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...
Read MoreAn unconventional trip at Redfish University-August 21, 2010
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 Spanish mackerel with sharks in them. Normally, it’s no problem but, of course, today…. Anyway, we did end up seeing two sharks in shallow water that were not interested at all. Also, found some small groups of big jacks at various locations but they were moving quickly and would vanish. Fun day of catching lots of fish but really didn’t find quality fish in our target species of the month. Next time, Roger and I will travel to West Bay and Destin for some spectacular sightfishing for redfish and big trout in very clear water. Gotta make up for today’s...
Read MoreHard winds, easy fish at Redfish University-August 17, 2010
Today, it was very, very windy! Guided Mr. Bill Mathis this morning for some inshore action. Trailered the boat to our chosen area for fishing and got started at 515am. Fished some protected and somewhat protected banks with lots of mullet activity. Started catching quality speckled trout immediately and even found the recently elusive redfish as well. Fished that area well and then took off for some tall tree-lined banks in search of more fish. Redfish U’s Hewes 21 Redfisher doesn’t experience big water like that often but it performed beautifully. Tabs down, 40 mph, comfortable and as dry as a bone. The best flats boat made!! Anyway, we had some sun and falling water so I asked, “Would you like to see some redfish and trout?” We saw a very good amount of both and the fish were very cooperative. Small to medium redfish and 1-3# trout could be seen and caught pretty easily. Fun morning and back around 930am. All fish taken on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads, 3″ Shrimp and 2″Crabs rigged on Marsh Works jigheads. Really challenging conditions the past few days but I guess we lucked out. Or maybe we didn’t! Find them and you’ll catch...
Read MoreWind and freshwater but lots of speckled trout at Redfish University-August 16, 2010
Trying to catch up on some rescheduled trips from last week’s Tropical Depression and overall crap weather. Guided Mr. Mitch Smith this morning and took a bumpy ride east in search of some redfish and trout. Started at first light with a 4# trout. Nice start but it was really hit or miss at several places today. Concentrated on a stretch of pretty clear water with depths ranging from 2-4′. Got quite a few 2-3# fish on topwaters but the fish were pretty difficult to raise because of the freshwater invasion in these areas. Fortunately, a loud subsurface bait did the trick and lots of very nice trout fell victim to the bait. We were also able to get several fish on the Berkley Powerbaits with rattle inserts. Come to think of it, we should have thrown the Berkley Rattle Shrimp in today’s yucky water. Oh well, Mitch received a few in his Redfish University goodies bag so maybe he’ll use them on his next trout fishing adventure. Covered lots of water this morning and only found big concentrations of fish in one big area so that’s where we returned. We saw a few redfish and redfish wakes but only one strike which spit the hook. Today’s trout total was 25-30 fish of all sizes, even caught a half trout after a shark clipped him in half. Hopefully the rain will stop in the next few days and the fishing will get a little better but we’re not complaining. Today’s tip: Clean, moving water with bait. No photos...
Read MoreRedfish, trout and more for new Pensacola residents at Redfish University-August 6, 2010
Back from vacation and busier than ever! Guided Mr. Jim Ball and his son, Thomas, this morning. Jim, Thomas and family are recent new arrivals to the Pensacola area. They are buying a new boat soon and wanted to learn about our local waters and fishery here in Pensacola. They are now very familiar with both!! Started out earlier and showed the guys where they can catch plenty of fish to eat. Whacked the trout and redfish on topwaters, suspending baits and Berkley Powerbaits most of the early morning. Thomas really came into his own with the suspending baits boating several quality speckled trout. We covered a variety of extremely productive areas and lots of proven techniques that have been the bread and butter at Redfish University. Next, the guys wanted go to some areas where they could just catch lots of fish. Picked out some areas in the bay and around the Pass and the guys had a ball with big Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish and some big sharks. Ended the day with some fishing talk and 15 typed pages of detailed inshore angling tips, locations and techniques for fishing in Pensacola. Jim and Thomas will have no problem catching fish in Pensacola year-round and Redfish University wishes them the best of luck in their future angling adventures. Most fish released but a few trout, redfish and Spanish macks were kept for the cookout. Please click an image to enlarge and view...
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