Fall fishing has finally arrived - Pensacola Fishing Reports

Fall fishing has finally arrived, and I for one, am thrilled, to say the least! Over the past two weeks, I’ve been running trips both morning and afternoon depending on the tides, and the bite has been phenomenal!  It had been a little tough to get out with the wind especially with that so-called tropical storm a couple of weeks ago, but when I have been able to get out we’ve been catching a nice mess of fish. This week was nice with calm winds and slick seas.

As the water temperature cools over the next month, the specks will migrate up towards the upper bays and mouths of the rivers. Some have already made their migration, and over the past few trips, I’ve hooked up some quality fish up in Escambia Bay. I’m fishing both upper bay and lower bay areas. The Speck bite on the flats of the upper bay areas has been nice; I’ve also been hitting some areas in the lower sound too. The redfish on the docks and other areas has also been pretty decent. The reds are not all over the place, but if you know where to look and what to look for, you’ll hook up a few, and they are certainly fun to fight.

The water is very murky in the upper bay areas and somewhat fresh in some areas due to all the rain we’ve had. I’ve noticed a lot of bait in the bay, which tells me it’s not long before the big reds will be arriving. Lots of menhaden and blood minnows are around which is just what the reds love to eat. The water temp is right around 75-78 degrees and when it drops a little more the big reds will be here in full force. I really enjoy hooking reds on artificials, and over the past five years I’ve been specializing in artificial only trips with my clients, and they really seem to enjoy the unique experience of catching these monsters on all artificial lures. Today, (October 10, 2013), we boated all the reds we wanted on jigs in deep water. Let me say that I’m not opposed to putting live or fresh dead bait on a hook if necessary and if my client wants to, but there is something about fooling a fish to hit a artificial plug that is just sweeter.

 

As you can see the fishing has been outstanding the past two weeks.  We got our first major cold front this week and it kicked off the reds in some of the areas I like to fish. It won’t be long until the bull reds will be thick in the bay and that’s when the fun really begins. During the whole month of November, large numbers of monster redfish make their way into Pensacola Bay and the upper bay areas to spawn.  This is some of the best inshore light tackle fishing I’ve ever experienced, and it happens every year like clockwork. If you would like to do battle with some of these drag screamers, give me a ring and we’ll get you HOOKED UP!

Tight Lines.

Back at  it the rest of this week and next.
John