Bonita Beach Fishing Reports

Lane snapper, red grouper, black drum & more - Monday, 12/19, seas were calm, and I fished in spots between 17 and 28 miles west of New Pass with Josh and Mikelle Schmitt and their friends, Laura and Evan Kemp. Using squid, the group caught fifty-four lane snapper in all, twenty-five of which wer more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Inshore on good tide; offshore in calm seas-Fishing is great! - Friday morning, 12/2, predictions were for two-to-four foot seas offshore. Bob Eckle and friend, Ken weren't fazed by that, since they are both hardy, avid anglers. It was pretty rough out there for the first half of the morning, then calmed a bit af more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Black Drum Invasion! Red grouper too - I had quite the active morning of fishing the south end of Estero Bay on Wednesday morning, 11/2, with Dave Mercer, friend Rod Knudson, and Rod's ten-year-old grandson, Gavin Knudson. The trio, who were fishing a catch-and-release trip using live shr more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

October: Mostly back-bay-Reds, Sheepshead, Black Drum - Hannah Merter, her parents, John and Tammy, and her boyfriend, Lance, fished near-shore with me on Thursday morning, 9/29. We dodged rainstorms most of the morning, running about fifteen miles to various close-in spots. The group used squid to catch more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Grouper, Snapper, Goliaths, Shark, Reds, Black Drum - The tropical system, Hermine, which wreaked havoc upon many areas to our north, spared us its worst, but brought high winds and torrential rains for several days, and fishing was out of the question. The ill effects of the storm were gone by Saturday more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Lanes, grouper, flounder, shark, goliaths - Wednesday, 7/27, I fished offshore in spots from 20 to 27 miles west of New Pass with Mark Aldridge, kids, Alfie and George, their cousin, Nick, and family friend, Mark Lansarve. Using baitfish and squid, the group caught thirty-one red grouper, incl more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Lots of Grouper & Snapper - Monday, 7/11, Mike Kownacki fished the first of two trips he had with me this week. Mike was mostly interested in grouper, so we used live shrimp to catch some baitfish, then caught a couple keeper red grouper, on the baitfish--one 21-inches and one more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Bull-red inshore; Grouper, snapper, hog offshore - Tuesday morning, 6/14, I fished a catch-and-release, inshore trip in Estero Bay with Mark Basrap and Shannon Featherman. The guys did well using live shrimp. Catches included a 32-inch bull-redfish, a 19-inch redfish, a 17-inch sheepshead, eleven man more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Shark, grouper, big lane snapper - Wednesday, 5/25, I headed 18 miles offshore with Dr. Paul Martz and Christian LeClerc. Seas were choppy heading out, but comfortable once anchored, and the guys used baitfish to catch numerous red grouper, including one 21-inch keeper. We also caught more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach

Some Big Game this week - I was off the water for a few days, with busy season winding down, and fishing trips not scheduled every day of the week, as they have been for the past several months. On Wednesday, 5/11, I fished inshore in lower Hickory Bay with Nat Drourr and his more...
Capt. Dave Hanson - Bonita Beach