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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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1418
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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: 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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1305
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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: Grouper, Snapper, Hogfish, Trout & Goliath Fun
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1312
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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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1203
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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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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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1261
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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: 8-lb. Red Grouper, Snapper & More
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1218
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“No oil—No spoilOur Beaches are Clean—Our Waters Pristine” Monday, 4/18, I headed offshore with longtime customer, Peter Kenney, his son, David, and friends, Bernie and John. We fished about 22 miles west of New Pass with live shrimp. The catch of the morning was David’s 24 ½ inch, 8-pound red grou...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Goliath-Mania, Red Grouper, Kingfish, even a Mahi
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1133
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Monday, 6/20, was a perfect day for offshore fishing, and I spent the day in the good company of Jamie Long, Tom O’Donoghue, Rich Shamer and Matt Booth. We fished about 36 miles west of New Pass in 70 feet, using live shrimp and bait-fish. We made out great with red grouper, catching five keepers all 22 to...
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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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1417
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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: Winter Fishing Lookin' Good!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1305
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After Wednesday's trip on 12/19, our weather began deteriorating, with a very windy, cold front that arrived late Thursday into Friday and Saturday. I cancelled my offshore trip for Friday with the Graham family, but I was able to reschedule that for a bay trip with them the morning of Christmas Eve...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Plenty of Grouper in Closed Season!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1090
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After cancelling six consecutive fishing trips, due to weather conditions offshore and red tide in the bays, I finally got to fish again on Thursday, 1/24.I headed out about 18 miles from new Pass with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonse and Jack Dee. Fishing was a little slow, perhaps due to the cold nights we e...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Reds Inshore; Grouper & Snapper Offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1283
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Monday, 3/18/13, I fished about 19 miles west of New Pass with Chris Ernberger, his son, Carter, Chris’ dad, Jerry Ernberger, and friends Greg and Spencer. The group used live shrimp to catch five nice sheepshead, all 15 and 16 inches, four whitebone porgies, all around 14 inches, two keeper mangrov...
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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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1061
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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: Kingfish, Grouper, Snapper, Shark; Redfish, Black Drum, Sheepshead Inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1149
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Monday, 5/13/13, I fished the backwaters of Estero Bay with David Bloomfield and David Price. Using live shrimp, the guys caught three redfish, two of which were keepers at 19 ½ and 20 inches. They also caught two 14-inch sheepshead and a 15-inch black drum. They released mangrove snapper shorts. T...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper, Snapper, Cobia, Shark, Redfish, Pompano
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1134
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I fished Saturday, 6/1, and I headed offshore about 36 miles west of New Pass to fish in 71 feet with Craig Daniels, Chip Lehman, and friends Bubba and Paul. We had a great day of fishing in good conditions. We used shrimp and squid to catch most everything, except the grouper, which bit grunts. The guys l...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Stormy Conditions 1st Day of Gag Season
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1043
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Well, anglers awaiting the re-opening of gag grouper season are disappointed here today, with 3-5 foot seas and stormy conditions…let’s hope weather improves quickly! Chris & Jenny Phillips and their three teen-aged children, Emily, Bradley and Ryan, fished 18 miles out of New Pass with me...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Hogfish, Red Grouper, Gag, Snapper, Redfish
(Preview)
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Florida SouthWest
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0
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1964
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Bob O’Hara and grandson, Kevin, who had fished offshore with me on Friday, 7/12, fished again with me on Monday, 7/15. We headed offshore again, twenty miles from New Pass and had a fun fishing adventure, as well as bringing home some nice fish. The guys battled and brought to the surface a 30-pound bar...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing Awesome Offshore!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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944
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Tuesday morning, 7/30/13, I headed 22 miles off Naples with Brian Ritter and his daughter, Danni, joined by their friends Bill Sands and his daughter, Alissa. We used live shrimp to catch twenty keeper lane snapper along with one keeper yellowtail snapper at 14 inches. Danni used a pinfish to land a k...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: 22-inch Hogfish! Red Grouper, Snapper & Redfish
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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954
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Friday morning, 10/11, I fished 22 miles offshore with Roberto Russi, his father-in-law, John, and friend, Bill. We used a grunt to land a nice, 25 ½-inch red grouper, and we also had something big cut 100-pound, braided line, so that might have been a bigger grouper! The guys used live shrimp to catch...
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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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932
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Pomopano, Sheepshead, Drum
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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916
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Saturday morning, 12/21/13, the winds, which had been pretty much steady all week, were still blowing hard, and seas were predicted to be three-to-four feet offshore. But, with dead-low tides in the bay, Butch Haggin, his son-in-law, John Sims, and grandson, John Sims, Jr. decided they’d have a be...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper & Hogs, Sheepshead & Drum
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1356
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Monday, 1/20/14, was the first day in about two weeks that was suitable for offshore fishing. Successive, relentless weather fronts had forced me off the water for about a week, then into the backwaters for the next week or so. Another front, predicted to bring high winds and seas again was on the hori...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sheepies Rule!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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982
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Monday, 2/17/14, I headed offshore from New Pass about 17 miles, with Jim Swanger and Ron Kaplan. Seas weren’t quite as calm as predicted early-on, but they calmed down nicely by mid-morning. The guys used live shrimp to box seven 13-inch mangrove snapper, two 14-inch porgies, a keeper porkfish, a b...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: The Kings Have Returned!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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857
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Tuesday, 3/4/14, was a beautiful, calm day offshore. I spent it fishing with frequent customers, Ron Musick and Eddie Alfonso, and this time, Ron’s brother, Stanley Musick was in town to go with us. We headed out about 29 miles from New Pass, and had steady action all day. The red grouper bite was hot, a...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Gags Biting Gulfside; Drum Inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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809
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Winds were still gusting to 25 knots Tuesday morning, 3/18, after a gusty day Monday and heavy rain overnight. The only good news was that the wind direction was beneficial for the tide in the backwaters, where I fished the island groups by Little Carlos Pass with Steve Davis, his son Matt, and his son-...
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SWFL-Bonita Beach:50 lb. King, 8 1/2-foot Hammerhead, Grouper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1030
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Monday morning, 3/31, it was a hard call on whether to fish offshore or inshore for the Frantz family--Mike and Sue, daughter Kim, and grandson Kevin. After many days of wind and high seas, predictions were for calmer conditions, with two-to three foot seas, but winds were still blowing pretty stron...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Goliath Battles, Shark Attacks & Red Grouper Action
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1030
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Monday morning, 4/14, I fished a catch-and-release trip about 12 miles west of New Pass with Carol Harris, her daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Jeff, and their teen-aged sons, Bradley and Alex. The group used live shrimp to catch four Spanish mackerel to 22 inches, six ladyfish to 20 inches, twenty...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Game and Food Fish
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1114
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Monday, 4/28, I fished a full day offshore with Bob Donelson, Kent McCarthy, Chuck Babcock, and Skip Hamilton. The guys wanted to go after big, catch-and-release fish, so we headed out to spots between 28 and 36 miles from New Pass. We released four goliath grouper, each angler getting a chance to wre...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Great Grouper Action! Shark & more!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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772
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I spent about a week off the water, as I only had a couple of fishing trips scheduled and they were both offshore trips that were made impossible by the winds and rough seas, which were relentless for days on end. I finally got back out fishing on Monday, 5/19 and, even then, winds were still blowing about...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper & Sharks
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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777
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sharks & Goliaths; Food-fish Too
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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994
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Offshore Fishing Excellent & 1st Gag of the Season
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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942
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Snapper fishing, Grouper, Shark & More
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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995
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing Great, Inside and Out
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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993
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lanes, Yellowtail & Grouper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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879
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Hogfish, Triggerfish
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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851
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Yellowtails, Lanes
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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836
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Hogfish & Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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930
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper, Gag Grouper, Sheepshead & Drum
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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971
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fighting Fish...and Weather!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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888
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big Sheepshead Return:; Grouper Action Good!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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918
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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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SW FL-Bonita beach: Excellent Action Offshore & Inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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911
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Kingfish, Grouper, Snapper, Hogs & More
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1205
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, Grouper, lots of rough seas
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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802
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing good when conditions allow
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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813
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Porgies, Red & Black Drum, Sheepshead
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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852
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Monday, 3/2/15, I headed offshore in calm seas—what a treat that was, after a couple of battling or surrendering to windy, rough conditions. Long-time customers, Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett had a good morning of fishing 22 to 25 miles west of New Pass. They caught two keeper red grouper, both 23 inc...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Kingfish are here! Grouper, Snapper, Redfish Too
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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945
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Monday, 3/16/15, I headed offshore nineteen miles west of new Pass with frequent angler, Mike Connealy and his friend, Roger. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release lots of red grouper shorts to 18 inches, lots of mangrove snapper shorts, and lots of blue runners. As for keepers, they boxed ni...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Bottom Fishing Yields Good Variety
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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995
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Monday, 4/13/15, seas were predicted to be two feet or less, but NOAA definitely underestimated those. I fished with long-time customers Clement and Evelyn Wong, along with their son, Nathan and daughter-in-law, Joy. Seas were three feet or more, about 18 miles west of New Pass, and we actually cut...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper bite on!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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968
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Stormy weather began setting in on Monday, 4/27, with lots of moisture over the gulf. By the time Tuesday rolled around, there were scattered showers over much of the area, but Mike Boden and I managed a morning of bay fishing, with just a few drizzles, and returned to the dock just before the heavy rain...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of Action Offshore & Inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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896
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Monday morning, 5/18, Mike and Casey Calvert fished a catch-and-release trip with me in Estero Bay’s Mound Key area, using live shrimp for bait. The couple caught and released a good variety of fish, some of which were would-be keepers. The couple released a pair of 18-inch snook, a 16-inch black dru...
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