You gotta love this time of year! Pre-cold front conditions can be outstanding for shallow water fishing as redfish, trout and flounder are predictably rabid one or two days before a major front. Today was no exception! The redfish were biting extremely well and we hit it on a superb tide. Guided Mr. Rick Olsen and Mr. Rob Roberts this morning in Mobile Bay/Orange Beach for some spectacular inshore redfish, trout and flounder action. Rick and Rob are seasoned offshore anglers but wanted to tighten up on some inshore techniques and prime locations where they can utilized Rick’s 22 Pathfinder. Made a pretty lengthy run and got started around 630am. Lots and lots of redfish were taken on Johnson Gold Spoons, Marsh Works Bayou Thumper spinnerbaits and Gulp! 3″ Shrimp in lime tiger under Marsh Works Big Poppys. The guys got to experience how effective corks are for locating fish. A few doubles and even a triple hookup today! We even got some huge flounder in the mix as well as some small speckled trout. Total for the day was over 30 Redfish in the 3-6# range, lots of trout and a few big flounder. The fellas kept some redfish and flounder for dinner. Rick and Rob are set for inshore fishing!! Book now to experience Redfish University! Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Read MoreRedfish University on a Saturday morning!-October 23, 2010
Redfish University NEVER guides on the weekends but for Redfish U. VIP’s, we make exceptions. Guided Dr. Edwin Yee, his son Jordan and friend Andy this morning in some northern areas of the bay system to find some redfish and speckled trout as well as to introduce them to some new areas to them that will be very, very productive in the coming weeks. Launched Edwin’s beautiful 22 Pathfinder/F150 Yamaha at first light and got to work. Full moon, high pressure, low/dead water made things difficult but not impossible. There was a real lack of mullet this morning but we found some redfish hanging on muddy banks to draw some topwater strikes. Very uncooperative fish today with only a few fish caught but we had some great strikes as well. With total home renovation in the process at the Holstman residence, I departed a little early to meet the interior designer and theater room specialist, and sent the crew a bit further south where I hear they found a few more redfish. Hopefully, this trip was extremely productive in a few other ways (locations, techniques and bait selections) because there wasn’t much rod bending this morning. The guys are still out there as I write so maybe as the water begins to move, things will improve. All fish released. Lots of trips again next week(full in fact) so look for more reports soon. Book now to experience the absolute best in inshore angling with Redfish...
Read MoreBack to Destin for Redfish University-October 22, 2010
Many anglers have found yesterday’s report from Destin visually stimulating. As a result, it looks like Redfish University will be spending quite a bit of time in Destin in the near future. Did a little overtime today so this afternoon’s guide trip in Pensacola was postponed until next week. Guided Mr. Shane Johnson and his mom, Mrs. Johnson, this morning over in Destin, FL. Both were looking for some inshore tips and techniques for redfish and trout. Started with topwaters and Gulp! Jerkshads in camo early in the morning and found the redfish and trout very, very difficult. We picked up some trout but nothing great. Visited some local bayous but it was really off. Good news was that we could go hit the big redfish early. Found the same groups of oversized fish as the day before and caught fish between 15-28.5#. Mrs. Johnson’s largest fish previous to this trip was a 20# salmon. Needless to say, she smashed that record many times over and won the “chicken dinner” with the 28.5# massive redfish. Worth mentioning is how impressed I was with Mrs. Johnson’s casting, retrieving technique and fish fighting ability. This young lady really knew her stuff and was really fun to fish with!! Anyway, we were able to sight fish most of these huge redfish in less than 5 feet of water and even blindcast a few with some exciting pursuits in the mix. Naturally, the 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in lime tiger gets the job done everytime. The Gulp! in combination with the Marsh Works Bull Red jigheads is a great bait for these fish. Haven’t straighted a Marsh Work bait yet but oh! do we try!! All fish released. Book now to experience the thrill of Redfish University. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
Read MoreRedfish University in Destin again-October 21, 2010
Redfish University spends time from Port St. Joe Bay to Hopedale, LA. The majority of Redfish U’s traveling trips are located in Destin and Panama City. Today, I guided Mr. Bobby Stewart for some redfish(big and legal) and trout action in Destin, FL. Bobby is an accomplished bass fisherman and has some property in Ft. Walton so he wanted to learn about the inshore fishing in Choctawhatchee Bay and around Destin. Started very early with topwaters first fpr speckled trout and legal redfish. Pounded out some very nice trout and some medium redfish on topwater and spoons. Checked a few more areas and then headed to a flat with lots of redfish of all sizes. Superb, sunny and glassy conditions made it very easy for me to call out fish for Bobby who was pretty tuckered out from the early morning action. With his arms cramping, it was a pretty dirty trick to save the redfish festival for the last few hours of the morning. Bob had a blast!! Used 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in lime tiger to sight fish countless redfish from 28-40″. Bobby was able to see the fish, place the bait and watch these fish inhale his Gulp! bait. It was a bit challenging as these fish were not as easy to catch as usual, so a well-placed pitch was the key to our success. All fish released and the ice was saved for Bobby’s arms! I had a great time fishing with you, Bobby! Until time…. E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow....
Read MoreRedfish, trout and bass at Redfish University-October 20, 2010
Fished with Eric Michener today in search of redfish and trout. It’s always great fishing with Eric as he brings some awesome donuts from Milton Bakery and knows some areas to the north better than I do. It’s really great bumping ideas and techniques off one another. Started at first light and got into some great redfish and trout on topwater baits. Again, the key is very small topwater baits. Also found lots of largemouth bass in the same areas. We covered alot of water this morning and found a decent amount of fish in nearly every area. Topwaters, Johnson Gold Spoons and Gulp! were all equally as productive. Some areas had more redfish, some had more trout and most had lots of bass. Nice recovery at the end, E Money!! It was like 10-0 at one point!!! See you soon! All fish released. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
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