Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Monday morning, 4/10, seas were a little choppy and sloppy, after a very windy weekend. But, hardy anglers John King, his sons, Chris and Dan, Dan’s girlfriend, Nora, and the boys’ grandfather, Dick, withstood conditions to fish fifteen miles west of New Pass with me. The family used squid to catch a keeper red grouper at 21 inches, twenty-five keeper lane snapper, and a dozen grunts. They released lots of red grouper shorts.

Mark and Monica Kusterer and their two young daughters, Jillian and Amanda, fished 15 miles offshore with me on Tuesday morning, 4/11, using squid for bait. They released fifteen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, and boxed ten keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts. It was the girls’ first fishing experience, and I think they are sold on the sport!

Seas were easily three-to-four foot Wednesday morning, 4/12, though they calmed down toward the noon hour. Roy Mittman and his son, Zach, have braved choppy waters with me before, and they don’t mind a bit of chop in order to get to the fish. So we headed out 22 miles from New Pass to fish with squid and cut bait. The guys caught a brace of 21-inch, keeper red grouper, and added twenty-five keeper lane snapper and a half-dozen 12-13-inch grunts to the box too. They released lots of red grouper shorts. A huge shark—either a tiger or a hammerhead would be my guess—grabbed a fish on the line, spun the drag, and ran 300 yards of 100 lb. Power-Pro line off the pole before finally cutting the line on a crab trap. The best view we got of the monster was way below the surface, and it was tough to discern what type of shark it was.

Thursday morning, 4/13, I fished a catch-and-release trip in southern Estero Bay with Robert and Diane Murphey, and their two young grandchildren, Elena and Colin. The kids had a good time catching and releasing sheepshead, crevalle jack, and mangrove snapper.

Friday, 4/14, I spent the morning fishing 22 miles offshore with the Bockhorst family: Bob, his son, Don, and Don’s adult children, David, Kevin, and Kristen. The family used squid and cut-bait, and managed to get some big game excitement, as well as plenty of food-fish. A fifty-inch blacknose shark provided a fun battle and, shortly after we released that beast, a big sandbar shark grabbed one line and tangled it with all the others, eventually cutting all the lines and escaping. Calmer catches included two dozen keeper lane snapper and a dozen grunts. The family released thirty red grouper shorts to 19 inches.

Winds and seas increased Saturday, 4/15, but my young, hardy anglers toughed it out to fish 22 miles west of New Pass with squid and cut-bait. They caught a 21-inch, keeper red grouper, and released at least forty red grouper shorts to 19 inches. A couple of bigger ones were hooked and lost. The guys added thirty keeper lane snapper to the fish box, and released one undersized triggerfish."

1.) Angler Abbey Kulus with a 25-inch red grouper, caught on squid 22 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.



2.) Angler Billy Miller with an odd catch of a 24 -inch, guitarfish, caught on shrimp and released 6 miles west of New Pass on a recent near-shore Fishbuster Charter.