Fun Drag Screaming Reds and Light Tackle Trout - Pensacola
Capt. John Rivers
December 30, 2012
Pensacola - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fun exciting trips before the year ends. – Pensacola Fishing
Had great trip on 12-27-2012.
We absolutely crushed the big reds on Thursday, but when you see hundreds and I mean hundreds or even thousands busting the surface throughout the day, it's kind of hard not to. I had some local anglers on the boat and they wanted to do some bull red fishing. I always enjoy taking locals whether they are experienced anglers or novices. If they fish they usually hire me to learn a little more about our area and learn different techniques or perhaps they are landlocked fishermen and want to get out on the water a few times a year. Sometimes they have their own boat, but they have recently just moved here and want to learn a few things about our area from someone who knows the waters. My clients on Thursday were veteran fishermen and had a small flats boat that really wasn't designed for big bay fishing. They wanted to hit the bay for the big reds before one of them went back overseas for duty. We had a trip that they will never forget.
Our trip consisted of a variety of fishing from bridge fishing for trout and reds, casting on the big schools, and even sight fishing them near the pass. While fishing the pass for a short time, we even landed an out of season 17" Snapper. It was the pink icing on the already awesome fish cake.
The lures used on the big reds were a Spro 1.5 oz jig in White or Pink and the Berkley Powerbait Swimbait. Both baits produced some quality hookups. These guys knew how to fish, but by the end of our trip, we were all ready for naps!
All out of season and over-sized fish were released.
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Had another trip on Friday 12-28-2012, and the conditions were not good at all; cloudier, colder with much higher winds which made for more difficulty fishing. My clients were a nice family from Texas. They had small kids on the boat who had never fished before nor had they been on a fishing boat before. Since they didn't want to get up at 6am and freeze, we left around 9am and since I thought the kids might do better at casting for white trout, I took them to the bridge. This area is perfect for kids and I hoped we might even catch a nice red while there. We landed a lot of trout with some whiting mixed in.
After we fished the bridge for a while I took them out looking for the big reds. We hit some flats hoping to get lucky and maybe sight fish a few, but we just couldn't find them. The weather started to get worse and the two kids were getting cold, so I took them back to the bridge for a little bit and then called it a day. We cut the trip short, so I gave them a break on the price of the charter.
Not every day can be a banner day on the water. They had fun watching the pelicans try to steal their catch, and they really enjoyed seeing our beautiful bay from the boat, so they definitely had a good time, and that's what counts. They are coming back next year in the spring and I'll do my best to get them the big red that eluded them this trip.
More trips to come the next two weeks, some regular and some Saltwater Academy Charters, so stay tuned.
For more info on Saltwater Academy see link.
www.saltwateracademy.com
For info on my regular inshore charter see link
www.megabiteinshore.com
Till the next adventure, here's wishing you tight lines.
John
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