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Another stellar morning of fat redfish and trout at Redfish University-April 25, 2011

Big winds and big fish! Guided Johnny Middleton and Mee Eun Kim of the world famous Trans-Siberian Orchestra this morning.  Johnny is a bassist in the band from St. Petersburg and Mee Eun is a keyboardist from Germany. Prior to there performance tomorrow night at the Pensacola Civic Center, the artists wanted to get in some shallow water inshore fishing. These guys really caught on to the artificial bait techniques and absolutely smashed the fish today. I wish we were fishing a large, big money redfish event today because according to my calculations, Johnny and Mee Eun produced 14.25-14.5# today with several 13-14#’s duos. Oh well. Started at first light in the bay and threw Sebile Bongas at some hungry trout on sand bottom banks. Got several nice speckled trout in the 1.5-4# range but found very little mullet and very little redfish. At 8am, we trailered the Hewes 21 Redfisher and went to Santa Rosa Sound. Ran way east and found vast amounts of redfish in the 24-28″ range that just loved Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons slow-rolled in 3-5′ of water. The key was targeting areas just outside small schools of large mullet. Mee Eun also picked off a very nice 4.5# speckled trout in shallow water. Two firsts for Mee Eun, redfish and trout, but even better were that they were 7.25# and 4.5# respectively. Looking forward to watching them perform tomorrow evening for the “Beethoven’s Last Night” and having some cocktails afterwards. All fish released. Book now to experience the absolute best in shallow water angling at Redfish University. Hurry. E Holstman Please click an image to...

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Day 1- Challenging but they couldn’t hide for long at Redfish University-April 5, 2011

Guided Mr. Paul Murphy for Day 1 of a two day booking. After last night’s downpours, high winds, erratic pressure, a 30 degree temperature change and today’s blue-bird skies with heavy winds, I figured today was going to be a bit challenging. Fished the northern reaches of the Pensacola Bay system before all the dirty, fresh water entered the bay. Started out at 630am with 20-25 mph winds and very cool conditions. Hit some areas normally full of fish and stuck a few decent trout and small redfish. Made a quick milk-run with similar results. Changed the plan and hit some areas with deeper pockets and dropoffs and eventually found plenty of redfish, even some double hookups in the mix. Right on the bottom and a very slow tapping retrieve was the key. That and some worm rattles which work wonders in stained or dirty water. Found lots of redfish in the 18-25″ range with some nice trout mixed in. A very challenging morning but we figured it out pretty quickly. All fish released and looking forward to a new location in the morning. Trips all week so the reports will keep coming. E Holstman Please click an image to...

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An instructive and productive afternoon at Redfish University-March 29, 2011

Guided Mr. Frank Brueske and his son-in-law, Chris, this afternoon for some fishing in the northern reaches of the Pensacola Bay system. Frank spends most of his time in Escambia Bay so I really wanted to broaden his angling knowledge and locations. Started at 1:30pm with a soft easterly breeze and incoming water. Didn’t take long for Frank and Chris to stick some quality speckled trout on Gulp! baits and hardbaits. Travelled a bit further south and fished some very productive banks for redfish and found some cooperate fish including Frank’s 24″ fatty that crushed his Gulp! 5″ Jerkshad in camo. Fished several more areas and had success pretty much everywhere. Hopefully Frank and Chris have found some very productive areas for redfish and trout and will have much success in the future. Probably a cancelled trip tomorrow because of the weather but trips the rest of this week and next so I’ll have some more awesome Redfish University reports. April is almost filled but still have openings in May so book now to experience the wonder of Redfish University. E...

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A father and son day to remember at Redfish University-March 18, 2011

Guided Steve and his  eight year old son Tyler this morning in search of speckled trout and some big redfish for Tyler to pull on. Found some nice trout around Gulf Breeze and then we hit some clear shallow flats where I was able to introduce Tyler to some very exciting sight fishing. This sand flat was full of redfish of all sizes and they were incredibly easy to catch which provided tons of fun for the fellas. Ended up picking up 15-20 redfish as they came by in singles-triples and Tyler even hooked several himself which resulted in an early afternoon nap. I know he’s hooked now but we’ll work on his endurance. All fish released and had a dead camera battery but I was sure to charge it thoroughly for Saturday morning’s trip. You”ll see what I mean. E...

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Plenty of redfish and trout at Redfish University-March 1 and 2, 2010

Guided Mr. Jim Lawrence and his son, Jamie, on Tuesday and guided Chris and Missy Simmons this morning. Jim and Jamie really stuck it to the redfish and trout, taking some great fish home for dinner in Destin. Today, Chris and Missy joined me for a very similar trip where both anglers got their share of quality redfish and trout. Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo always do the trick and fish were found on both protective and wind-blown banks. With the water quickly rising, I find it most productive to skirt the banks very closely, casting outward to redfish approaching the grass and root-filled bottom. Blindcasting and sight fishing were both successful techniques. The couple took a few quality trout and some mid-sized redfish home for dinner. Lots of trips booked so plan accordingly anglers!! E...

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