The Gulf Coast's Ultimate Angling Experience!
Best Rates on the Gulf Coast!! $600 (1-2 anglers) for 5 hours. $50 for each additional angler up to 4 total anglers. Includes Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Navarre and Pensacola Beach. Call (850) 748-4368 or email ericholstman@hotmail.com. *(Adjusted for fuel prices on July 1, 2022)
Welcome to Redfish University in Pensacola, Florida
Redfish University is a unique opportunity for beginner, intermediate and advanced level anglers to improve their skills in the art of shallow water fishing for redfish, speckled trout, pompano and flounder. Redfish U. specializes in the challenging realm of sight fishing for redfish with the use of artificial baits. Redfish U. also targets speckled trout, flounder, pompano and bull redfish on traditional guided fishing trips. Our extraordinary curriculum insures that no detail is overlooked. From bait choices and line selection; to casting presentation and approaching your target, you will receive unsurpassed angling instruction. Challenge yourself, broaden your angling knowledge and invest in your fishing future at Redfish University.
Jun03
Guided Jay and Tommy White this morning in East Bay and Pensacola. The fellas are excellent bass fisherman from Memphis and wanted to catch some inshore saltwater species “bass-style.” We made a short run east and stopped in an area with mullet jumping everywhere. Handed the Whites some Penn Conquer 2000/Abu Garcia Verdict combos with small topwaters and they really put on a show. I think the first few big explosions really caught the anglers off guard. The classic bass fishing hook set was in full swing! I mean these guys have neck-breaking hookset techniques. After some laughing and ribbing, they got the steady pull back technique mastered and nearly every fish made a connection. It’s really almost better to work topwaters with your eyes closed and only side-set when you have tension. It’s a very good trick that will produce twice as many fish. Found the small fish outside the mullet and the large ones inside. We also got a few decent redfish as well. Travelled into Escambia Bay to find some big trout on some eastern mudflats. Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in...
Jun01
Took a nice little break, passing on trips over the Memorial Day weekend and was met with some very warm conditions this morning. Guided Martin Peters and his children, Victor and Eva, for some hot action in East Bay. Martin is the Communications and Dealer Education Manager for Yamaha Marine Group in Kennesaw, GA. I always enjoy having the “big guys” at Yamaha, Pure Fishing, Maverick, etc. come down for some fishing here in Pensacola. Started early and ran to East Bay. Stopped at an area infested with speckled trout and the anglers immediately started yanking fish. Little Eva was pretty new to fishing so I was able to help her on the bow one-on-one with her casting and techniques. It wasn’t long before she was sailing her topwater baits, demonstrating a classic dog-walk and catching one nice speckled trout after another. I guide very few kids at Redfish University but after today and seeing her pure euthusiasm and excitement, it’s really something I would love to see more at Redfish U. in the future. Martin and Victor held their own, sticking several nice fish with some quality redfish in...
May26
Guided Nick Terrell this morning for a tour of Pensacola, Escambia, Blackwater and East Bays. Started around 530am in windy and slow water conditions. A great day to just show Nick some great areas but we were also interested in testing some areas for fish numbers so that he’d be comfortable returning to fish some areas in much better conditions. The fish proved to be a little sluggish but wind right baits, positioning and techniques, plenty of speckled trout of all sizes and even some nice redfish were found and landed. Mullet and bait were difficult to find today with the snail paced tides but found enough to target the trout and redfish inside these schools. With slow water movement like we had today, it is important to concentrate in areas with a cross-wind or even wind blown banks where the water movement is actually enhanced by the wind. If we had a calm wind this morning, things may have been pretty difficult so the wind isn’t always the enemy. We tossed some Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads and Shrimp with Woody’s rattles to produce...
May24
Guided Mike Coleman and his wife, Erin, this morning. The Coleman drove all the way from their vacation spot in Panama City to get some eats last night at Peg Legs and fish today with me. Mike is down from Bentonville, AR. and handles the Pure Fishing(Berkley, Penn, Abu Garcia, All-Star, Fenwick, etc.) durables for all the Wal-Mart fishing departments along the Gulf Coast. We met at several meetings at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville in the past few years. Lots of the guys have come down to fish with me and have allowed me to assist and consult their reps while visiting Wal-Mart stores here in our area. Got a late start at 545am and ran east into East Bay where we had some stiff winds out the southwest. Approached our bank in choppy but managable conditions. We tossed a few Sebile Bonga topwaters but the wave action really made it difficult for the fish to target and find the baits. Skipped the Stick Shadds and went directly to the Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo and watermelon. Because the wind and chop had been hitting the...
May23
Guided Mr. Randy Hamilton, Director of Marketing, Advertising and Website operations at Redfish University, this morning for few hours(530am-730am) to get him on the water and to check some areas for speckled trout and redfish. We saw the same huge alligator today and got some more photos. Before we got started, we decided to have a friendly tournament this morning with the loser buying lunch and a few rounds of posh, dark pints. Randy is an excellent angler and nearly as insanely competitive as I am so I knew he would work hard and produce lots of fish. Started with identical topwater baits, rods, reels, line and leader. We immediately started pounding quality trout. Randy got the first and it went to 5-all in no time. Then I hit a slump as Randy quickly jumped to a 12-6 lead. Suddenly, I hear and feel quite a commotion from the back of the boat and some strange gibberish that I couldn’t make out. He was pointing to something in the water and talking in tongues when suddenly, he leaps into the waist deep...
May21
Guided Miles Dobbs today for some speckled trout and redfish action in Pensacola, Escambia and East Bays. Miles in a college bass angler from East Texas so it was great to watch him work. Started at first light with some big, medium and small speckled trout over in East Bay. We also got some medium redfish along the banks with a couple big fish the pounded the baits but missed the hooks. When the sun got high we hit some docks on the south side of East Bay to grab some more trout on Gulp! Jerkshads. Made our last stop over in Escambia and concentrated on the eastern shore for a few hours and found plenty of quality trout to eat our Jerkys. Moved to the west side of the bay and found weekend warriors crawling all over the banks along Scenic. I guess the secret is out, but it is Saturday, isn’t it. Hit the banks a few times and picked up five 2-3# speckled trout and one 4# redfish. Ran south to a back up bank and found some more decent trout and...
