SW FL-Bonita Beach: hogs, triggers, snapper & almost a k

[fishbuster]

Monday, 12/3, I fished in 45 feet out of New Pass with Dan Ayd, son Dan Jr., and friend, Steve. We caught four keeper mangrove snapper, all around 13 inches, along with some good-sized whitebone porgies, triggerfish and a tripletail. We had a 45 inch king mackerel on the line but he circled the boat three or four times like kings do and ran us around trying to keep him off the anchor line. Just before we had an opportunity to gaff him and get him boated, he broke free. We released red grouper shorts to 18 inches and two 40 inch bull sharks.

Jim Butcher and friends, Bob and Richard, fished Estero Bay with me from Barefoot Beach to Wiggins Pass on Thursday. We caught five keeper sheepshead to 16 ½ inches, two keeper mangrove snapper and a sand bream. We released lots of smaller snapper and sheepshead, all on live shrimp.

Friday, Reiner Neumann and friends, Vince, Gino and Joe, fished in 38 feet out of New Pass with me. We caught keeper mangrove snapper that were all about 13 inches, a 14 inch hogfish, whitebone porgies to 15 inches and a couple of big triggerfish to 17 inches.

Leon Dargis, son Brett, and ten-year-old grandson, Blake, fished with me Saturday about 21 miles out of New Pass. We hit a hot snapper bite and caught over thirty keeper-sized mangs, and kept nine of them all close to 14 inches for the family’s dinner. We caught a 15 inch hogfish too. We also caught five nice triggerfish about 15 inches each and kept three of those. We released a half dozen large whitebone porgies about 16 inches and we had our lines broken three times while fishing just over a small ledge—we never got to see the brutes that broke us off.

The photo shown is of angler Elvira Ruetimann with a 15 inch hogfish, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.