Fishing Reports by Capt. Dave Hanson

SW FL-Bonita beach: The Kings Have Returned! - Tuesday, 3/4/14, was a beautiful, calm day offshore. I spent it fishing with frequent customers, Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, and this time, Ron's brother, Stanley Musick was in town to go with us. We headed out about 29 miles from New Pass, and had more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sheepies Rule! - Monday, 2/17/14, I headed offshore from New Pass about 17 miles, with Jim Swanger and Ron Kaplan. Seas weren't quite as calm as predicted early-on, but they calmed down nicely by mid-morning. The guys used live shrimp to box seven 13-inch mangrove sn more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sheepies, Bull-Red, 8-Ft Shark - Tuesday, 2/4/14, I headed out 35 miles from New Pass to fish with frequent customers, Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett. We used live shrimp to catch four snapper—one huge lane snapper at 19 inches and three mangrove snapper all 15 to 16 inc more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper & Hogs, Sheepshead & drum - Monday, 1/20/14, was the first day in about two weeks that was suitable for offshore fishing. Successive, relentless weather fronts had forced me off the water for about a week, then into the backwaters for the next week or so. Another front, predict more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: Inshore only place to be - The week of January 5th, 2014, was pretty much a loss for fishing. We had near-freezing temps for a couple of days, thanks to a strong cold front that made it this far south, which is unusual. That front also brought high winds and rough seas, and th more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: Pompano, Sheepshead, Drum - Saturday morning, 12/21/13, the winds, which had been pretty much steady all week, were still blowing hard, and seas were predicted to be three-to-four feet offshore. But, with dead-low tides in the bay, Butch Haggin, his son-in-law, John Sims, and g more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: 30-inch gag best catch ( and release!) - Monday, 12/9, I fished inshore in Estero Bay with long-time customers, Erwin and Millie Metusiak. The couple boxed six nice sheepshead to 17 inches, and released five smaller ones. They also released short black drum, a couple of stingrays, and four more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: So now that gag season closed... - Tuesday, 11/26/13, I fished on a very windy morning in Estero Bay with Al Tooley and his two sons, Jeff and Aiden. The tide was up, making for favorable conditions in the bay, and the guys did well, fishing with live shrimp. Catches included a 25-inc more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Sharks, Drum, Sheepshead - Tuesday, 11/12/13, I fished offshore with long-time customers Kari Vilamaa, George Dyer, and Paul Kikendall. We were one day ahead of a cold front that was predicted to bring strong winds and seas of six to eight feet offshore, but we had calm condit more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

SWFL-Bonita Beach:Red Grouper, Hogs, Shark, Redfish & Sheepshead - Bob and Jo-Ellen Exby fished 18 miles offshore with me on Tuesday, 10/22, just ahead of a cool-front due in the next day. The day began calm, and seas of one-foot were predicted by NOAA, but we had two-to-three foot seas most of the morning, as winds more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach