Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Roy Mittman fished in various spots out to 25 miles west of New Pass with me on Monday morning, 2/12. Once again, the red grouper bite was active, but yielded no keepers, and we released over twenty shorts. Keepers included lane snapper and grunts, which bit on squid.


Tuesday, 2/13, I spent the morning fishing the backwaters of southern Estero Bay with John Pompeo and his son, John, Jr. The guys used live shrimp to catch ten sheepshead to 15 inches and a 16-inch black drum.


Bob Ellis and his friend, Tim, fished about 15 miles west of New Pass with me on Wednesday 2/14, where they used cut-bait and squid to release four red grouper shorts and two gag grouper out-of-season shorts to 21 inches. They boxed a 15-inch sheepshead, a keeper porkfish, and three grunts.


Eddie Alfonso, Kay Daugherty, and Liz Condos fished 17 miles west of New Pass with me on Thursday, 2/15, using cut-bait and squid. The group released red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with a would-be-legal (if in season) gag grouper, and a 16-inch triggerfish. They caught a mess of grunts, so fish tacos were still on the menu, even with having to release the other catches."


1.) Angler Chris Baumgartner with an 18-inch gag grouper, caught on squid and released 22 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.



2.) Angler Dave Dzedzy with a 17-inch pompano, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on a recent inshore Fishbuster Charter.