• South West Florida Fishing Report - FL

    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 - FL

    Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Saturday, 1/24, brought rain and gusty winds. I canceled my planned fishing trip and remained in port. We had more of the same, plus some rain squalls on Monday, 1/26, which canceled out that day’s trip also. Tuesday, 1/27, I had a bay trip scheduled, and winds had calmed significantly, with warming temperatures, but my clients decided they would rather defer their trip, given all the nasty weather days that had just preceded.

    Wednesday morning, Tom Bacheller and friends had hoped to get offshore with me, but small craft advisories remained in place, with seas of 4-6 feet, and winds picking up once again, as a reinforcing cold front hit the area. The guys fished inshore instead, in lower Hickory Bay on an outgoing tide that was pretty low. Conditions were not optimal. The guys released a couple of stingray, four sail-cats, one keeper-sized sheepshead and five croakers.
    Tuesday, 1/27, I had a bay trip scheduled, and winds had calmed significantly, with warming temperatures, but my clients decided they would rather defer their trip, given all the nasty weather days that had just preceded.

    Thursday, 1/29, remained windy, though seas were predicted to calm to two to three feet. I didn’t really believe that prediction and, as it turned out, my scheduled angler had to cancel his trip that day anyway, due to illness.

    By Friday, 1/30, winds really had calmed down and seas were about two feet—what a treat! I headed offshore with Dave and Judy Eckrich and friends, Frank and Ruthie Tarnawski. The group had a productive morning fishing with live shrimp 22 miles west of New Pass. They caught three keeper red grouper, a 21-inch, a 22-inch and a 23-inch. They also boxed four nice keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches, along with ten keeper lane snapper and nine porgies about 15 inches. They released nearly thirty short red grouper, a dozen smaller porgies, and nine lane snapper shorts.

    Saturday morning, 1/31/15, winds were stronger once again, but I had an inshore trip scheduled, so there were no rough seas to worry about. Corey Elzner, his girlfriend, Lindsey Young, Lindsey’s son, Ivan, and Ivan’s grandpa, Bobby Woodard, fished a catch-and-release trip in lower Hickory Bay with me, using live shrimp. The group released six sheepshead to 15 inches, a 12-inch mangrove snapper, and a redfish short."


    Angler Eddie Alfonso with a 15-inch hogfish, caught on shrimp, 30 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.



    Angler Jim Lynch with a 37-inch king mackerel, caught on a pinfish 30 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.


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