 pounds. Steve Gerwig & John Secor also had a nice pair of 30 pound dolphin on Saturday. They caught their dolphin in 220 feet of water and were using ballyhoo. On Saturday Jesse Pfeiffer on the Strait Shot and his brother in law — Travis Scent made the catch of a life time. Travis caught a 34 pound snook while fishing in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Jesse did a string measurement of the fish and it was 48 & 1/2 inches long! After a quick picture the fish was revived and released. They were using a pinfish for bait.
If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11606@aol.com or call me at 772-201-5770. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com.
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe’s River Charters
South Indian River Fishing Report
April 24, 2008
INSHORE:
The past week presented a variety of conditions to anglers fishing the waters of the Treasure Coast. Most days found good fishing for us, but you had to fish according to which way the wind blew. Spring has definitely arrived and the fishing has been improving as the water has warmed up. I love fishing this time of year!
Redfish have been on the flats and they got hungry this week for us! Adrian and Phil Lucanis were back fishing this year. We were poling along the flats and found a school of redfish feeding in a foot of water. Adrian and Phil hooked up on four 25″ - 26″ reds and boated three of them. We were using darker color soft baits like DOA CAL rootbeer grub tails. All were released unharmed.
Trout fishing continued to be productive. Steve Dickman was down and while he caught a good number of trout up to 19″, we couldn’t break the 20″ barrier that day. Adrian boated a 20″ and 26″ in the midst of quite a few blowups on their top water lures. The trout this week were in one to three feet of water and lurking in the sand holes along the flats. Top water has been very productive on enticing a sea trout into biting this week. Harbor Branch is one good area to try.
Snook fishing slowed down right after the full moon, but was hectic for night anglers for a few nights around the bridges and jetties. Sizes from many shorts to slots and some slob over size were taken. You can also find snook on the flats in the early part of the day. Top water or suspending lures are great choices.
Bridges have been slow this week, but sheephead and snapper are out there to be had. The Surf has produced whiting, bluefish, jacks and mackerel to those beach anglers. I had Dillon Roberts-Louria on board for the Teen Anglers Tournament on Sunday. He fished hard all morning and ended up with a mackerel, snapper and sheephead to weigh in that day. He won first place in High School and biggest fish. Congrats Dillon! Jules Knapp and his wife were out also that day and we had a short but fun trip on the water.
Tip of the Week:
Fishing will always be a challenge to anglers. You can use any lures or bait, but presentation continues to be the biggest factor to the success rate of catching fish. Colors, types and sizes might have some effect, but how you present it will determine if you can be successful or not. Give two anglers the same lure and one might catch fish while the other goes nil. Top water lures are a great example. I work them different ways until I get a strike to see what might work that day. Fast, slow, erratic or barely moving can result in catching or missing the fish out there. Vary how you work your lures and find what works that day. Fishing is lots of fun and challenging!
As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby….it’s an ADVENTURE!!
Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com
email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark Battles, Yellowtail & More
Monday, 4/14, I fished Estero Bay in the area of Wiggins Pass, with Court Newman, Joe Desiata and John Curtis. Joe caught a keeper redfish at 19 inches. John caught a 13 inch sheepshead and the trio also caught a couple of keeper mangrove snapper, all on shrimp. We were glad to be fishing the backwater instead of the Gulf, with strong winds all morning that were forecast to kick offshore seas up to about 4 feet.
The seas worsened overnight with the cold front upon us and the forecast for gusty winds and 3-5 foot seas prevented any thought of fishing on Tuesday. Wednesday, other than sunnier skies and gradually warming temperatures, the marine forecast was no better than it had been last Tuesday, so my anglers rescheduled their trip for the following week.
Thursday, the party fishing with me wanted to fish inshore, with two small children aboard, ages six and three. Seas offshore were still predicted to be two to four feet, so with children that age, I agreed that the bay was a much better choice. I fished Estero Bay from Wiggins pass to Barefoot Beach with Kansans Travis and Amber Stebbins and two of the cutest little girls ever, Lakly, age six, and Chloe, age three. We caught a 16 inch trout, a thirteen inch sheepshead and two eleven-inch keeper mangrove snapper. We released smaller sheepshead and snapper.
Bill Newland, Chris Borger, Dave Kobachs and I had a good day of fishing Friday out to 36 miles from New Pass. We started fishing at the Spring about ten miles out, then changed spots a few times, moving further and further offshore on the first day this week that allowed me to do so. We caught fourteen nice yellowtail snapper to 17 inches, an 18 inch mangrove snapper and a half dozen mangs around 14 inches, a couple keeper lane snapper and some large grunts. We released lots of gag grouper to 21 ½ inches (just short of keeper-size) and red grouper to 18 inches. We had a couple of unusual and exciting moments too. One was when Dave caught an 8 foot nurse shark on a 30 lb. spinner and a butterfly-jig that he’d been using for grouper. Then, I hooked a 7 foot sandbar shark on my 360 Penn spinner—He ate a shrimp and, with 17 lb. test and 30 lb. leader, I expected him to break me off pretty quickly but instead I reeled him all the way to the boat—I released him there and will remember him for a few days with every ache in my back!
The first photo shown is of a 31 inch cobia, caught on shrimp and released on a recent offshore trip.
The second photo shown is of a 23 inch snook, caught on shrimp and released on a recent inshore trip.
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
April 17, 2008
INSHORE - The wind this week has continued to make the inshore fishing tough. Anglers are reporting a few trout at places like Round Island, Queen’s Cove and at Jack Island. These are places where you can hide out from most of the wind. Most of the trout are coming from anglers fishing with a soft plastic baits like a D.O.A. shrimp or a Zoom Fluke in the darker colors. In that same area there have been some redfish spotted but they are not really eating. The snook action has been steady on the Ft. Pierce Inlet with most of the fish taking a live pinfish, pigfish or a greenie. The bite has been the best on the falling tide.
OFFSHORE - Before the sea conditions took a turn for the worst the dolphin bite was on. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week we had numerous fish come into the docks and they ranged in size from 12 to 44 pounds. Almost every boat reported that they caught their fish on a skirted ballyhoo in anywhere from 200 to 1200 feet of water. Also, in that same area we had several wahoo come in to the docks and ranged from 25 to 40 pounds. On Friday we had one boat come in with 17 dolphin, 1 wahoo and 5 tripletail. The kingfish bite was a little slow but the fish reported were caught in 70 to 90 feet of water and caught on a live bait. For the bottom fishermen the wrecks and reefs to the north of the Ft. Pierce Inlet seemed to be the place to try your luck on some nice sized mangrove snapper to 6 pounds.. They were feeding on sardines and squid. And as always this time of year there are plenty of small sharks around the stretch your line.
CENTRAL FLORIDA OFFSHORE FISHING CLUB - The C.F.O.F.C. held their monthly offshore fishing tournament last weekend out of the Dockside Inn & Resort. The big winner was a 33.6 pound dolphin caught by club member - Clark Conner. Every boat had dolphin to weigh in.
The top seven winners were
Clark Conner - 33.6 pound dolphin
Dave Tindall - 32.4 pound dolphin
Guy Harrell - 27.2 pound dolphin
Charlie Huges - 26 pound dolphin
John Jennings - 24.7 pound dolphin
Barry Hankinson - 22.7 pound dolphin
Brian Boone - 12.2 pound dolphin
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Clark Conner with his 33.6 pound dolphin.
BRAGGING BOARD - David & Phillip Clark of Indian Harbor Beach were also staying at the Dockside Inn & Resort and really enjoyed their stay there. I guess I would have to if one 2 consecutive days I had brought back a big dolphin each day! On Friday they caught their fish in 250 feet of water on a red/black sea witch rigged with a ballyhoo. They also caught some other dolphin on a blue & silver Islander lure rigged with a ballyhoo. The bite was in the morning on Friday and the bull weighed 45 pounds and the cow weighed 25 pounds. On Saturday the bite as in the afternoon in around 450 feet of water and with the same set up. The bull that day also weighed in at 45 pounds!
TEEN ANGLERS - The local chapter of Teen Anglers will hold their last monthly inshore fishing tournament of the school year this Sunday at Jaycee Park in Ft. Pierce. The Teen’s will fish from 7am until noon and then we will have a weigh in. After this tournament there will be a fish off with the top 5 middle school and the top 5 high school Teen Anglers for the Teen Angler of the Year. For more info Teen Anglers just go to the web at www.teenanglers.org.
If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com or you an call me at 772-201-5770. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com.
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe’s River Charters
South Indian River Fishing Report
April 17, 2008
INSHORE:
We enjoyed some great fishing weather this week. A few cool and windy days to keep you home, but overall spring has arrived here on the Treasure Coast. Look for nicer weather as May nears and fishing to continue to improve for trout and redfish on the flats. We had some great fun out there and look forward to much more in the coming weeks!
We fished for a variety of fish this week from grouper to trout. While we got busted by some nice grouper, finally Lawson Taylor muscled in a 27″ gag grouper from around the seawalls in Fort Pierce. Both 14 year old Megan Lundy and 10 year old Rachel Taylor had big grouper bites only to lose the battle with them. We used live pinfish for our action this week.
Trout was the other species we went out in search of. Rachel and Patrick Taylor both landed some trout off the flats that were all in slot size. Patrick even boated a good size bluefish around the docks this week. Live pinfish or shrimp along with DOA CAL jerk baits are the best options for trout lately. The winds allowed us to drift the flats at a leisurely pace and fish them thoroughly. Queen’s Cove and Harbor Branch has been good producing sites and when Bear Point is fishable….give it a try also.
Redfish have been pretty quiet this week. It’s been hard to fish with the windy weather, but we have seen a number of them in the shallows and it should turn on at any time out there. Snook has been mostly a nighttime adventure. I talked to several returning anglers in the early morning that have caught some slot size along with some oversize and a good number of shorts. Live bait or jigs have worked best.
Catwalks and jetties have been pretty quiet with all the winds to keep anglers from venturing out. Lots of jacks around the river and some bigger ones in the inlets. Young Megan battled several 20 to 25 pound jacks, but they got the best of her in the end. It was fun to fight those bruisers though! The surf has produced whiting when the beachers could get out there. A lot of days was more like fishing in sandpaper. It has been a good week and this weekend should be great weather to venture out on the river and even the ocean.
Tip of the Week:
Lots of smaller pinfish and pigfish have been around the flats. It’s time to get out the ol’ fish traps and use some of these plentiful fish for some great trout action. Floating a pigfish on a popping cork will keep some of the daredevil bait snatchers from bothering you like they do on live shrimp. Lots of fish around the flats will take the opportunity for an easy meal. Have some fun soon, especially with the young anglers.
As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby….it’s an ADVENTURE!!
Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com
email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Kings, Porgies, Snapper & Blue Runners Everywhere!
Monday, 4/7, after a stormy night, seas were unsettled and it was pretty rough fishing with Tom Conrad, teenaged grandson Phil Conrad and Phil’s friend, Peter Walspra. It was tough finding anything worthwhile to catch, with blue runners dominating the first three spots we fished. Finally, we managed to catch and release Spanish mackerel, a porgie, a 15 inch red grouper and a small goliath grouper. I was pretty disappointed with that, after the great fishing last week had delivered, but the boys had a great time catching the blue runners and I was glad we at least managed to catch a few other species, even if small. We saw a big kingfish at one point but he just wasn’t hungry, I guess, since he snubbed or bait. Tuesday, Ron Musick, Hank Sherowski, Justin Baker and Bill Hoover fished with me in 45 feet out of New Pass. The wind was howling in the morning and we fished in three to four foot seas a good part of the day. We used shrimp and cut-bait and had a lot of kingfish action. We kept one of three kingfish we caught to 40 inches and lost about five more of them, including one that was over five foot long. Hank had that one boat-side when it rolled and pulled the hook, but we would have released him anyway so we at least had the thrill of the catch, though we’d have liked the courtesy of a photograph! We also caught a 32 inch Spanish mackerel and large whitebone porgies. We released triggerfish and lots of grouper shorts, along with blue runners.
Wednesday, seas were rough again and conditions were sloppy. All week long forecasts have called for two foot seas but nothing could be further from the truth. I fished with Marty Gmeiner, Bill Murphy and Dick Poterax. We had to stay fairly close-in, due to conditions, and fishing was tough. We caught some nice whitebone porgies, two keeper mangrove snapper, triggerfish and porkfish. We were bitten off once by a kingfish and we released red and gag grouper shorts to 20 inches, smaller snapper, grunts and lots of blue runners.
Peter Burtis and family fished with me on Thursday. Once again, it was a little too sloppy to get out too far, especially with small children on board. We fished a catch-and-release trip with shrimp in 33 feet at the artificial reefs off Bonita Beach, where the blue runners were once again thick. We also released a 20 inch bluefish, porgies, grunts and red grouper shorts.
Friday, fishing in 40 feet about 18 miles west of New Pass with Lyn Harned and friends Bob, Davis and Bob, we released another zillion blue runners, along with about fifty red grouper shorts, some gag shorts and grunts. We caught about two dozen porgies, two keeper mangrove snapper and a keeper yellowtail snapper, all on shrimp.
The kings were back when I fished with brothers Grant and Harry Kurtz and friend, Joe Tompkins on Saturday morning. Nineteen miles west of New Pass, we caught seven kingfish ranging 28 to 35 inches, kept four of those, and got broken off by a few more. We also caught a 28 inch Spanish mackerel, a keeper mangrove snapper and porgie, and we released grunts and blue runners. The kings seemed to like shrimp better than the blue runners this day.
The photo shown is of a pair of gag grouper, 22inches and 23 inches, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.
South Indian River Fishing Report
April 11, 2008
INSHORE:
Spring has arrived along the Treasure Coast. Even though we still have some windy days, the weather has been super for fishing the Indian River. Look for warmer water temperatures and hungry fish as the sun continues to shine down on us. I love April and May fishing!
The trout bite was good one day and slow the next, but the trout we have caught have been healthy and nice sized ones. Soft baits have worked the best with DOA CAL jerk baits working great out there. We have been using some of this years new colors lately and they work! Queen’s Cove and Bear Point have been the best spots for us recently. Anthony Penny took home a few for dinner this week.
Snook and redfish continue to haunt the flats. The bite has still been on the slow side, but look for it to turn loose any day as the water warms up. Most of the snook action has still been around the inlets and bridges with night anglers doing most of the fishing. I did get a good lesson from a snook this week around the docks of Fort Pierce. After making a 360 degree run around the dock, I was left with nothing but a leader. Fish the docks with soft baits like a DOA Shrimp and work it slow for your best chance at hooking up with a snook. Once hooked…….hang on and you are on your own!
There has been some good grouper action around the river, especially around docks. We have been busted, bruised and battered by some of the big ones, but have boated several gags that were just an inch below the 24″ mark. There have also been some big jacks around the inlets. Ian, Arthur and Sean were out on saturday and after being hit several times, Ian and Arthur boated some nice sized jacks for their efforts. Live pinfish has been the best bait to use. Bridges have been slow lately. The beach was like fishing in a sand blaster and the jetties were rough. But that’s Florida in April, so you look for it to improve soon.
Tip of the Week: It’s time for me to clean out the boat. Spring is here and spring cleaning is in the mind of many as they wait for winds to die down and wanting to get out on the water. You will be surprised at what you will find buried in the boat. Lures that you had given up on finding or that jacket you thought you had lost. And while you are going through organizing and cleaning…..check dates on flares and condition of fire extinguishers and life preservers. Safety equipment is important so make sure you have everything required and that it is in good working condition.
As always, remember, fishing is not just another hobby….it’s an ADVENTURE!!
Good Fishing and Be Safe,
Captain Charlie Conner
www.fishtalescharter.com
email: captaincharlie@fishtalescharter.com
772-284-3852
Ft. Pierce Inshore - Offshore Report
April 10, 2008
INSHORE - There is only one word to describe the inshore fishing this week and that is SLOW! I have only had reports of a handful of small trout being reported and they came from around Bear Point. I did have several reports of redfish sightings but nothing was caught. Most of the redfish were along the docks of South Indian River Drive. There has been a few grouper reported along the channel edges to the north of the North Bridge. But, it was a lot of work for a few fish and most were under the slot. The snook bite in the Ft. Pierce Inlet has been steady on the out going tide when using pinfish for bait. There are still a few spanish mackerel, bluefish and jack around the Ft. Pierce Inlet and in the Intercoastal.
OFFSHORE - I had reports of scattered dolphin action starting in about 130 feet of water and out to about 155 feet. Most of the anglers reported that a white/pink skirted ballyhoo got the most action. There have been some kingfish in the 12 to 20 pound range coming from around the Offshore Bar. A slow trolled blue runner was the way to go. Still not much to report about the bottom fishing. There have been a few small snapper, triggerfish, sea bass and plenty of sharks. There were a couple of grouper reported that came from the wrecks in 160 feet of water.
JUNIOR TEEN ANGLERS - Last Saturday — April 5th was the last from shore fishing tournament of the school year for the Junior Teen Anglers. We hold all of our from shore tournaments at Harbour Pointe Park in Ft. Pierce. The Junior’s fish from 9am until 11 am then we award trophies for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in the 5 to 8 age group and also in the 9 to 11 age group. We also award a trophy for the biggest fish of the tournament.
In the 5 to 8 age group
1st place - Savannah Ward - age 7 - Lawnwood Elementary
2nd place Carrie Loupe - age 7 - St. Lucie Elementary
3rd place - Richard Henson - age 8 - Fairlawn Elementary
In the 9 to 11 age group
1st place - Dylora Kohler - age 11 - Village Green Elementary
2nd place - Ryan Causland - age 11 - Sebastian Middle School
3rd place - Megan Miller - age 11 - Gifford Middle School
The biggest fish of the tournament went to Ryan Causland for his stingray that was estimated to be about 10 pounds.
BRAGGING BOARD - Kaitlyn Ward - age 3 caught her 1st sheepshead on Wednesday of this week while fishing off a dock with her grandmother The fished weighed about 1 & 1/2 pounds and she caught him on a live shrimp with her Dora fishing pole. She also caught 3 puffer fish. Teen Angler — Helen Kinchen caught her 1st pompano a week ago while drifting the flats in Stuart. The fish was caught on a free lined live shrimp. The day before her dad - Robert Kinchen caught a pompano and while reeling it in he had a shark after it. Same bait a free lined live shrimp.
If you would like to report a catch you can e-mail me at cward11605@aol.com or you can also call me at 772-201-5770. You can also reach me on the web at www.captjoeward.com.
Capt. Joe Ward
Capt. Joe’s River Charters
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Kings Finally! Shark, Grouper, Hogs, Good Action
Monday morning, 3/31, the old familiar wind was back after a relatively calm weekend. With easterly winds it was still calm enough to fish near-shore at the artificial reefs. I did that with Brian and Marcia Wilson, daughters Nicole, ten, and Allison, 13, and Marcia’s dad, Bob. Brian caught a 15 inch hogfish, which is kind of unusual at the reefs. The group also caught five Spanish mackerel three of which were keepers, a keeper mangrove snapper and a couple of large grunts, all on shrimp. We released grouper shorts and blue runners and attracted a shark and a goliath with those blue runners as we reeled them in. We were broken off once by something large, most likely a goliath grouper.
Tuesday, my anglers, Jerry, Jill & Denise DeMars, Yvette-Gaff-Kleven, nine-year-old Jake Arnett, and sixteen-year-old Sarah Hobbe had planned to fish all day, but about noon, the light winds turned to 15-20 knot winds and the 2-3 foot seas turned into 3-4 footers out in 43 feet west of New Pass. We didn’t mind much because by that time we had caught plenty of nice fish and seen plenty of good action. As it turned out, the skies broke loose about an hour after we got in so missing the rain was another good reason for our early dockage. We caught two nice king mackerel, each between twenty and twenty-five pounds, using blue runners for bait. We weren’t fishing for kings initially, but when I released a blue runner behind the boat a big king skyrocketed out of the water to eat it, so I quickly rigged up some king poles and we caught the two nice ones. We also released a big king but he didn’t end up getting much of a reprieve because a ten-foot hammerhead shark got him as soon as we let him go—that was quite a sight to see! Young Jake also caught a keeper red grouper at 21 ½ inches and six pounds, and Sarah caught a nice 16 inch hogfish. The group also released lots of grouper shorts, small snapper, grunts, triggerfish, and porkfish. They kept a few large jolthead porgies, silver porgies and whitebone porgies. All but the kings were caught on live shrimp.
I headed back out to about 40 feet on Wednesday with Herb Guarascio and family. The action was a lot slower than it was the day before, but we did get one more kingfish about twenty pounds, caught on a blue runner. That fish tried to get back at me by flipping just the right way as I tried to remove the hook and hitting me in the chin…not sure who bled more, me or him! We also released gag and red grouper shorts and blue runners.
Thirty-five miles out of New Pass Thursday I had a pretty exciting and productive day of fishing with Bob Ericson and friends, Eric and Kent. We released a nine-foot bull shark and a seven-foot sandbar shark. We had sharks attack our catches numerous times and also were bitten off several times by big king mackerel. We also caught a couple of kingfish that were about 30 inches and released those. As for table-fare, we kept eight mangrove snapper to 16 inches, six yellowtail snapper to 17 inches and four large whitebone porgies to four pounds. We released lots more porgies. We caught everything on shrimp except for the kings and shark, which bit blue runners…well, the sharks bit whatever they wanted to!
Friday, that old familiar wind was back in our forecast and, though seas were forecast to be two to three feet near-shore, we had three to four foot seas at the close-in Bonita reefs, where I fished with Brookes Fishing Club friends, Jim Reed, Jack Kelly, Rich Cowen and Bill. Jim caught and released two goliath grouper, one about 15 pounds and one about 25 pounds. We also caught a 14 inch hogfish and a 14 inch flounder on shrimp. We released lots of gag and red grouper shorts, small snapper and Spanish mackerel. We were also bitten off by a big barracuda.
Unfortunately, I had a last-minute cancellation from my Saturday anglers so I was unable to take advantage of the relatively calm winds we had Saturday morning.
The photo shown is of a 25 pound king mackerel, caught on a porgie on an offshore trip this past Tuesday. View more at http://fishbustercharters.com
Captain Dave Hanson
Fishbuster Charters, Inc, Bonita Beach, SW FL
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Fishing Blog- Web Updates - Nov. 4, 2009
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- Killer Diller Shrimp Review - Creme Lures
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