Fishbuster Charters' Captain Dave Hanson reported, "Drew VanWerden and his son, Gabe, fished 19 miles west of New Pass with me on Sunday morning, 2/16. It was a little choppy heading out again, but it calmed down shortly after we got anchored. The guys used squid and cut-bait to release a dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches, along with five triggerfish to just short of 15 inches. Triggerfish are out of season until March so, even if they had met the 15-inch legal size, they would have had to have been released. Boxed fish included five grunts and a 14-inch mangrove snapper.


Mike Bochman and his friends, Jay and Kevin, fished 36 miles west of New Pass with me in calm seas on Monday, 2/17. Once again, the red grouper were everywhere, and the guys used squid and cut-bait to catch and release seventy-five of those to 19 inches. They also released a dozen scamp grouper shorts, all 14 and 15 inches, along with three 14-inch triggerfish and forty-eight bluefish. We also hooked and released an eight-foot sandbar shark, was kept things exciting for a while! As for food-fish, the guys boxed six porgies and two mangrove snapper, 13 and 14 inches.


Mike Bochman, who fished with me offshore Monday, left his buddies home on Tuesday morning, 2/18, and fished solo in southern Estero Bay’s backwaters. The bite was a little slow, despite a decent tide. Using live shrimp, he caught five sheepshead, including a pair of 13-inch keepers, and released a crevalle jack. He nearly had a pompano, but that skittish fish escaped before it could be boated.

Young angler, Jimmy Cox, had fun fishing a catch-and-release trip in southern Estero Bay’s backwaters with his dad, Pat, and his grandpa, Jim, on Wednesday morning, 2/19. The family used live shrimp to catch three keeper-sized sheepshead to 15 inches and a 17-inch pompano.


Mike Connealy and Rob Young fished 36 miles west of New Pass with me on Thursday, 2/20, on a slow tide. They boxed four 13-inch grunts and six nice porgies, and released four 14-inch triggerfish and a dozen red grouper shorts to 18 inches. They battled a goliath for a while, until it cut the line and broke off.


Paul Stanek, who fished with me earlier this month, fished southern Estero Bay’s backwaters, along with his brother, Rich, on Friday morning, 2/21. It was a windy day, with a cold front moving in, but the wind was blowing the right direction for a good tide, and the guys had a productive morning for their catch-and-release trip. Using live shrimp, they caught nine sheepshead, including two keeper-sized at 14 inches, along with a couple of mangrove snapper shorts, and three redfish to 19 inches."

1.) Angler Mark Nichols with a 19-inch seatrout, caught on shrimp and released (due to current harvesting moratorium), in southern Estero Bay on a recent inshore Fishbuster Charter.




2.) Angler Mike Connealy with an 18-inch red grouper, caught on squid, and released 33 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore Fishbuster Charter.