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Up
to date reports for 2010
Pensacola
- Navarre - Gulf breeze - Perdido Key
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2009
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Pensacola
Inshore Fishing Reports
March
9th - 2010
Early March Report
Three days of fun fishing in
Pensacola Bay. The sheepshead bite has not kicked off yet, but I’m sure it
won’t be long now. We’re catching a few small males, but the bigger fish
have yet to show their faces. The white trout bite has been exceptional the past month and
it’s still going strong. The great thing about these fish is they are a blast
on light tackle and they’re pretty tasty with some hushpuppies and slaw.
Not only are they fun, but this year they are running bigger than last
year. I’ve been boating many fish well over 2 lbs. On Monday we boated a huge
white trout that had to be close to 4 lbs and was at least 23 inches.
Along with the plentiful trout,
we’ve managed to hook up some hard-fighting redfish both along the bridge and
off the rock jetties. A few other species have made a showing in the pass. We
even managed to hook up a few undersized red snapper and grouper. It’s good to
see a healthy fishery, and when we’re catching snapper and grouper in the
pass, I know the stocks are healthy. These fish will be ready for the taking in
a year or two.
Next week I’ll be on the water
going after some sheepshead and redfish. Hopefully the bite will have picked up
on my sheepshead holes.
Tackle Tally
Reels:
Quantum Catalyst 20’s & Quantum Boca 30’s
Rods:
Fenwick HMG spinning rods 7 ft Medium and 7 ft Medium Heavy
Line:
Berkley Ultra Braid - - 20
lb & 30 lb
Leader:
Berkley Fluorocarbon - - 15 lb – 20 lb –30 lb
Hooks:
Gamakatsu 1/0 live bait hooks
Jigs:
Bass Assassins ¼ oz
Bait:
Berkley Gulp 3” – 4” Shrimp, Curly Tail Grubs 3”
Till
next time, see you on the water.
Tight Lines.
Capt. John
March
5 - 6th - 2010
Two
days of great light tackle fishing:
Day
#1
I
had the pleasure to take David Johnson and his son on a great day of fishing.
David’s son is about to be shipped overseas to Iraq and David wanted to spend
some extra quality time with his young soldier.
It was a bit cold starting out, but it warmed up nice around noon.
High tide was around 1:40pm, so we hit the water around 9am and the bite was
decent all morning. We targeted trout and redfish, but the reds decided to stay
hidden. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. We boated around 35 trout, and lost
a few more to structure on the bottom, but that’s bridge fishing for you.
Dave and his son are going out again tomorrow and we’re going after
sheepshead, and then for the reds along the beach. I’ll post again tomorrow.
Till next time.
Capt. John
Day
#2
I had David and his son, Spencer on the boat again today
for their second trip. We went out yesterday and did pretty well. My plan today
was to fish the pass for sheepies and reds.
We headed out, the weather was perfect, and a lot of boats had already staked
their claim on a few good spots. I managed to find a hole and fish for a while,
but the bite was not what we were looking for.
Both men had a few bites, but the rocks were becoming a nuisance, so I pulled
anchor and hit the beach looking for schools of reds cruising along the sand
bars. I jumped up in the tower and I spotted 4 good fish, but we still
couldn’t give away our bait.
Time for Plan C. I decided to go back to the bridge and go after the white trout
and hoped we might get lucky and snag a redfish or two. As luck would have it,
the bite was on! David’s first fish was a nice 28” red caught on a ¼ oz jig
with a 4” Berkley Gulp New Penny Shrimp. Spencer hooked up a few nice trout
and had a few good bites that we think were reds, but let go too early.
Father and son began hooking trout one after the other, and had a blast just
trying to keep count. It was a great way to end the day, with 30 or so trout and
one nice redfish.
David and Spence were a pleasure to fish with and I look forward to our next
fishing adventure.
Tight Lines.
Capt. John
February
26th - 2010
I had a trip today, and although I was a little
hesitant at first, because of the cold, what a great day on the water! It had
been a while since I had a client on the boat due to the cold weather, rain, and
wind we’ve had over the past 9 weeks. I knew the bite would be good on
today’s trip, because I have been out scouting my spots to see where the fish
were and to also see how good the bite was. I wanted to check to see if the
muddy water had pushed the fish out into the gulf to cleaner water.
I had found that some fish had been pushed out, but a lot were still around
including white trout and a good amount of redfish. So I was not too surprised
when my client, Sue, pulled in a nice 27” Redfish!
Well,
maybe I was a little surprised; it sure was a beauty! I drifted a few spots
along the bridge and was marking good fish, but on one drift I marked the mother
lode, so I set anchor, and we just slayed them for 3 hours straight. Somewhere
in the three hours, Roy’s drag starting singing an old familiar tune, and I
knew it was another red.
This
was turning out to be good start to my spring trips even though we were about 10
degrees below normal temperatures for the day.
We stayed pretty warm by working the fish, and by noon, it had actually
gotten warm enough to remove our heavy jackets. With more white trout than you
could count and two good slot reds to seal the deal, Roy and Sue were two happy
Hoosiers. I enjoyed meeting them and when I found out they were from my old
Indiana stomping grounds, it made the day a little more special. I always enjoy
showing people from up north how good our fishing is in the Panhandle.
Bait
Check Today
I
was tossing 3/4oz jigs; with Berkley Gulp’s 4” Shrimp.
A few times I put on a 5” Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad. Colors were mixed
today, some New Penny, and some Nuclear Chicken both in the 4” shrimp and Jerk
Shads.Stay tuned for the next report on or around March 6th
Tight Lines.
Capt. John
CMC High Speed Jack Plate
This winter I decided to add a Jack Plate to my boat. I contacted my mechanic
Kenny Mann at Emerald Coast Marine and he suggested CMC’s 5 ½ “ High Speed
Jack Plate. He installed it for me, and I could hardly wait to get out on the
water to try it out.
I tried it out a few times in shallow water and it is going to make me able to
get into much shallower water and catch more fish, which is a good thing for
both my clients and me, but maybe not so good for the fish! If anyone needs
anything done on his or her boat give Kenny a ring at Emerald Coast Marine. His
customer service is very professional and his workmanship is top notch.
http://www.emeraldcoastmarine.com/
Tight Lines.
Capt. John
February
10th - 2010
Only six weeks away until spring will
be knocking at our door, and I can’t wait. It’s been a long, hard, cold
winter. With freezing temperatures lasting two weeks at the start of 2010, it
made it tough to get off the couch or even want to go fishing. To pass the time,
I worked on my tackle getting it ready for this new season.
This past week we had great weather;
sunny skies and temperatures in the lower to mid- 60’s, and I did not waste
it. I went out scouting and found a lot of fish. My first stop was at 3-mile
bridge hitting the rocks and deep holes for some tasty white trout. If you
can’t get off work till after 5pm, no problem! The bite is still very good at
night, and not only will you hook a few trout, you may even hook up a couple of
drag-screaming reds like this one I hooked last week.
I say it all the time; redfish have
to be one of my favorite fish to hook up on. Their powerful headshakes really
get your adrenaline pumping, and the fight on light tackle is awesome.
I was scouting a few of the bayous to
see how the bite was, and it is getting better already. I managed to hook up a
few specks; most were small in the 13 – 14 inch range.
The sheepshead bite is pretty good at
a few of local bridges and on the rock jetties. I have been out at the pass
hitting the rock jetties and deep ledges and I’ve caught some good fish, but
the bite will really start to get crazy around March 10th, and
won’t stop till around April 15th. If you like hard-pulling,
drag-screaming, light tackle action, you need to give me a ring for your spring
break fishing trip.
Here's a great
family picture taken during last seasons sheepshead run!
It’s light tackle action at it’s
finest!
Keep checking back for my next
report. During February, I’ll post 2 – 3 reports, but when March gets here,
I’ll be posting a lot more, that is if I can find the time between trips!
Don’t worry, I’ll make the time. Now you take this time to give me a
ring and let’s get you out of the office and onto the water.
Tight Lines.
Capt. John
Jan
23rd
You’ve got to love Florida in
January! 70 degrees and sunny all day today, Friday January 22nd 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
 .
Capt. John
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