Page 1 of 1

snapper, sheepshead, and a patch of red tide: SW FL

PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 2:27 pm
by fishbuster
8) Monday, I fished 18 miles out New Pass. We caught seventeen keeper mangrove snapper, five porkfish, and released lots of gag and red grouper just short of legal size.

Fishing in 35-40 feet out of New Pass Tuesday was slow, due to a slow running tide and flat conditions. We used shrimp and pinfish, but only released red grouper shorts and porgies.

Wednesday, I fished in 55 feet, 26 miles out of New Pass. There was a patch of Red Tide ten to twelve miles wide, and lots of dead fish around, but the fishing was pretty good, in spite of that. We got a mess of nice mangrove snapper, and some nice lanes about 13 inches. We released gag shorts.

We caught three keeper sheepshead and eight keeper mangrove snapper, fishing with me Thursday four to eighteen miles out of New Pass. Fishing was slow until the sea breeze picked up around 11:00AM. We released lots of smaller snapper, grunts, gags, red grouper, and sheepshead.

Fishing Friday, we started out at the reefs off Bonita Beach, where we caught five nice sheepshead and a few keeper mangrove snapper. We then went out further about eighteen miles out of New Pass, and caught some more keeper mangrove snapper, grunts and porgies, and released gag shorts.

With high seas well offshore on Saturday, I fished close-in at the Bonita reefs. We caught more keeper sheepshead and mangrove snapper, as well as grunts, and released small grouper and flounder.
The photo attached is of a pair of 5 lb. sheepshead, caught ona recent offshore trip.
Image