My Past Fishing Trips & Inshore Fishing Reports Pensacola Bay,

 Escambia Bay, Blackwater Bay, Santa Rosa Sound,

Pensacola Inshore Fishing Report By

 Captain John Rivers

Archive Reports 

 2009  2008   2007

Jan 23rd

You’ve got to love Florida in January! 70 degrees and sunny all day today, Friday January 22^nd  2010.

It was a great day to be on the water. I took the wife out today to do some scouting and put some fish in the icebox for lunch tomorrow. Fresh sheepshead and trout, with corn bread, rice, and Cole slaw.  There’s nothing like a fish fry in January!

Our first stop was at the rock jetties in Pensacola Pass. High tide was around 3pm so I knew if we got there around 10am we would have some good moving water. I wanted to target sheepies for a few hours and then go over to the 3-mile bridge to see how the trout bite was. The pass was a little bouncy going across, but laid down near the shore where we anchored up.

Click on picture to enlarge

 I had stopped at the bait shop for some fresh dead shrimp, and I Carolina rigged us both up and began our quest for the sheepshead. We were both using Catalyst 20’s spooled with 20lb Berkley Braid, 20 lb Berkley Fluorocarbon with a #1 Gamakatsu live bait hook and a small piece of shrimp to completely cover up the hook. I was using lightweight on this trip; the current was not too strong, so I was able to get away with only using a 1oz egg weight.

With warm temperatures and calm seas and the sound of the birds playing on the sand and waves slowly crashing the shore, it was a picture perfect day in the pass.  We were getting a few decent nibbles, but we fed them more than we caught them. I caught a few decent sheepshead, and one little fella who was big for his britches, but my wife reeled in mostly empty shrimp shells. She was having a little trouble distinguishing bites from the pull of the rocks on the bottom, but she enjoyed rooting me on as I reeled in a couple for us to share. Around 1:30 pm we called it quits at the jetties. I didn’t want to leave, because it was just an awesome view, but I wanted to search a few more areas to see what else we could come up with. After we stowed all the gear, we made our way across the slick calm waters of Pensacola Bay to the 3-mile bridge only to be met with 20+ other boaters who must have had the same idea. There was plenty of room to throw anchor, so after quickly claiming our spot and marking plenty of fish, we got ready to end the day with some more fish for the fryer.

Once anchored, it didn’t take us long before we started to put a hurting on some white trout. My wife, Gina, gamely tossed her bait out.  I caught the first two, but after a little coaching she was kicking my butt. We had a great time watching each other hook fish after fish. We must have caught 20+ trout in a very short time. We kept only what we were going to eat for lunch Saturday and threw the rest back to be caught another day.

I had a great day on the water with my wife. We had been suffering from a touch of the cabin fever the past few weeks, and it was nice to get out and remind ourselves why we moved here eleven years ago.

Watching her smile and laugh while fishing is what this day was about for me. I enjoy taking my family out and I wish I could do it more often. Guiding is my job and I love it, but sometimes on my days off when the family asks, “Hey, can we take the boat out?” the last thing I want to do is to go fishing. But after this trip, I’ll never say no again. What’s better than having a great day on the water? Sharing it with the people you love and who love you back.

I am very fortunate that I have found something that I love doing and that I can share my love for fishing and for the beautiful waters of Pensacola with others. After watching all the devastation and all the heartache on the news lately, it was good to get out and finally enjoy 2010.

If you would like to create some great family memories, bring your family down to Pensacola and spend a day with me on the water. I will take you out on a great adventure, and you too will have a great 2010 memory.
Tight Lines.
Capt. John

Happy New Year!
What will 2010 bring to northwest Florida?  Great fishing I hope.

The first day of the new year brought cold temperatures and high winds so I was not able to get out on the water, and with forecasted temperatures as low as 19 degrees and the high only reaching 44 degrees the next 7 days, it doesn’t look like I’ll be on the water any time soon.  Instead I will stay inside, stay warm, and reminisce about the great fishing that we had during 2009.

This past summer was great for inshore reds and I’m hoping that 2010 will bring the same.

May of 2009 was the best I’ve seen it for big specks, and I would be more than thrilled if 2010 was even half as good.

Pensacola has a very diverse fishery with its flats and deep holes throughout the different inlets and bays; there are many different species to be found, and plenty of places to find them.

Even though it’s too cold to venture out right now, it’s only about 8 weeks until March, and then we’ll be hooking up big sheepshead, slot reds and hopefully even a few big black drum.

So while the cold weather has you dreaming about warmer days on the water, if you’re thinking about heading down to Pensacola in 2010, give me a ring and set up a fishing trip. I’ll make sure you have the most enjoyable trip you’ve ever had.

Here are some pics looking back at 2009

Click to enlarge

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Capt. John