Chris Williams

Well, May is upon us. Lord have mercy how this year has flown by. Its vacation time, graduation, our just plain out of school for the summer for most of us. Finally...right? I know the feeling well. Since we are on the subject of vacations, how about I give you a fishing report for the month of May?

Inshore Fishing Report:

May is typically the month of great offshore fishing and even better flats fishing. Sadly, we have had some really poor weather lately and our bay is in disarray. So flats fishing is not what it should be now. We have a tremendous amount of freshwater in the bay and on the flats which really hurts the inshore fishing. So, inshore/bay fishing wont be happening until this water clears up and the fish move back up to the flats. We will be on the water daily keeping up with the water conditions in the bay and as soon as the fishing turns on we will let everyone know.

Offshore Fishing Report:

This brings me to the offshore bite. Surprisingly after all of this rain the offshore waters are still beautiful and crystal clear. The bottom fishing bite is on fire now. We have been consistently catching giant Red Snapper and Gag Grouper on practically anything that you drop down. Unfortunately, these are out of season but still incredibly fun to catch. On a side note, Red Snapper for us opens up May 24th of this year so get your trips booked while they last. Last week we had some big Grouper break off our #80 tackle so I'm on a personal quest to find out just what that was, hopefully we pull that big guy up next time you and I go fishing. There have been some huge sharks showing up as well.

As for in-season offshore fish, there are plenty of Amberjack still out there as well as Mingo, Lane and Black Snapper. All of these make excellent table fair and a blast to catch. The Cobia bite is slowing down but there are still a few stragglers left to catch. We only have weekend trips available on our Topaz so please make sure you book your Cobia trip before they are all full and the fish are gone. There is a good Yellowfin Tuna bite going on now as well as a few bill fish showing up, make sure you capitalize on that while you can.

Hope to see everyone soon. If the weather holds up, we will have a wonderful year of fishing ahead of us. And for those of you who don't know, we have a new boat. We sold last years boat and upgraded to a 24 foot Blue Wave Pure Bay with a Yamaha 300 HP motor. You have to come fish out of this beautiful boat. It will flat-out spoil you on the water.

Tight Lines,

Captain Chris

Fish Species: Snapper, Grouper, Amberjack, Cobia
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Chris Williams

About The Author: Captain Chris Williams

Company: Fish Happens Charters

Area Reporting: Pensacola, FL

Bio: Born in Pensacola, Florida in 1983, Captain Chris cut his fishing teeth on the bays and backwaters of Pensacola Bay as well as the Alabama and Tensaw River System in south Alabama. When he wasn't on the baseball diamond he was at home casting rubber plugs into buckets in his parents back yard. Little did he know that all this practice and preparation would undoubtedly prepare him for the career as a Professional Angler. Captain Chris graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University Of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida in 2007. Which he spent much of his early 20′s as a computer programmer while spending all his time and vacation chasing a dream of a Professional Tournament Angler and starting the ultra popular fishing guide service Fish Happens Outdoors based in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida. After much success in local and regional tournaments throughout the early 2000's, he decided to jump into the world of professional tournament fishing and made a name for himself on the IFA Redfish Tour and the Louisiana Saltwater Series from 2007 to 2010. Finally in 2010 he saw his chance to change careers and pursue a dream. Captain Chris was invited to join the ultra exclusive invitation only tour, the become a full time pro and joined the Academy Sports & Outdoors Professional Redfish Series which was filmed specifically for air on the Sportsman's Channel. Having success with several top 15 and a top 10 appearances in his rookie year. Captain Chris is always evolving as an angler and business owner, looking to improve his knowledge and hone his angling skills. You can always find him stalking the flats in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida or burning up the interstates on the tournament trail.

850-712-1727
Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Chris Williams