Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "George Sloan, his son, George Jr, grandson George III, and granddaughters Lily and Allie, fished a catch-and-release, inshore trip with me in southern Estero Bay on Monday, 3/1. They used live shrimp to catch six sheepshead, a sand bream, and two crevalle jacks.

Mike Jackson and his nephew, Aaron, fished 19 miles west of New Pass with me on Tuesday, 3/2, where they used squid to catch a mess of grunts, numbering in the forties, and kept twenty of those for fish taco meals. They released seven red grouper shorts and one 15-inch triggerfish short.

It was windy, with a few raindrops falling in Estero Bay’s backwaters when I fished a catch-and-release trip with brothers Paul and Rich Stanek on Wednesday, 3/3. They used live shrimp to catch and release five sheepshead, one mangrove snapper short, and a ladyfish.

Pat Dombrovski and his brother-in-law, Chuck, had initially planned on a full-day offshore excursion on Friday, 3/5, but sea conditions were rough well offshore. They opted for a half-day of near-shore fishing at the reefs off Bonita Beach. They used squid to catch ten sheepshead, including two keepers at 14 inches each. They added to the box five Spanish mackerel, all around 18 inches, along with four grunts. They released three out-of-season gag grouper shorts.