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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing good when conditions allow
(Preview)
Monday, 2/16/15, I fished the backwaters of lower Hickory Bay with Patrick Gartland, his dad, Tom Gartland, and friend, Chris Ladtke. The guys used live shrimp to catch four nice sheepshead to 16 inches. They released four redfish shorts in the 17-to-18-inch range, along with a dozen mangrove snap...
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fishbuster
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0
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848
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Anna Maria Island Mar 2 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Anna Maria Island March 2 Fishing Report Wow, what a couple of days make. The weather has turned for the better and the 10 day forecast is sunny everyday and in the 70’s; it may even get into the 80’s a few days. We had decent fishing this past week, but we had to work for it with the cold, windy and foggy wea...
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beachin679
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0
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214
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Tampa Bay Feb 23 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay Feb 23 Fishing Report Anna Maria Island fishing remains strong as usual. You know I say that because it’s just the simple truth. It doesn’t seem to matter how cold it gets, how hard the wind blows or how bleak the situation looks. We always catch plenty of fish around here. I can’t tell you h...
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beachin679
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0
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201
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Challenging conditions, big porgies, nice lanes, grouper & more
(Preview)
Monday, 2/2/15, brought a cold front, right on the heels of a previous front. It was raining by early in the day, and winds and seas kicked up to small craft advisory levels—not a happy way to begin a new month of fishing! Tuesday, 2/3, brought an even more blustery day, with seas of 4-6 feet offshore, wh...
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fishbuster
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0
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980
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Tampa Bay February Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay February Fishing Report Hello everyone, captain Matt here from Anna Maria Island. Well I guess I spoke too soon on my last fishing report, I knew I was going to jinks it. Seems like winter has finally come and that happens sometimes in February. I had to adapt my strategy a little to accommo...
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beachin679
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0
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196
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, Grouper, lots of rough seas
(Preview)
Monday, 1/19/15, predictions for 15-knot winds and seas of two to three feet were just wrong! The wind blew 20 to 25 knots and seas were four-feet-plus at times, 18 miles west of New Pass, where I fished with David Bloomfield, David Price, and David Price, Jr. the guys used live shrimp to catch fifteen p...
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fishbuster
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0
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839
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Tampa Bay Jan 24 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay Jan 24 Fishing Report Hello from Beautiful Anna Maria Island. This is the reason I live here, it’s January 24 and 70 degrees. The sun is shining and t-shirt and shorts is about the heaviest thing you need to wear. I have to say this has been and unbelievable winter. I don’t think we have had...
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beachin679
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0
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284
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Kingfish, Grouper, Snapper, Hogs & More
(Preview)
As a windy weather front approached the area on Monday, 1/5/15, small craft advisories were issued, and my anglers, Allen Jacobs, Phil Corey, and friend, Lenny traded their offshore plans for a morning of fishing in central Estero Bay. Using live shrimp, the guys caught a half dozen nice sheepshead...
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fishbuster
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0
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1242
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Captain Matt Ercoli, 20 Years and Counting
(Preview)
Captain Matt Ercoli, 20 Years and Counting Well it’s been 20 years for me now; I started my Charter business when I was just 20 and I turned 40 last October, so I guess I can officially say it now. Where those years went I don’t have the slightest clue. When I started this back as a kid I really couldn’t ev...
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beachin679
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0
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205
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Excellent Action Offshore & Inshore
(Preview)
Monday, 12/22/14, there was a weather front approaching our area, and winds, though calm in the early morning, were predicted to pick up, with seas rising as well. Bradley Miller had a choice between trying to beat the worst of the wind and fish offshore, or playing it safe in the backwaters. He decide...
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fishbuster
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0
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957
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sheepshead Return:; Grouper Action Good!
(Preview)
Long-time customers, Erwin and Millie Metusiak fished the backwaters with me on Monday morning, 12/8/14. Using live shrimp, the couple caught and boxed two pompano at 14 inches and 15 inches, along with a 13-inch sheepshead. They released some smaller sheepshead, along with four crevalle jacks....
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fishbuster
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0
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956
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Tampa Bay Dec. 15 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay Dec. 15 Fishing Report Wow is it pretty out today, just couldn’t be a nicer day. Just pulled the boat out of the water yesterday for a few days of yearly maintenance, but it would be a great day to be on the water. The fishing has been really good. Some days I spent on the flats the past few week...
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beachin679
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0
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331
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fighting Fish...and Weather!
(Preview)
Monday morning, 11/24/14, was windy, as had been the case for several days, and I fished inshore in Estero Bay’s flats with Jim Fares and his father-in-law, Doug, on a catch-and-release trip that yielded five sheepshead and a crevalle jack. Tuesday, 11/25, I had an offshore trip scheduled, and I wa...
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fishbuster
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0
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924
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper, Gag Grouper, Sheepshead & Drum
(Preview)
First, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Now, let’s go fishing! Tuesday, 11/11/14, I fished 19 miles west of New Pass with brothers, Mike and Pat Connealy. We had steady action, and the guys used live shrimp to catch and release lots of red grouper to 24 inches, many of which would have been keepers, had red g...
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fishbuster
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0
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1007
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Hogfish & Snapper
(Preview)
Tuesday, 10/28, I fished with repeat customers, Clement and Evelyn Wong, joined by their son, Aaron. After a windy weekend, seas were still a bit choppy twenty miles offshore, where we fished with live shrimp. The bulk of our catches were red grouper, which had to be released, due to closed season, bu...
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fishbuster
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0
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965
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Yellowtails, Lanes
(Preview)
Paul Szemplenski, his young daughter, Evie, and his father-in-law, Ed fished inshore with me on Friday, 10/17/14. The group had originally planned to fish offshore, but residual seas from the weather front that passed through a couple of days prior were still too rough for gulf fishing. So, we fish...
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fishbuster
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0
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863
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Hogfish, Triggerfish
(Preview)
My first trip of this season with long-time customer and seasonal resident, Ron Musick, was on Thursday, October 2nd, our last chance to keep red grouper before the season for them closes. Ron was joined by Eddie Alfonso, and we headed out to about twenty-two miles west of New Pass. The guys landed two...
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fishbuster
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0
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881
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Tampa Bay Oct 13 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay Oct 13 Fishing Report I missed a couple weeks as I was out in Montana bow hunting for elk. Although I did not score on a big bull I sure had a lot fun trying and really enjoyed myself in the fall colored mountains surrounded by nature. When I returned the fall fishing was is in full swing. I have...
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beachin679
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0
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220
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Redfish, Sheepshead & Snapper Inshore
(Preview)
Joe Hahn is expecting delivery of his new bay boat soon, and he took a morning to fish Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Monday, 9/8/14, hoping to learn the best techniques for fishing in the backwaters. Prior to now, most of Joe’s fishing experience has been from shore. So we headed out to fish various...
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fishbuster
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0
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842
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lanes, Yellowtail & Grouper
(Preview)
Bob Donalson and Steve Volz fished with me Monday morning, 8/11, offshore. The last time Bob fished with me was last April when he was down in FL, so this was his first summer-time excursion. We headed out 20 miles from New Pass and fished with live shrimp. The red grouper were biting, but they were short...
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fishbuster
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0
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911
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Tampa Bay Aug 21 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay August 21 Fishing Report The heat is on, that’s for sure, but so is the fishing. It can be tough this time of year to last a whole day of fishing. Sometimes when the sea breeze comes to a standstill it can feel as if you’re melting. The good news is it’s not often that we don’t have at least a lig...
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beachin679
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0
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250
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing Great, Inside and Out
(Preview)
Tuesday morning, 7/29, winds were stronger than they had been in about a week, and they were straight out of the west. I advised brothers Jose and Robert Garcia and their sons that we would likely be fishing near-shore, rather than well offshore. Even the spots we fished 8 to 12 miles west of New Pass wer...
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fishbuster
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1025
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Snapper fishing, Grouper, Shark & More
(Preview)
Tuesday morning, 7/15, thunder was rumbling by about 6AM, but the weather forecasters reported that there were only a few scattered thunderstorms, moving northeast, and that the one that was in north Naples and the Bonita area would soon be gone. So, I went ahead and got bait and readied my boat for re...
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fishbuster
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0
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1031
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Tampa Bay July 15 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay July 15 Fishing Report Tarpon fishing remains good. We still have schools large enough to measure in the thousands. It looks like Tarpon fishing should be extended till about the end of the month. It looks as if we didn’t lose any fish on this last full moon and possibly even gained fish. ...
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beachin679
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0
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202
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Offshore Fishing Excellent & 1st Gag of the Season
(Preview)
Monday, 6/30/14, Matt Siebert and friends Matthew, Jim and Steve, had planned to fish a full-day with me offshore. The dead calm seas of the several preceding days had picked up somewhat, but the NOAA forecast was for two-to-three foot sees out to sixty miles. As soon as we got out to New Pass, we knew th...
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fishbuster
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0
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981
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sharks & Goliaths; Food-fish Too
(Preview)
Monday, 6/16, I fished in spots 28 ½ to 35 ½ miles west of New Pass with Paul McConnell and his son, Andrew. They had fished with me the previous Saturday, and had done well with red grouper that day. This time, yellowtail snapper, which had all been short on Saturday, were biting well on shrimp, and the gu...
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fishbuster
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0
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1021
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Anna Maria Island July Fishing Report
(Preview)
Anna Maria Island July Fishing Report Wow! Do we have a lot of Tarpon and I mean a lot. There are Tarpon by the thousands in passes, on the beaches and in the bay. If you can’t find a Tarpon to cast to in five minutes you must be blind, they are everywhere. We had a great week on Tarpon. It’s really nice t...
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beachin679
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0
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215
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper & Sharks
(Preview)
Tuesday, 5/27, I headed offshore to fish 25 miles west of New Pass with Conrad and Ellie Cherry, their son, Kevin, and Kevin’s young daughter, Katie. We used pinfish for grouper, and the group caught and released twenty five of those, three of which were short of legal size by just ¼ inch. Using live shr...
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fishbuster
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0
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817
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Tampa Bay, Anna Maria Island Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay, Anna Maria Island Fishing Report The heat has finally turned on around here and it finally feels like June. The past few days the Tarpon have been just pouring in. We really have a large number of Tarpon in the area in just the last few weeks. It seems that on this full moon we received even mor...
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beachin679
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0
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218
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Tampa Bay June 4 Fishing Report
(Preview)
Tampa Bay June 4 Fishing Report Anna Maria Island is now known by many as the Tarpon Capital of the world. It’s the words I have been hearing more year after year as our Tarpon Fishery secret leaked out with the boom of the internet and social media. There’s no reason to hide it anymore the way we use to 1...
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beachin679
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221
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