Guided Mr. Bill Cleek and family today. Bill and the fam are regular Spring break visitors from Houston and wanted to use their beautiful 22 Pathfinder to get familiar with the Pensacola area fishing. Met the crew at Shoreline Park at 830am and ran east in search of some redfish and trout action. Found minimal redfish and a few trout but nothing spectacular so I showed them some very productive areas they may want to try later in the week. Took a cruise back to the west. Instead of chancing the big redfish in the surf that have been unusually uncooperative lately, I introduced the Cleeks to a solid mixture of very plentiful and extremely cooperative redfish in the 8-20# range on some 3-6′ deep clear flats. Pulled up, lower the trolling motor and absolutely smashed them! All fish were easily caught sight fishing and it was thrilling seeing the group have such fun. With the Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo we took as many fish as we could humanly handle. Lots of trips coming up so book now to experience the wonder of Redfish University. Photos to...
Read MoreLots of trips at Redfish University-February 24, 2010
Hello all, Redfish University took a little break back in December but has performed many shallow water redfish and trout trips between the New Years and now. We’ve been concentrating in the upper bays where there are plenty fish as well as some trips down to West Bay for the shallow water tailing redfish. I wouldn’t say it’s been busy but 1-3 trips per week is fine with me. A point worth mentioning, with the early morning low tides for the last few months, the redfish and trout fishing has definitely been better in the afternoons as the water is rising. 3-4 hours before the high has proved to be most production. An average trip has consisted of 15-35 trout from 1-4# and 6-20 redfish in the 20-25″ range. Lots of trips in the books in March, April, May and beyond so I will do a much better job of posting reports in the coming weeks. Thanks for looking and see everyone soon. Eric...
Read MoreRedfish in the shallows at Redfish University-November 12, 2010
Got back to what Redfish University knows best today and that’s shallow water redfish. Guided Bob Willice and his friend Tarpon Bob for just that. Today I introduced the fellas to the most technical, skillful and challenging style of fishing on the Gulf Coast. Tarpon Bob and I discussed the bonefish in Belize and S. Florida so I wanted to demonstrate how similar sight fishing is for redfish here on the “Redneck Riveria.” Travelled to the country in search of shallow, muddy banks and flats. It was a little slow to begin with up to the north but we made some adjustments and found plenty of quality redfish that were very willing to inhale Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo. We really caught some high quality, stout fish today in the 25-27″ range that were very fat and heavy. We also found some decent speckled trout in small schools on the flats and actually saw some really large ones as well. The bonus for the day was a 25# drum milling down a bank. After a few well-placed casts from Tarpon Bob with the Jerkshads and no reaction, I grabbed a Gulp! 2″ Crab in Amber Glow for Bob. A great cast followed and the beast tailed on the Crab in 2′ of water. Solid hookup and a lazy fight as usual from these black drum. Anyway, lots of fun sight fishing today with two skilled anglers. All fish released. Book now and experience why Redfish University is your choice for shallow water angling on the Gulf Coast! E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow. ...
Read MoreDay 3-Epic 25+redfish trip at Redfish University-November 10, 2010
For Day 3 with the Enabnits, we decided to head over to Orange Beach and target some redfish in the marshy creeks on the falling tide. It was a race to beat the falling water so we worked smartly and very quickly. For this type of red fishing, a small spoon, small spinnerbait or jerkshad in the prefered method but with beginners to this tricky fishery and relatively inexperienced anglers, a Marsh Works Big Poppy cork with a 3″ Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny proved most productive. We did get into some topwater action as well. As expected, we found very clear and very shallow water where redfish between 23-27″ were observed spraying shrimp along the marshy banks and inside creeks. Most areas held a feeding fish every ten yards. Most fish were found on the banks with their backs and eyes out of the water but we also launched corks down the middle and outwards to produce many redfish as well. Because the fellas wanted some redfish to take back to Atlanta, we concentrated on securing our limit quickly which only took about 20 minutes. After that, we screwed around with the video camera and launched topwaters at them which dramatically reduced the hookups for the trigger-happy anglers:) It was very fun and amusing to watch!! Anyway, it was a great morning with action around every corner and it was fantastic to introduce the enthusiastic anglers to this style of fishing. Many wait a lifetime to experience this morning’s stellar redfish conditions!! We didn’t count but 25+ redfish between 22-27″ is a safe estimate. Ended the morning at Lulu’s for some pints and appetizers. The Shrimp Quesadilla is very nice. Angler’s choice tomorrow but I think they want to take it easy, sip some beers and do some bottom fishing in the bay for grouper or whatever. Not my favorite or expertise but maybe they just need a break from all the redfish. In any event, it should be interesting!! How hard can it be? Book now to experience your own epic redfish trip at Redfish University. Openings after December 7 unless we have a cancellation. Thanks, E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow. *Viewer warning* Video contains an F-bomb...
Read MoreDay 2 IFA Redfish anglers at Redfish University-November 4, 2010
Today was Day 2 with the IFA Redfish Tour anglers. Again, teams and locations are obviously kept confidential with tournament anglers at Redfish University. Fair is fair..business is business. We decided to fish today(Thursday) since yesterday was so rainy. Cloud cover this morning and high winds made fishing very difficult again but we fished smartly and found plenty of fish before the front blew in. Very tricky conditions, I must say and unfortunately, it will get even more difficult. Stuck some quality fish in shallow water as well as deeper structure. In some areas, we found both slot and oversized redfish which is a great formula for success. Tournament begins tomorrow and I know the guys will do very well and have some heavy weights. A very enjoyable two days of fishing except for the high winds and seas. Good luck, fellas!! Book now to experience the wonder of Redfish...
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...
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |