Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Seas were a little sloppy heading offshore Monday, 3/25, for a catch-and-release trip with Craig Javanovich, his two sons, and his dad. But it calmed down a little while into the morning fishing 19 miles west of New Pass. The family used squid to catch forty grunts, three red grouper shorts, five lane snapper shorts, and some blue runners.


Calm seas were a welcome change on Tuesday, morning, 3/26, when I headed out 18 miles west of New Pass with Frank Partee, his son, Mike, and Mike’s daughter, Katie. All the family wanted was some fish for a meal of fish tacos, and they achieved that with the seven grunts they boxed. They released lots of blue runners, along with a half dozen red grouper shorts. Everything bit on squid.


Denis Delor, his two sons, Mason and Jake, and his dad, Barry, had planned to fish offshore on Wednesday morning, 3/27, but small craft advisories were in effect offshore, due to seas of three-to-five feet. We fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters instead, using live shrimp for bait. The family caught five keeper sheepshead to 17 inches, a keeper black drum at 15 inches, and two sand bream. They released a crevalle jack.


Thursday and Friday, 3/28 and 3/29 were both windy days with rough seas offshore that prompted a small craft advisory. Both of my planned offshore trips for those days canceled. On Saturday, 3/30, I fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with Roger Henderson, his son, Steve, and friend, Jack Brennen. The guys used live shrimp to catch eight sheepshead, including four keepers to 17 inches. Jack caught and released a 19-inch redfish, which would have been a keeper if not for the current redfish moratorium."


1.) Angler Bethany Tank with a 25-inch lesser mberjack, one of two big ones she and her husband caught on shrimp 33 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.



2.) Angler Mike Tank with an 18-inch porgy, the largest of several nice porgies he and his wife caught on shrimp, 33 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.