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The Redfish University Difference-October 26, 2009

Another way Redfish University separates itself and rises above the rest is through extensive preparation. Redfish University makes a huge effort to provide it’s clients with the best possible chance of catching excellent numbers of redfish. This means prefishing, and this Sunday and Monday were no exception. Weekly, these two days are designated to allow Redfish University to locate the largest numbers of redfish possible to insure its clients receive the highest quality experience possible. Redfish University is an instructional guide service and, for the most part, it’s curriculum will remain seasonally constant and will provide its clients with the absolute best knowledge and techniques available. The one variable that continues to change and, will forever be unpredictable, are wind, weather, tides, temperatures, etc. This is where Redfish University rises above the rest and places its clients on the most fish, everytime. The last few days of prefishing proved that there are decent concentrations of fish in very few places. Last week, I am very confident that the areas we covered were the most populated areas with the most cooperative fish. We know where we will be this week and we also know where we won’t be. These were productive days. See everyone soon. Eric...

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Redfish, Trout, Flounder and Stripers at Redfish U.-October 24, 2009

Guided Mr. George Converse and his friend from Birmingham this morning. These guys were excellent anglers and really fun to fish with! I was a little concerned with the passing front, the high pressure and the west wind, but we really caught alot of fish today. With all species being pretty sluggish today, we focused on very,very slow retrieve techniques, boat positioning for optimal casting angles and the use of worm rattles in our Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads rigged with 1/4oz. Marsh Works bull red jigheads. We found plenty of redfish and trout on some wind-blown banks and creek drains. We also picked off some nice trout and flounder in some open-water areas with uneven bottom. To our surprise, 2 small striped bass were brought to the boat. Bait presentation and rattle was the key today. We focused on areas where there were good numbers of fish and used a “tap, tap, tap, stop” retrieval which proved to be too much for the fish to handle. Lots of bites on resting baits, pick-ups and falls which indicated these fish were following and interested, but just needed to smell the Gulp!  All together we stuck 12-15 Redfish of all sizes, 15-20 trout from 12-17″, a 3# flounder and 2 striped bass. A great day under difficult conditions. Please click on a photo to...

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Windy and dirty but success at Redfish U.-October 22, 2009

Guided Mr. and Mrs. Barry James this morning and we were met with EXTREMELY windy and dirty water conditions. Rattle inserts and boat positioning were the name of the game in these very difficult, but not impossible, conditions. Started out with some nice legal trout(12-15) on some dropoffs and then targeted some redfish on some shallow water flats.  Since we were fishing in whitecap conditions, the Power-Pole really came in handy as we methodically covered water that is known to hold redfish in any situation. Ended up sticking 10-12 small fish and kept one nice fish for the grill. All fish caught on Gulp! Jerkshads in camo with rattle inserts rigged with 1/4oz. Marsh Works Bull Red jigheads. 10# Ultracast InvisiBraid performs incredibly, especially in these conditions. Sensitivity and zero wind-knots!! Please click on photos to...

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It’s Time at Redfish University-October 17, 2009

Redfish University welcomes the first significant cold-front of the Fall. Redfish U. has been waiting for a week like next week all year. As the water temperature drops and the water levels fall  to extremes, the redfishing will become more predictable and 15-25 redfish days will be very common. Less water means less places to hide and the redfish will begin to concentrate in groups in shallow and relatively warmer water. Water clarity is also a huge plus this time of year as the rainy days become less numerous as the cooler temperatures arrive. Looking forward to showing all my clients some very aggressive redfish in the coming months!! See ya soon, Eric Holstman Click on this photo of a quality redfish on warm mud taken by Pete...

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Gulf Coast report from Redfish University-Oct. 13, 2009

Hello all! Full bookings for next week! For the anglers who are scheduled to fish with me after this cold front passes, get ready for hot and heavy shallow water action!! It’s going to be outstanding!!  With a little break in my busy guiding schedule, I thought I’d post a redfish report from Panama City to Hopedale, LA. Let’s begin to the east with Panama City, shall we? In the West Bay area, the redfishing has been superb. My favorite time to target these fish is about 2-3 hours before the low tide. The fish will exit the grassy banks and are much easier to catch. Long casts with Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo is the tickets. Areas such as North Bay, Breakfast Point and Botheration Bayou have been very consistent and 15-20 fish mornings are pretty easy to produce. Moving west to Destin, Hogtown Bayou has been hit or miss. Lots of small fish can be taken on small Johnson Gold Spoons but the larger redfish can be difficult. The north banks of Choctawhatchee Bay have turned on and the larger redfish can be sightfished on the sand and grass flats. Santa Rosa Sound will be winding down soon as the temperatures drop. Redfish can still be found around Tiger Point and the Narrows east of Navarre. Don’t expect to find large concentrates of fish in the Sound, but there are a few decent groups around. East Bay and Blackwater continue to improve weekly. Lots of fish in few places, but this will change after this weekends cold front. The cooler weather makes these fish very aggressive and trips of 20-30 fish are not uncommon. Not a huge fan of Escambia Bay, but you’ll find a few fish over there as well. Mobile Bay is producing good number of fish on the southside. Grassy banks and banks with creeks have been pretty good. Spinnerbaits and popping corks from Marsh Works have taken large amounts of quality redfish. Dauphin Island also has some fish in the shallow water areas. Pascagoula River is always a hot spot in the fall. Large flats on the river banks will hold great groups of...

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