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Redfish University in Ambergris Caye, Belize from Nov.19-29, 2010

Redfish University is closed from November 19- November 29, 2010. We are in Ambergris Caye, Belize chasing bonefish, permit, tarpon and snook. A little diving, snorkeling, cave-tubing, horseback riding, sailing, Thanksgiving lobster, ceviche and yellowtail, rum and Belikens as well! If anyone needs me, I’m at the pool. Back next Sunday. Thanks, Eric...

Big Redfish after poor bottom fishing at Redfish University-November 18, 2010

My last trip before heading to Ambergris Caye, Belize for ten days. I am ready! Had a couple fellas who wanted to pull on some fish this morning for a few hours. Started at 700am and filled the livewell with beautiful 4″ menhaden and 4-6″ mullet. For those interested in finding some quality live bait, the ponds on the south side of the bay along Ft. Pickens Rd. are packed with great numbers of both mullet and menhaden. Hit some bottom structure for about 45 minutes without a bite. Slow water? Incoming tide? I don’t know. Packed those rods up and pulled out the light tackle. Ran out of the Pass to the west side and found plenty of bait and birds. No visible signs of large redfish but we found soon enough that they were on the down-current side of the bait and near the bottom. A few other boats were up-current and didn’t see them with fish. Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads with 1/4oz. Marsh Works Bull Red jigheads and 3/4oz. Johnson Spoons worked great. I wouldn’t say there was a lot of redfish in the area and I don’t have a bottomfinder on the 21 Redfisher but they were definitely down-current waiting for the bait to come to them. Pulled on fish for a few hours and headed in at 1000am to pack for Belize. The bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, rum and cold Belikens are waiting for me. Look for some more RU reports after November 29. E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view...

Instructional Excellence at Redfish University-November 15, 2010

Redfish University has really gained a reputation for excellence in the area of instructional/location-based/technique guided fishing trips. We are finding that many local and visiting anglers are taking advantage of this unparalleled and untapped resource. The instructional curriculum at Redfish U. remains fluid and a work in progress, and always will, as each trip and angler will dictate levels of educational intensity. Also the fact that I, and every angler, should learn something new on each fishing outing, the curriculum continues to get even better. Of course, we catch plenty of the targeted species, but these excursions are centered around where to be, when to be there, what to look for and what these fish are biting. Guided Mr. Bob Simmons in the northern bay areas this morning to concentrate on redfish, speckled trout and even largemouth and striped bass areas of interest. I think Bob found it very interesting to catch a redfish, a trout and a bass in the same areas! Covered some great areas and showed Bob everything I know about inshore fishing from setup techniques, casting, knot-tying, bait selection, line selection, leader selection to shallow water, deeper water and even introduced the dreaded popping cork with which we actually scored some very nice fish. Anyway, a very fun trip before the rains and winds really kicked up. For those interested, there isn’t a better way more efficient way to learn target and species specific areas than by booking an instructional/location/techniques(I need a clever name for these guided trips!) guided trip at Redfish University! You”ll save the fee in fuel money in a few months!! Lots of instructional trips on the books so please plan ahead. No photos today, forgot my camera. Happy Fishing! Eric...

Redfish in the shallows at Redfish University-November 12, 2010

Got back to what Redfish University knows best today and that’s shallow water redfish. Guided Bob Willice and his friend Tarpon Bob for just that. Today I introduced the fellas to the most technical, skillful and challenging style of fishing on the Gulf Coast. Tarpon Bob and I discussed the bonefish in Belize and S. Florida so I wanted to demonstrate how similar sight fishing is for redfish here on the “Redneck Riveria.” Travelled to the country in search of shallow, muddy banks and flats. It was a little slow to begin with up to the north but we made some adjustments and found plenty of quality redfish that were very willing to inhale Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo. We really caught some high quality, stout fish today in the 25-27″ range that were very fat and heavy. We also found some decent speckled trout in small schools on the flats and actually saw some really large ones as well. The bonus for the day was a 25# drum milling down a bank. After a few well-placed casts from Tarpon Bob with the Jerkshads and no reaction, I grabbed a Gulp! 2″ Crab in Amber Glow for Bob. A great cast followed and the beast tailed on the Crab in 2′ of water. Solid hookup and a lazy fight as usual from these black drum. Anyway, lots of fun sight fishing today with two skilled anglers. All fish released. Book now and experience why Redfish University is your choice for shallow water angling on the Gulf Coast! E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow. ...

Day 4-Bay bottom fishing for the finale at Redfish University-November 11, 2010

Well, perhaps Monday night I should have taken my own advice and attended the HLS Seminar Series that I created six years ago. Could have used Chris and Matt’s tips and tricks today! Started early with the Enabnits and had a little trouble finding some quality live bait. We finally stubbled upon some perfect 4-5″ menhaden(not the big ones but the mediums), figured out how to open my 12′ bait net properly and filled the well with beauties with one cast. Arrived at a field of bottom structure and deployed the snacks. I wish today was Friday because we could have limited on 3-8lb. snapper but the grouper were nowhere to be found today. We did have a handful of big bites and structure breaks but who knows, it could have been big snapper or even sharks. None of the big, mindless redfish either. We gave it a lengthy try and decided to split and see if there was any bull redfish or pompano along the beach. Nothing. Packed up the gear at 1030am and made a quick, 70mph run to the eastern Sound. Poled the fellas down some beautiful flats filled with redfish. Dead wind, calm conditions and very little water movement made it predictably difficult but we got a few fish to bite. Ran to another less pressured area to the south and again, found plenty of redfish. Secretly, I got a few to mouth then drop a bait but we really found it difficult to entice the fish at midday even when we spotted them from an absurd distance. Anyway, we had a fantastic four days of fishing with more redfish than we could count but today was not the finale we were hoping for. Brett and Bryan returned to Atlanta with some high quality angling knowledge, a few coolers packed with redfish and an excellent “Redfish on the Halfshell” recipe from yours truly. Looking forward to the Enabnits next week-long visit for some more fishing. Back to the bread and butter tomorrow and the shallow water redfish with one of my favorite clients. Book now to experience the wonder of Redfish University. Please click an image to enlarge...

Day 3-Epic 25+redfish trip at Redfish University-November 10, 2010

For Day 3 with the Enabnits, we decided to head over to Orange Beach and target some redfish in the marshy creeks on the falling tide. It was a race to beat the falling water so we worked smartly and very quickly. For this type of red fishing, a small spoon, small spinnerbait or jerkshad in the prefered method but with beginners to this tricky fishery and relatively inexperienced anglers, a Marsh Works Big Poppy cork with a 3″ Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny proved most productive. We did get into some topwater action as well. As expected, we found very clear and very shallow water where redfish between 23-27″ were observed spraying shrimp along the marshy banks and inside creeks. Most areas held a feeding fish every ten yards. Most fish were found on the banks with their backs and eyes out of the water but we also launched corks down the middle and outwards to produce many redfish as well. Because the fellas wanted some redfish to take back to Atlanta, we concentrated on securing our limit quickly which only took about 20 minutes. After that, we screwed around with the video camera and launched topwaters at them which dramatically reduced the hookups for the trigger-happy anglers:) It was very fun and amusing to watch!! Anyway, it was a great morning with action around every corner and it was fantastic to introduce the enthusiastic anglers to this style of fishing. Many wait a lifetime to experience this morning’s stellar redfish conditions!! We didn’t count but 25+ redfish between 22-27″ is a safe estimate. Ended the morning at Lulu’s for some pints and appetizers. The Shrimp Quesadilla is very nice. Angler’s choice tomorrow but I think they want to take it easy, sip some beers and do some bottom fishing in the bay for grouper or whatever. Not my favorite or expertise but maybe they just need a break from all the redfish. In any event, it should be interesting!! How hard can it be? Book now to experience your own epic redfish trip at Redfish University. Openings after December 7 unless we have a cancellation. Thanks, E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow. *Viewer warning* Video contains an F-bomb...

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