Fished the with Captain Tony out of Ft. Myers Beach today. forecast was for 10 to `15 Mph winds with gusts up to 25 SSE. I expected to get beat up today out there, but wanted to fish regardless. left the house and forgot my camera so no pictures.
Wind in the morning was about as advertised and the water was very dirty from the blow we have had the last week. By late morning the wind laid down and it turned out to be a perfect day conditions wise, just enough wind to hold us tight on the anchor but very comfortable to fish and the temp got up to +80 in the early afternoon.
We went of Ft. Mayer beach south west about 25 miles at the first drop LOTS of Grouper!!!! We brought tons of grouper over the rail most just short of the limit a combination of reds, blacks and scamp!!!!!!!!! We got the grouper on squid, sardines and shrimp, I brought some frozen pin fish and sand perch from last weeks outing.
I got lots of grouper some VERY close to the size limit, but no keepers we ended the day with 5 keeper grouper a bunch of NICE sized lane and mangrove snapper, good shot of trigger fish a nice king fish and a TON of "gray snapper" better know as "grunts"!!!!
I had 2 BIG grouper hooked up they must have been Goliath grouper or fish just so big I could not really move them off the bottom both eventually broke off. I was so focused and getting a keeper grouper I didn't try for anything else which was a mistake, I was using big bait and LARGE hook in search of Mr. grouper which unfortunately didn't happen.
VERY good trip lots of fish to take home great weather and good group of folks.
It sure seems like grouper are coming back a few years ago it was VERY rare to even get a keeper on the boat now it seems like we are always getting a few. Last week on the Wens all day trip they 15 keeper grouper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stay tuned for the Sunday report where we are headed 50 miles off shore.
