"Fish on!" said Joe for the third time today. We had only been fishing for maybe twenty minutes, and Joe had already brought in two nice bull redfish. Corby was still fighting his fish that had taken his rod to the gunnel twice already. This was Corby's first ever Redfish, and would you believe that it measured over 42"? It was a pig, and had to weigh well over 35 lbs! We had decided to go out for a day of fun fishing, and what a day it was!
With the past few cold fronts and the water cooling down the past two weeks, the Redfishing along Pensacola has been off the charts. I know I've been saying it for the past month, but they're finally here! Big reds over 25lbs! Yesterday we boated 38 Reds and 5 Kings. We were using just three different baits for these Redfish, one was the ever-trusty 2oz white and green Spro Jig, the other was a new bait that Berkley sent me: a 7" Berkley Powerbait Realistix. These soft-body jigs work like the real thing; this one was holographic gold and black. The last bait was a lure I've used for years catching reds; a Mann's Stretch 25 pink color. Now you can use any color you like, but I have found that pink works best with my second choice being a red and orange stretch.
The red fishing was awesome on Tuesday, but the big surprise was all the kings! We must have spotted 10 or so kings sky out of the water, and earlier that day I had lost a few of my jigs to these toothy thieves. I had to switch over to coated steel leader near the end of the day so I wouldn't run out. Joe and Corby did manage to land a few small kings, which were thrown back to enjoy another day in the gulf. We certainly enjoyed the day. The winds were out of the SW to start out our day of fun; the gulf was a little choppy, with the seas running around 1-½ feet. They were calling for a cold front to move in around 11am, and the wind was supposed to switch around out of the North, and it did just that. After that, the gulf laid down just like I thought it would, and the sun came out and the fishing only got better. Good fishing with good friends is what it's all about.
The new Florida Sport Fishing Magazine just hit the shelves and there is a great article about the winter Redfishing here along the Northwest Florida coast. I'm a little biased, since I wrote it, but I talk about hooking up these big reds, which if you have never been out and felt the power of these big fish, you need to give me a ring, and we'll see about getting you your first ever Monster Redfish over 25lbs, too.
Closer inshore, near 3mile Bridge and in Big Lagoon, the white trout bite has really picked up along with some nice catches of slot reds. The trout bite has been very good up near the mouth of Escambia River where the freshwater and saltwater meet. The nice thing about this area is you can catch a variety of fish, like bass, trout, reds, stripers, and even some pan fish like bluegill. Red snapper season has closed, so if you do venture offshore for some bottom bumping, and you bring up a red snapper, remember to vent him and let him go. As you can see, the start of November, even though it's a little cold, is really heating up. So what are you waiting for? Let's get you hooked-up on the Mega-Bite.
Till next time, here's wishing you bent rods and screaming drags.
Capt. John Rivers
Mega-Bite Inshore Charters
850-341-9816
Lets Go Fishing Today!
Thanks to my sponsors: Mann's Lures, Exude/Mr. Twister High Roller Lures, SPRO Fishing Tackle. Gamakatsu Hooks, Pure Fishing - Berkley ABU Garcia, Shakespeare, Sea Pro Boats
