Offshore & Bay Report: Bonita Beach, FL Fishbuster Dave

[fishbuster]

Tides were so low Monday, 1/10 and Tuesday, 1/11 that it was impossible to get my boat out. By Wednesday, the tide was barely high enough, but allowed me to get out New Pass and offshore, where I fished in 43 feet with live shrimp. We caught a limit of mangrove snapper, sheepshead to 14 inches, triggerfish and jolthead and whitebone porgies. By Thursday, winds were gusting to 33 mph, preceding a cold front that brought more wind, rain and rough seas through the weekend and early part of the following week.

The following Wednesday, I fished in 31 feet off New Pass, where we caught keeper mangrove snapper, lane snapper, triggerfish and sheepshead on live shrimp. We hooked and released lots of gag and red grouper shorts.

Thursday, I fished Estero Bay. We had a great day with sheepshead, catching 11 keepers, five of which were over 5 pounds. We also caught a 20 inch keeper redfish, and we released five sea trout that would have been keepers, had they been in season. We used live shrimp for all.

Fishing on Friday, 20 miles out New Pass in 49 feet, we caught fifteen nice mangrove snapper to eighteen inches, a keeper gag grouper at 22 ½ inches, whitebone porgies, and a 15 inch sheepshead, using live shrimp and pinfish. We released smaller snapper and grouper.

Fishing was kind of slow Saturday morning, 18 miles out of New Pass. We got a couple of sheepshead, 15 inches each, keeper mangrove snapper, triggerfish, porkfish, and grunts.