SW FL-Bonita beach: Grouper, Yellowtails, Lanes

Paul Szemplenski, his young daughter, Evie, and his father-in-law, Ed fished inshore with me on Friday, 10/17/14. The group had originally planned to fish offshore, but residual seas from the weather front that passed through a couple of days prior were still too rough for gulf fishing. So, we fished in lower Hickory Bay, around the mangrove islands, using live shrimp. The group caught and released two redfish to 17 ½ inches. They also caught two sheepshead, one of which was a 13-inch keeper, along with a dozen mangrove snapper, two of which were keepers, and the others just short of keeper-size.

Monday, 10/20, I fished 18 to 20 miles west of New Pass with John Liebenow and his son, David. The guys used live shrimp to catch and release twenty-five red grouper to 19 inches, three small amberjack, and a half dozen yellowtail snapper shorts. As for boxed catches, they got nine keeper lane snapper, all around 11 inches, three keeper porkfish, and a dozen grunts to 13 inches.

Tuesday, 10/21, I cancelled my planned offshore trip, with lots of rain and some heavy thunderstorms over the Gulf. By Wednesday, 10/22, skies were still cloudy, and there was a light drizzle onshore, but the rain was over with offshore, and seas were pretty well calmed down. I fished about twenty miles west of New Pass with John Hornberger, his son, Luke, and Luke’s girlfriend, Taylor Caretti. The grouper bite was on, and the group used bait-fish to catch and release three red grouper at 21 inches, 22 inches and 27 inches. Unfortunately, red grouper season closed on October 3rd. But Taylor also landed a 23 ½ inch gag grouper, which bit a bait-fish. And the group added to the box a few other catches that bit on live shrimp, including two of the five whitebone porgies they caught to 16 inches, a 15-inch mangrove snapper, a 25-inch Spanish mackerel, a dozen keeper lane snapper, and a few grunts.

Thursday, 10/23, the winds were howling across the bay, where I fished inshore on a catch-and-release trip with Mike Sower and Mike Kenney. We fished mostly in the Little Carlos-Lovers’ Key area, using live shrimp. The guys released two redfish, 17 and 18 inches, a few sheepshead, three crevalle jacks to 2 pounds, an 11-inch mangrove snapper, and the biggest pinfish I have ever seen at 14 ½ inches!

Twenty knot winds and seas of four to six feet, with small craft advisories, cancelled out my planned offshore trips on Friday, 10/24, and Saturday, 10/25.

The photo shown is of angler, Taylor Caretti , with a 23 ½-inch gag grouper, caught on a bait-fish 20 miles west of New Pass on a recent offshore trip trip.


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