• South West Florida Fishing Report

    Fishbuster Charters
    (239) 947-1688 http://fishbustercharters.com/Index.html fishbuster@comcast.net
  • Captain Dave Hanson is a native of southwest Florida. He has been fishing local waters since childhood, and has been fishing professionally for over fifteen years. He is Coast Guard licensed, and is a member in good standing of the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce. He has been quoted and featured in several national fishing magazines, and he also appears weekly in the fishing reports sections of the local paper.

  • South West Florida Fishing Report

    Fishbuster Charters’ Captain Dave Hanson reported,"Monday, 2/24 was a beautiful day for fishing but, unfortunately, as happens rarely, but a couple times each season, my fishing clients cancelled their trip at the last minute, and I was unable to re-schedule the date with anyone on our cancellation list, at such short notice...hope the weather holds for the rest of the week!

    Tuesday, 2/25, I fished in the backwaters along the channel toward Wiggins Pass with long-time customers, the Heimrich family. Jeff, wife Beth, seven-year-old Maddie (who prefers to be called “Maddawg” ;-) and five-year-old Tanner used live shrimp to catch four nice sheepshead, ranging in size from 14 to 17 ˝ inches. They also caught fifteen mangrove snapper, including three keepers to 14 inches. They released a 20-inch snook, a 16 ˝-inch redfish, and a stingray.

    Jeannine Lamb and Kathy Kunce fished central Estero Bay with me on Wednesday, 2/26. They caught and released two 17-inch redfish and a stingray, and boxed a brace of 14-inch pompano, all on live shrimp.



    Thursday, some rain moved through our area, with an approaching cool front, in the early morning hours. I had planned to charter a customer’s boat that day, but with an uncertain time-line on the weather front, he chose to cancel that trip. As it turned out, it probably would have been a decent day offshore. Sometimes, it is difficult to make the call in advance.

    Friday, 2/28, I fished with Jim McGrath and Bill Crockett, who fish with me several times each February and March. This time, Jim brought his son, Steve, along. We fished at the near-shore reefs off Bonita Beach, using live shrimp to catch five keeper sheepshead to 15 inches, three 20-inch Spanish mackerel, and a 16-inch pompano.

    The guys released lots of mangrove snapper shorts, along with a dozen crevalle jacks, blue runners and ladyfish.



    Leonard Kottman, nine year-old son, Jack, and brother-in-law, Mike, fished the near-shore reefs with me Saturday morning, 3/1, where they used live shrimp to catch seven keeper sheepshead to 16 inches, and released eight mangrove snapper shorts. Jack also had an interesting encounter with a remora, which he posed with for a picture."
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