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Panhandle Fishing Report - Pensacola Bay & Choctawhatchee Bay
Capt. Eddie Woodall
May 8, 2006
Pensacola - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well it would be a lot quicker to talk about what’s not going on right now, but it sure would be boring!
Let’s start with the past month, April was good, we caught a lot Sheephead as they did there annual spawning gathering around Pensacola Pass, with little to no trouble finding and catching all the fish you wanted to.
The Red Fish bite has been the best we have had in the last several years. The fish management program is working great and there are tons of Red Fish to be caught. I’ve been catching more Reds than the Speckled Trout. The Speck fishing is getting better everyday though. We started out the spring with very little rain fall, the freshwater influence is mother natures way of telling the fish its time to migrate to the flats and fatten up for the spring spawning process. Now that we are getting some participation from Mother Nature in the form of precipitation the fishing is getting better and better everyday.
Wednesday the 26th of April Milt DeReyna from N.C. landed the biggest Speckled Trout so far for the 2006 season, the fish measured 32” long and went over 7 pounds, wow what a nice fish! So if a trophy Speck is on your menu, the next 6 weeks is prime time to get-er-done.
I fished the skinny water for the first time last Saturday, I’m talking about one foot of crystal clear water on the north side of Santa Rosa Sound, in the two or so hours we were stalking fish we sighted well over 50 Reds and a dozen or so nice Speck. There are lots of schools of finger mullet there now and the fish are feasting. The Reds were no problem to get hooked up, we landed 5 and had shots at many more but as my good friend and work partner Capt. Bob Quarles says, (quote) we had a few presentation problems. Catching the Gator Speck’s in the skinny stuff is a whole other ball game. We were able to get 3 nice Specks to eat before they knew we were there but believe me when I say there were plenty more that spotted us before we spotted them.
The bait of choice for our shallow water trip was the go to bait, soft plastic jerk baits, and the bass assassin in the mullet color was the ticket. Remember I mentioned lots of schools of finger mullet. There were several times I saw Reds mixed in with the schools of mullet so if you are there and see a school headed your way be sure and make a cast to them!
I’m really looking forward to the upcoming 6 weeks this is my favorite time of the year to fish, the fishing is great, and what a great place I get to call home!
The Nearshore fishing is just about to bust wide open, I ran the beach the other day and there was all kind of activity out there. Big schools of Spanish mackerel, Blue Fish, Lady Fish, Blue Runners, Cigar Minnows and Threadfin’s were everywhere. I saw Barracuda, Sharks, Pompano, Red Fish and big schools of Jack Crevalle.
I’ve run two Snapper trips with good success, with near limits both times. The King Mackerel are showing up and with all the bait showing up the Amberjack fishing is not far behind.
It all good right now, so get out there and get you some!!
I know one thing for sure - You ain’t going to catch’em sittin’ on the couch!!
So get out there, and take a kid fishing.
Tight Lines and Screaming Drags, Till Next Time! God Bless.
Professional Fishing Guide
Capt. Eddie Woodall
Full Net Charters
www.fullnetcharters.com
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