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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.

Classroom Reports

More Reports »
Apr05

Day 1- Challenging but they couldn’t hide for long at Redfish University-April 5, 2011

Guided Mr. Paul Murphy for Day 1 of a two day booking. After last night’s downpours, high winds, erratic pressure, a 30 degree temperature change and today’s blue-bird skies with heavy winds, I figured today was going to be a bit challenging. Fished the northern reaches of the Pensacola Bay system before all the dirty, fresh water entered the bay. Started out at 630am with 20-25 mph winds and very cool conditions. Hit some areas normally full of fish and stuck a few decent trout and small redfish. Made a quick milk-run with similar results. Changed the plan and hit some areas with deeper pockets and dropoffs and eventually found plenty of redfish, even some double hookups in the mix. Right on the bottom and a very slow tapping retrieve was the key. That and some worm rattles which work wonders in stained or dirty water. Found lots of redfish in the 18-25″ range with some nice trout mixed in. A very challenging morning but we figured it out pretty quickly. All fish released and looking forward to a...

Apr01

Cloudy day sight fishing at Redfish University-March, 31 2011

Guided Joe Gallagher and his son, Ryan, this morning. The guys wanted to catch big redfish so we made a short run to some flats that have been holding these fish. Low-light conditions made it challenging for us to see them but we were able to spot several in very shallow water and get baits in front of a few. We also discovered that many were just milling the deeper drops along the edges as the sun wasn’t cooperating. The Berkley Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo did the trick and the guys wore out their arms on some huge fish. Please click an image to...

Mar30

An instructive and productive afternoon at Redfish University-March 29, 2011

Guided Mr. Frank Brueske and his son-in-law, Chris, this afternoon for some fishing in the northern reaches of the Pensacola Bay system. Frank spends most of his time in Escambia Bay so I really wanted to broaden his angling knowledge and locations. Started at 1:30pm with a soft easterly breeze and incoming water. Didn’t take long for Frank and Chris to stick some quality speckled trout on Gulp! baits and hardbaits. Travelled a bit further south and fished some very productive banks for redfish and found some cooperate fish including Frank’s 24″ fatty that crushed his Gulp! 5″ Jerkshad in camo. Fished several more areas and had success pretty much everywhere. Hopefully Frank and Chris have found some very productive areas for redfish and trout and will have much success in the future. Probably a cancelled trip tomorrow because of the weather but trips the rest of this week and next so I’ll have some more awesome Redfish University reports. April is almost filled but still have openings in May so book now to experience the wonder of Redfish...

Mar22

Some Chicks Fish Too hotties at Redfish University-March 19, 2011

Hey! I like fishing and I like beautiful women, so today was a great day. Got out for a few hours this morning to get some footage for Chicks Fish Too. A buddy of mine in South Florida runs the gig and my website designer and marketing genius, Randy Hamilton, handles his site and marketing as well. Found an area with lots of big redfish, beautiful water and got some really nice photos. I went into the process assuming I would be hooking fish and handing off but I was mistaken. I pointed, they recognized the fish, made very good casts and they hooked them solo. Very cool to see. Anyway, got 5-6 big fish and cruised back to Pensacola Beach for a day at the beach, a fabulous lunch and a few cocktails. Travelling a bit this week and sorting my new boat, so I’ll report back next week with many more reports. E Holstman  Please click an image to...

Mar22

A father and son day to remember at Redfish University-March 18, 2011

Guided Steve and his  eight year old son Tyler this morning in search of speckled trout and some big redfish for Tyler to pull on. Found some nice trout around Gulf Breeze and then we hit some clear shallow flats where I was able to introduce Tyler to some very exciting sight fishing. This sand flat was full of redfish of all sizes and they were incredibly easy to catch which provided tons of fun for the fellas. Ended up picking up 15-20 redfish as they came by in singles-triples and Tyler even hooked several himself which resulted in an early afternoon nap. I know he’s hooked now but we’ll work on his endurance. All fish released and had a dead camera battery but I was sure to charge it thoroughly for Saturday morning’s trip. You”ll see what I mean. E...

Mar17

Another successful sight fishing day at Redfish University-March 17, 2011

Guided Travis and his father today. Took off at 1000am and cruised to some extremely productive flats for sight fishing redfish. It was a bit tricky today with tea-colored water and poor visibility. Made sure the fellas were supplied with my client pairs of Oakley Monster Dogs and Scalpels and it wasn’t long before we were seeing and catching some quality fish. Made a little milk-run and found great numbers of fish in each area and even caught some of those annoying redfish on the beach that have been pretty difficult as of late. Plus, the water was beautiful and very clear along the beach. I did see a few pompano including a 4-5# bruiser blazing through the surf. Hopefully one of the surf anglers didn’t lose a rod to that beast! Anyway, again tomorrow so I’ll report back then. A few dates left in March and April but they’re going fast. Book now to experience the thrill and knowledge of Redfish University. E Holstman Please click an image to...

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