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Shallow redfish at Redfish University-April 9, 2010

Guided Mr. Bob Willice this morning. I’m guiding out of the Maverick 17HPX for a week or so, so we decided to go shallow and stick some redfish.  Started out on a very shallow flat and found redfish everywhere. Some fish were cooperative and some were not. Eventually found that the fish in around three feet of water were ripe for the taking. Stuck some very nice fish as well as few nice speckled trout. Also, saw a speckled trout that was over 7 pounds but the smaller(2.5#) trout ran down the bait. Bob also had an epic  redfish strike right next to the boat. The 30″ fish was chasing the bait as Bob worked it to the boat. He slowed the bait down and the fish did a head-stand and inhaled the Gulp! 5″ Jerkshad. It was a classic view from the poling platform that I will remember for a long time! Anyway, Bob’s next adventure involves the challenging pompano in a few weeks. All fish caught on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads and Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons. All fish released. Please click an image to enlarge and view...

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7# Speckled Trout, 6.5# Redfish, bulls and pompano at Redfish University-April 2, 2010

Guided Mr. Billy Thigpen this morning. Billy is a regular client from Atlanta and is down for Easter. We started out early for some big speckled trout and did we find them!! Billy stuck a 7# trout at first light. We also hit some very nice redfish in the same areas including a nice 6.5 fish. After an hour of slaying the redfish and trout, we took off for the beach in search of pompano. Found some pompano concentrating around deeper holes. We also sightfished several large redfish in the surf while we searched for the pompano. All fish caught on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads and pink/orange pompano jigs. Guiding Billy again tomorrow in the Maverick 17HPX in some very shallow water and we’ll be throwing at tailing and cruising redfish all morning long. Can’t wait! Please click an image to enlarge and view...

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Neap tides, full moon and 30mph winds no match for Redfish University-March 29, 2009

After a few days off to work with Berkley, I guided Mr. Mitch Smith this morning. Mitch is a very good angler and wanted to go find some redfish. Very poor conditions today with 20-30mph winds, no water movement from the neap tides and a full moon to top it off. No problem. Started out early with some very nice speckled trout while we waited for sun to get high. After catch our trout we headed for the redfish. Hard winds made things difficult but we made the appropriate adjustments and decisions. Mitch started off with a 25.5″ 6.25# fatty and then stuck the perfect redfish. On the paint at 27″ and 7.75#. Nice tournament weight of a little over 14#’s of meaty redfish. Continued to stick more fish including some oversized beasts between 10-20#. Plenty of redfish around and they are very willing to bite. All fish caught on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads in camo and rootbeer rigged with my favorite Marsh Works jigheads. Johnson Spoons also took some fish. Pompano tomorrow! Please click an image to enlarge and view...

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Beautiful but tough day at Redfish University-March 23, 2010

Guided Brian and Holly McDuff this morning. Brian and Holly are moving to Gulf Breeze very soon and wanted to learn about our inshore fishery here in Pensacola. Started out early in search of speckled trout. Found some fish and caught a few in the 2-3.5# range but the bite was painfully slow. Made our way into the upper bays in search of redfish and trout. Found some fish sitting but no takers. Very unusual in normally very productive areas. Headed south to find redfish in clear water. Immediately stuck a few oversized fish and then never found another decent concentrate of redfish. We saw a few uncooperate fish but it was all downhill from there. All fish taken on Berkley Gulp! Jerkshads rigged with Marsh Works jigheads. Holly was able to cast a spinning outfit pretty well by the end of the trip and even stuck the largest redfish on the day! Because I thought this trip was unsatisfactory, Brian and Holly will be joining me in the next month or so for a makeup trip to really show them how productive our inshore fishery can really be. Looking forward to redeeming...

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Great early, slow late morning at Redfish University-March 6, 2010

Guided Dr. Roger Orth and Dr. Wayne Adkisson this morning. Started out early in the bay system looking for some redfish and speckled trout. Found nice concentrations of both immediately in 2-4′ of water. We absolutely hammered the speckled trout with mostly legal fish and some 3# fish mixed in. The redfish were a bit sluggish as they have been for the last few days but we did hook a few only to drop the hook. We totaled around 25 quality speckled trout and kept 10 for dinner at Roger’s this evening. The second part of the morning, we explored the surfline at the beach in search of pompano and redfish. Only saw a few fish, but it won’t be long as we had a south wind and clear water conditions. Just need more of the same. All fish taken on Gulp! Jerkshads and Marsh Works...

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