Florida Sportsman Magazine contacted me to highlight the shallow water redfish secrets of NW Florida. There’s no photos with this report, but will be soon available in FL. Sportsman in the coming months. After a few wind and rain delays, we finally got our opportunity to hit the water yesterday. Armed with trusty, redfish master Brant Peacher as my co-angler, we set out into Blackwater with less than ideal conditions, but as always, we figured it out and produced some quality redfish. 

After a carefully calculated milkrun dictated by tide and wind conditions, we found the redfish were going to be inconveniently difficult on this most important of outings. Cameras on a boat are sometimes a curse. A very recent, private and timely report from fellow PFF member and Redfish University graduate, Jeff Russell, clued me in on a classic shallow water flat near deeper water with large bottom lumps. This is a scenerio that held true in other areas as well. This was the ticket and thank you Jeff!!

All redfish were caught on Berkley Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo and 3″ Gulp! Shrimp in Lime Tiger rigged weedless. All redfish released.

Anyway, I think this will be an excellent article and represent the sometimes forgotten Panhandle well. It will also show that redfish can be sightfished in NW Florida and that we have some fantastic areas to target them in very shallow water.

*An interesting sidenote- After reviving and releasing one of the redfish, the fish swam about eight feet and stopped. Making sure that the redfish was okay, I flipped the same 3″ Gulp! Shrimp in front of him to urge him along and he inhaled it again. Not the first time that has happened, and I’m sure not the last. All the more reason to use Berkley Gulp! These fish are hungry if you can find them!!!