My friend Trevor wanted to try this kayaking thing, so I took him out to some flats. We got on the water before sunrise and threw out some topwaters. The sun came up rather quickly so we switched to the gold spoon. Man was this ever the bait of choice! I guess I had all the luck since I pulled a redfish out of every other dock. First fish was a beauty. He ripped the line off the 3000 and went for a dock. Luckily, he turned south and started to give in. He came up boatside and I pulled him out.
Perfect upper slot
At the next dock, it only took about 3 casts to find another. Got him to the yak and grabbed the camera. Another beauty
We continue our drift and work an area that looks fishy. I threw two times at the same spot and didn’t hook up. 3rd time was the charm and a red swipes the spoon. Good lookin fish for sure.
Trevor is getting pretty frustrated as he hasn’t hooked anything. He finally gets a red to eat and fights him to the boat. Another nice slot
We drift to the last set of docks and deploy the stickit. I stood up on my seat to see if I could spot anything. I throw blindly and once again, a red takes the bait. Near the boat, I could see two more swimming with him. I yell to Trevor to throw in for a chance at a double. We could see the fish rush his spoon but he didn’t eat. Oh well…I landed mine and took a pic
Wind was kickin, so I threw in one more time. Right in front of the yak, I watched a speck eat the spoon! Quick fight and he’s done.
The grassflats in the sound have been producing redfish after redfish. Today, I took the yak over to one of my favorite spots and tried out the gold spoon. With the stickit out and me standing up on the seat, I could see the reds slammin the spoon. What a cool sight! I sat for 30min on the same spot and hooked five reds. One had to be 30+in as he brought the 3000 down to half spool. It killed me when he came off! At the end of the day, I had 5 reds in the boat and lost 3. Great day on the water!
Chris Dunn
The month of April has proved to be a great month for inshore fishing! The Sheepshead bite has been as good as it has ever been. The bait started to show up on time this year for a change bringing catches of Spanish Mackerel as well as some nice King Mackerel. The Big bull redfish bite has been on fire as well, especially in Pensacola Pass. Live Pinfish have worked well for the redfish in the pass. If you cannot find the pinfish, live shrimp works too. Reports of Black Snapper being caught around dock pilings in the bays have been steady. Use live shrimp for the black snapper as well. The month of May will bring increased catches of King and Spanish Mackerel. The Redfish bite will remain Steady and the flounder bite will pick up as well. Get your reels ready! Things are just going to get better from here!!
Here are a few pictures from some of my recent trips. Today was really cool. We caught sheepsheads first and then decided to go look around in the gulf since it was so nice. We went 2 for 3 on cobia from my bay boat with no tower! One was small and we released the little guy unharmed, one was 40-45 lbs but I couldn’t get him to eat, and the one we kept was about 30 lbs.
Capt Matt Mcleod
850-418-5333 matt@hotspotstackle.com
www.hotspotscharters.com
www.hotspotstackle.com
I must say that today was the smoothest day of the year thus far. There wasn’t even a breath of wind as we glided across Pensacola bay to the first location that began our very eventful afternoon. Today, I got the pleasure of having George Converse on my boat. George is a local Dr. from Pensacola who has a passion for fishing as many of us do.
We arrived destination number one, a bay rock which has been a go to spot for me over the last few weeks. I frequent this area because it is usually immediate action for my clients. Catching 6 or 7 different species is not out of the ordinary for this location, but the target fish today was sheepshead. George has a boat of his own and was eager to learn the ins and outs of Pensacola bay sheepshead fishing. With a much stronger current than normal, I rigged George up a carolina rig with a 3oz egg weight. I pulled him over the spot and told him to drop. GAME ON! George hooked up with a monster 6lb sheepshead on the very first drop. After that it was constant action for a solid hr.
George got his fill of huge, Pensacola pass sheepshead so we decided to go target monster bull reds in the bay. Over the last week I have found a school of 2 to 3 thousand bull reds directly in the middle of Pensacola Bay. The redfish have been chasing large schools of pogies to the surface of the water which makes these fish very easy to spot. Birds will also give these fish away. If you see a group of gulls and pelicans diving in an area it is always a good idea to check it out. More times than not you will find large schools of bull reds underneath them. Since these fish are in a frenzy they tend to eat anything thrown there way. I have a friend that once caught one on a banana peel! Talk about crazy!!
As we approached the area that the redfish have been concentrated in, I spotted 20 or 30 seagulls circling above. I slowed the engine to idle speed and told George to watch the birds as I watched my depth finder. A lot of times you will run over the top of these huge redfish schools. If you don’t have our sonar on you will never know they are there. Afer looking for no more than a couple minutes my sonar turned blood red from top to bottom. George dropped a jig down and hooked up within seconds. After a 10 minute battle he landed a beautiful 37″ bull red. We revived the fish and he was released unharmed.
George decided soon after, that he wanted to catch a bull on a top water lure. I tied on a pink Skitterwalk and the hunt began. We followed the same group of birds and watched the reds on the sonar. I new any minute they would come to the top. About that time George spotted them 50 yards from the boat going crazy. I rushed over and positioned the boat to where George could make a perfect cast. The reds were so aggressive that he would tease them by reeling the topwater to the boat as fast as he could. Everytime he would have 30 or more fish follow it in. Finally he let one eat and caught another giant bull. Soon after we called it a day. I had sheepshead to clean!
Great Job George! Another great day on the water!
Brant Peacher
www.fishtheemeraldcoast.com
Here are a few pictures from my charter on Saturday the third. We had a great time with some nice sheepsheads and some bull reds. The reds were on fire for a while, we couldn’t get a bait past them to the sheepsheads! But that was a good problem to have. All fish caught on live shrimp.
Capt. Matt Mcleod
www.hotspotscharters.com
www.hotspotstackle.com
