Tag Archive: inshore fishing pensacola


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.

Kayaking the flats

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

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

Two hours in the pass

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.

Bull red

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.

sheepshead

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

I had the pleasure of taking Denis, a return customer of mine, and some of his family and friends on a fishing trip yesterday. The weather was nice, still a little cold when the clouds were out, but getting better! The fish bit pretty well, it was hit and miss throughout the morning but in the early afternoon we got on them hot! Total for the day was 15 nice sheepsheads, 3 pompano, and 1 redfish.

Mitchell with a nice sheepshead

A group shot with a few of our fish

Dan caught this nice keeper gag grouper but the season is closed until next month so back he went.

 

Capt Matt Mcleod

www.hotspotcharters.com

www.hotspotstackle.com

matt@hotspotstackle.com

850-418-5333

Strap it down!

As all kayakers know, the one thing feared most is flipping. When this happens, you want all your gear strapped to the boat. Don’t find yourself swimming to the bottom in search of that reel….put a leash on it.

You can now buy most of your kayak gear from Hot Spots. They have leashes, floats, fasteners, rod holders, and much more. Come check it out!

Chris Dunn

Leash

Float