Fishbuster Charters Captain Dave Hanson reported, "It was tough fishing in Estero Bay onMonday, 1/15, with the cold front having sucked the water out of thebackwaters, and extreme low tides, even at their highest point. Jack Oberlinand friend, Perry, were not interested in keeping fish, since they were on ashort stay at an area hotel, so, we’d planned on a catch-and-release trip. Theguys used live shrimp to catch and release fifteen sheepshead to 14 inches, andthat was the only species biting, so they didn’t get much variety, but at leastgot some action!

After a few days of coldtemperatures, high winds, and rough seas, which caused me to cancel a couple oftrips, Saturday, 1/20/18, was finally calm enough to get offshore. I fished inspots from 18 to 28 miles west of New Pass with Joe Hahn and his friends, Bob,Mike, David, and George. The guys used cut-bait and squid to catch and releasea bluefish, twenty-some red grouper shorts to 18 inches, as well as fivesharks, consisting of four blacktips and one sharpnose, all of which werearound the 40-inch mark. We also had a huge shark (variety unknown) grab apiece of cut-bait, run, and break off, exploding the water around us. As fordinner, the guys boxed eighteen keeper lane snapper."


1.) Young angler Harry Smith with a 16-inch sheepshead, caught on shrimp in Estero Bay on a recent inshore Fishbuster Charter.



2.) Angler Mark Huneke with an 36-inch blacktip shark, caught on cut-bait 22 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.