More winds, seas, and rain came our way this week, with rough conditions offshore most of the week, and some pretty low tides in Estero Bay. I finally got one of my postponed offshore trips out on Saturday Even then, the predicted 2-3 foot seas were actually 3-5 foot seas most of the day. I fished with father and son anglers James and Jonathan Ozark, in 35 feet out of New Pass. We caught lots of Spanish mackerel, and kept twenty of those in the 24-25 inch range. We also caught eight keeper mangrove snapper to 15 inches, triggerfish to 14 inches, and porkfish. We released hundreds of ladyfish. We caught most everything on live shrimp, but one of the mangrove snapper we reeled in spit up a ten inch eel, which we then used as bait, and caught three additional keeper snapper on that one eel!
With the holiday this week, the fishing schedule is full with folks hoping to make fishing a part of their Thanksgiving celebrations. Unfortunately, Mother Nature might have other ideas, with another strong cold-front predicted early in the week. But, we’ll hope for the best, and get out when we can.
The photo shown is of anglers Bob & Rita Grant, with a pair of hogfish, caught on a recent offshore trip.
