Whacked them on a windy day ! - Pensacola Fishing Charters

Had an excellent trip on Thursday 3-27, Brian, his son Alex, Larry and his daughter Aria from Ohio had a great day fishing. It was a windy day to say the least. The rods were bent all day and we had tons of fun. They kept a nice mess for a fish fry and released the rest for their next visit. It's going to be rainy and rough the next two days, so I'll be back out on Sunday. 

 
Stay tuned for more reports.

John

Mega-Bite Inshore Charters
Pensacola's Finest Inshore Charter
www.megabiteinshore.com
850-341-9816

Spring has arrvied and it's been fun - Pensacola Fishing Charters

It’s that time of year again when everyone is fishing for the striped, spiny, bucked tooth sheepies. The sheepshead bite has been hit and miss the past two weeks, where some days we crushed them and others it was a little tough, but that’s fishing for you. I’ve had some fun with my clients sight fishing reds in the shallows both in the bay and just off the surf, we’ve also caught some nice fish fishing the deep drop-offs in the pass.

Saturday’s afternoon trip we caught a whopper-- the biggest red to date on my new Triton-- a 43” red.

The sheepshead are very late this year, but don’t worry, the bite’s about to kick off, and although I don’t think it will last as long as normal, it should be very good starting this week and last about two -  three weeks then start to taper off. Hopefully I’m right and we will enjoy a more consistent bite.

Here are a few pics,

I’m big on not killing a lot of fish, and I encourage catch and release with my clients and only keeping what they can eat while they are in town for a few days. That’s why you usually don’t see my pics with 30+ sheepshead lined out. Of course, if my clients are planning a big fish fry, then we’ll line them up, and hopefully nothing goes to waste. Here’s a tip for visiting anglers: take you fresh catch to one of our many fine restaurants at the beach, and for a nominal fee, they will prepare your fish and then you can enjoy a relaxing dinner or lunch without all the messy cleanup.

Flounders, Crabs, Peg leg Pete’s 

 

Till the next time, here’s wishing everyone tight lines.

John

 

Spring Break trips have officially begun - Pensacola Charters

Spring Break trips have officially begun and the fishing has been pretty good, not quite great yet, but it’ll warm up a bit more, and then it will be on fire. We had a very cold winter and the fish (Sheepshead) are running a little late this year. Good thing is the redfish, black drum, and red snapper are biting, so we can go after several species on one trip.

I’m catching the big reds by sight fishing them in the shallows in depths of 3-6 ft in crystal clear water. The schools of fish range between 10 –100 fish, so multiple hookups are possible. Next week looks good weather wise and I think the sheepshead will finally b

e there as the water temps are finally right.
When fishing for sheepshead and redfish in the pass, the go-to bait is live shrimp, but you can also use fiddler crabs and oysters. This is the only time of the year I use live bait unless my client requests live bait on board. After the spring sheepshead run, I’ll be back on flats with my new Triton stalking reds and trout.
Here are some of the baits I like while I’m on the flats: ZMan baits and MirrOlure’s hard baits including their top-water plugs.

It’s going to be a great spring, so stay tuned for some fun reports and pics.

Thanks for stopping by! Tight Lines.

John

Quick report for Pensacola, Navarre and Perdido Key

Quick report for Pensacola, Navarre and Perdido Key

The flats are heating up in Escambia Bay for trout and redfish. The water is getting right in the upper bays and should be very good quality all of March and April on the flats. I did some scouting a few days back in Santa Rosa Sound and I’m happy to say the trout and redfish bite was tremendous. If you know what docks are holding reds, you’ll have a good morning. Pensacola Pass is still a little sluggish with sheepshead, but it won’t be long before the annual migration/spawn will start up. I’m thinking March 12 should be the start of the sheepshead run. Small pods of bull reds are milling around near the lighthouse and just off the beaches both to the east and west of the pass. The reds in these pods are ranging from 30 - 40 inches.

I’ll be on water the all weekend and a bunch over the rest of the month, both on flats and in the pass. Usually in March I’m in the pass with my fellow captains hooking up sheepies and reds and whatever else we can hook into. But I will also be on the flats from time to time tossing artificials for big trout and those drag screaming reds.

I’m eager to show my clients the new 240 LTS Triton. I may be a bit biased, but this is one sweet rig. It’s the smoothest, driest riding bay boat I’ve ever been on; it can handle rough open water with ease or slip into the shallows in some seriously skinny water. It’s the perfect bay boat, the layout and fishability is top notch, and there is no wasted space in this boat. Matched up with the 250 Mercury Verado, this fishing machine stands above the rest.

 

I’ve also put some cool toys on her. My Humminbird 999ci HD Si is on board for locating wrecks in the pass and Pensacola Bay. Its got Side Imaging, so the fish don’t have a chance to hide.

I also installed an 8ft Power-Pole Blade for anchoring in shallow water so we don’t drift over fish. And of course, I can’t do it without Minn Kota’s I-Pilot to ease around the flats or hold up on wrecks in deepwater or while bridge fishing for trout and reds.

It’s going to be a great spring this year. Stay tuned for some great action pics and reports.

Till the next adventure

John

Mega-Bite Inshore Charters

www.megabiteinshore.com

850-341-9816