Redfish University spends time from Port St. Joe Bay to Hopedale, LA. The majority of Redfish U’s traveling trips are located in Destin and Panama City. Today, I guided Mr. Bobby Stewart for some redfish(big and legal) and trout action in Destin, FL. Bobby is an accomplished bass fisherman and has some property in Ft. Walton so he wanted to learn about the inshore fishing in Choctawhatchee Bay and around Destin. Started very early with topwaters first fpr speckled trout and legal redfish. Pounded out some very nice trout and some medium redfish on topwater and spoons. Checked a few more areas and then headed to a flat with lots of redfish of all sizes. Superb, sunny and glassy conditions made it very easy for me to call out fish for Bobby who was pretty tuckered out from the early morning action. With his arms cramping, it was a pretty dirty trick to save the redfish festival for the last few hours of the morning. Bob had a blast!! Used 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in lime tiger to sight fish countless redfish from 28-40″. Bobby was able to see the fish, place the bait and watch these fish inhale his Gulp! bait. It was a bit challenging as these fish were not as easy to catch as usual, so a well-placed pitch was the key to our success. All fish released and the ice was saved for Bobby’s arms! I had a great time fishing with you, Bobby! Until time…. E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow....
Read MoreLots of fish at Redfish University-October, 6, 2010
Guided Mr. Keith Jones today for Day 1 of a two day trip. Late arrival, late start, so we launch at 200pm and set off to “just catch fish.” Made the run to Pensacola Pass and then down the beach to the east about 4 miles. Found an assortment of fish including Spanish mackerel, big ladyfish, big bluefish, sharks, pompano and even a few redfish. The water was very clear and very smooth so we looked for bait and fish in the shallow waters along the beach. Pretty fun afternoon of just catching an assortment of fish. All fish released and looking forward to the redfish and speckled trout early tomorrow morning. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Read MorePensacola Redfish and Speckled Trout at Redfish University-September 24, 2010
Guided Mr. James Dupont this morning for some Pensacola redfish and speckled trout action. The full moon is still here but we had much better tide movement today which resulted in fantastic catches of redfish and speckled trout. On the water at first light and started with topwater baits. Stuck some very nice trout and a few small redfish. After passing the area with topwater baits and getting some big redfish strikes, we came back through the same area with Johnson Gold Spoons and Gulp! Jerkshads in camo and mopped up. Ran a long distance to the east to an area with a huge concentration of redfish and continued the pounding. Ended the morning targeting deeper potholes in 4-8′ of water to finish the trip out nicely. With the full moon and slower water movement towards the end of the morning, a very soft, slow-rolled spoon, 10# fluoro, 8# InvisiBraid and long, accurate casts were the keys to our great success. In these conditions, a redfish prefers a slow, easy target. Most redfish in the 23-27″ range and all fish released. Book now to experience Redfish University! Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Read MoreDifficult but not impossible at Redfish University-September 23, 2010
Guided Mr. Mike Hancock this morning. We were a bit concerned with last night’s full moon and this morning’s very little water movement which is usually a sign of tough conditions. Today was no exception but thankfully the stiff east wind helped us produce some fish. I’m very happy that I was able to postpone yesterday’s guide trip as Wednesday would have been a real struggle. Started with topwater baits at first light and stuck some heavy speckled trout but the redfish were uncooperative with only a few followers and swing and misses. We did have one fish toy with the bait for about thirty feet and finally suck the bait but unfortunately it was lost at the boat. Made a long run and switched to Johnson Gold Spoons and Gulp! Ghost Shrimp. Lots of fish that probably dined all night! Ended up getting four and five redfish between 15-22″ but found the larger fish very stubborn. Naturally, these small redfish are more aggressive in difficult conditions and usually take a bait before the bigger fish. Our theory was proven a few times as most of the small redfish were accompanied by mid-slot and upper length fish. Not even a well-placed Gulp! Shrimp, Crab or 1/8oz. Johnson Gold Spoon could pull one of these fish off of a hooked redfish. Most unusual! We were pleased to catch some fish and I think we did as well as we could possibly do today. Conditions will no doubt change in the coming days and we’ll see huge catches of redfish and speckled trout follow. Book now to experience Redfish University. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Read MoreA plethora of redfish at Redfish University-September 21, 2010
Guided Mark and Cindy Welch this morning. Mark does some redfishing over in Louisiana with my friend, Anthony Randazzo, at Paradise Plus in Venice and wanted to catch lots of redfish today. Obviously, the LA marsh is far superior to our local redfish fishery but I had some ideas on where we could catch a ton of redfish. We caught a ton of redfish today! Started out early with topwater baits and found redfish and trout very cooperative. Around 800am, we made a very long run @ 70mph to an area that has huge concentrations of quality redfish that just love small Johnson Gold Spoons. Lots of double hookup with groups of 10-20 redfish cruising the banks and chasing down spoons from unheard of distances. Many times four or five fish would almost bump into each other competing for the bait. Good eyes, long casts and slow-rolling were the key as always. Didn’t keep count but 30-40 is a safe guess. A few 26-27″ fish rode with us during the morning only to be released at the end after the Welch’s decided not to take any home. Great day and fun folks to fish with. Book now to experience Redfish University. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
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