Full week of trips. Guided Jon Merchant and his son Zak today for some redfish and trout. The guys wanted to catch some to take back to Destin for a fresh fish dinner at Harbor Docks. Started at 600am and ran to a shallow flat where we immediately got on some great redfish and solid trout. Topwaters and Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads were both popular baits and we targeted schools of mullet and baitfish near the surface. Made an even further run east and found huge amounts of speckled trout that crushed topwaters and Gulp! Jerkshads again. Every cast produced a 14-19″ speckled trout. A bit further down the bank, we found a nice school of 24-27″ redfish that pounded some topwaters and Jon actually picked off a great redfish off of Zac’s topwater hooked fish. A few double hookups and more quality fish to follow. Then it was off to the west where we found the bull redfish laying around in 4-6′ of water on some clear flats. Stuck some of those and then headed down the beach for some more redfish and pompano. Not much happening down there and only some a few redfish and zero pompano so we came back inside to hit some more redfish on the flats. The guys took only what they could eat this evening and we tossed the rest back. Fun trip! Booked all week so more reports soon. E Holstman Please click an image to...
Read MoreHigh winds, neap tide but pretty good day at Redfish University-April 15, 2011
Guided siblings Judy and Art today for some redfish and speckled trout action in Pensacola Bay. I was forced to fish some areas a little early in the year where I know there are plenty of fish but it definitely took some creativity to draw the strikes on a day like today. Lots of wind and a neap tide narrowed our areas this morning but we really landed on some great concentrations of both species. Started at 600am and ran to some shallow sand flats and immediately found some very nice trout in the 2-4# to start the morning. Travelled to a less protected bank with two foot rollers and caught some more quality trout. Back to the protected banks to look for redfish and we found plenty but they proved to be pretty difficult with only me landing a few in the 22-25″ range with well-placed Gulp! 3″ Shrimp. Thinking the fish would respond better around some protected and structure, we hit an area with both and got into some very nice 26-31″ redfish that were very happy to take Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads. Around 10am, conditions became very tough but we found groups of redfish in the 22-25″ range in shallow water that would fall for the deadstick game with Gulp! 3″ Shrimp and landed plenty more. Overall, a pretty difficult morning but we made the right adjustments to make them bite. All fish released. Passed on this weekends trip and back next Monday-Saturday with a full slate. E Holstman Please click an image to...
Read MoreLegal and over-sized redfish and pompano at Redfish University-April 10, 2011
Guided Amanda and Scott today for some redfish and pompano action. For Scott’s birthday, Amanda treated him to a morning of exciting fishing at Redfish University. What a gift! We departed at 630am and ran to a flat that has been infested with over-sized redfish. First cast, double hookup! Nice way to begin the morning. Hit a couple more clear flats with the same results. Headed down the beach to find some pompano in the surf. Caught two nice fish in 45 minutes but they weren’t as abundant as I’d like so we raced way east in the bay to find some legal redfish and some deeper 4-6′ flats. Stuck some really nice 26-31″ redfish including two perfect tournament fish that would have produced over 14#’s easily. All fish taken on Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads and orange pompano jigs. Kept some pompano and redfish for dinner. A few days off and then very busy again. E Holstman Please click an image to...
Read MoreDay 2- Legal redfish, trout, bull redfish and pompano at Redfish University-April 8, 2011
For Day 2 with Chris and Will Tiller, we started at first light in Santa Rosa Sound for some topwater action for redfish and speckled trout. The topwater bite wasn’t as hot today but we stuck some decent redfish and a few nice trout. Perfect topwater conditions with low-light, light winds and lots of fog. At 830am, we made a slow cruise through the fog to the west where we found some bull redfish laying around on some clear shallow flats. The fog and low light made sight fishing difficult but we trusted the fish were there and caught some nice redfish blindcasting Berkley Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads. For our finale, I took the guys down the beach to find the pompano in the washouts. The pompano were there and we caught some great fish including a 3.5# fish. Missed several but got some great dinner. Tomorrow, we will hit some topwater early in the bay and then hit the beaches again for pompano and redfish. Lots of bookings but a few dates available at Redfish U. so book now! E Holstman Please click an image to...
Read MoreDay 1-Lots of redfish of all sizes at Redfish University-April 7, 2011
Guided Mr. Chris Tiller and his son, Will, for the first of a three day redfish and speckled trout adventure. Both anglers are accomplished bass fisherman and were an absolute pleasure to fish with. Started at first light over in East Bay and Blackwater with a rising tide. Quickly found some decent redfish holding on some shallow flats and around some shallow structure. Hit some really productive flats for the first few hours and found some nice groups of redfish from 25-29″ that were more than willing to cooperate with a few double hookups. Travelled further south into East Bay and fished some structure in 6-10′ of water in high winds and knocked off some quality redfish in the 26-31″ range. We found the Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads in camo to be most productive. Taking the fellas into Santa Rosa Sound tomorrow morning, followed by some sight fishing for over-sized fish and some possibly some pompano. Stay tuned! E Holstman Please click an image to...
Read MoreThese are the incredible companies that have made me so successful in professional tournament fishing and provide my clients at Redfish University with the world's best and latest in saltwater fishing gear. Please visit Eric Holstman's Pro Staff pages on all sponsor websites.
To visit one of our sponsor's websites, just click on a logo below...
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |