Light Tackle Monster Trout, Reds and just plain old fun!! Pensacola Fishing Charters

What an outstanding week of fishing, with some stud trout and nice reds.
99% of the fish have been caught on artificials like ZMan PaddlerZ's & MinnowZ's on a 1/4oz jig head. I'm also tossing one of my go to baits; the MirrOdine 17MR and the XL version of this bait.
Also producing quality fish is a popping cork with 15 -20 leader about 18" and a #1 kale hook with a live shrimp.
This set up is for my clients who are not proficient in casting and don't want to work artificials or just want to sit back, relax and fish.

At Mega-Bite Inshore Charters, it's about catching and having fun.
A big THANK YOU to all my regulars and new clients who've made my 2013 a one to remember.
Tight Lines.
John

Monster Trout, Inshore Slams, The Bite's Red Hot in Pensacola - Mega-Bite Inshore Charters

Mega-Bite Inshore Charters  has been very busy the past two weeks with basic inshore charters for bay snapper, fishing the pass, and inshore fishing on the flats with artificials for trout and redfish. I really like May and June here on the gulf coast; it’s not too hot and the big trout are hungry! Nothing makes me smile more than when my clients hook up with a big trout, unless of course, it’s me hooked up with a big trout. I actually do really enjoy watching my clients finally “get” how to use the right technique while reeling in an artificial, and when they see the positive results by way of a huge catch, it just makes my day! 

 

 As a professional veteran guide of the area, I’ve spent countless hours on the water learning what the best areas are to target quality trout and redfish. I take the guesswork out for you so you’re 4-6 hr trip is spent catching not fishing. Areas I’ve fished the past couple of weeks are Santa Rosa Sound, Big Lagoon, the Florida side of Ono Island, Escambia and East Bay of Pensacola, and Blackwater Bay near the Milton area of Florida. With all the big trout on the flats right now, it’s hard to pull us away from the great flats fishing to do much of anything else. We had a neap tide this week, but we fished anyway on those days, and despite the conditions, we did pretty well - 8 redfish, and some really nice trout. We had two trout that if weighed together their weight had to be 9 –10 lbs, which is some healthy trout. Here are pics of the two big trout whose lengths were 24” and 26.5”. I’ve been catching redfish both on the flats and on the docks of Santa Rosa Sound.

 On the flats I’ve been using ZMan’s Paddler Z 4” & 5” bait in colors of redbone and badshad. I’ve also been tossing MirrOlure’s 17Mr Baits for reds, but we are catching more trout with them. I use the same ZMan baits to catch trout on the flats, and these are rigged with either a 5/0 weighted worm hook or a ¼ -1/8 oz jig head. Trust me when I say, these baits work. 

 

Now let’s talk about red snapper as the season is just about to kick off, My bay spots are producing some nice fish, mostly 15-18 inch fish, but I’ve not fished my good snapper spots yet, as I am waiting for Snapper season to open up. Once it does I shouldn’t have to venture out in the gulf for two weeks or at least I hope so. If you’re looking for a few snapper for the dinner table and don’t want a long boat ride, you’ve come to the right place.

 FUN FISHING or SERIOUS FLATS FISHING? 

We do it all! See you out there, John 

www.megabiteinshore.com

www.saltwateracademy.com

 

Here's a short video of some really fun ladies from Wisconsin that wanted to do a sight seeing trip and fish a little. Enjoy the video.

Pensacola Fishing Charters - Inshore Slam on the flats.

Inshore Slam in the Upper Bays

Today’s inshore trip was a good one; we caught 5 reds, they were 16’to 18”, none real big. We did see three big redfish tails sticking out of the water, but we couldn’t get them to eat. I was a little bummed, because they looked like bigger fish, but we made the best of it.

After we left the redfish hole, we hit a few speck spots, and it wasn’t long before we were hooking up on some nice trout.  Dan was the grand slam winner by catching all three (trout, redfish, and flounder). He also was the winner by catching the biggest trout of the day-- a nice 27” whopper. It crushed a MirrOdine 17MR (808) like it was its last meal!

All fish were released, and hopefully we will catch them again. I will be back on the water again tomorrow. Both today’s and tomorrow’s trip are artificials only. 

Tight lines.
John

www.pensacolainshoreguides.com

www.captainjohnrivers.com

www.megabiteinshore.com

May has arrrived and the flats bite is on fire ! - Pensacola Charter Fishing

Pensacola Fishing Report on the flats: This season seems to be flying by; the awesome monster red fishing of November and December has come and gone, Sheepshead season is over, and all of a sudden we are already into the month of May. They say time flies when you’re having fun, and it really zooms by when you’re catching fish!

April was a very good month for trout and reds on the flats. There were tons of good trout and some of them were well over 20”.

I’ll be staying on the flats all of May and part of June having fun with trout, reds, Spanish and more, unless I’m out in the Gulf pulling on some Snappers during the ARS season.

Detailed info on tackle, areas and depths:

Areas Fished back in April: Flats, Santa Rosa Sound, Escambia Bay, and Blackwater Bay

Depths Fished:  2-6 ft

Baits Used:

MirrOlure’s Paul Brown, 17MR, Catch 2000, Top Dog jr.

Popping Cork: rigged with ¼ jig head 15 –20 lb Leader, with a ZMan MinnowZ – Color (Mud-Minnow, Pearl White, Bad Shad

ZMan: PaddlerZ 4”& 5”, MinnowZ, StreakZ (Redbone, Bad-shad, Houdini)

Pro Cure Bait Scents: Shrimp, Menhaden

Reels - Daiwa: Ballistic 2500, Procyon 2500 & the bigger 3500 for Bull Reds and Sheepshead

Line: Spiderwire Stealth Ultra Braid 15 lbs

Fluorocarbon: Berkley Vanish 15-20-30 lbs

Tight Lines.

www.captainjohnrivers.com

www.pensacolainshoreguides.com

www.megabiteinshore.com

Aprils ends with good trout bite - Pensacola Fishing Charters

With both charters and scouting trips, I am happy to say that April has been a great month for big trout and lots of them.

We do catch some shorts and average sized fish in these schools, but a lot of the trout have been 19 to 22 inches.  When I’m not running charters, I enjoy fishing on my own, and I scout out new and old areas to see where the bite is best.

These scouting trips are very helpful to keep me on top of the game and help me keep my clients in the zone when I take them out. The last thing I want when on a guided trip is to have to look for fish. I want to know where they are so my clients are spending more time catching instead of fishing! April has been a great month for trout, and like I stated above, they are pretty decent size.

The more areas I find holding fish, the better. By fishing a variety of areas, it keeps the fishing pressure down on specific spots. As April winds down the trout bite is only going to get better. May is usually one of the best months for big trout, and when I say big trout, I mean fish over 22 inches!

When fishing the trout holes, it’s not uncommon to hook up with a nice redfish from time to time, and most are in the slot and some are just under. But no matter the size, they all pull hard and make a drag sing. If you’re looking for some Spanish mackerel, you’re in luck; they have shown up in good numbers along the beaches and in Pensacola Bay.

Because of all the high winds and rough seas on the beach, I wasn’t able to get out this year and Cobia fish. When the gulf was calm enough, I was running trout trips, so I missed out this year. Maybe next year or this summer I’ll hook a few.

Back to talking trout and reds, if you’re a bass-fisherman and like tossing artificials, I’ve got the trip for you. See my fishing reports, and then give me a shout. 

The baits I’m using are tried and true for catching trout and reds, they include MirrOlure’s Suspending Twitch Baits, like the Paul Browns, 17MR’s, & Catch 2000s. I also use MirrOlure’s Top-water lures to get those big fun action pack strikes. Lures are the Top-Dog Jr and the Papa Dog. The soft plastics that have proven effective over the past few years include Zman ’s product line. The PaddlerZ, StreakZ and MinnowZ ( Redbone, Badshad, & Pearl White)

So after you read this, hit the Email button and book a trip and let’s get you hooked up and have a fishing trip of a lifetime.

Till the next adventure.

John

Fun Light Tackle Trout Fishing - Pensacola Charter Fishing

 I went out the past two days to do some scouting for trout and reds. I'm happy to say that the bite was very good for both. I've got some trips on the books this weekend and I wanted to check some areas and some new one's.

 

 If you're looking for one of the best inshore light tackle fishing 

trips along the panhandle, you've come to the right place.

Tight Lines.. Capt. John

www.megabiteinshore.com

www.saltwateracademy.com

850-341-9816