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SW FL-Bonita Beach: June wrap-up--Grouper, Snapper, Shark
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Florida West Coast
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0
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962
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Offshore Fishing Great for Grouper, Snapper, Shark & More
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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960
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Ryan Hall, Matt Hoffman, Greg Wetzel, and Tom Brackmann headed 25 miles offshore with me on Monday, 6/8, hoping to catch some grouper. The guys did well, catching twenty-eight red grouper in all, three of which were keepers at 24 inches each. Those larger grouper bit on bait-fish, while live shrimp l...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: great variety offshore & nice reds inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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894
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Evan Hamilton, Arly Smart, and Arly’s son, Justice, fished 22 miles west of New Pass with me in calm seas on Monday morning, 6/22/15. The guys used live shrimp to catch a 24-inch keeper red grouper, along with twenty keeper lane snapper, a keeper mangrove snapper, and three 13-inch porgies. They rele...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Super-Snapper Bites Two Hooks!
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1053
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Joe George and his two sons, Eric and Brad, fished 23 miles west of New Pass with me on Monday morning, 7/6. The catch-of-the-morning was a 27-inch red grouper, which bit a baitfish. The guys also caught a dozen keeper-sized lane snapper, which they chose to release, along with yellowtail and mangrov...
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SWFL-BonitaBeach: Rain, rain, go away--got some snapper anyway
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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966
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Been trying to fish around the rain lately… Monday morning, 7/20, I headed offshore, 22 miles west of New Pass, with Patrick and Jessica Goodman and friends Ally Janson and Blake Cissell. The group used live shrimp and bait-fish to catch a nice variety of fish, including twenty-five red grouper sho...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red & Black Drum Inshore; Grouper & Snapper Offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1014
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Monday morning, 8/3/15, I headed twenty-two miles offshore with Ron Sticha and his son, Noah. They had planned to go last Thursday, but that day was rained out, so we rescheduled, hoping to beat the PM showers predicted for Monday. Seas would have been calm, but some squalls kicked up in the late morni...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice redfish inshore; red grouper offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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841
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Labor Day, 9/7/15, I had a morning backwater trip scheduled with Dave Schwanke, his daughter Kaline, and Kaline’’s boyfriend, Tommy. But, when I awoke to get ready for that trip, I heard thunder rolling in the distance. Radar confirmed a mess of thunderstorms rolling in from the gulf. So we postpone...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Reds, Snook, Cobia, Shark, Grouper & Snapper
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Florida West Coast
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0
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884
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Season is gearing up for a busy fishing calendar around here, that is, if weather will cooperate. Thursday morning, 9/24/15, I fished Estero Bay’s backwaters, around the Horseshoe Keys, with Tennessee bass fisherman, Rick Dann. It took rick a little while (and one lost redfish) for Rick to quit fi...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: red grouper know it's safe to bite now!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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974
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After several weeks off the water, with a week-long family reunion to attend, and some rainy weather once back home, I finally got offshore fishing on Friday, 11/6/15, when I headed out to fish twelve to twenty-two miles west of New Pass with Glen Harris, his girlfriend, Dawn Welch, his son, Tripp, a...
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Tricky Winds & Seas, but Fishing Good
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Florida West Coast
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0
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936
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Sara Liegel had arranged an offshore fishing trip for herself, her husband Ryan, her parents, Wyon and Mary-Jo Wiegratz, and her brother, Nathan, for Tuesday, 11/17/15. But, the winds and seas began building over the preceding weekend and, by Tuesday morning, they were four-to-six feet offshore...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Great Grouper & Snapper Fishing!
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Florida West Coast
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0
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919
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After a rainy Monday that caused us to cancel their trip that day, Erwin and Millie Metusiak, who have fished with me yearly for many years, fished Estero Bay’s backwaters with me Tuesday, 12/8/15. Winds were strong, so we fished around the islands, close to New Pass, wherever we could stay somewhat s...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red Grouper Re-0pen Today! Big Sheepshead Moving in Too!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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900
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Friday morning, 12/18/15, just ahead of a cold front that was about to bring rain to the area, I headed into the backwaters of Estero Bay with the Lang family--Reese and Kara and their two young children, Nicholas, and Brooklyn. The Langs did not mind if rain cut their trip short, as they mostly wanted t...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Gotta love the grouper bite!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1188
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Saturday, 1/2/16, my first day of the new year on the water, was spent in the backwaters with Ann McManus, her brother, Phil Arnes, and their friends, Roger and Maureen Paruie. The group opted to fish the bay instead of the gulf, since a cool front approaching promised some windier conditions and buil...
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Fishing great when weather allows. 22-inch mutton snapper!
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1061
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Monday and Tuesday, 1/18 and 1/19/16, began just as the preceding week had begun, that is, with a cold front that brought high winds and seas, along with some cold temperatures. The two offshore trips I had planned for those days had to be canceled. Wednesday, 1/20, it was still pretty breezy, but win...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big snapper, sheepshead, redfish, trout
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1109
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Tuesday, 2/2/16, I headed 20 miles offshore in calm seas with Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Dick Arnett. The guys used live shrimp to catch seven nice mangrove snapper keepers to 16 inches, a dozen lane snapper keepers to 15 inches, seven porgies all around 14 inches, a few 14-inch grunts, and six she...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Snapper abundant offshore; Trout inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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995
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Monday, 2/15, was a windy day, and seas offshore were about three feet and sloppy when I headed out to 22 miles west of New Pass with Brian and Marcia Wilson. The couple used live shrimp to catch six keeper mangrove snapper that ranged 14 inches to 17 ¾ inches. They also caught a 14-inch hogfish, seven por...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Big Sheepshead, Trout
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1145
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of variety offshore and inshore
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1122
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of Action!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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992
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: grouper, snapper, shark, trout
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Florida West Coast
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0
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951
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: grouper & snapper & shark, oh my
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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900
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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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SW FL-Bonita beach: Some Big Game this week
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Florida West Coast
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0
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849
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Bull-red inshore; nice grouper, snapper, hog offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1102
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of Grouper & Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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793
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lanes, grouper, shark, goliaths, flounder & more
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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987
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Grouper, Snapper, Goliaths, Shark, Redfish, Black Drum
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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864
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: October: Mostly back-bay--Reds, sheepshead, black drum
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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866
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Black Drum invasion! Red grouper too!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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767
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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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SWFL-Bonita Beach: Inshore on a good tide; Offshore in calm seas-Fishing is great!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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917
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lane snapper, red grouper, black drum and more
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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748
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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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SW FL-Bonita beach: All kinds of bottom fish offshore; Drum & sheepshead inshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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755
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Two weeks of excellent fishing offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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857
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Redfish & Drum Inshore; Grouper & Snapper Offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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841
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Offshore or Inshore--Great Fishing!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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871
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach:Bull Redfish, Drum Bayside; Grouper Offshore When Seas Calm Enough
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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957
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Shark, Grouper, Snapper, Drum
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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848
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Summertime Shark Action, Grouper, Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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779
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Cobia, Shark, Grouper & Snapper
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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868
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: grouper, snapper, redfish, black drum, sheepshead
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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836
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Reds & Snook Inshore; Shark, Grouper & Snapper Offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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937
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing pre and post Hurricane irma
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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931
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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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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Trout Inshore; Keeper Mutton Offshore
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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871
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Gary Wilson, Larry Jones, and Kevin Scully fished 19 miles west of New Pass with me on Monday morning, 10/16/17, in calm seas. The guys had a productive morning of fishing, using cut-bait and squid. They boxed a dozen keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, a keeper mutton snapper at 18 inches, and 18 grunts t...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Sharks, Grouper, Snapper; Sheepshead, Drum, Bream
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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910
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Mike Connealy, a long-time customer, fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with me Friday morning, 11/10/17, using live shrimp for bait. We caught fourteen sheepshead, four of which were keepers ranging from 13 to 18 inches, and four mangrove snapper, including an 11-inch keeper. Mike also re...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Sharks, Snappers, Groupers, Drum, Sheepshead
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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1021
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Bart Arrigo, his wife, K.C, and their friends, Brian Bialas and Lori, fished 35 miles west of New Pass with me on Friday, 12/1/17. The group used squid and cut-bait to catch seven yellowtail snapper, including three keepers to 13 inches, seven mangrove snapper, including three keepers to 15 inches,...
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Christmas Time Fishing in Bonita Beach, SW FL
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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919
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On Wednesday, 12/20, John and Kim Zitur treated their six-year-old daughter, Carlyn, and their five-year-old son, Quinten, to a catch-and-release trip in southern Estero Bay. The kids had a great time using live shrimp to catch and release a 15-inch black drum, fifteen sheepshead to 13 inches, a s...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: weather isn't helping, but we're catching fish anyway!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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859
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As 2017 was drawing to a close, I had hoped that the good fishing weather we had over Christmas week would hold steady. But on Saturday, 12/30/17, when I fished with Rich Driscoll, Sr. and Rich Jr., joined by son Jack and his cousin, Sadie, sea conditions changed by about mid-day, and got progressively...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Battling winds and tides, but catches are good!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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893
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After a few days of cold temperatures, high winds, and rough seas, causing me to cancel a couple of trips, Saturday, 1/20/18, was finally calm enough to get offshore. I fished in spots from 18 to 28 miles west of New Pass with Joe Hahn and his friends, Bob, Mike, David, and George. The guys used cut-bait a...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Still windy, still fishing
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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865
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Monday, 2/5/18, I fished with frequent customer, Ron Musick, joined by friends who are visiting for a few days. We used cut-bait and squid to fish spots out to 28 miles from New Pass. The spots that have consistently yielded lots of lane snapper have not been doing so recently, and this day was no except...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Big game and tablefare
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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903
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Long-time customers, Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett, fished 19 to 23 miles west of New Pass with me on Monday, 3/19. They used squid and cut-bait to box fourteen keeper lane snapper and three 12-inch grunts. They released seventeen smaller grunts and sixteen red grouper shorts. Tom Butts, Sr, his so...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Snapper bite is hot; red tide is a bummer
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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839
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Red tide has been lurking around our area for weeks now, but had not impacted fishing until this week--Fishing offshore is still great, when seas are calm enough. But bay fishing right now is pretty much off the table until this red tide dissipates. We have been in a windy pattern for a good while aro...
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SW FL-Bonjita beach: Shark, grouper, lots of lanes & lots of rains!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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802
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Winds and seas have been erratic, and the NOAA forecast has often been unreliable recently. I canceled a trip based on a small craft caution and 4-foot seas prediction on Tuesday, 5/1/18, and I believe it would have been quite calm offshore, from what I saw of the wind action that day. On Thursday, 5/3,...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach-June wrap-up
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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849
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It's slow season here in SW FL, and also rainy season, so fishing trips are less frequent, but still productive for game fish and food fish. On Tuesday morning, 6/5, I fished the backwaters of southern Estero Bay with Rick and Patty Mason. They used live shrimp to catch four keeper mangrove snappers a...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Red tide hasn't stopped offshore fishing
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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848
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Scott Shinke, friends, and family fished with me on Friday morning, 7/6/18, 22 miles west of New Pass, using cut-bait and squid. They boxed fifteen lane snapper to 13 inches, along with two Spanish mackerel 22 inches and 23 inches. They released twenty-five red grouper shorts, and also battled and r...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Riddance to Red Tide!
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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732
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Fishing was tough Saturday morning, 8/11/18, when I headed out 24 miles west of New Pass with Darren Rachman, his brother, Mark, and a couple of their friends. I fished in spots that had been productive several times this week, but the bite was pretty slow everywhere we went. There were some rain storm...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach-Gulf & Bay Catching
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Florida West Coast
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0
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656
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I fished offshore for the first time in many weeks on Friday, 10/19/18, when I headed out to various spots out to 26 miles from New Pass with father and son, Daniel and Josh Koppy. The bite was kind of slow, but at least it was improved over the last time I fished offshore, which was at the peak of the red tid...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: January Wrap-up
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Florida West Coast
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0
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656
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On Monday, 1/14, I headed offshore with Bill Conklin and his two friends, Mark and Susan. NOAA had forecast seas of two to three feet well offshore, but even out just eighteen miles from New Pass, we encountered seas of three to four feet. We didn’t head out any further than that, due to rough conditions...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Great action offshore and inshore!
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Florida West Coast
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0
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598
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Craig and Jan Royal and their son, Dan, along with Craig’s dad, Ron, fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with me on Monday, 2/4/19. The family used live shrimp to catch four nice, keeper sheepshead, two at 14 inches and two at 17 inches. They also caught a keeper, 12-inch mangrove snapper. Gary Z...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good action offshore & inshore & fun with amberjacks
(Preview)
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Florida West Coast
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0
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628
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Monday, 2/25, brothers Ed and Fred Armstrong had planned to fish offshore with me. A weather front came through the area over-night, however, and kicked up winds to about 25 knots, with very rough conditions offshore. So the guys decided to fish in Estero Bay’s backwaters instead. Even the bay was ch...
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SWFL-Bonita Beach:Fighting winds and seas,but it's worth it
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Florida West Coast
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0
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606
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Saturday morning, 3/23, I fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with Tom Weid and his son, John. The guys caught thirteen sheepshead on live shrimp, including eight keepers from 13 inches to 18 inches. Seas were a little sloppy heading offshore Monday, 3/25, for a catch-and-release trip with C...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Slow season, but the fishing is good
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Florida West Coast
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0
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723
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Wind, wind, wind, and more wind! That describes our weather pattern lately. Monday, 4/22, was predicted to be calm, after a couple weeks prior of mostly strong winds and rough seas. But long-time customer Roy Mittman and his son, Zack, who headed offshore with me Monday quickly decided that 18 miles...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing is great again!
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Florida West Coast
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0
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705
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I fished offshore, about twenty miles west of New Pass, on Wednesday morning, 5/29, with Paul and Belinda Parks. It was sloppy heading out, despite a seas forecast of two feet, but it calmed down toward mid-morning. The couple used squid to catch two keeper lane snapper, and they released two trigger...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Lots of rain, but the fishing is good when you can go
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Florida West Coast
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0
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683
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On Wednesday morning, 7/3/19, I fished miles west of New Pass with Dwayne McCoy and his family and friends. Although seas were predicted to be less than two feet, that was not the case until it was nearly time to head in from our ½-day excursion. But we made it out to 23 miles, hoping for action similar to t...
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SW FL-Bonita beach: Fishing action good offshore and inshore
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Florida West Coast
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0
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724
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I was off the water for all of September, but fished in southern Estero Bay on a windy morning Tuesday, October 1, with Roy and Derek Brown. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release three redfish to 19 inches. The 19-inch red would have been a keeper, if not for the current moratorium on harvesting r...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Triggerfish, Grouper, Cuda, Shark, Redfish, Sheepshead & More!
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Florida West Coast
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0
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712
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The day after Thanksgiving, 11/29, I fished the backwaters of southern Estero Bay with Dianne Hogler and her seventeen-year-old son, Ryan. They used live shrimp to catch twenty sheepshead, including four keepers that were all around 13 inches. They released four redfish to 17 inches and five snoo...
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SWFL-BonitaBeach:Busy season here & the fish are cooperating
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Florida West Coast
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0
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801
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Saturday morning, 1/4/20, was a windy one, but the tide was good in Estero Bay’s backwaters, where I fished a catch & release trip with David Dunbar and his girlfriend, Emily Eiteljorg. The couple used live shrimp to catch a dozen sheepshead, four of which would have been keepers in the 13 to 14 inc...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Nice Sheepshead Inshore; Triggerfish and More Offshore
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Florida West Coast
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0
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682
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Ed Thompson and his family fished offshore with me on Tuesday morning, 2/11/20, 18 to 20 miles west of New Pass. The family used squid and cut-bait to catch and release five red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with a bunch of blue runners and sand perch. They boxed four grunts and a porgy for dinner. L...
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SW FL-Bonita Beach: Fishing still good, but pandemics are no fun
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Florida West Coast
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0
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669
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Frequent fisher, Mike Conneally, joined by his sister and brother-in-law, Rod and Cass Bromm, fished 35 miles west of New Pass with me on Wednesday, 3/18. The family used squid and cut-bait to box nine nice porgies to 15 inches and grunts to 13 inches.. They released thirty-two red grouper shorts to 1...
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