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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Kings, Bonito, Shark, Snapper & Trout
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1436
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Seasonal business is just beginning to pick up around here, though most of the recently reserved dates are for later this month and into next. I did get offshore Saturday, 10/10 with long-time customers Jerry and Barb Rudan, from Wisconsin. We headed out of NewPass to about 18 miles, but it was slow go...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Snapper, Sheeps, Hogs, Grouper & Trout Biting
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1613
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Tuesday morning, 2/16, after a gorgeous day offshore on Monday, seas were back to their usual for this winter—rough, with small craft advisories issued. Brad Urlaub and family traded their offshore fishing plans for a morning of bay fishing. We used live shrimp to catch lots of sheepshead, includi...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: 28-inch gag released, snapper, hogfish, sheepshead & trout
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1324
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Wednesday morning, 3/3, was chilly and windy but my brave party of three lady-anglers, Alene Haug, her mother, Carrie and friend, Connie, decided to give the backwaters a try anyway. We caught and released sheepshead until the ladies decided they'd had enough cold, then we headed back for shore. T...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Action Inshore & Offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1257
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Tuesday, 3/30, seas were rough offshore and I ended up re-booking my planned gulf trip with a trio of ladies who wanted to fish the bay. Karen Taylor, son Evan Taylor, and Evan’s grandmother, Kate Collins, fished with live shrimp and caught six keeper sheepshead to 18 inches and a keeper mangrove snap...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Yellowtail, Grouper, Hogfish, Kings
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1320
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Pat Fitzgerald and his sons have fished with me for years. This year, the boys brought some friends along for a boat-load of six, including Pat, sons Jimmy and Tommy and friends, Matthew, Jacob, and Brandon. We headed out of New Pass Thursday morning, 7/1, to fish in 44 feet. The boys caught a mess of yel...
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Trout-bite is hot-Bonita Beach, SW FL
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1426
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“No oil—No spoilOur Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Tim Reid fished near-shore with me, about ten miles off the beach Saturday morning, 7/17. Winds and seas, which were calm most of the week, had picked up quite a bit and seas were a little sloppy, so we decided to stay near-shore and do some sh...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Hogfish, Trout & Goliath Fun
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1339
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“No oil—No spoilOur Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Monday morning, 9/20, I fished central Estero Bay with Joe & Donna Corso. The trout bite was active but most were short of keeper-size. We kept a 15-inch trout and released ten others. We also got two keeper-sized mangrove snapper, o...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: 11-Pound Red Grouper; 20 Pound 'Cuda
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1223
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Dave Flemming and friends and family were in town to attend his grandmother’s 85th birthday the weekend of 10/22, and Dave and five others, Rob, David, Tom, Brad and Al, decided to work in a catch-and-release fishing trip on Saturday, before catching their flights home. There was a small-craft-cau...
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SWFL-BonitaBeach:Snapper fill the grouper void;Trout Inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1295
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“No oil—No spoil Our Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Monday, 1/24, seas were calmer and I took advantage of those conditions to head out to two spots, one 28 miles west of New Pass and one 36 miles out, to fish in about 65 feet with long-time customer Barry Pflueger and his friends, Glen Ray, brot...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Action--Lots of Hogfish!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1276
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“No oil—No spoil Our Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Monday, 2/21, Don Kennis, his dad, Doug, and his twelve-year-old son, Bradley, fished a catch-and-release trip with me about 18 miles west of New Pass. We released a hogfish, thirty mangrove snapper, red grouper, grunts, porkfish and sh...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Inshore & Near-Shore Report
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1283
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“No oil—No spoil Our Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Monday, 3/7, I fished with (I kid you not) Dave Hanson! After we laughed about captain and client having exactly the same name, Dave introduced me to the rest of his angling party, which included his son-in-law, Ryan Seipp and friend, Way...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Shark, Kingfish & More
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1279
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“No oil—No spoilOur Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Monday morning, 4/4, I fished the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach with Tim and Stephanie Cobb and their two children, Spencer and Sydney. We were fishing just ahead of a weather-front predicted to kick winds up to 25 knots by early afte...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Offshore Report & Goliath Videos
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1164
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Monday, 7/4, Tony Herring, son Jacob, friend, Josh Schneider, and Tony's two nephews celebrated the Fourth of July with a fishing trip offshore. We fished in 60 feet, using live shrimp and cut-bait. We caught a 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper at our first spot, but the dolphin showed up right after t...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Variety and another goliath video
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1434
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Monday, the first day of August, I fished with Paul Fenwick, daughter Emma, son Spencer, along with John Priddy, his daughter, Jordyn, and her cousin, Susan Carlisle. The group wanted big fish, so we spent some time catching bait for goliath grouper. Using live shrimp, we caught ten grunts, nine por...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, Goliaths, Bonito, Snapper & Reds-new videos
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1315
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After a long time off the water, nearly a month, due to our very slow slow-season, along with a couple weeks of consistent rains, I finally got out fishing again on Monday, September 12th. I fished with live shrimp in central Estero Bay with long-time customers Steve Spitzer and Jalissa Reeve...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good action inside and offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1337
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Wednesday, 10/5, I had an offshore trip planned with Bryan Smith and friends, Tony and Kevin. There were small-craft-advisories in effect that morning, and seas were forecast to be two-to-four feet. The guys didn't want to fish inshore, preferring to go after some bigger game, so we decided to try s...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sheepshead are Back! Grouper, Snapper, Hogfish too
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1300
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Just as busy season was gearing up, the first week of December brought not only high winds and rough seas, but also red tide conditions in the gulf and up into Estero Bay. The good news is that the weekend's wind direction helped push the red tide out to sea. And, the backwaters, at least the spots I fishe...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Great Fishing Inshore and Near-shore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1237
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Monday morning, 12/19, I fished in the backwaters of Estero Bay with Larry Baumgartner, his son Chris, granddaughter, Madeline, and family friend, Walt Barney. The tide was a little on the low side, but we made the most of it, and were able to catch a 19 ½ inch pompano and three keeper sheepshead to 15 in...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach:Grouper to 32 inches reluctantly released!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1025
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After two days of windy, rough, unusually cold weather, thanks to a strong cold-front, I finally got back out fishing on Wednesday morning, 1-4-12. It was still a chilly 35 degrees first thing that morning, and seas were residually rough offshore, so Andy Oliver and Pat O’Neil opted to leave later in...
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Excellent Grouper Action; Hogs & Mangs Too
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1469
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Monday, 1/16, after a weekend of rough offshore conditions, seas were calming down, with a forecast for two-to-three foot seas out to twenty miles. It was rougher than that, but it was calm enough for my hardy anglers, Bud Glanzer, Lee Larsen, and Alan and Wendell Bronson, all long-time customers....
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, Hogs, Mutton, Mangs & Mackerel
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1383
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The week of 1/30/12 began with a cold-front that brought high winds and seas and small-draft advisories, which forced me to cancel both offshore trips planned for those days.Wednesday morning, 2/1, began a little rough offshore, but quickly calmed down and was flat by afternoon. I fished about 20 m...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark-Battles, Snapper, Sheepshead, Hogs
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1467
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After a couple days off the water, due to a cold front that brought frigid temps, high winds, low tides and rough seas, I headed to the near-shore reefs Monday, 2/13/12, to fish a catch-and-release trip with Richard and Trish Burdow. Seas had calmed to two-to-three feet near-shore, and the sheepshea...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Grouper & Snapper, Hogfish & Trout
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1425
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Although, after a windy, rough weekend, seas were calming to two-to-four feet on Monday, my planned gulf-trip canceled, as they thought seas would still be too rough. So I missed that day on the water. But, I got back offshore on Tuesday, 2/28, with Kari Vilamaa, George Dyer, Paul Kikendall, and Don H...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: 20lb. Kingfish, sheepies, mangs, hogs, shark, Spanish
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1207
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Monday, 3/12, after a windy weekend, winds were predicted to calm somewhat, and seas were forecast at two-to-three feet near-shore, and three-to-five feet beyond twenty miles. But, as I approached the near-shore reefs with Mark McCarthy, Mark and David Hatch, and Rich Jenkins (who was celebrati...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper are Back!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1375
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Monday morning, 3/26, I fished over hard bottom in 35 feet, with Chris Ernberger, his dad, Jerry, and Chris's son, Carter. There was about a 3-foot roller left over from the windy Sunday that preceded our trip, so we didn't venture too far offshore. The guys used live-shrimp to catch six keeper mangro...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lane Snapper Plentiful. Red Grouper, Shark & Goliath Battles
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1368
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Monday, 4/9, seas had calmed at last, and I headed out to fish in spots between 22 and 28 miles west of New Pass with Bill Conklin, his son, Eric Conklin, and friend, Rick Weigand. Bill caught a keeper red grouper at 21 inches, and we released lots of red grouper just short of keeper size. The group also ca...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Shark, and lots of rough seas
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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975
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After about six days off the water, due to high winds and seas offshore and shallow, muddy conditions in the bay, I finally got offshore with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse, Dick Arnett, Bob Mayer, and Matt Watson on Thursday, 4/26. We headed out of New Pass to 36 miles, where we fished with live shrimp and pi...
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SWFL-Bonita Beach: Cobia, Shark, Snapper, Goliaths & Grouper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1397
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Monday, 5/7, I fished at the near-shore reefs with Joe and Donna Corso. The couple used live shrimp to catch a 14-inch keeper-pompano, two keeper flounders at 14 and 18 inches, a keeper mangrove snapper, a keeper sea trout at 20 inches, a half dozen Spanish mackerels in the 22-23-inch range, and three...
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Great Fishing Offshore & a 500-lb Goliath Battle!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1300
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Tuesday, 5/29, I spent the day fishing in 47 feet, using live shrimp, with Robert Pierce, Brian Clark, and Julie Meng. The trio hoped to catch some good table-fare, along with doing some sport-fishing for bigger fish. I had hoped to put them on some goliath grouper for the latter, but the goliaths wer...
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Recent trips, before the rains came
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1032
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We have had a lot of rain recently and, prior to that, I was off the water for a couple of weeks, due to a family reunion. So there isn’t a whole lot to report, but I did do a couple of trips inshore and near-shore. Last Monday morning, I headed to the near-shore reefs with Steve and Lori Greiner and their two y...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Abundant Hogfish, Mangs, Lanes, Grouper and more
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1060
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After several weeks off the water because of a family reunion trip, followed by lots of rainy days unsuitable for fishing, I finally got offshore on Friday, 7/20/12 with John Hamilton and friends. We fished 36 miles west of New Pass, where we got into some red grouper. We didn't get a keeper, though, o...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Goliaths, Gags & Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1237
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Monday, 8/6, I headed out to 35 feet to fish with Brian Woeste, Adam Bodkin and Tim Powers. The guys wanted to experience the thrill of big game, but also wanted some food fish. We started out catching blue runners and Spanish mackerel for goliath grouper bait. The guys caught and released a 70-pound go...
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SWFL-Bonita Beach:Nice Gag Grouper, Goliaths, Shark, Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1147
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Monday, 8/20, I fished with Steve Spitzer and Jalissa Reever again. They had fished with me the previous Wednesday and caught a couple of keeper gag grouper. But, Monday, conditions were different. Despite forecasts for one-to-two foot seas and 5-10 knot winds, we encountered steady 15-18 knot...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice variety--even caught a scamp!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1141
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Labor Day Monday, 9/3, I fished at the near-shore reefs with Brian Lucas and his two young sons, Grady and Grant, along with Cadrin Cojanu and his two young children, Ben and Emily. The group used live shrimp to catch four Spanish mackerel to 23 inches, five pompano, all around 14 inches, a keeper mang...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper & Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1088
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After some rainy days, one no-show customer (that makes twice within a month, and is oh-so annoying), and a few seasonally slow days, I finally got out fishing again on Tuesday, 10/9, when I fished 22 miles west of New Pass with Scott Severaid, Gregg Hass, Todd Vershaw, Jason White and Mike Wernsman. W...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Snapper, Grouper, Shark, Sheeps, Reds, Snook
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1066
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Saturday, 10/20, I fished with long-time customer Marshall Swain, along with his family and friends. We used live shrimp, about 22 miles west of New Pass, and the group caught twenty-five keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with one keeper mangrove snapper at 13 inches. They released a half doze...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Near-shore Reefs Productive
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1205
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03/04/13- SW FL-Bonita Beach: Near-shore Reefs ProductiveAfter a cancelled trip on Monday, I got out fishing Tuesday, 2/19, as winds and seas finally began to calm down from their week-long highs of 30 knot gusts and 4-12 foot seas. It was still a little sloppy so I stayed near-shore, about 12 miles o...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper Season is On!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1077
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Monday, April 1st was the first day of red grouper season re-opening, and I headed out to fish in spots 28 miles and 36 miles west of New Pass with Ron Lash, Kelley Wood, Peter Vitale, and their friends Bob and John. We used a few different live baits—shrimp, pinfish and grunts—to catch a bunch of fish of a...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Hogs, Shark, Drum-who could ask for more?
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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953
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Tuesday, 11/12/13, I fished offshore with long-time customers Kari Vilamaa, George Dyer, and Paul Kikendall. We were one day ahead of a cold front that was predicted to bring strong winds and seas of six to eight feet offshore, but we had calm conditions all day, and we were able to fish in various spot...
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