Hello all! Full bookings for next week! For the anglers who are scheduled to fish with me after this cold front passes, get ready for hot and heavy shallow water action!! It’s going to be outstanding!! 

With a little break in my busy guiding schedule, I thought I’d post a redfish report from Panama City to Hopedale, LA.

Let’s begin to the east with Panama City, shall we? In the West Bay area, the redfishing has been superb. My favorite time to target these fish is about 2-3 hours before the low tide. The fish will exit the grassy banks and are much easier to catch. Long casts with Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo is the tickets. Areas such as North Bay, Breakfast Point and Botheration Bayou have been very consistent and 15-20 fish mornings are pretty easy to produce.

Moving west to Destin, Hogtown Bayou has been hit or miss. Lots of small fish can be taken on small Johnson Gold Spoons but the larger redfish can be difficult. The north banks of Choctawhatchee Bay have turned on and the larger redfish can be sightfished on the sand and grass flats.

Santa Rosa Sound will be winding down soon as the temperatures drop. Redfish can still be found around Tiger Point and the Narrows east of Navarre. Don’t expect to find large concentrates of fish in the Sound, but there are a few decent groups around.

East Bay and Blackwater continue to improve weekly. Lots of fish in few places, but this will change after this weekends cold front. The cooler weather makes these fish very aggressive and trips of 20-30 fish are not uncommon. Not a huge fan of Escambia Bay, but you’ll find a few fish over there as well.

Mobile Bay is producing good number of fish on the southside. Grassy banks and banks with creeks have been pretty good. Spinnerbaits and popping corks from Marsh Works have taken large amounts of quality redfish. Dauphin Island also has some fish in the shallow water areas.

Pascagoula River is always a hot spot in the fall. Large flats on the river banks will hold great groups of redfish. Marsh Works jigheads with avocado colored plastics are always a favorite as well as small spinnerbaits. On the outside, Bangs Lake is always a top producer on spoons, topwaters and plastics.

Over in Louisiana, Hopedale and Delacriox are on fire! In the marsh, on the outside and in the freshwater, the redfish are everywhere. Pick a nice sunny day and enjoy sightfishing at its best.

Looking forward to fishing with everyone soon!! Take care.

Eric Holstman