SUBJECT: SW FL-Bonita Beach: Goliath Beasts & Redfish

Submitted by Captain Dave Hanson (98.238.80.87) from FLORIDA on

Monday morning, 8/31, I fished in 45 feet, out of New Pass, with Mike & Denise VanHorn. We fished for goliaths first, while the couple had their best energy--Good thing because Denise hooked one that was most likely over 300 pounds. Mike followed up with one that was around 100 pounds. We used Spanish mackerel, blue runners and a grunt for bait. After we released those two fish, we got serious about finding some fish to eat. We ended up with ten keeper lane snapper, all caught on shrimp. We released mangrove snapper just short of the twelve inch requirement, along with red grouper shorts.

Estero Bay had good tides most of this week. Wednesday morning, the tide served us well, when I fished with Bob Flesch and his friend, John. Bob caught a nice red. We could tell it was going to be good-sized from the way it fought, and we were hoping it would be within the slot for keeping. We were lucky, as it measured exactly 27 inches. We also caught five keeper mangrove snapper and a 14-inch sheepshead. We released two small snook, as well as a 50-pound stingray, which was an admirable fight!