Redfish University

Lots of speckled trout but no redfish at Redfish University-September 3, 2010

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:30:13 +0000

Had a short topwater trip this morning back in Pensacola Bay. Took off at 515am and quickly ran east to some shallow flats. Great topwater action most of the morning but the fish were only on one stretch of bank. Found some very nice quality speckled trout and did hook one over-sized(32-35″) redfish only to have the hooks pull at the boat. That’s topwaters for ya!! Switched over to Gulp! Jerkshads as the sun rose with similar consistent success. Back at the ramp at 930am and kept 5 nice trout for dinner.

**Saturday and Sunday are open this weekend because of a last minute cancellation so take advantage and experience Redfish University. In any event, it will be nice to have the weekend off!! E Holstman.**

Eastern Santa Rosa Sound at Redfish University-September 2, 2010

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:07:16 +0000

**Last minute cancellation this Saturday and Sunday if anyone is interested in booking with Redfish University this Labor Day weekend. Fishing is always great at Redfish U.!! Great opportunity to fish with RU.

Guided Mr. Kevin Reynolds this morning in the far eastern reaches of Santa Rosa Sound. Hit the water at 530am and ran way east. Pulled out some topwaters and Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads and got after it. Lots of nice speckled trout, some decent redfish, but also lots of undesirables such as ladyfish, bluefish and jacks. Made some small adjustment and stayed on the redfish and speckled trout. Poling some shallow areas and found the redfish to be pretty cooperative compared to the western end of the South(less boat traffic and anglers.) Got some very nice redfish to take our 3″ Gulp! Ghost Shrimp in 2′ of water. Lot of fun this morning with a very good angler.

**Notice** Had a last minute cancellation on Sat and Sun, so those days are now open. No big deal, love to have the weekend off but the fishing at Redfish University has been stellar if anyone wants to go Sat. and/or Sun(Labor Bay weekend.)

Another stellar day of redfish and trout at Redfish University- September 1, 2010

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:53:47 +0000

Guided Mr. Ken Shultz this morning. Ken wanted to learn as many productive areas and techniques as he could this morning. Like all instruction Redfish University trips, I filled him with tons of valuable information and kept his rod bent all morning long. Started at 530am and runned and gunned all over north and east Pensacola Bay. Stopped in an area for 15 minutes , threw some baits and caught plenty of speckled trout and medium redfish. Started with topwaters, played with sub-surface hardbaits, went to Gulp! baits and even threw some Johnson Gold Spoons to produce some sightfished redfish. Fished areas with lots of bait and mullet, fished some without any. Caught quality fish pretty much everywhere we fished and an assortment of baits and techniques. Ken is set!!! All fish released. Lots and lots of instruction trips and regular trips from now through December. Book now to get a spot. As the weather cools, the fishing will get very hot and Redfish U. dates are very limited. Thanks again, E Holstman

A tour of Pensacola Bay at Redfish University-August 30, 2010

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:12:34 +0000

Guided Mr. Bill Hamsberg this morning. Bill is a new resident here in Pensacola and asked me show him some very productive fishing areas in Pensacola Bay. Started out at 530am and ran to some shallow banks to catch some redfish and speckled trout. Caught 20+ trout and 4 redfish and continued on. We cruised Pensacola Bay, Escambia Bay, Blackwater Bay, East Bay and the mouth of Blackwater River stopping to fish areas for 10 minutes at a time. Most areas held lots of speckled trout, redfish and a few flounder and the areas that didn’t will be very good in the Fall and Winter months. Bill is going to be very, very happy he hired me to show him the area for many years to come!! This type of trip at Redfish University is the absolute best way to learn our local inshore fishery and consistently catch fish for years to come. See you soon, E Holstman

Alumni and Pensacola Fishing Forum $299 Fall Special at Redfish University-August 29, 2010

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:33:13 +0000

Redfish University is pleased to announce its $299.00 Fall Special for Redfish University Alumni members and Pensacola Fishing Forum members beginning September 1, 2010. Special trips duration is 6 hours and Pensacola area waters only. Catch nothing, pay nothing. Guaranteed.

Each trip includes gourmet morning coffee and an awesome giveaway bag full of items from Yamaha, Berkley, Maverick Boats, Redfish University Alumni stickers, Oakley and Patagonia. Book now as September and October are filling up quickly. Learn to catch redfish, speckled trout, flounder and other inshore species with confidence!! See you soon. Eric Holstman

Wet morning at Redfish University-August 28, 2010

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:44:59 +0000

Quote of the morning, “I can handle the rain if you can!” Guided Mr. Gerald Smith this morning. Gerald had no problem with the forecast and I was very excited about the challenge of fishing in less than ideal conditions. Grabbed my Patagonia Rain Shadow jackets and pants for both of us and some awesome Yamaha Pro gear as well and we were underway. Started at 530am with calm conditions and no rain yet. Travelled way to the east and found the topwater bite again to be on fire. Boated countless speckled trout between 14-23″ with a massive fish pushing 7# lost at the boat. We also picked up some decent 20-24″ redfish in the same areas. As the heavy rains approached with switched to sub-surface hardies and I tried a Marsh Works Big Poppy cork with a 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in white about 12″ below my cork. Both of us continued to catch one fish after another. We didn’t travel much due to the heavy blinding rains but we did dodge several storms with the use of the Yamaha SHO Vmax 250 at speeds approaching 70 mph. Total for the wet morning was 35+ speckled trout with most being well above legal and 6-7 redfish of all mid-range lengths. Incredibly, we both stayed bone-dry in our Patagonia all-weather gear. Great stuff!! Not fishing tomorrow but very, very busy next week. See everyone soon and thank you for fishing with Redfish University(in all conditions!) E Holstman

Light tackle fishing in Pensacola. Epic topwater action at Redfish University-August 27, 2010

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:59:09 +0000

Very, very, very busy at Redfish University!! September is filling up so book now! Guided Mr. Paul Heatherington this morning for a short early morning trip in north Pensacola Bay. Cloud cover and approaching storms made this morning a topwater anglers dream. Ran in the dark to get the first light bite and absolutely crushed the fish. Threw topwater in shallow water and landed countless speckled trout between 15-23″ with some 4-5# redfish in the mix. Only two areas really held fish this morning but there must have been hundreds of fish in these small areas. Total 30-40 trout and a handful of redfish. Back at the ramp at 830am. Lots of trips for the rest of August and September is filling up. Book now to secure a spot at Redfish University. You’ll be very glad you did!! E Holstman

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Light tackle fishing in Pensacola for speckled trout and redfish at Redfish University-August 26, 2010

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:45:49 +0000

Lots and lots of trips coming up. September is getting packed so book now! Guided Mr. Fred Stevenson this morning down in Santa Rosa Sound. Started at 530am and got on an epic topwater bite. Solid speckled trout with some decent redfish mixed in all morning. Switched to Johnson Gold Spoons around 8am and picked off cruising redfish on the southside until 1100am. Total for the morning was 40+ speckled trout(most 16-18″ with some 22″+) and 13 redfish on all sizes(17-28″) Epic trip with a great angler!!

Quick trip in Navarre this morning at Redfish University-August 23, 2010

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:08:16 +0000

Guided Mr. Taylor Whitaker this morning down in Navarre. Met Taylor at the boat ramp near Guana’s so that his wife would have the car for the day and we were off. Eastern Santa Rosa Sound near Navarre is an area Redfish University hasn’t covered in a while so we ran to some productive areas that I have fished a ton in the past. Topwaters drew some big trout immediately with some 20-25″redfish mixed in. Concentrated over grass bottom with large schools of mullet. As the sun rose, we travelled back to the east towards The Narrows in Ft. Walton and were able to find small groups of redfish crusing the flats and banks. Spoons for blindcasting and Gulp! Ghost Shrimp were very successful for the sight fishing. We were also able to catch some more speckled trout as well. All in all, a great day of fishing and catching in an area that we hadn’t fished in four month or so. Looking forward to some Redfish U. trips coming up in Panama City and Destin. RU will be taking clients to the west for sightfishing specific redfish trips.

An unconventional trip at Redfish University-August 21, 2010

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:33:45 +0000

Guided Dr. Roger Orth this morning. Roger is one of my favorite and best clients. Each time I guide Roger, we try to do something different whether it’s a different species of fish, locations or various techniques. We have mastered the speckled trout, shallow water redfish, big redfish, flounder, pompano, huge jacks or more. Today our focus was sharks and Spanish mackerel in Pensacola Bay. Started at 500am and ran in the dark to an area known for small pods of tarpon. Patiently waited for about 30 minute but only saw one fish roll. Not enough bait so we moved on. Stopped and picked up 7-8 small ladyfish for shark bait and arrived at our first location around 730am. Lots of bait very close to the bank being pounded by huge ladyfish and a few redfish. Broken out the flyrods and had some fun with the ladyfish. Traveled the Pass and lower bay areas in search of Spanish mackerel. Found plenty of small fish with a few decent ones mixed in. Strangely, we didn’t find a group of bait, ladyfish or Spanish mackerel with sharks in them. Normally, it’s no problem but, of course, today…. Anyway, we did end up seeing two sharks in shallow water that were not interested at all. Also, found some small groups of big jacks at various locations but they were moving quickly and would vanish. Fun day of catching lots of fish but really didn’t find quality fish in our target species of the month. Next time, Roger and I will travel to West Bay and Destin for some spectacular sightfishing for redfish and big trout in very clear water. Gotta make up for today’s trip!!