Guided Mr. Kevin Stillworth this morning in Destin’s Hogtown Bayou and some nearly banks east of there. As always, Hogtown provided lots of action and lots of redfish. The schools of mullet were in full flight and the redfish were positioned within these massive schools. Went to the old faithful in Hogtown, the Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoon, and went to work. We banged redfish after redfish!! Some were 24″, some were 19″ and some were 26-28″. Worked there for a few hours and then buzzed to a school of consistent fish about 2 miles east of Hogtown. Mostly mid-sized (23-24″) with a few studlies mixed in. Quite honestly, I can count how many fish we caught but 45 would be a safe guess. Sore arms...
Read MorePanama City pounding at Redfish University-Sept. 8, 2009
Guided Mr. Sean Williamson in Panama City’s West Bay this morning. Hit the water at 600am and rushed to the first productive area. The end of the falling tide is the ideal time to target shallow redfish in West Bay and my goodness, we hit it perfectly. Started at Botheration Bay and Breakfast Point on the tide fall. Found large numbers of 25-28″ redfish in singles, doubles and groups up to 20-30 fish. Had great success on weedless Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo. Light line, long casts and silence were the key. Headed to North Bay next and concentrated on the westside between the powerlines an Muddy Bayou. The fish were staged outside the grass and very cooperate. Ended with 16 sightfished redfish in the 25-29″ range. My camera coded when trying to snap a few shots but waiting for client...
Read MoreSteady Day at the University-Sept.7, 2009
Steady trips at Redfish University this week although there small concentrations of redfish in very few areas. Good news is, I expect the redfishing to improve dramatically in the coming weeks and especially next month. Guided Mr. Barry James and his wife Cheryl this morning. Barry is an avid local kayak angler and I was able to cover lots of water with him and introduce him to some excellent kayak fishing areas and some clever tricks with artificial baits. Started out with some quality trout and lower slot redfish as we waited for the water to drop in the upper bay areas. At 730am, we blasted to some very productive area and a found the fish to be very difficult(local Labor Day traffic?) Whatever the cause, we managed to product an decent range of quality redfish. Ended the day trying to scrape up a few flounder which proved to be predictably grim on slow water movement. All in all, a below average day according to Redfish University standards but hopefully much knowledge was gained and a fantastic redfish dinner was had. Thanks again for the wonderful bottles of wine, James and Cheryl!! Please click on photos to...
Read MoreGreat Morning at Redfish U.-Sept. 4, 2009
Well, time to throw up a few reports from many of the recent Redfish University trips. Busy, busy, busy. Guided Mr. Mark Leong and his wife Lauren this morning. It was their first Pensacola guide experience here with artificial baits. Started with several very good-sized trout and some small redfish first thing while we waiting for the redfish areas to get right. Moved north around 8:0o am found some nice redfish mixed with schools of mullet and small menhaden in shallow water. Moved to Escambia Bay and struck some nice 25-26.5″ fish on uneven bottom and even had a big flounder to the boat which dropped the hook. Mark and Lauren were a pleasure to guide and even took their great catch to Aegean Breeze for Starvos to prepare. The fishing continues to improve with cooler weather and will be outstanding in the coming weeks. Photos to...
Read MoreThe End of an Up and Down Year- September 1, 2009
Well, the 2009 Redfish Cup season had come to a close. After starting the year in fine fashion, placing 16th and receiving a nice check in Punta Gorda, we started an uncharacteristic free-fall. Kemah was a big disappointment(should have fished the jetties, obviously, and entered the “fishing lotto”, and Chalmette still haunts us today. At the regular season ending event in Biloxi, we took a whole new approach. We prefished for 6 hours!! Yes, we knew where some very nice 28-30″ were in the Biloxi Marsh. A little pond on the outside that was full of oysters was the promised-land. Went there on Wednesday afternoon during a low tide and tails and wakes were everywhere. Jetted straight there on tournament morning, got a 10# and a 9.5# and slow cruised back arriving at 11:30am and took a nap. Ended up in 7th place after Day 1 with 19.45#. Great start and knew we could do the same on Saturday. Day 2-jetted back to the same oyster pond, stuck two great fish- both over 9.5#! We’re feeling pretty good but still looking for a 10# fish to secure the Top 5. Had a few chances and a few that were 9.5# but it was also a great idea to visit a few other areas nearby just in case we would be returning on Sunday to clean-house. Back at the weigh in, it was a little nerve-racking. Finally, it was our turn to weigh in and we secured 5th place with 19.38# with only 10 teams left to weigh in. With only 3 teams left, my fears came true as we were only worried about what the Watts Brothers would bring to the scales. We heard the weigh, but it took a few minutes for them to officially announce what position that weight would put them in. Crap!! They bested us by .19 of a pound!! We were happy for the Bryan and Greg who are awesome fellas but felt pretty shocked after what a disappointing 2009 season we had. No complaints with a 6th place!! We had a great two days of fishing and secured our exemption into the 2010 Redfish Cup where I assure you, we’ll do much, much...
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