Wade, Andrew, and myself went on a search for snapper today. We quickly found our limit at about 20 miles south of Pensacola pass. It took about 10 seconds for our live pinfish to get smashed on the bottom. The bonita and Aj’s were everywhere too. At around 85ft, the aj’s were bustin on the surface. A couple of times, we could see some 40lbers chasing our snapper to the top. We jigged up a couple dozen with the biggest at around 35in. Not too bad of a day
Wade with a beauty
The limit.
20 miles out, we could see small globs of oil. Most were quarter size but we did see some bigger masses. We decided to head in once we saw our lines and boat were turning brown.
Then coming into the canal, we were greeted with this awesome site. Wow…
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
I have done a lot of bottom fishing running both private boats as well as my boat this month. Running Private boats we have been running 50-70 miles offshore and finding a great Scamp bite! Most of the scamp have been 10-15 pounds and have been caught in 260-300ft of water. Shimano Butterfly jigs and live bait have both been productive while looking for the scamp. The Red Snapper bite in 300ft of water has been steady as well.
While running several trips in my boat this month we have found that the Mingo Snapper have been giving it up on almost every spot we have been at. It is a challenge to get away from the “nearly extinct” Red Snapper, but if you can get away from them you can expect to catch your limit of Mingo Snapper very quickly. Cut Bait and small hooks will do the trick for catching the Mingo Snapper. The triggerfish have also been biting well this month but it seems like when you find one that is 13 1/2 inches you will find 1,000 that are 13 1/2 inches. Just keep at it and you will find a few legal ones.
The 2010 Cobia Migration has been one of the better ones I can remember during the last 5-6 years. There has not been a 100 pounder caught yet this year, but the amount of 50-60 pounders has been rediculous. We have had plenty of days when we have caught 10 or more fish this month. The migration will come to an end during the next 2 weeks or so, but there will be plenty of cobia taking up residence on wrecks. While bottom fishing keep an eye our for that cobia that is curious and comes swimming up to your boat to check you out. You should always have a rod rigged and ready for this to happen.
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!!
Today’s weather was fantastic so I decided to try a short solo trip. I loaded the boat up and was on the water by 12. Arrived at the pass and dropped down at around 45ft. My only available bait was dead, warm shrimp so I wasn’t expecting much action. Much to my surprise, I was fighting fish the whole time! Within 5min of my first drop, a big bull red grabbed my line! The heavy action carrot stix did its job.
He swam away just fine so I position for another drift. The bite was very consistent. Just about every drop was either a sheep or a red. Drift #2 gave me another bull.
As expected, the sheeps were biting everything. I’m pretty sure I missed about 10 but I still managed to bring in a few.
By 2pm, I was beat red so I decided to call it quits. It was definately a great two hours of fishing! I was pretty surprised that my near rotten shrimp did so well!
Chris Dunn
