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.
Nov29
Recently, we returned to one of our favorite destinations and my home away from home for the Thanksgiving break. Travelled to Belize with my wife, Tracy, and this time, we brought along our friends Scott and Susan George, and one of Tracy’s colleagues, Lea. With the exception of our arrival day, the weather cooperated beautifully. The twenty-five minute flight on the private plane from Belize City to the island was pretty eventfully in very stormy conditions and made the approach to the island’s very small and very narrow runway extremely tricky. Needless to say, a few One Barrels were polished off at the house. My friend Scott and I quickly unpacked our arsenal of rods, reels and tackle already waiting for us and we were off in search of bonefish, permit, tarpon and snook on the shallow Belizean flats of Chetumal and Savannah as well as the surrounding lagoons containing cenotes. Scott is an experienced bass angler and was really looking forward to the fantastic shallow water angling in Central America. When we’re in Belize and being flats boatless...
Nov19
Redfish University is closed from November 19- November 29, 2010. We are in Ambergris Caye, Belize chasing bonefish, permit, tarpon and snook. A little diving, snorkeling, cave-tubing, horseback riding, sailing, Thanksgiving lobster, ceviche and yellowtail, rum and Belikens as well! If anyone needs me, I’m at the pool. Back next Sunday. Thanks, Eric...
Nov18
My last trip before heading to Ambergris Caye, Belize for ten days. I am ready! Had a couple fellas who wanted to pull on some fish this morning for a few hours. Started at 700am and filled the livewell with beautiful 4″ menhaden and 4-6″ mullet. For those interested in finding some quality live bait, the ponds on the south side of the bay along Ft. Pickens Rd. are packed with great numbers of both mullet and menhaden. Hit some bottom structure for about 45 minutes without a bite. Slow water? Incoming tide? I don’t know. Packed those rods up and pulled out the light tackle. Ran out of the Pass to the west side and found plenty of bait and birds. No visible signs of large redfish but we found soon enough that they were on the down-current side of the bait and near the bottom. A few other boats were up-current and didn’t see them with fish. Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads with 1/4oz. Marsh Works Bull Red jigheads and 3/4oz. Johnson Spoons worked great. I wouldn’t say there was...
Nov15
Redfish University has really gained a reputation for excellence in the area of instructional/location-based/technique guided fishing trips. We are finding that many local and visiting anglers are taking advantage of this unparalleled and untapped resource. The instructional curriculum at Redfish U. remains fluid and a work in progress, and always will, as each trip and angler will dictate levels of educational intensity. Also the fact that I, and every angler, should learn something new on each fishing outing, the curriculum continues to get even better. Of course, we catch plenty of the targeted species, but these excursions are centered around where to be, when to be there, what to look for and what these fish are biting. Guided Mr. Bob Simmons in the northern bay areas this morning to concentrate on redfish, speckled trout and even largemouth and striped bass areas of interest. I think Bob found it very interesting to catch a redfish, a trout and a bass in the same areas! Covered some great areas and showed Bob everything I know about inshore fishing from setup techniques, casting, knot-tying, bait selection, line selection, leader selection to shallow water, deeper...
Nov12
Got back to what Redfish University knows best today and that’s shallow water redfish. Guided Bob Willice and his friend Tarpon Bob for just that. Today I introduced the fellas to the most technical, skillful and challenging style of fishing on the Gulf Coast. Tarpon Bob and I discussed the bonefish in Belize and S. Florida so I wanted to demonstrate how similar sight fishing is for redfish here on the “Redneck Riveria.” Travelled to the country in search of shallow, muddy banks and flats. It was a little slow to begin with up to the north but we made some adjustments and found plenty of quality redfish that were very willing to inhale Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo. We really caught some high quality, stout fish today in the 25-27″ range that were very fat and heavy. We also found some decent speckled trout in small schools on the flats and actually saw some really large ones as well. The bonus for the day was a 25# drum milling down a bank. After a few well-placed casts from Tarpon...
Nov11
Well, perhaps Monday night I should have taken my own advice and attended the HLS Seminar Series that I created six years ago. Could have used Chris and Matt’s tips and tricks today! Started early with the Enabnits and had a little trouble finding some quality live bait. We finally stubbled upon some perfect 4-5″ menhaden(not the big ones but the mediums), figured out how to open my 12′ bait net properly and filled the well with beauties with one cast. Arrived at a field of bottom structure and deployed the snacks. I wish today was Friday because we could have limited on 3-8lb. snapper but the grouper were nowhere to be found today. We did have a handful of big bites and structure breaks but who knows, it could have been big snapper or even sharks. None of the big, mindless redfish either. We gave it a lengthy try and decided to split and see if there was any bull redfish or pompano along the beach. Nothing. Packed up the gear at 1030am and made a quick, 70mph run to the...
