Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Sunday morning, 2/25, I headed out to 19 miles west of New Pass to fish with Charles Bisgaier and his friend, Andy. The red grouper bite was active, and the guys released twenty red grouper shorts to18 inches, along with two mangrove snapper shorts. They loaded the cooler with twenty-one grunts, all around 14-to 15 inches, along with one 14-inch porgy.


Todd Plastaid, his three sons, Alec, Brennen and Dave, their friend, Cam Field, and the boys’ grandfather, John Plastaid, fished 24 miles west of New Pass with me in calm seas on Monday, 2/26. The family used squid and cut-bait to catch twenty-one keeper lane snapper to 16 inches, a dozen grunts 12-14 inches, and three keeper porgies. They released twenty-six red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with a 14-inch triggerfish.


Mike and Kristen McCarthy and their five-year-old twin sons, Danny and Jonathan, fished southern Estero Bay's backwaters with me on Tuesday, 2/27. Kristen landed a nice, 17-inch trout, and the boys had fun catching and releasing ten sheepshead to 12 inches and two mangrove snapper to 10 inches. Everything bit on shrimp. The boys enjoyed fishing, but had even more fun watching a dolphin or two chase the boat for a good while, and also siting a manatee.

Mike Conneally, his brother-in-law, Rodney Bromm, and friend, Jim Schaber, fished 24 miles west of New Pass with me on Wednesday morning, 2/28, where they used cut-bait and squid to box seventeen lane snapper keepers, a 13-inch mangrove snapper, and a few grunts. They released twenty-one red grouper shorts to 18 inches.


Frequent fishers, Ron Musick, Eddie Alfonso, and Richard Arnett fished 24 miles offshore with me on Thursday, 3/1, and used squid and cut-bait to box twenty-one lane snappers to 14 inches and two keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, along with a few grunts. They released twenty-two red grouper shorts to 17 inches.


Friday morning, 3/2, Kathy Kunscher and the McNally family—Seth and Val and their young children, Liam and Alta—fished southern Estero Bay with me, using live shrimp. The group caught a 17-inch permit and two sand bream, and released a half dozen sheepshead shorts and a dozen mangrove snapper shorts, along with four big sailcats that were all about five pounds. Red tide was obvious, but it wasn’t impairing our catching!

1.) Angler Bob Ellis with an 13-inch porkfish, caught on squid 15 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.



2.) Angler John Pompeo, Jr. with a 16-inch black drum, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on a recent inshore Fishbuster Charter.