Fishbuster Charters’ Captain Dave Hanson reported,"Tuesday morning, 12/17, seas were rough at the outset, with winds having blown hard all weekend and into the early hours of Tuesday. Seas calmed down as the morning progressed, and I fished the near-shore reefs off Bonita beach with Chris Bauman and his sons, Sam and Louie. The guys used live shrimp to catch four Spanish mackerels, all in the 21-to 22-inch range, a 13-inch sheepshead, and a mess of grunts. They released lots of triggerfish to 13 inches, along with small gag grouper.
Wednesday morning, though predicted to be calmer was pretty much a carbon copy of Tuesday. Seas were sloppy, even at the near-shore reefs, where I fished a catch-and release trip with Mike Cilip, Sr, Mike Cilip, Jr., and friend, Gordon Gau. The guys used live shrimp to catch seven sheepshead to 15 inches, grunts, Spanish mackerel and gag grouper shorts.
Thursday’s seas began a little sloppy, but calmed down nicely, and I was able to get out about eighteen miles, where I fished with frequent-fishers Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Bob Deering. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release yellowtail snapper and triggerfish shorts, three mutton snapper to 15 inches, and a dozen red grouper shorts to 19 ¾ inches, just short of legal size. They also released a 30-inch, out-of-season gag grouper, and a 22-inch gag. They boxed some grunts, along with twenty-five whitebone porgies to 16 inches to take home for dinner.
Winds picked up again Friday, 12/20, with sloppy conditions even at the near-shore reefs, where I fished with Reiner Neumann and his three sons, Steven, Brian and Christopher. We caught a lot of fish, but only a few were keepers, including a 14-inch sheepshead, a brace of 13-inch mangrove snapper, and a half-dozen grunts. We released eight mangrove snapper shorts, eight triggerfish shorts in the 12-13-inch range, and blue runners.
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 better chance catching fish as far out as conditions would allow than they would have fishing inshore. So we headed to the near-shore reefs and to a few other spots within ten or eleven miles of shore. The guys used live shrimp to catch two 13-inch keeper mangrove snapper, an 11-inch porkfish, and a mess of grunts. They released gag grouper shorts, red grouper shorts to 17 inches, short mangrove snapper and triggerfish, and blue.


Angler Rick Simpson with an 18 1/2-inch mutton snapper, caught on shrimp on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.


Angler Aiden Tooley with an 18-inch black drum, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on a recent inshore Fishbuster Charter.