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
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
My buddy Trevor and I loaded up the boat this morning on a mission for sheepshead. A quick stop at Hot Spots for some live shrimp and we were on the water by 8. At the pass, we looked at the depth finder the whole time. We found some rocks and ledges at 40ft, so we dropped down. Seconds later, Trevor is bent over!
We stay on this spot for a few hours. Ended up with 12 sheeps and a few cutoffs. Awesome day!
Chris Dunn
Chris Dunn
(850) 777-7921
rtcdunn@bellsouth.net
