SW FL-Bonita Beach: Good Action Offshore

Fishing Saturday morning, 6/21, about 17 miles out of New Pass with Dan Slavenburg and friend, Ryan, we cast live shrimp to catch eight keeper mangrove snapper and a dozen whitebone porgies to 15 inches. We released lots of smaller mangs, short red grouper, yellowtail and an almaco jack.

Tuesday morning, I fished 14 miles west of New Pass with Mike and Norine Weber and Bill and Gail Carlson. We had lots of action and variety all morning, using live shrimp. Catches included three keeper hogfish, two at 13 inches and one at 14 inches, Spanish mackerel to 24 inches (we kept two and released three), ten whitebone porgies, of which we kept three, fifteen keeper mangrove snapper, and grunts. We released gag grouper shorts to 18 inches, red grouper to 19 inches, triggerfish, and a 15 inch mutton snapper.

Thursday, Greg Sommeski, sons Greg, Jr. and Louis, and friend Joe Morono fished with me about 17 miles offshore. We caught a mess of mangrove snapper, kept ten of those to 14 inches and released lots more, along with whitebone porgies to 15 inches. We released Spanish mackerel to 25 inches, along with gag and red grouper to 19 ½ inches, a 17 inch true black grouper and a 15 inch mutton snapper. We used live shrimp for all.

The photo shown is of angler Sarah Hobbe with a 16 inch hogfish caught on shrimp on a recent offshore trip.