Fishbuster March Report-Good fishing inshore and offshore
Capt. Dave Hanson
March 31, 2022
Bonita Beach - Saltwater Fishing Report
Jon and Kim Lueck fished southern Estero Bay's backwaters with me on Tuesday morning, 3/1. They used live shrimp to catch a dozen sheepshead, including three keepers between 14 and 17 inches. They also caught a 15-inch permit, and released two mangrove snapper shorts.
Bill Minturn, along with Ed and Judy Rowles, and Bill's cousin, Paige, fished a catch-and-release trip with me in southern Estero Bay on Wednesday morning, 3/2. They used live shrimp to catch and release eighteen sheepshead, a small mutton snapper, and a 25-inch redfish. They had a ladyfish on the line at one point, and a huge crevalle jack surfaced to crush it and break the line.
Larry Rifkin fished offshore with me on Thursday, 3/3, about 35 miles west of New Pass, using squid, cut-bait, and live shrimp for bait.He caught a 22-inch, keeper red grouper (see pic), and released over thirty red grouper shorts to 19 inches. He added to the box three keeper lane snappers and three keeper mangrove snapper, all around 13 inches, along with two nice porgies at 15 inches and 19 inches. He released eight additional porgies, two mangrove snapper shorts, two yellowtail snapper shorts, and five lesser amberjacks that were all in the 17-to18-inch range.
Tim Shea and family fished on a very windy morning in southern Estero Bay's backwaters on Wednesday, 3/9. They used live shrimp to catch and release eight sheepshead and a sand bream. They hooked a huge stingray, and had fun with that until it broke off.
On Monday morning, 3/14, Luke Pringle, his dad, and his daughter, Kaiya, had planned to fish all day offshore. But, the weather front that came through over the weekend, left residual none-foot seas in its wake, so the family traded those plans for a morning of catch-and-release fishing inshore, in southern Estero Bay. They used live shrimp to release fourteen sheepshead to 13 inches.
Bill Tank, his son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Kristi, and their two young sons, George and Charlie, fished in southern Estero Bay, as sheltered as we could get from the strong winds, on Tuesday morning, 3/15. They used live shrimp to catch and release a dozen short sheepshead, a 14-inch black drum, a 14-inch sand bream, and two big sailcats, 15 inches and 20 inches.
Chris and Tara Jensen, joined by friends, Matt and Leah Menting, fished in southern Estero Bay's backwaters on Wednesday morning, 3/16. They used live shrimp to catch sixteen sheepshead, including a 13-inch keeper. They also boxed a sand bream and an 11-inch keeper mangrove snapper, and released one mangrove snapper short.
Terri Tank, her daughter, and son-in-law, holly and John Lischer, and their eight-year-old daughter, Lils Lischer, fished in southern Estero Bay's backwaters on Friday morning, 3/18. They used live shrimp to catch a lot of fish, including a few keepers. Holly caught a 17-inch trout. Terry caught and released an 18-inch redfish. John caught a 14-inch sheepshead, one of two that size that the family boxed. Lils won the catch-of-the day, with a 25-inch redfish she released. The family also released fifteen short sheepshead and an 18-inch sailcat.
Ryan Fogerty and his father-in-law, Larry, fished in southern Estero Bay's backwaters on a very windy Monday morning, 3/21. They used live shrimp to catch fifteen sheepshead, to 15 inches.
Scotty Smith, his son, Ethan, and Scotty's dad, Charlie, fished in the backwaters of Estero Bay Tuesday morning, 3/22, where they used live shrimp to catch and release a dozen sheepshead, a mangrove snapper, and a crevalle jack.
Leonard Barnes and his daughter, Kathryn, fished a high, incoming tide in southern Estero Bay's backwaters Wednesday morning, 3/23.Using live shrimp, they caught and released a 26-inch redfish. They boxed a 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper and a 15-inch sheepshead, and released fourteen smaller sheepshead and two mangrove snapper shorts.
Ryan Myers, Curtis Butler, and Michael Dunnagan had planned to fish all day offshore on Friday, 3/25, but the angry seas of the past week prohibited doing so. The guys decided to fish inshore in southern Estero Bay for the morning. They used live shrimp to catch and release eighteen sheepshead to 14 inches, a 20-inch snook, and a 22-inch sailcat.
Seas were finally calm enough on Monday morning, 3/28, to allow an offshore trip. I fished eighteen miles west of New Pass with Ray Atwood, and family members, Floyd, Darren, and Ginny. They used squid to box twenty-one keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts. They released an additional twenty-five grunts that they did not need, along with three red grouper shorts.
Jason and Holly Brock fished a catch-and-release inshore trip with me in southern Estero Bay on Tuesday morning, 3/29. They used live shrimp to catch ten sheepshead and two mangrove snapper shorts.
Justin and Melissa Setzekorn and their children, Jack and Kathryn, fished in southern Estero Bay's backwaters with me on Wednesday morning, 3/30. The family used live shrimp to box two 12-inch sand bream and a keeper mangrove snapper. They released four sheepshead shorts.
Michael and Denise Croake, their son, Parker, and Parker's grandpa, Dennis, fished the backwaters in southern Estero Bay with me on Thursday morning, 3/31. The sheepshead were biting well, but keeper size were hard to find. The family boxed a 15-inch sheepshead, and released seventeen smaller ones, many of which were just a quarter inch to a half inch short of legal size. They also caught a 12-inch, keeper mangrove snapper, and released six mang shorts, along with three mutton snapper shorts.
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Bonita Beach Fishing Forecast:
Winds are blowing hard again, and it might take a few days for seas to calm down in the Gulf. While waiting, inshore is a good bet on a favorable tide.
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