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High pressure, very low production at Redfish University-October 29, 2010

Well, it was one of those days that we should have stayed in bed. Guided long-time client and Redfish U. VIP, Bob Willice, this morning in the upper bays for some redfish and trout fishing as well as some location and technique instruction. Bob, living on Santa Rosa Sound, has fished down there with me several times but has never entered East Bay or the Blackwater area. Our results from today may make certain Bob never returns to those areas!!! With the fish predictably biting so well pre-cold front, today’s high pressure, high winds and blue skies, were not exactly a great recipe for success. Nevertheless, we should still catch fish right? You would think… Started at 630am and covered some great speckled trout spots only to find catfish. Travelled further south to some fabulous redfish areas and threw the whole tackle box at them. The day after a cold front passes, it’s very important to scale down your baits, slow your retrieve to a crawl and get around as many fish as possible. We accomplished all three but both of us could not draw a bite. At 900am, I looked at Bob and said let’s go next Friday and we’ll act like today never happened. Bob agreed and we were off. Often times, negatives are accompanied by even greater positives. Because the fishing was so slow, Bob witnessed my panic mode and was able to see a huge amount of areas where there WILL be many fish in the coming weeks. We will return next Friday to find all these fish biting and in the locations they should be in. See ya Friday, Bob! Book now to experience the wonder of Redfish...

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Redfish and Flounder before the deluge at Redfish University-October 28, 2010

Guided Gene and Tina Hunter this morning for some redfish, flounder and speckled trout action in hopes of packing the cooler with fresh fish. It was Redfish U’s intent to make a valiant effort to follow my friend Matt’s stellar performance on yesterday’ trip with Gene and Tina, a tremendous bay trip of grouper, snapper and big redfish! It seems we just couldn’t catch a break with the weather this week with Monday’s strong winds and this morning’s downpour, lightning and hard northwest winds. Our plan was to return to the site of yesterday’s epic inshore trip where we conquered over 30 redfish, big flounder and plenty of trout. Made the run west in pretty nice conditions with darker skies to the north. Radar indicated that clouds were moving from the southwest to the northeast but as we all know, things can change very quickly. Arrived in the area and started fishing. Wham! Big flounder on the second cast, a redfish immediately after that and plenty of bait and strikes in the next few minutes. Then the rain and wind hit us making it very difficult and with some thunder coming in, we decided to run back. A very disappointing morning especially since the fish were biting as well as they did yesterday. Perhaps next time Gene and Tina are in Pensacola we’ll have much better weather but at least they had a great day of catching fish one day prior! Book now to experience Redfish University. Please click an image to enlarge and view...

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Redfish University on a Saturday morning!-October 23, 2010

Redfish University NEVER guides on the weekends but for Redfish U. VIP’s, we make exceptions. Guided Dr. Edwin Yee, his son Jordan and friend Andy this morning in some northern areas of the bay system to find some redfish and speckled trout as well as to introduce them to some new areas to them that will be very, very productive in the coming weeks. Launched Edwin’s beautiful 22 Pathfinder/F150 Yamaha at first light and got to work. Full moon, high pressure, low/dead water made things difficult but not impossible. There was a real lack of mullet this morning but we found some redfish hanging on muddy banks to draw some topwater strikes. Very uncooperative fish today with only a few fish caught but we had some great strikes as well. With total home renovation in the process at the Holstman residence, I departed a little early to meet the interior designer and theater room specialist, and sent the crew a bit further south where I hear they found a few more redfish. Hopefully, this trip was extremely productive in a few other ways (locations, techniques and bait selections) because there wasn’t much rod bending this morning. The guys are still out there as I write so maybe as the water begins to move, things will improve. All fish released. Lots of trips again next week(full in fact) so look for more reports soon. Book now to experience the absolute best in inshore angling with Redfish...

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Back to Destin for Redfish University-October 22, 2010

Many anglers have found yesterday’s report from Destin visually stimulating. As a result, it looks like Redfish University will be spending quite a bit of time in Destin in the near future. Did a little overtime today so this afternoon’s guide trip in Pensacola was postponed until next week. Guided Mr. Shane Johnson and his mom, Mrs. Johnson, this morning over in Destin, FL. Both were looking for some inshore tips and techniques for redfish and trout. Started with topwaters and Gulp! Jerkshads in camo early in the morning and found the redfish and trout very, very difficult. We picked up some trout but nothing great. Visited some local bayous but it was really off. Good news was that we could go hit the big redfish early. Found the same groups of oversized fish as the day before and caught fish between 15-28.5#. Mrs. Johnson’s largest fish previous to this trip was a 20# salmon. Needless to say, she smashed that record many times over and won the “chicken dinner” with the 28.5# massive redfish. Worth mentioning is how impressed I was with Mrs. Johnson’s casting, retrieving technique and fish fighting ability. This young lady really knew her stuff and was really fun to fish with!! Anyway, we were able to sight fish most of these huge redfish in less than 5 feet of water and even blindcast a few with some exciting pursuits in the mix. Naturally, the 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in lime tiger gets the job done everytime. The Gulp! in combination with the Marsh Works Bull Red jigheads is a great bait for these fish. Haven’t straighted a Marsh Work bait yet but oh! do we try!! All fish released. Book now to experience the thrill of Redfish University. Please click an image to enlarge and view...

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Redfish University in Destin again-October 21, 2010

Redfish University spends time from Port St. Joe Bay to Hopedale, LA. The majority of Redfish U’s traveling trips are located in Destin and Panama City. Today, I guided Mr. Bobby Stewart for some redfish(big and legal) and trout action in Destin, FL. Bobby is an accomplished bass fisherman and has some property in Ft. Walton so he wanted to learn about the inshore fishing in Choctawhatchee Bay and around Destin. Started very early with topwaters first fpr speckled trout and legal redfish. Pounded out some very nice trout and some medium redfish on topwater and spoons. Checked a few more areas and then headed to a flat with lots of redfish of all sizes. Superb, sunny and glassy conditions made it very easy for me to call out fish for Bobby who was pretty tuckered out from the early morning action. With his arms cramping, it was a pretty dirty trick to save the redfish festival for the last few hours of the morning. Bob had a blast!! Used 4″ Gulp! Shrimp in lime tiger to sight fish countless redfish from 28-40″. Bobby was able to see the fish, place the bait and watch these fish inhale his Gulp! bait. It was a bit challenging as these fish were not as easy to catch as usual, so a well-placed pitch was the key to our success. All fish released and the ice was saved for Bobby’s arms! I had a great time fishing with you, Bobby! Until time…. E Holstman Please click an image to enlarge and view slideshow....

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