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.
Aug28
Quote of the morning, “I can handle the rain if you can!” Guided Mr. Gerald Smith this morning. Gerald had no problem with the forecast and I was very excited about the challenge of fishing in less than ideal conditions. Grabbed my Patagonia Rain Shadow jackets and pants for both of us and some awesome Yamaha Pro gear as well and we were underway. Started at 530am with calm conditions and no rain yet. Travelled way to the east and found the topwater bite again to be on fire. Boated countless speckled trout between 14-23″ with a massive fish pushing 7# lost at the boat. We also picked up some decent 20-24″ redfish in the same areas. As the heavy rains approached with switched to sub-surface hardies and I tried a Marsh Works Big Poppy cork with a 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in white about 12″ below my cork. Both of us continued to catch one fish after another. We didn’t travel much due to the heavy blinding rains but we did dodge several storms with the use of the Yamaha SHO Vmax 250 at speeds approaching 70...
Aug27
Very, very, very busy at Redfish University!! September is filling up so book now! Guided Mr. Paul Heatherington this morning for a short early morning trip in north Pensacola Bay. Cloud cover and approaching storms made this morning a topwater anglers dream. Ran in the dark to get the first light bite and absolutely crushed the fish. Threw topwater in shallow water and landed countless speckled trout between 15-23″ with some 4-5# redfish in the mix. Only two areas really held fish this morning but there must have been hundreds of fish in these small areas. Total 30-40 trout and a handful of redfish. Back at the ramp at 830am. Lots of trips for the rest of August and September is filling up. Book now to secure a spot at Redfish University. You’ll be very glad you did!! E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Aug27
Lots and lots of trips coming up. September is getting packed so book now! Guided Mr. Fred Stevenson this morning down in Santa Rosa Sound. Started at 530am and got on an epic topwater bite. Solid speckled trout with some decent redfish mixed in all morning. Switched to Johnson Gold Spoons around 8am and picked off cruising redfish on the southside until 1100am. Total for the morning was 40+ speckled trout(most 16-18″ with some 22″+) and 13 redfish on all sizes(17-28″) Epic trip with a great...
Aug23
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...
Aug22
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...
Aug20
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...
