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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing pre and post Hurricane irma
(Preview)
For Craig Seacrest and family, it was a toss-up as to whether to fish offshore or in the backwaters on Thursday, 8/24. The threat of rain was a concern offshore, with its timing uncertain, and with its potential to rough up the seas. The bay was at a low, outgoing tide. The group decided to take their chan...
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1134
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Reds & Snook Inshore; Shark, Grouper & Snapper Offshore
(Preview)
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Ogata fished a catch-and-release trip with me in southern Estero Bay on Monday morning, 7/24. They used live shrimp and sardines to catch fourteen snook to 22 inches, two sheepshead, and a sand bream. Wednesday morning, 7/26, I headed 23 miles offshore with long-time customer Jos...
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1198
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: grouper, snapper, redfish, black drum, sheepshead
(Preview)
Saturday morning, July 1, 2017, I fished 22 miles offshore with Barry Hart, his son, Derrick, and Barry’s grandson, Baylor. The guys used squid to catch 25 keeper lane snapper, and released fifteen red grouper shorts. I fished the south end of Estero Bay’s backwaters Wednesday morning, 7/5, with T...
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1060
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: June wrap-up--Grouper, Snapper, Shark
(Preview)
We had heavy rains most of the week of 6/5/17, then rough seas for a couple of days. I was in port most of that week, but got to fish in the backwaters of south Estero Bay on Friday, 6/9, with Ashton Lockhart and his nine-year-old daughter, Barrett. Barrett is proud to say she caught more fish than her dad di...
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1213
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Cobia, Shark, Grouper & Snapper
(Preview)
Monday, 5/15, I headed out to spots fifteen and seventeen miles west of New Pass with Dave and Debra Brinkmann and family. Using both squid and cut-bait, the family boxed twenty-one keeper fish, consisting of lane snapper and grunts. They released fifteen red grouper shorts, along with a 30-inch sh...
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1128
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Summertime Shark Action, Grouper, Snapper
(Preview)
Monday morning, 4/24/17, winds were howling, as they had been for several days and, with small craft advisories offshore, the Stevens family, Mike & Michelle and young sons, Ryan and Jonah, traded offshore plans for a backwater trip in southern Estero Bay. The family used live shrimp to catch s...
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1000
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, Grouper, Snapper, Drum
(Preview)
Monday morning, 4/10, seas were a little choppy and sloppy, after a very windy weekend. But, hardy anglers John King, his sons, Chris and Dan, Dan’s girlfriend, Nora, and the boys’ grandfather, Dick, withstood conditions to fish fifteen miles west of New Pass with me. The family used squid to catch a...
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1094
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SW FL-Bonita Beach:Bull Redfish, Drum Bayside; Grouper Offshore When Seas Calm Enough
(Preview)
Five-year-old Ben Dwyer had a great time fishing with his dad, Sean, and his grandpa, Mike, in the backwaters of southern Estero Bay on Saturday morning, 3/25/17. Using live shrimp, the guys caught a total of twelve black drum ranging from 14 inches to 22 inches, and Ben caught three of those by himsel...
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1194
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Offshore or Inshore--Great Fishing!
(Preview)
The winds that had been blowing hard for the past several days continued into Monday and Tuesday, 3/6 and 3/7, with gusts still at 20 knots and seas offshore still too choppy for my fishing party, Shawn Enoch and his parents, Janie and Monty. So we fished south Estero Bay’s backwaters instead of headi...
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1101
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Redfish & Drum Inshore; Grouper & Snapper Offshore
(Preview)
Long-time customer Kari Vilamaa, along with three of his friends, George, Don, and Dick, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me on Friday, 2/17. The guys used squid to catch a mess of keeper lane snapper, and kept forty of those, releasing an additional twenty. They also boxed a 13-inch keeper mangro...
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1088
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Anna Maria Island Spring Fishing Update
(Preview)
Anna Maria Island Spring Fishing UpdateHello everyone! Captain Matt here from Anna Maria Island with a quick updated fishing report and forecast. The weather has been amazing all winter long, 70 to 80 degrees most days. We are having early spring conditions and for that reason the water temperat...
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443
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Two weeks of excellent fishing offshore
(Preview)
Seas were choppy Saturday morning, 1/28, when brothers, Nick, Andy, and Ken Eckle, fished with me 17 miles west of New Pass, using squid for bait. The guys decided to brave some rougher than ideal conditions offshore, rather than fish the backwater in the extreme low tide that accompanied a cold fron...
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1101
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Tampa Bay January Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay January Fishing Report Anna Maria Island fishing has been Solid inshore and offshore; the weather has been amazing. This may have been the nicest winter I can remember since I have been a fishing guide the last 23 years. Except for a hard blow the last couple of days the winds have been mild an...
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beachin679
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SW FL-Bonita beach: All kinds of bottom fish offshore; Drum & sheepshead inshore
(Preview)
A strong cold front came through our area the weekend of 1/7, bringing blustery winds, cold temps, and high seas. Dave Carr and his friend, John Kinkaid, had hoped to fish offshore Monday, 1/9, but seas were high and small craft advisories were in effect. The tide in the backwaters was far from optimal...
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1046
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lane snapper, red grouper, black drum and more
(Preview)
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 were nice keepers at 13 to 14 inches, and went into the fis...
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Anna Maria Island 2017 Fishing Update
(Preview)
The inshore, offshore and Tarpon fishing of 2016 was a great year for my fishermen and me! We caught lots of fish in every direction we went. I’m going on my 23rd year as a full time fishing charter Capt. When I started this business I never imagined I would be saying that. Many of you have children tha...
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SWFL-Bonita Beach: Inshore on a good tide; Offshore in calm seas-Fishing is great!
(Preview)
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 after the wind shifted. The guys had a good time using s...
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1133
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Black Drum invasion! Red grouper too!
(Preview)
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 shrimp, landed ten would-be-keeper black drum: a 2...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: October: Mostly back-bay--Reds, sheepshead, black drum
(Preview)
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 fourteen keeper lane snapper and a half-dozen g...
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1087
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Goliaths, Shark, Redfish, Black Drum
(Preview)
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 morning, 9/3, but residual rough seas changed Mark...
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1097
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lanes, grouper, shark, goliaths, flounder & more
(Preview)
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, including one keeper at 22 inches, one 14-inch yellow...
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1221
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of Grouper & Snapper
(Preview)
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 23-inches. We released a dozen red grouper shorts, f...
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1003
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Bull-red inshore; nice grouper, snapper, hog offshore
(Preview)
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 mangrove snapper ranging 11 to 12 inches, a six-...
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1315
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, grouper, big lane snapper
(Preview)
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 a beauty of a hogfish at 19 inches, which bit on l...
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341
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Some Big Game this week
(Preview)
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 son, Josh. Using live shrimp, the guys caught and releas...
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1096
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: grouper & snapper & shark, oh my
(Preview)
After a couple days off, I was back on the water Tuesday, 4/26, when I headed 28 miles offshore in calm seas with frequent fishers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett, joined by friend, John. This was the last fishing trip of the season for Ron, so we had to finish off with at least one keeper groupe...
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1123
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: grouper, snapper, shark, trout
(Preview)
Monday, 4/11, I headed offshore with Tom Breyer, his son Scott, grandson Reid, and Reid’s friend, Logan. Winds were hefty, and NOAA’s prediction for two-to-three-foot seas was about a foot short of reality. We tried fishing a few spots close-in but the bite wasn’t great, so the group decided to brav...
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1176
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of Action!
(Preview)
Saturday morning, 3/26/16, I fished 23 miles west of New Pass in calm seas with Bob Bockhorst, his son-in-law, Don Leesman, and Don’s college-aged kids, Dave, Kevin, and Kristen. Dave used a pinfish to reel in a 31-inch gag grouper—it was a beauty, but had to be released after we took its picture, due...
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1346
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of variety offshore and inshore
(Preview)
Saturday morning, 3/12, I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Mike Wickman and his friend, Paul. The guys used baitfish to land two keeper red grouper at 21 ½ inches and 24 inches. They released numerous red grouper shorts. Using live shrimp, they added to the fish box five keeper mangrove snapper to 1...
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1368
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Big Sheepshead, Trout
(Preview)
Saturday morning, 2/27, was chilly at 48 degrees, with a pretty hefty wind blowing and low tide conditions in the backwaters, where I fished a catch-and-release trip with Richard Plum. He caught and released two sheepshead, a 16-inch trout, and a dozen ladyfish, all on live shrimp. Monday, 2/29, M...
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