Fishbuster Charters Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Hurricane Irma hit our area on September 10th, and its aftermath was quite a challenge. We were fortunate to have only minor property damage, along with a lot of downed trees. Our boats, thankfully survived. We were without power for nine days, and were so thankful t for the hard working linemen from all over the country who worked tirelessly to restore it.

As a consequence of the storm, there was very little fishing going on, as locals lost income and struggled to repair their properties, file claims, and the like. It was September 28th before I fished again. That trip was with six linemen in our area, on assignment from West Virginia, Jim Blackstock, Jim Messenger, and four of their friends and co-workers. We fished 25 miles west of New Pass, using squid and cut-bait to catch and release twenty-five keeper-sized lane snapper, twenty-six red grouper shorts, a small amberjack, and twelve grunts.

Brothers, Jake and Adam Sutton, fished 19 miles west of New Pass with me on Saturday morning, 9/30, using squid and cut-bait. The guys caught a 22-inch keeper red grouper and five keeper lane snapper to 12 inches, along with a mess of grunts. They released two mutton snapper shorts at 12 inches and 14 inches, along with a 25-pound goliath grouper."

1.) Angler Ingo Merz with a keeper 21-inch red grouper, caught on squid 23 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.



2.) Angler Lisa Gatesy with a keeper 25-inch redfish, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on a recent inshore Fishbuster Charter.