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Gulf Coast report from Redfish University-Oct. 13, 2009

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...

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Foggy morning at Redfish University-Oct. 8, 2009

Fished with my friend and fellow tournament angler, Mike Tindal, this morning in Blackwater and Pensacola Bay. Found some small tailing fish in some shallow areas but they were pretty difficult. Ended up sticking some good quality fish in sandy bottom areas with lots of mullet. Also caught some decent trout and a very nice flounder in the same areas. Buzzed some other areas around the bay and saw quite a few fish. All fish...

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Shallow water at its best at Redfish University-Oct. 5, 2009

Guided Doug Dragen this afternoon in Blackwater and East Bay. Found plenty of redfish tailing in shallow water.  Sightfished with Gulp! 3″ Shrimp and Powerbait Chigger Craws rigged weedless on a #3 Owner 1/8oz. hook. Stayed on the pole most the afternoon as the trolly made things difficult. All together we stuck 13 redfish in the 23-28″ range. All fish released. Photos to...

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The 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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Redfish U. Fall/Winter special $299!!!!!

  The pinnacle of shallow water angling with Redfish University and Eric Holstman for $299.99!!! If you catch nothing, you pay nothing. Guaranteed.   Beginning September 1, Redfish University www.redfishuniversity.com will again offer the absolute best in shallow water redfishing trips for $299.99. Guided trips will be 5-6 hours, for 1-2 anglers and each angler will receive a free bag of Berkley Gulp as well as other great items from Yamaha, Hewes, Patagonia, Oakley and Berkley. With the tremendous response from last fall and winter, Redfish U. has increased its rate from $250 to $299 in hopes of not being so busy but what an incredible and unparalleled value nonetheless!  Don’t just catch fish, learn how to catch fish! Participate in intense instruction and techniques as well as an enlightening morning of angling conversation with an experienced, accomplished and  much sought-after angler in the world of saltwater fishing. Go to www.redfishuniversity.com or www.ericholstman.com to read testimonials from some of the hundreds of local, industry, celebrity, PFF and knowledge-thirty anglers that have experienced Redfish University and see why we are the BEST of the Best!!   In the event of overbooking, schedule conflicts and your professor being out of town, our very capable and accomplished friends at Emerald Coast Fishing Excursions www.fishtheemeraldcoast.com, Capt. Brant Peacher, will cover my guide trips (for one penny more!)   ericholstman@hotmail.com or 8507484368 Book now!! Don’t miss out. *No pass fishing, jetty fishing, bull redfish, sheepshead inquiries please.   See you soon, Eric C. Holstman    ...

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