Guided Mr. Taylor Whitaker this morning down in Navarre. Met Taylor at the boat ramp near Guana’s so that his wife would have the car for the day and we were off. Eastern Santa Rosa Sound near Navarre is an area Redfish University hasn’t covered in a while so we ran to some productive areas that I have fished a ton in the past. Topwaters drew some big trout immediately with some 20-25″redfish mixed in. Concentrated over grass bottom with large schools of mullet. As the sun rose, we travelled back to the east towards The Narrows in Ft. Walton and were able to find small groups of redfish crusing the flats and banks. Spoons for blindcasting and Gulp! Ghost Shrimp were very successful for the sight fishing. We were also able to catch some more speckled trout as well. All in all, a great day of fishing and catching in an area that we hadn’t fished in four month or so. Looking forward to some Redfish U. trips coming up in Panama City and Destin. RU will be taking clients to the west for sightfishing specific redfish...
Read MoreAn unconventional trip at Redfish University-August 21, 2010
Guided Dr. Roger Orth this morning. Roger is one of my favorite and best clients. Each time I guide Roger, we try to do something different whether it’s a different species of fish, locations or various techniques. We have mastered the speckled trout, shallow water redfish, big redfish, flounder, pompano, huge jacks or more. Today our focus was sharks and Spanish mackerel in Pensacola Bay. Started at 500am and ran in the dark to an area known for small pods of tarpon. Patiently waited for about 30 minute but only saw one fish roll. Not enough bait so we moved on. Stopped and picked up 7-8 small ladyfish for shark bait and arrived at our first location around 730am. Lots of bait very close to the bank being pounded by huge ladyfish and a few redfish. Broken out the flyrods and had some fun with the ladyfish. Traveled the Pass and lower bay areas in search of Spanish mackerel. Found plenty of small fish with a few decent ones mixed in. Strangely, we didn’t find a group of bait, ladyfish or Spanish mackerel with sharks in them. Normally, it’s no problem but, of course, today…. Anyway, we did end up seeing two sharks in shallow water that were not interested at all. Also, found some small groups of big jacks at various locations but they were moving quickly and would vanish. Fun day of catching lots of fish but really didn’t find quality fish in our target species of the month. Next time, Roger and I will travel to West Bay and Destin for some spectacular sightfishing for redfish and big trout in very clear water. Gotta make up for today’s...
Read MoreRedfish and trout on a client’s new Pathfinder at Redfish University-August 20, 2010
Guided Mr. Edwin Yee and his son, Jordan, this morning. Edwin is the new owner of a beautiful 22 Pathfinder from The Ships Chandler in Destin, FL. Edwin and Jordan wanted to become a bit more familiar with the boat’s capabilities and find some places to catch fish on it in Pensacola Bay. I think both goals were accomplished today. Started out with some topwaters and suspending hardbaits in shallow water. Found plenty of small speckled trout with a few nice one mixed in. It seems some areas have been infested with ladyfish, small Spanish mackerel, sharks and big jacks. Not an optimal quartet for consistent catches of redfish and trout. Travelled to some other productive areas and found the action to be abnormally slow. We did catch some quality 3-4# trout but it was one here, one there and very spotty. Ran north to find some redfish in shallow, muddy areas and found huge amounts of bait in one large pocket. Pulled a few decent redfish out of there and struggled after 1000am with slow water and minimal concentrations of fish. I sure wish the rains and winds would stop for a while!! All fish release except a few nice trout and redfish for the grill. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Read MoreHard winds, easy fish at Redfish University-August 17, 2010
Today, it was very, very windy! Guided Mr. Bill Mathis this morning for some inshore action. Trailered the boat to our chosen area for fishing and got started at 515am. Fished some protected and somewhat protected banks with lots of mullet activity. Started catching quality speckled trout immediately and even found the recently elusive redfish as well. Fished that area well and then took off for some tall tree-lined banks in search of more fish. Redfish U’s Hewes 21 Redfisher doesn’t experience big water like that often but it performed beautifully. Tabs down, 40 mph, comfortable and as dry as a bone. The best flats boat made!! Anyway, we had some sun and falling water so I asked, “Would you like to see some redfish and trout?” We saw a very good amount of both and the fish were very cooperative. Small to medium redfish and 1-3# trout could be seen and caught pretty easily. Fun morning and back around 930am. All fish taken on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads, 3″ Shrimp and 2″Crabs rigged on Marsh Works jigheads. Really challenging conditions the past few days but I guess we lucked out. Or maybe we didn’t! Find them and you’ll catch...
Read MoreWind and freshwater but lots of speckled trout at Redfish University-August 16, 2010
Trying to catch up on some rescheduled trips from last week’s Tropical Depression and overall crap weather. Guided Mr. Mitch Smith this morning and took a bumpy ride east in search of some redfish and trout. Started at first light with a 4# trout. Nice start but it was really hit or miss at several places today. Concentrated on a stretch of pretty clear water with depths ranging from 2-4′. Got quite a few 2-3# fish on topwaters but the fish were pretty difficult to raise because of the freshwater invasion in these areas. Fortunately, a loud subsurface bait did the trick and lots of very nice trout fell victim to the bait. We were also able to get several fish on the Berkley Powerbaits with rattle inserts. Come to think of it, we should have thrown the Berkley Rattle Shrimp in today’s yucky water. Oh well, Mitch received a few in his Redfish University goodies bag so maybe he’ll use them on his next trout fishing adventure. Covered lots of water this morning and only found big concentrations of fish in one big area so that’s where we returned. We saw a few redfish and redfish wakes but only one strike which spit the hook. Today’s trout total was 25-30 fish of all sizes, even caught a half trout after a shark clipped him in half. Hopefully the rain will stop in the next few days and the fishing will get a little better but we’re not complaining. Today’s tip: Clean, moving water with bait. No photos...
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