Guided some very good bass anglers from Arkansas this afternoon. In fact, one angler had never seen the saltwater and had never caught a saltwater fish. Fished the afternoon and immediately found some quality speckled trout and a few redfish. We really worked some areas slowly and methodically to produce our fish as they just didn’t want to commit to holding the bait. We did scale down our Gulp! to the 3″ Shrimp which helped a bit. Targeted some areas with hundreds of mullet but really didn’t hit the big numbers of redfish and speckled that we are accustom to. It was great to see our new saltwater angler picking off the speckled trout and even a nice redfish. These bass anglers are great at adjusting to the freshwater-like techniques here in Florida. I think switching to the InvisiBraid on my rods helped them recognize bite and make longer casts as they were using 10# fluoro on their own rods to start. Ended the afternoon by sticking some really nice speckled trout which were again schooling to the north. It really surprises me at the quality of some of these fish, some of which were in the 16-19″ range. We even nailed some on topwaters!! Today was a much needed catch-and-release trip. We’ve really been working the area over and taking a TON of speckled trout, redfish and flounder. Took it easy on them today. Thanks, E Holstman Please click an image to...

Performed a morning and an afternoon session today at Redfish University. Had some local anglers that wanted to get out and find some redfish and speckled trout. Both trips were a struggle and a bit slower than many recent trips but we eventually found what we were looking for. Fished deeper ledges to produce nice numbers of quality speckled trout and concentrated on shallow, mullet infested flats to find some redfish but the redfish really never came alive for us all day. The rising tide meant we’d find some big numbers of speckled trout to the north and they arrived like clock-work. Found some really large schools of speckled trout in the 14-18″ range and it was every cast. It was a really nice way to end a few average to below average trips. All fish caught on Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads and Gulp! 3″ Shrimp. A very, very slow presentation was a must. Some fish released, some went home for dinner. Thanks, E Holstman Please click an image to...

Guided some regular clients from Houston today in search of redfish, speckled trout and flounder. There were four anglers, so mom and dad were on the skiff and I had the college kids on my Pathfinder. These trips work out great with both boats fishing the same areas and making close-by drifts. These guys were fun to fish with and were great anglers. Lots of speckled trout to start and I limit came very quickly. Next we targeted redfish on shallow flats and hit our limit quickly. Rounded out the cooler with a nice flounder. Both boats produced great fish and much fun was had. Most fish released but many went home for dinner. Please click an image to...

Guided a few clients in Destin today. Started with some topwater for redfish and trout on some shallow flats on the north side of the bay. Found plenty of mullet and some decent redfish and a few speckled trout. When the sun rose, we took off for some clear flats to find the bull redfish. Please click an image to...

A nice string of early-week trips after a much needed vacation period. Guided groups of local anglers looking for instruction for redfish and speckled trout with artificial baits. Great tide movement and the action was superb althought Monday and Tuesday were a bit windy and rainy. Each trip began with loads of speckled trout and we found plenty of redfish on shallow water flats and sandbar ledges. As the tide rose, we found some flounder in a few shallow areas and, of course, we see more than we catch. Surprisely, there were an unusual amount of flounder in the backwater areas of Pensacola this Winter and early Spring. We used Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads and Johnson 1/4oz Spoons to take the speckled trout and redfish, respectively. All trips ended in a very exciting way. Right before sunset we will toss topwater Sebile Bongos over the shallow flats to produce great numbers of redfish and larger speckled trout. Most fish released and some made it home for dinner. Trips booked for the rest of the month and into April. Thank you everyone for starting 2012 with a BANG! at Redfish University. Take care, E Holstman Please click an image to...