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More Fishing and Boating

• On the Hook: Sweet fishing moments
• Securing boats when hurricanes threaten
• Fishing report: Fay's effects giving way to great fishing

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Gov. Jeb Bush and his Cabinet signed a proclamation this week designating May 20-26 as Florida's National Safe Boating Week in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and its partners, National Safe Boating Council, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the U.S. Power Squadrons will strive to increase public awareness of risks associated with boating and promote safe boating practices throughout the week.

Out on the water, tarpon are making an appearance in waters to the north, and the bays are holding reds, snook and trout.

Fishbuster Charters Capt. Dave Hanson fished last Monday in 35 feet out of New Pass with father and son Dan and Eric Harper. Using live shrimp, they caught keeper Spanish mackerel, a nice yellowtail snapper, keeper triggerfish, grunts and porkfish.

Daniel McAuliffe fished with Hanson last Tuesday morning at the MAY Reef. They were chased in by a brief lightning storm about 11 a.m., but they caught plenty of fish before then. They caught 10 keeper lane snapper, but released all but two for Dan's dinner. They also released keeper-sized triggerfish and about 15 2-pound crevalle jacks, all on live shrimp.

Chris and Jaclyn Agee fished the west wall of Estero Bay with Hanson on Thursday. They used live shrimp to catch keeper mangrove snapper to 12 inches, and a few keeper sheepshead. They released smaller sheepshead and small black drum.

Capt. Alex Dolinski spent Sunday with his daughter Danielle and her boyfriend Justin. They trolled offshore of Sanibel, producing several Spanish mackerel each. Danielle had the nice catch of the day, a 42-inch kingfish and a small amberjack, all on Yozuri lures.

Capt. Ron Kowalyk saw good action in Estero Bay and Pine Island Sound for reds, snook and trout last week.

"The big story is the tarpon are back and there's lots of bait at the passes and on the Gulf beaches," he said. "We jumped several tarpon last week in short order, working the early morning bite. Not much doing after 10 to 12 in the morning. We hooked good numbers of mixed-size snook, reds and some upper slot trout on whitebait. Flies, plugs and jerkbait took a share of the action."

Special to the Banner

Dave and goliath — A 200-plus pound goliath grouper that Capt. Dave Hanson wrestled to the surface and released on an offshore Fishbuster Charter late last month.

There were good reports from Matlacha and Matanzas Pass on snook, reds, trout, smaller tarpon. Off the beach, some of the nearshore reefs were holding groups of actively feeding cobia, sharks and giant jacks. The early incoming and afternoon outgoing tides were the best with little action at high-standing water. Night bites for release snook and oversized redfish were very good if you hadn't had your fill during the day.

Visit Kowalyk's Web site at www.fishswfla.com.

• From Captain's Corner: Keeping an eye on wind velocity and direction can help you get on and stay the bite. Last week the winds were often countering the early morning incoming tidal flow, causing lag time or diminished tidal flow in many areas. Although the surface water may not be moving in accordance with the predicted tidal phase, the sub-surface water may still be moving in the prescribed direction. If you want to get technical, refer to the tidal current tables and you can calculate the speed, direction, amplitude and lag times of tides by factoring in the wind speed, wind direction and its effect on tidal movement at varying charted locations.

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.