SWFL-Bonita Beach:Nice Trout & Redfish Inshore and Good Table-fare Offshore Too

Monday, three/21, I fished central Estero Bay with long-time customers Joe Goodall and his son, Alex. Eleven-year-outdated Alex has been fishing with me each and every 12 months given that he was just above two a long time old. This time, the father-son team also introduced a couple of other household members, Fred and Dave. We utilized stay shrimp to catch and release whitings, sheeshead and crevalle jacks. But Alex showed the adults how to do it when he landed a nice twenty five-inch redfish–that one went property with them!

Tuesday, I captained Ron Musick’s boat out to 65 ft, with his friends, Eddie Alfonse and Dick Arnett, along with Dick’s son, Nate, and Nate’s eight-year-old son, Jack. We caught eight nice keeper mangrove snapper to 16 inches, a few keeper lane snapper that were all about twelve inches, and some wonderful whitebone porgies, all on reside shrimp. We launched gag grouper to 22 inches and red grouper to twenty inches–We’re hoping people reds will even now be out there when time opens for them in April.

Wednesday, Chris Ernberger, his twelve-year-outdated son, Carter, and Carter’s grandpa, Jerry, fished with me about 17 miles west of New Pass. We used dwell shrimp to catch 3 keeper sheepshead 17 to eighteen inches in duration, along with some grunts and porkfish keepers. We released smaller sheepshead and a lot of groupers. Connor’s most enjoyable moments had been when he hooked two goliath grouper, a single about fifty lbs and one about 80 pounds. He utilized blue runners for people, and he essential only a minor support to reel them to the surface. He was savoring his sore arms on the trip in!

Thursday, Sandy Hook and son, Rusty Hook (no kidding), who have fished with me a few times per year for a lot of decades, introduced Rusty’s younger sons, Charlie and Jeremy along this time, as effectively as family members buddy, Sam Sales. We headed out to about eighteen miles from New Pass. The boys had a ton of fun catching and releasing ladyfish, which had been abundant. They also launched lots of out-of-season grouper. For the family’s fish-fry, they brought residence a mess of whitebone porgies, all about 14 inches, as properly as some huge grunts.

Chris Ernberger and his twelve-year-outdated son, Carter, who fished with me Wednesday, fished with me at the reefs off Bonita Seashore on Friday early morning. We kept 7 sheepshead, all 18 to 19 inches, and launched a bunch a lot more of that dimension or significantly less. We also caught a keeper mangrove snapper, as nicely as a two-pound grunt.

Saturday morning, the tide was variety of gradual, when I fished in 40 ft with Rick McGrath, his wife, daughter, and daughter’s boyfriend. We experimented with to play with some goliaths, but we couldn’t lure them out, so we switched to fishing for food with reside shrimp. The group caught 3 keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, two keeper sheepshead at 14 inches and 17 inches, and a mess of grunts. They released grouper shorts, triggerfish, modest porgies, and a couple of king mackerel that have been just brief of their 24-inch keeper dimensions.

Monday, 3/28, we awoke to a serious-weather-observe in force until noon, because of to a rainy, windy, lightening storm. Despite the fact that the rain cleared out by about 10AM, seas offshore had been 3-five foot, in the storm’s wake. Extra hefty rains were forecast for later in the afternoon, as nicely. I cancelled my offshore journey.

Tuesday, there was nonetheless a good swell in the early morning, but seas have been a lot calmer. I captained Ron Musick’s boat, along with his pals, Eddie Alfonse and Dick Arnett, Dick’s son, Nate, and his youthful son, Jack, along with Ron Hobbs and Ron’s younger grandson, Josh Jacobs. We came in with about twenty-5 fish, such as 3 keeper mangrove snapper to 14 inches, wonderful-sized whitebone porgies and grunts, all caught on shrimp in 44 ft, west of New Pass. We released red grouper that would have been keepers, had they been in time, as nicely as gag grouper to 21 three/4 inches.

Wednesday morning, when I fished once more with Sandy Hook, who fished with me previous Thursday, his buddy Matt Ball, and Matt’s youthful sons, Nate and Emmett, seas acquired progressively rougher, even at the close to-shore reefs off Bonita Seaside. By the time we decided to head in a minor early, there were some 5-foot waves out there. The boys managed to catch two keeper flounder, though, 12 inches and fifteen inches, a keeper Spanish mackerel, and two keeper sheepshead to 15 inches. They released smaller sized sheepshead and mangrove snapper.

Thursday, seas were five-foot offshore so prolonged-time buyer, Stuart Norris, along with his good friend, Mike, traded offshore ideas for a early morning of fishing the backwaters of Estero Bay. The winds received progressively more robust all morning, and there have been truly two-foot waves in some elements of the bay. Anchoring and casting had been tough, for positive, as was dodging the undesirables, these as catfish and stingray—we released our share of these, along with 5 redfish short of slot-dimensions. But, Stuart did land a good, twenty five-inch keeper redfish as the very last catch of the day, caught on reside shrimp.

Friday’s early early morning hours started with thunderstorms, followed by far more higher winds and seas. I canceled my journey for that day. But, by Saturday morning, winds were a good deal calmer. Seas were predicted to be two-three ft but, anticipating a residual swell offshore, long-time customer Ed Bock and I decided to fish in the backwaters. We did properly in Estero Bay, utilizing live shrimp. We caught a keeper, 23-inch redfish, two wonderful sea trout that had been sixteen inches and twenty inches, a thirteen-inch sheepshead, and an 18-inch Spanish mackerel.

The photo shown is of eleven-year-previous angler, Alex Goodall with a twenty five-inch redfish, caught on shrimp, on a recent inshore journey.