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I was the only boat out
there for a while and we had fun working the school of
fish. After we hooked up around 10 fish on Spro jigs,
I brought out the top water plugs and it was so much
fun watching big reds bust on a top-water plug. My
afternoon trip was a family from northern Mississippi,
Kevin and his son Cory and Cory’s two buddies, Chris
and Chico. They told me that they had never caught a
bull redfish. Well, I said I’ve got a treat for you;
I just left a school of 500 fish and if they are still
there, your wish will come true.
 
 
We made our way across Big Lagoon and hit the pass
running. With calm seas and a light NE wind, it was
perfect conditions. I jumped up in the tower and
spotted the fish with ease. I’m so glad I have my
new tower to spot fish for my clients and for myself.
I spent a few minutes going over how to work big fish
like these, as these guys were bass fishermen and
their biggest fish to date was a 5 pound bass. I
slowly eased the boat towards the school and when I
was at the right distance, the guys tossed out their
jigs and within seconds it was fish on!
The afternoon was amazing and the boys had fun feeling
the power of these bronze bruisers. My new 4000 Penn
Battles & 5000 Conquers worked flawlessly. The
drags on these reels are roughly the same and handled
the power of these monster reds with ease.
 
Kevin and his crew booked a two day trip, so I had
them again on Thursday and it was redfish mania all
over again. I picked them up around noon, (we got in
late on Wednesday and they wanted to sleep in a bit,
as did I). I asked them if they wanted to go after the
sheepshead or if they wanted to hook up on some reds.
You guessed it, more reds; and all I can say is 3
hours later we had boated 36 reds. This time my arms were sore from hoisting reds over the rail, but I wasn’t
whining! We only took a few pictures as we got a good
many pictures the day before. When an angler landed a
really big fish over 36” we took a few seconds and
took a few quick pics. After we hooked 36 reds we
headed to the pass for some sheepshead action and the
bite was only so-so. Kevin asked if we could head back
out for 30 more minutes and hook a few more reds. I
stowed the gear and we ran out to where we were
hooking them earlier. It didn’t take long and we had
a quad hook up and that made our 40 fish day.
 
Kevin
and the boys were a blast to fish with and they even
let me toss out a few times. Oh, I love sight fishing
reds off the beach.
I’ll be out again this weekend in search of more
light tackle fun.
Till Next Time,
Tight Lines.
Report March 15th - 2011
I’ve
been out the past few days hooking up some striped
bucked-tooth critters, also known as sheepshead, as
well as hauling in some monster reds. Every year in
late March the sheepshead spawn starts and the bite is
like nothing you’ve ever seen. Thousands of
sheepshead make their way to Pensacola Pass to feed
and do their thing, and this is the time of year for
you to get out there and get them.
The bite is on in Pensacola and should stay strong for
sheepshead for another 6 weeks. I had the pleasure of
meeting Chris and his sons on Sunday for a morning on
the water. The boys were hooking up sheepshead and
landing big reds all by themselves, and their dad got
to enjoy watching them, but also had his hands full
with his own catches.
Later
on that day I was out again and had four anglers
looking to bow up on some big reds and I headed back
out where I had just left. The schools of reds were
still there and I worked the school for another 3 ½
hours. It was like it was November; we must have
boated 25 reds during that time. I took care to make
sure each fish was released and swam away unharmed
other than having a sore mouth from the Spro Jig that
had been stuck in his upper lip when my client set the
hook.
The
bite was so good that I even hooked up one for fun. On
Monday, Douglas and his two sons had fun with the
Sheepies, and although the gulf was too rough to
search out the reds, we did manage to find one big red
lurking down below with the sheepshead and it slammed
Doug’s fishing rod so hard that it was almost jerked
out of his hands.
I’ll
be out again this week with more trips. Stay tuned for
more action.
Tight
Lines.
Capt. John
Report March 7th - 2011
March
is here, and it is living up to its reputation! Windy
days and cold nights, but we should be seeing warmer
temps soon.
I
just got the boat out of the shop, and it now has a
new tower and leaning post.
I couldn’t wait to take the boat out to do
some fishing, but now I’ll have to wait till the
wind dies down.
I
won’t be able to resist the urge to get out on the
water for too long; I’ll be out this weekend to see
how the sheepshead and redfish bite is in the pass. If
you’re out, come over and check out my “home
improvements.”
I’ll post a new report the middle of next week.
Because
of the wind, there is not much to report for the week
so far. Last week the inshore bite was good in
Escambia and Blackwater Bay for trout and redfish. A
few trout and reds have made their way towards the ICW
as the water warms in Santa Rosa Sound. We had a small
cold front move in on Saturday, but it shouldn’t
hurt the fishing much. The sheepshead bite was great a
few weeks back, but it has slacked off this past week.
I think the fish are staging up for their annual
spawn, which should kick off in a few days.
The
slot and big reds are still in Pensacola Pass, and
that makes for some nice light tackle fishing. Try
bouncing a 1oz jig off the bottom with a 4” Berkley
Gulp; the reds can’t resist it. Along 3-Mile Bridge,
the white trout bite is still going strong with some
nice reds being caught in the mix. Over near Garcon
Bridge, sheepshead, redfish and black drum are showing
up. At Bob Sikes Bridge, the sheepshead and redfish
bite is strong and as long as we don’t get too big a
cold front and the water stays warm, the fish will
stage up for spring and the bite should only get
better.
I
feel that it’s going to be a great spring and I can’t
wait to take the boat out and use the new tower and
catch some fish. Hope to see you out there.
Let’s
make 2011 a year to remember.
Tight
Lines.
Capt.
John
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