Lots of rain, but were still fishing when we can. Pensacola Charters

Pensacola Fishing Report July 8^th 2013:

With seven days of rain between 12-18” this past week, I was only able to get out twice the first week of July. The week of Independence Day is usually very busy with trips and fun fishing, but a tropical low off the coast of Louisiana kept me in the house watching DVD rentals for 4 days. My tackle is organized; I’m well rested, and all caught up on my Netflix! Now I’m ready to get back on the water, and I should be running strong the rest of July. Since I only fished twice the first week of July, I’ll talk about the last week of June. I’m happy to say it was pretty decent with specks and reds on the flats. I fished both upper and lower bay areas. I mostly fished artificials, unless I had a client that was more comfortable using live bait. 

When I do use live bait, I’ll use pinfish and shrimp under a popping cork. Most days we were catching 25-35 trout with a few redfish mixed in, with some in the slot, and some a little bigger. The trout ranged from 14” – 22” with a few over 22”. My biggest fish this season was 27.5, at around 6 lbs, which was caught back in May.

Most of my clients have been bass fishermen and love using artificials in our fishery. They feel right at home with artificials, and have no problem catching saltwater trout and reds, a few bluefish, and Spanish mackerel.

How will all this rain affect the fishing? This is a question I’ve been asked by many of my clients the past few days. My answer is it will push the fish down south towards the sound and lower end of the upper bay areas. Another good thing about this much rain is when you find some trout, there are usually a lot of them in that area, because they found a salinity level they like, and they will hang out in that area.

So when we catch a few real quick, my Power Pole gets deployed and we hold tight for a little while to get our fill.

I’ve got a few days still left open in July, so if you’re headed down this way, give me a shout.
Thanks for stopping by,

Tight lines.

John