Hurricane Ian, Aftermath
Capt. Dave Hanson
November 26, 2022
Bonita Beach - Saltwater Fishing Report
Hurricane Ian blasted through our area on September 28th, with fury we have never seen in past storms. Its surge of 7.5 feet here in our location, wiped out nearly everything, and did damage to both of our boats. The inshore (bay) boat remains in the shop for repairs, but we have managed to get the offshore (gulf) boat up and running. I ventured out in that boat on 11/4/22, for the first time since the storm, with Jeff Flemington and three of his friends. As luck would have it, after a period of time with calm winds and seas following the storm, the winds picked up to 15 to 20 knots for today, and seas were choppy. Between that and the fact that debris still litters our waterways, it was slow heading out to the Spring, and we ventured no further than that. The guys had fun using squid to catch and release some good-sized blue runners, which are known for fighting hard. But that was about all that was biting that close in. We saw abundant live turtles, which was an encouraging sight—much more encouraging than the destruction we observed on the way out. Hogue channel is littered with cars and trailers, along with much other assorted debris. In other potentially bad news, I did observe an algae bloom, brownish in color, and probably predictive of red tide, which is moving south from the Sarasota area. It is good to be back on the water, but it will take a while before things normalize. I have a few gulf trips planned for this month and, on calmer days, I will be able to venture out further and hope for some better variety of fish, along with lessening debris and gradual normalization of the habitat.
Having not tested the boat again since that nearshore run on 11/4, long-time customer and friend, Mike Connealy, along with his brother, Paul, consented to do a catch-and-release trip with me on Tuesday, 11/15, to scope out the red tide, as well as conditions well offshore to 36 miles west of New Pass, which is the farthest reach thee offshore boat has gone since we recovered it after Ian. Fortunately, the boat ran well, though its gel coat still doesn't look too pretty in spots. We did see red tide nearshore and out to about 20 miles, where we saw lots of dead bait-fish. Further out, around the 36 mile spot, we had good success. Most of what we caught, using squid, would have had to be released anyway due to being shorts or out-of-season, such as the twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper, with their season now closed. Likewise for the 23-inch red grouper. A 22-inch gag grouper was a couple inches short of keeper-size, and an 18-inch black grouper was also short. The only potential keepers we released were fifteen grunts in the 13-to-14-inch range, and three 14-inch yellowtail snapper.
On Friday morning, 11/25, I fished in various spots to 18 miles west of New Pass with Jerry Jenkins and his grandson, Lucas. They used squid to catch and release a dozen keeper-sized, but out-of-season lane snapper to 14 inches, along with three triggerfish to 14 inches. They also released seven red grouper shorts to 18 inches, as well as a 16-inch gag grouper. As for fish tacos, fourteen keeper grunts to 12-inches saved the day. I spotted a red tide bloom about six miles off the beach, right around the artificial reefs, but saw none of that further out.
Saturday morning, 11/26, I fished a8 miles west of New Pass with Jeff and Beth Heimrich, their son Tanner, daughter Maddie, and Uncle John. They used squid to catch and release twelve triggerfish shorts to 14 ˝ inches, three lane snapper, and an 18-pound goliath grouper. They boxed twenty-five nice sized grunts.
You can view our fishing action videos at http://fishbustercharters.com/fishingvideos.html
Bonita Beach Fishing Forecast:
Calm seas this weekend will make for good fishing offshore. Inshore fishing may be good, but do not eat fish caught in inshore waters in the area impacted by Ian--they are loaded with deadly bacteria. Fish caught well offshore are safe to eat.
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