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Fishing Report - Naples, Ft. Myers, Bonita Beach & Estero Bay
Capt. Dave Hanson
September 21, 2007
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
SW FL-Bonita Beach: snapper smorgasbord, hogfish, 'cuda
This week was a good one for snapper of all varieties. Terry Mooney, Mike Franklin, Bob Myers and Jim Schultz fished with me Monday in 45 feet straight out of New Pass. We did well with snapper. We caught two 14 inch yellowtails and twenty mangrove snapper to 15 inches. We also caught triggerfish and porkfish and released three short hogfish and gag grouper shorts. As we were reeling in one of the mangrove snapper, with a light spinning rod and no steel leader, a 4 foot barracuda bit the snapper and ended up hooking himself in the lip. We managed to get the cuda to the boat without breaking the line, photographed and released it.
Mike and Sandy Chandler fished with me Tuesday morning when seas were predicted to be two foot. In actuality, we had 3-4 foot seas and sloppy conditions in 45 feet out of New Pass, with a steady fifteen knot wind. But, the fishing was good, which compensated us for the rough seas. We caught a dozen nice mangrove snapper to 16 inches, a keeper mutton snapper at 17 inches (see photo), a 13 inch hogfish and some whitebone porgies. We released smaller yellowtail and muttons, triggerfish, and a 15 pound goliath grouper. All were caught on shrimp, except for the goliath who ate a grunt as we were reeling it in.
The tropical weather system off our coast kicked up seas to 4-6 feet by Thursday, and I had to cancel my final trip for this week.
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