SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Kings, Bonito, Shark, Snapper & Trout
Seasonal business is just beginning to pick up around here, though most of the recently reserved dates are for later this month and into next. I did get offshore Saturday, 10/10 with long-time customers Jerry and Barb Rudan, from Wisconsin. We headed out of New Pass to about 18 miles, but it was slow going heading out in sloppy seas. Predictions were for one-footers, and it did eventually calm to about that, but the trip out was definitely not that calm. We used live shrimp to catch a lot of different fish but many of our catches were frustratingly just short of keeper-size. We released red groupers that were as little as one eighth of an inch short of legal. The same was true of many yellowtails and mangrove snapper. Triggerfish were abundant and would have been keepers prior to the regulation change, which now demands 14-inch minimum, so we released those too, along with lots of ladyfish. On the bright side, we did manage to catch a mess of keeper-sized snapper too—mangs, lanes and yellowtail, as well as Spanish mackerel.
David Koenigsmark, son Adam, and father-in-law, Hubert, fished offshore with me Thursday, 10/15. We had a full-day so we headed out 37 miles west of New Pass to 74 feet. David had fished with me this summer, but we were bayside to accommodate his younger son. This time, he wanted his fourteen-year old son to have some offshore adventure. We caught a variety of fish, some of them pretty good size, which included a 34 inch king mackerel, a 28 inch king, whose tail was bitten off as Adam reeled him in by a huge barracuda, a 3 ½ foot sharpnose shark, a very large stingray, and an 8-pound bonito. We kept the kingfish and released the shark, stingray and bonito. We also caught some good table-fare—lane snapper, mangrove snapper and yellowtail snapper—all keeper-sized, though we released all the lanes and a few mangs, as we already had plenty of fish, and also released lots of grouper shorts. At one point, we spotted about fifteen large mahi-mahi, right beside the boat—we had just arrived and weren’t rigged up yet, and they spooked and swam off.
Sunday morning, 10/18, I had planned to fish offshore with Dan Wampler, son, Barry, and eleven-year-old grandson, Max. The weather, however, had other ideas, as our first real cool-front came through the area, bringing not only much cooler temperatures, but also stiff winds and rough seas offshore. Dan and family decided to brave the cold morning temps and fish in the calmer waters of the bay. We stayed as sheltered from the wind as possible, and used live shrimp along the mangrove shoreline to catch five keeper sand bream and nine keeper mangrove snapper. We released small sheepshead and two small snook.
As the winds continued to be strong and seas rough offshore on Monday, Chester Yanik, son Mark, and friends Jim Basara and Tom Murphey also swapped their offshore plans for two days of inshore fishing in Estero Bay. Monday, we caught a dozen keeper-mangrove snapper out of twenty-five total mangs, and four keeper-sheepshead out of a bunch of sheepies caught. We released the smaller snapper and sheepshead, along with a 16-inch snook. We were fishing with shrimp and small bait- fish along the shoreline, wherever were able to stay somewhat sheltered from the winds. Tuesday, the same group caught a bunch of trout–about 30 throw-backs measuring 14-15 inches–and they kept three nice trout that were 16 inches, along with keeper mangrove snapper. We released four redfish to 17 inches, an Atlantic spadefish, and a 3 1/2-foot bonnethead shark. We fished mostly in areas behind Ft. Myers Beach, using live shrimp and popping corks for the trout and reds.
The photo shown is of angler Mike Page, with an 18-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp on a recent trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Gulf &Bay Report
The bay was good fishing on Friday morning, 9/4, when I fished a catch-and-release trip with father-son anglers Dennis and Mike Page. Mike hooked a bull red at the edge of the trees and fought that until it broke free in the mangrove roots. We also caught and released eleven keeper-sized trout to 16 inches, two sheepshead at 14 inches and 18 inches, and fifteen keeper-sized mangrove snapper to 15 inches. We fished with shrimp under the edges of the mangrove trees, and used popping corks on the flat for the trout. Monday, 9/14, I fished in 38 feet, 18 miles offshore from New Pass, with Dennis and Jamie Riddel and their friends. We were lucky with hogfish—caught five of those, three of which were keepers to 16 inches. The Riddels will definitely be eating well! We also caught some keeper Spanish mackerel, nice whitebone porgies and grunts, which are good to eat too, but hogfish have a way of making everything else seem unworthy! We caught keeper yellowtail, but released a bunch more of those that were just short of the 12-inch legal size, along with four mutton snapper at 15 1/2 inches, also just shy of keeper-size, triggerfish, and red and gag grouper shorts. Tuesday, 9/15, I headed out of New Pass again to about 18 miles, with Doug Sapp and his two friends, one also named Doug and the other, Brian. Brian released two goliath grouper, one of which was 5 foot long and quite a monster to fight. The other was a small one at about 15 pounds. We also caught keeper Spanish mackerel and whitebone porgies. There were lots of big ladyfish around, which were a nuisance, so we had to move several times. The photo shown is of angler, Robert Deering, with a 15-inch hogfish, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Gulf & Bay Report
The bay was good fishing on Friday morning, 9/4, when I fished a catch-and-release trip with father-son anglers Dennis and Mike Page. Mike hooked a bull red at the edge of the trees and fought that until it broke free in the mangrove roots. We also caught and released eleven keeper-sized trout to 16 inches, two sheepshead at 14 inches and 18 inches, and fifteen keeper-sized mangrove snapper to 15 inches. We fished with shrimp under the edges of the mangrove trees, and used popping corks on the flat for the trout. Monday, 9/14, I fished in 38 feet, 18 miles offshore from New Pass, with Dennis and Jamie Riddel and their friends. We were lucky with hogfish—caught five of those, three of which were keepers to 16 inches. The Riddels will definitely be eating well! We also caught some keeper Spanish mackerel, nice whitebone porgies and grunts, which are good to eat too, but hogfish have a way of making everything else seem unworthy! We caught keeper yellowtail, but released a bunch more of those that were just short of the 12-inch legal size, along with four mutton snapper at 15 1/2 inches, also just shy of keeper-size, triggerfish, and red and gag grouper shorts. Tuesday, 9/15, I headed out of New Pass again to about 18 miles, with Doug Sapp and his two friends, one also named Doug and the other, Brian. Brian released two goliath grouper, one of which was 5 foot long and quite a monster to fight. The other was a small one at about 15 pounds. We also caught keeper Spanish mackerel and whitebone porgies. There were lots of big ladyfish around, which were a nuisance, so we had to move several times. The photo shown is of angler, Robert Deering, with a 15-inch hogfish, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: A Little Girl and a Big Red
It’s that time of year when fishing trips are spaced more sparsely. Add to that a three-day hiatus in celebration of a wedding anniversary and the net result is just a couple of days on the water this week. Tuesday morning, 8/25, I headed out of New Pass about eighteen miles with Harold Matthews, his son, Chad, and Chad’s wife, Misty. Seas were not as calm as predicted on the way out, but they did calm as the morning progressed. We caught four nice porgies and porkfish on shrimp, but we did more releasing than keeping. We released lots of undersized gag grouper, lane snapper and yellowtail snapper. We also had fun catching and releasing two goliath grouper, 35 pounds and 45 pounds. Eleven-year old, Anna Perry and her dad, Evan Perry, fished central Estero Bay with me, using live shrimp, Thursday morning. Anna had done some fishing from piers but had never before fished from a boat. She had no trouble acclimating: The first catch of the day was Anna’s 25-inch redfish (see photo), which she reeled in on her own, from beneath the mangroves around New Pass. She also caught a 12-inch sheepshead and three trout, one of which was a 16-inch keeper. Add to that mix eight keeper-sized mangrove snapper, five of which the father-daughter team kept.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Trout, Sheepshead, Snapper & Snook Inshore
Slow season is here for sure. Seasonal residents have fled our heat and humidity until October and the economy is not producing our usual number of summer vacationers this year. On top of that, a low pressure system that hung over our area for several days was still in effect Monday, 6/29, when I fished a windy Estero Bay with Bill Maybrook and friend, Andy. We missed the rains and were able to catch six keeper mangrove snapper on shrimp. We released nine smaller snapper, two snook to 16 inches and four sheepshead that were just short of keeper size.
The weather remained pretty unstable most of the week, with rains likely both morning and afternoon. Seas in the gulf remained rough. The next time I got out fishing was Friday morning, 7/3, in Estero Bay, with Paul Rosenberg and Cory Knight. We did well, using shrimp to catch three keeper trout to 18 ½ inches, a keeper sheepshead and four keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches. We released 15 smaller trout and crevalle jack.
Tim and Amy Harwood, nine-year-old daughter, Emily, and eight-year-old daughter, Abby, fished central Estero Bay with me Wednesday morning, 7/8. The backwaters are very warm and that tends to slow down the bite, but we had pretty steady action with trout, using shrimp and popping corks. We caught and released nine of those, along with nine mangrove snapper and a small permit.
I was back in Estero Bay Friday morning, when I fished with Jerry Robertson, his son, and grandson. We again had good action with trout and snapper on shrimp with popping corks. We kept two mangrove snapper and a 16 inch trout.
The photo shown is of anglers, Bryant and Gary Click, with a pair of redfish and a 23 inch trout, caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Inshore & Near-shore Report
This week was challenging in terms of weather, for sure.
Monday morning, 6/22, was the best weather of the week. I fished Estero Bay with the Matt Stanford family, including Matt, his wife, their two young children and the children’s grandfather. We had a good morning, using live shrimp to catch seven keeper mangrove snapper, three keeper sheepshead to 14 inches and a keeper whiting. We released two small snook, each about 16 inches.
Tuesday morning, Julie Brady, her son, Nick, and Nick’s friend, Colby, had planned to fish offshore, but with stiff winds out of the west, we changed those plans to fish inshore instead. Using live shrimp in central Estero Bay, we caught keeper mangrove snapper and a 14 inch sheepshead. We released smaller mangs and sheepshead, along with a 15 inch snook. After two consecutive days of strong, westerly winds and rough seas, the offshore forecast for Wednesday calmed down significantly, with predictions for two-foot seas out to 20 miles and two-to-fours from 20 to 60 miles offshore. Robert Smith and son, Walker, were pleased to awake to calm winds that morning, and we optimistically headed out. But, even at the near-shore reefs, seas were sloppy, with a leftover swell and seas on top of the swell higher than predicted. We fished there until it wasn’t fun anymore, dared not venture out further, and retreated to the relative calm behind Ft. Myers Beach for the final hour of fishing. We caught keeper mangrove snapper and grunts, and released Spanish mackerel. NOAA continued to forecast calming seas, with predictions for two-foot out to 60 miles for the rest of this week. But the low pressure system that stalled over us had other ideas. Thursday morning, I was back to the dock by 10 AM with Mike Weber, Bill Carlson, and their wives. There was a stiff 20 knot wind and seas rough enough to be border-line unsafe. We released a couple fish and decided to head in before it got any more uncomfortable or dangerous. Needless to say, with unstable, rough conditions and lots of moisture still around on Friday, I advised Chris Morrow, son Alex, and Bob Snyder and son, Zack, to fish inshore, rather than risk gulf fishing. We dodged a few rainstorms throughout the morning but we ended up catching ten keeper mangrove snapper and a keeper sheepshead. We released smaller snapper and sheepshead, and returned to shore just as the skies were letting loose with a heavier shower. The photo shown is of six-year-old angler,Tyler Guthman, with a bonnethead shark, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay, on a recent inshore trip. 
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Inshore Report
Hot, hot, hot! Air and water temps are unbelievably hot this week.
Tuesday morning, 6/16, I fished with Larry Battiste and his young son, Lorenzo, in Estero Bay. We used live shrimp to catch seven keeper mangrove snapper and a 14 inch sheepshead. We released smaller sheepshead, snapper and trout. Wednesday morning, I fished Estero Bay again, with Cody Hennessey, on a catch and release trip. We released a dozen mangrove snapper and a 15 inch sheepshead. We hooked a big red but he got away from us before we could boat him. Saturday morning, 6/20, I fished a very warm Estero Bay with John McGushin and friend, Mike. We used shrimp to catch five keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches and we released crevalle jack and ladyfish. We couldn’t get any reds to bite—maybe the warm water temps are making them lethargic. We half expected the fish to be reeled in already cooked! The photo shown is of angler, Steve Vender, with a 24 1/2 inch redfish, caught on shrimp, on a recent inshore trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: 400 lb. goliath whips two of us!
Saturday morning, May 2nd, I fished Estero Bay with brothers, Steve and Howard Potash, and their wives, Loree and Bonnie. We caught three trout, two of which were keepers at 17 ½ inches, and we released two undersized snook and mangrove snapper.
A morning of catch and release fishing in Estero Bay with Paul Oleff on Monday yielded trout, Spanish mackerel and mangrove snapper, all on shrimp.
Tuesday morning, I was back in Estero Bay, this time with Bill Henry and John Kakatsh, fishing the oyster bars along the east wall of the bay. We caught a 19 inch sheepshead, kind of a surprise in the bay with the water so warm. We also caught and released a four-pound crevalle jack, two snook, 22 and 23 inches, and five trout.
Thursday, I headed offshore in calm seas with Mark and Angie Evans, Jeff and Richard Evans and Nicholas Quarterman. We caught some nice whitebone porgies to 20 inches, keeper mangrove snapper and keeper Spanish mackerel. We released red and gag grouper shorts and undersized triggerfish. The highlight of the trip for Mark was when we switched from light tackle and shrimp baits to heavy tackle with double blue runners—He and I hauled in a 400 pound goliath grouper, which we released boat-side after it put both of us on the floor of the boat, and looking more like a bar brawl than a fishing expedition!
A morning of fishing with Shawn Hennessey and Dave Johnson on Friday produced keeper mangrove snapper, triggerfish, Spanish mackerel and lots of red and gag grouper shorts, in about 45 feet out of New Pass, using live shrimp.
The photo shown is of angler Dan Bernardi, with a 19-inch pompano, caught on shrimp on a recent inshore trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Red Bayside; Nice Gag Offshore
Monday, 4/13, the winds kicked up again—a familiar story here for the past three weeks or so. With seas offshore building four to six feet, I recommended inshore-fishing for George Flanders and his son. The bay has been tough recently too because of muddy conditions in parts of it and grass that has blown in, but at least there are no rough seas to worry about there. We caught and released a couple of snook, sheepshead and mangrove snapper, fishing with shrimp along the tree-lines of the central bay.
Estero Bay was a little more productive, though still slow, Tuesday morning, when I fished with Mike and Norine Weber and their two young daughters, Christine and Julia. We caught a few keepers, including three mangrove snapper to 15 inches and a sheepshead. We released a couple of smaller sheepshead, crevalle jack and a small snook. Winds remained strong offshore, with small craft advisories in effect, so backwater fishing was the only game in town.
I was glad to hear forecasts of two-to-four foot seas on Wednesday. I headed to the near-shore reefs with Chuck Neumann and friends for a morning of fishing. Unfortunately, those seas were on top of a four-to-five foot swell left over from Tuesday night’s stormy conditions. Fishing was only fair, and we managed four keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper trout, a keeper whiting and grunts, all on shrimp. 
Thursday, we finally caught a break in the rough seas and had two-to-three feet mostly, even out to 65 feet, where I fished with Ron Musick, his son, Mike, and friends, Richard Arnett and Eddie Alfonso. We caught a keeper gag at 23 inches and also had the line cut by a bigger one, and released lots of gag shorts. We also caught keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, keeper yellowtail, keeper lane snapper and whitebone porgies. We were fishing with live shrimp and pinfish.
Friday, as winds picked up to about 20 knots again, I fished central Estero Bay with Jim Novy and three of his young children, Jimmy, Jordan and Jackie. The littlest Novy was still too small to go this year. The three who went had never been on a boat before and they had a great time catching mangrove snapper to 12 inches and releasing small snook. Jim caught the daddy-sized fish: a nice 25 inch redfish, on shrimp. (see photo)
What a difference a day makes. Conditions in Estero Bay were far from ideal Saturday morning, when I fished with Bill Keefer and friends. The winds were out of the north-northwest, the water was shallow, and the tide never came in. We fought wind, tide and boat traffic to catch and release a few snook and sheepshead. We had originally planned to fish offshore, but with small craft caution in effect, winds of 15 to 21 knots and seas of three-to-five feet beyond twenty miles, I wasn’t believing the two-to-three foot predictions for near-shore. So concluded another very windy week of fishing.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: These are the times that try Captains’ souls…
Just ahead of another cold-front predicted to come through our area Monday evening, Bill Oswald and his eight-year-old daughter, Grace, fished Estero Bay with me Monday morning, 4/6. We had some gusts of wind but nothing like the winds expected on Tuesday, and it was a generally pleasant and productive morning in the backwaters. We kept two sheepshead and six mangrove snapper and we released about an equal number of smaller ones. Grace was keeping score on the number of fish caught and proudly proclaimed herself the winner, with a total of nine.
Tuesday morning the winds that were promised became a reality. I had already cancelled an offshore trip for that day, given the predictions. I had tentatively scheduled a backwater trip, but with winds of 25-30 knots, fishing anywhere seemed more like an exercise in aggravation than anything pleasant, so I cancelled the backwater trip also and remained in port for the day.
After the front moved through and the winds shifted direction, Wednesday brought some shallow conditions in Estero Bay. Grassy, muddy waters made for some tough fishing that morning with Kevin Mathies, his young sons, Tony and Louie, and the boys’ grandfather, Louis. We managed quite a bit of catching but not a lot of keeping. We released seven undersized snapper, five crevalle jacks, two snook and a few sheepshead, and we caught two keeper whitings at 15 inches each.
Bill Oswald, who fished with his eight-year-old daughter in Estero Bay with me on Monday, fished the backwaters again with me on Thursday, this time with ten-year-old son, Will. We released mangrove snapper, cravalle jack, a 20 inch snook (see photo) and a big bat-ray, all on shrimp.
Friday, David Posz and ten-year-old son, Jacob, wanted to catch some table-fare, and I wasn’t sure Estero Bay would offer much of that—It had been tough fishing in the bay all week. Predictions of two-to-four foot seas close-in lured us to try the near-shore reefs. In reality, seas were four-to-five feet there, but we hung in there and caught five keeper mangrove snapper, an 18 inch bluefish and some grunts. We released ladyfish, red grouper shorts, two flounder that were just short of keeper size, and a moonfish.
Saturday, winds calmed and seas laid down for the first time all week, allowing me to get out about nineteen miles with Joe & Sue McCollough, daughter, Cynthia Day, and twin grand-daughters, Amanda and Lauren. We used live shrimp and caught keeper mangrove snapper to 18 inches, a 16 inch keeper hogfish, a dozen nice whitebone porgies, all around 15 inches, and some big grunts. We released a smaller hogfish, Spanish mackerel and grouper shorts.
The photos shown are of angler, Don Washa, with a porkfish, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip. (Porkfish are actually quite tasty and this one was pretty good-sized) and of young angler, Will Oswald with a 20 inch snook caught and released on inshore trip this week.
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Fishing Blog- Web Updates - Nov. 4, 2009
- Salmo Sting Review - Salmo Lures
- Salmo Chubby Darter Review - Salmo Lures
- Salmo Bullhead Review - Salmo Lures
- Salmo Hornet Review - Salmo Lures
- Shrimp Tease Review - Creme Lures
- Killer Diller Shrimp Review - Creme Lures
- Jerk N? Shrimp Review - Creme Lures
- Devil?s Tongue Review- Saltwater - Creme Lures
- Creme Shrimp Soft Plastic Lure Review - Creme Lures
