Guided Mr. Morris Monroe this morning over in Destin, FL. Morris is the proud owner of a brand new 22 Pathfinder/Yamaha 150 decked out with a Power-Pole, Minnkota TM, Garmin Color GPS/Map and a kickin’ sound system purchased from The Ships Chandler in Destin, FL. Morris wanted to learn about the inshore redfish and trout fishery in Choctawhatchee Bay, particularly with the use of artificial baits. Started at first light with some great speckled trout action on topwater baits. We concentrated on protected banks filled with mullet and bait over broken grass/sand bottom. Lots of trout but also some undesirables including big bluefish, Spanish mackerel, medium bonito and ladyfish. As soon as the sun was high enough to sight fish we took off to some very productive banks filled up medium to upper length redfish. Switched over to Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons and looked for redfish amongst the hords of mullet. Since the tide was falling rapidly, we predictably found our redfish laying in relatively deeper troughs in 2-3 feet of water. Caught fish blindcasting to troughs and sight fished some as well. Morris, being primarily an offshore angler, got off to a bit of a slow start before really coming into his own to produce some small-medium redfish. I helped to catch his “redfish dinner” quite a few times over while also demonstrating the correct techniques in the process. Next time, Morris’ bounty will be his own! For an added challenged, we decided to make a run to some areas Redfish University has never fished before. Many times, replicating banks in terms of broken bottom, troughs and bait will produce results over and over again. This experiment was no exception as we found more redfish and even schools of great quality fish in packs of 20-30 fish. Stick-fest! Morris had the great opportunity to watch a beautiful redfish inhale his bait in very shallow water. Anyway, Morris now is very, very familiar and confident in some new areas around Destin to break in his new Pathfinder. Great numbers of redfish and trout this morning and Morris kept some fish for the grill. Book now to experience Redfish University!
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