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Water conditions and rain continued to put a damper on fishing last week, but the good news is that the red tide outbreak seen in waters to the north has not reached the Bonita Springs area. Last week, anglers had luck with mackerel and snapper, with some kingfish seen offshore and some redfish and snook landed closer to shore.

Fishbuster Charters' Capt. Dave Hanson fished last Monday with John Maliszewski and friend Joe in 30 feet out of New Pass. They used live shrimp and dead shiners, free-lining for Spanish mackerel, and caught 30 keeper-sized, but released all but six. They also released small mangrove snapper, small kingfish, and a 3½-foot lemon shark.

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Bonita Springs residents Brendan and Cody Smith recently caught this handsome goliath grouper while fishing about 2½ miles off New Pass.

Fishing with Wayne Mares and friends Tuesday, in 35 feet out of New Pass, Hanson reported 10 keeper mangrove snapper, and kept 11 of 25 keeper-sized Spanish mackerel caught on live shrimp. They released triggerfish, and had their lines broken twice by a couple of big fish.

Wednesday, Hanson again fished in 35 feet out of New Pass, this time with Debra Johnson, her brother, Mike Griffith, and his son, Michael. They used live shrimp to catch keeper mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel. They kept 10 mackerel for the family, and released a bunch more, along with triggerfish and short kingfish. The kings lately, close in, have only been running about 20 inches.

Robert and Noel Jacobusse didn't mind fishing Estero Bay in a light rain Saturday morning, but once the thunder and lightning started threatening, it was no longer safe to be on the water. Hanson cut the trip short, after releasing sheepshead, and the two will hope for better conditions next time they visit."

Capt. Alex Dolinski fished with Luis Martinez of Bradenton Saturday. They fly-fished Estero Bay, Rocky Bay and Hendry Creek. In between the storms, Martinez boated two reds, two flounder, and three small snook. He also had a great time with a school of feeding jacks, and a small tarpon about 20 pounds in New Pass.

On Sunday, Dolinski's favorite junior angler, Ben Newcomb, treated him to an afternoon of bass fishing in his "secret" spot. They caught 18 bass between them and saw several nice tarpon in the 15-20 pound range.

And now, a word about the area's poor water conditions from Capt. Ron Kowalyk: Like a canary in a coal mine, bait condition is the best barometer to determine the water quality. It didn't take an Albert Einstein to figure out where the really nasty water was recently; dead fish and airborne allergens made for the most obvious indicators.

Although whitebait was easy to come by, the fatality rate was often highest near where we cast-netted the critters. Quick cast net work, high volumes of water pick-up in a large live well, and keeping the bait population in harmony with those factors was helpful. We had to run hard and fast to favorable fishing locations and keep a keen eye on the local water quality.

As usual, a good well-calculated float plan can save the day. For better or worse, we had been on the water most of the week, working through the tough conditions and had an idea of where the water would support bait and active fish. A close eye on wind directions, tidal amplitude and phases had to be worked into the equation each day.

All these factors still don't insure success with fragile live bait, so a supply of shrimp, some scented soft plastics and other artificials are a good backup plan. Our best action came on suspending plugs, DOA Shrimp and Gulp Shrimp, all fished in slightly deeper than usual water, 4-7 feet. After all the conjuring, we didn't really need any live bait after all.

Submissions to Fish Tales should be made by noon each Monday. Contact Cathy Cottrill at 213-6031 or by e-mail at cccottrill@bonitanews.com. Her fax number is 213-6099.