The first Redfish Cup event of 2009 took place in Punta Gorda, FL. on May 1-3. We were greeted with some difficult tides and conditions. We found the larger fish to be very uncooperative and set a goal of concentrating on more catchable redfish as this event would be the trickiest of the year. Each morning, we quickly secured two medium-sized fish in the well and then concentrated on a small group of redfish that were 26-30″ in hopes of grabbing a few quality tournament fish for upgrades. Ended up getting some over-slot fish and then going back to some other fish that would help us in the end. I found that the Berkley Gulp! 3″ Shrimp in camo were the ticket for both sightfishing and blindcasting holes along mangrove flats. All in all, a difficult event but we accomplished our goal and got 17.59# to secure 16th place and a nice check for $3500. Sometimes it’s best to play the tricky venues on the conservative side especially since the Redfish Cup Championship is right here in Pensacola, FL. in late September. Thank you very much for all the words of encouragement and best wishes, we represented Pensacola well and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. Photos to follow. Eric...
Read MoreRedfish Cup: Punta Gorda
Eric Holstman, captain and professor of Redfish University, will be teaming up with fellow angler, , to compete in the Redfish Cup in south florida this weekend. The seventh year of the Redfish Cup kicks off in sunny Punta Gorda, Fla from April 30 to May 3. Fittingly, the tournament will highlight the City of Punta Gorda’s annual Redfish Festival. As the only permanent stop on the circuit, Redfish Cup anglers already know to expect two things from the southwest Florida venue: a warm reception and an equally-hot competition. From Boca Grande to Pine Island to the waters just outside Charlotte Harbor, the second-largest estuary in the state provides vast tidal flats, seagrass beds and tons of mangrove islands. Spooky redfish enjoy the clear, shallow water challenging any angler who targets the busy shorelines and tidal creeks. In 2008, Mark Sepe and Andrew Bostick proved to be the masters of Punta Gorda during the three-day affair. The local anglers — Sepe from Deland and Bostick from Marco Island – found a healthy school and stuck with it for three straight days and the win. Overall, the weights seen during the 2008 season were above...
Read MoreFun morning with Pompano-April 11, 2009
Headed to the beach this morning with Tracy and friend, Randy, to do some pompano fishing. Found a nice, deep washout and set up. Pretty slow fishing but managed to get 4 nice pompano for fish tacos this evening. All fish caught on double rigs (20# fluoro. and #2 hooks.) Sandfleas and fresh peeled shrimp did the trick. We also caught a drum, a bluefish and a stingray. Oh yeah, and Randy caught a beautiful...
Read MoreSolid day at Redfish University! March 30, 2009
Guided Mr. R.J. McDermott today and found very clear water, decent amounts of bait and mullet but very difficult redfish. Some usually outstanding areas today were painfully unproductive. Found some solid consistency and replicated it over and over. Found quite a few redfish in the 20-30″ range along some sand/grass ledges. We saw some and blindcasted others. Pretty tough day but we popped 8-9 good redfish with a few more coming unbuttoned. Also some very nice trout and a good flounder were also in the mix. All fish caught on Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo and all fish released. RJ got his personal best, a 36″ 14# redfish on artificial today and we also saw a naked person on the...
Read MoreRedfish University quicktrip-March 18, 2009
Fished with friend and tackle rep., Brant Peacher, this morning and found very good quality redfish. The water was as clear as a swimming pool and the redfish were incredibly aggressive and could be sightfished with ease. Ended up catching over a dozen fish in a few hours with some massive upper slot fish. All fish caught on Berkley Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in sardine this time(forgot my camos) and Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons. All fish...
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