SW FL-Bonita Beach: Almost Too Big Snook, Bull Red, Snapper & Sheepshead
Bill Story and friends, Mike, Dave, Jim, Marvin and Ed picked a nice calm morning to fish offshore with me on Tuesday, 10/28. We headed out of New Pass about eighteen miles and fished in 43 feet with live shrimp. The guys were after pan-fish for a fish-fry they planned for this week, and we did well to fill their table with keeper lane snapper, mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper, grunts, Spanish mackerel and porgies of the whitebone and jolthead varieties. We released lots of smaller snapper, as well as short triggerfish and red grouper. Friday morning, 11/6, Mark Murphey, Tom Stefaniak and Jerry Craig fished with me in Estero Bay. We had a great morning, mostly because of the 32 1/2 inch snook Mark caught on shrimp–It was a beauty, and we were holding our breath when we measured it. Fortunately, it fell 1/2 inch below maximum size (see photo.) The guys also caught some nice keeper sheepshead and mangrove snapper, along with four sand bream. We released crevalle jacks, an 18-inch snook and all but ten of the 35 mangs we caught. The group planned to go have their catch cooked for lunch at Fish House, then to ride back to where they were staying on Marco…probably a long ride for Tom and Jerry, listening to Mark brag the entire time! Though Friday had been windy, it seemed calm, compared with the winds of Saturday morning. I fished Estero Bay again, this time with Jim and Kytha Eibel and their ten-year-old son, Graham. The high winds made for a tougher time fishing, but we caught three keeper sheepshead and released lots of smaller sheepies, along with snapper and two large stingrays to 20 pounds. The storm out in the Gulf, north of us, caused our winds to grow stronger and stronger throughout the weekend. The party I was to fish with on Monday decided that even bayside fishing would be too challenging, with wind gusts predicted to reach 30-35 mph, so they deferred their Monday trip. As it turned out, winds laid down pretty nicely that morning and didn’t become gusty until after noon. Winds were moderate Tuesday morning, when I fished Estero Bay with Ed Leroux and friend, Jim. We caught too redfish, one too small to keep at 17 inches and one a bull, too big to keep at 30 inches. We released those after photographing the larger one, along with small mangrove snapper, crevalle jacks, and two stingrays. We caught a few keeper sheepshead for table-fare. The photos shown are of angler Adam Koenigsmark, with a 34-inch king mackerel, caught on a sand perch on a recent offshore trip, and angler Mark Murphey with his 32 ½ inch snook, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay this week.
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: Goliath Beasts & Redfish
Monday morning, 8/31, I fished in 45 feet, out of New Pass, with Mike & Denise VanHorn. We fished for goliaths first, while the couple had their best energy–Good thing because Denise hooked one that was most likely over 300 pounds. Mike followed up with one that was around 100 pounds. We used Spanish mackerel, blue runners and a grunt for bait. After we released those two fish, we got serious about finding some fish to eat. We ended up with ten keeper lane snapper, all caught on shrimp. We released mangrove snapper just short of the twelve inch requirement, along with red grouper shorts. Estero Bay had good tides most of this week. Wednesday morning, the tide served us well, when I fished with Bob Flesch and his friend, John. Bob caught a nice red. We could tell it was going to be good-sized from the way it fought, and we were hoping it would be within the slot for keeping. We were lucky, as it measured exactly 27 inches (see photo.) We also caught five keeper mangrove snapper and a 14-inch sheepshead. We released two small snook, as well as a 50-pound stingray, which was an admirable fight!
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Hogfish, Yellowtail, Lanes, Mangs, Spanish…and Bonefish
Wednesday morning, 7/15, I headed out to fish fifteen to nineteen miles out of New Pass, with Paul and Debbie Szemplinski and their three children, Ryan, Audrey and Evelyn. We caught a bunch of yellowtail snapper, fifteen in all, but only one that we could keep at 18 inches. The spot that yielded the big one was overtaken by dolphin, which made catching more of the keepers impossible. We also kept five fourteen-inch whitebone porgies and released a bunch of silver porgies. We also got four keeper Spanish mackerel to 25 inches and released undersized mutton snapper, lane snapper, gag grouper to 18 inches and grunts. Interestingly, we caught and released a small bonefish that was ten inches long, an unusual catch around here (more commonly in the FL Keys), especially in the depths we were fishing. We used shrimp for everything. Thursday morning, I fished offshore again, this time with Chuck Mitchell, Reita Martin, and three children. We caught three varieties of porgies and kept six of those, along with two keeper lane snapper and six Spanish mackerel to 28 inches. We released about 40 undersized yellowtail snapper, along with some gag and red grouper shorts and small triggerfish. We were fishing with live shrimp, in 44 feet out of New Pass. Strangely, another bonefish bit our bait on Friday morning, about 15 miles offshore, where I fished with Bob and Kim Deering, their sons, Robert and Matthew, and father-son anglers Greg and Gavin Zarbock. Robert also caught a nice hogfish, 15 inches long, and the group caught a dozen keeper mangrove and lane snapper, porkfish, grunts and a mess of Spanish mackerel. We released lots of undersized snapper and grouper.
The photo shown is of angler, Florian Kordas, with a 19 1/2 inch mangrove snapper, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.
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 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: Bonito, Goliaths, Kings, Spanish, Snapper & Redfish
Monday morning, 6/8, I fished Estero Bay with Steve Sepan, his son, Ron, and his young grandson, Logan. We used live shrimp to catch two keeper sheepshead to 15 inches and a keeper redfish at 18 1/2 inches. We released small mangrove snapper, trout and crevalle jacks.
Tuesday was a full day fishing trip with Florian Kordas and son, Mike, so we headed out a good ways to 73 feet, about 36 miles out of New Pass. We had a good day with lots of action and variety. We caught and kept ten nice mangrove snapper to 19 1/2 inches, three keeper yellowtail, all about 14 inches, and a few 15-inch whitebone porgies. We released Spanish mackerel to 26 inches, a ten-pound bonito, a 150 pound goliath grouper, mutton snapper shorts to 15 1/2 inches, undersized yellowtail and mangrove snapper, gag grouper shorts and red grouper shorts to 19 1/4 inches. We used shrimp for bait except for the goliath, which took a blue runner. It was a good day for both sport fish and table-fare. Wednesday morning, I was back offshore, but only to about 20 miles and 43 feet, fishing with John Winters and Steve Pettitt. I tried my mutton snapper hole first, but a huge goliath grouper ate the first three fish we hooked–all pretty nice muttons–so we had to move because it is hard to compete with a 500 pound monster. We checked out some other spots and ended up with four Spanish mackerel, all 23-24 inches, four keeper yellowtail snapper, four keeper mangrove snapper, along with some grunts and whitebone porgies. We released undersized yellowtail, mangs, triggerfish, gags and red grouper. That is it for this week—Slow season is upon us in SW FL. And near record heat is keeping even some locals indoors. We’ll have more to report over the next couple of weeks. The photo shown is of angler, John France, with a 19 inch mutton snapper, caught on shrimp, on a recent offshore trip.
SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Muttons Offshore; Trout & Reds Inshore
Tuesday, 5/26, I fished central Estero Bay with Wayne Hawkins and his niece, Lauren Mullinax, both from Cumming, GA. We used live shrimp and popping corks to catch three keeper trout to 18 inches and release lots of smaller trout. We also caught two keeper sheepshead, and we released a 23 inch snook.
Wednesday morning, I headed out of New Pass to 43 feet to fish offshore with George Noonan and his two sons. We fished with shrimp, hoping to catch some nice mutton snapper, like I had last week. But the goliath grouper had other ideas and ate two of those before we could get them off the bottom. We managed to beat out the goliaths and keep a nice yellowtail, some porgies and grunts, and two king mackerel at 25 inches and 32 inches. We also caught and released a 25 pound goliath grouper, along with lots of mangrove and yellowtail snapper shorts, undersized gag grouper and smaller kingfish.
I headed offshore Saturday morning with Leon Mead and son, Spencer, but we only made it to the near-shore reefs because of three-to-four foot seas, even near-shore. We used shrimp to catch keeper mangrove snapper, grunts and Spanish mackerel, and we released grouper shorts, smaller mackerel and blue runners.
Fishing Estero Bay Sunday with Steve Vender and Shawn Hennessey yielded some decent trout to 19 inches. Steve fished with me a couple more times this week too, on Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday, 6/2, we headed offshore to 43 feet, about 20 miles west of New Pass. We caught three mutton snapper at 16 ½ inches, 18 inches and 19 ¾ inches. We lost another big one when it cut the line and also hooked a hogfish that got free about three feet from the boat. We also caught whitebone porgies and Spanish mackerel, and released triggerfish, grouper shorts, grunts and blue runners. Thursday, we’d planned to head out for more muttons but the rain offshore kept us in the backwaters, where we caught a 24 ½ inch redfish, a 14 inch sheepshead and a few keeper mangrove snapper.
Backwaters fishing Friday morning with Dave Koenigsmark and his five-year-old son, Tyler, was good for three keeper trout, two at 18 ½ inches and one at 17 inches, on shrimp with popping corks. We also caught a few keeper mangrove snapper to 13 inches.
The photo shown is of angler, Gary Click, with a 23 inch trout, caught on shrimp, on a recent inshore trip.
-
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
