Today, I guided a group of four guys from Jay, Florida. I was a little worried prior to the trip because the conditions were less than favorable to say the least. We had a stiff 25 MPH south east wind, which made things very tough. The only thing in our favor was a big, incoming, spring tide. Those of you that frequent Pensacola bay, know that a good tide makes all the difference in your fishing success. Pensacola bay is a very deep water bay system. Unlike our neighbor, choctawhatchee bay, most of our big fish are caught in 55 to 60 foot of water. The tide is crucial when deep water fishing. It is not as important when fishing the shallow flats for redfish or trout, although, it shouldn’t be ignored.
We started the trip off by making the 6 mile run accross Pensacola Bay. After enduring the wrath that the bay had to offer, we arrived at our fishing destination, wet and tired, but eager to catch some fish. The incomming tide, once again, was the back bone of our fishing success. An assortment of fish were stacked up on the ledges, waiting to ambush baitfish the tide flushed in from the gulf. I used my sonar to locate exactly where the fish were sitting and then I would allow the tide to push me over the spot. We had a number of double and tripple hookups using this teqnique. We ended the trip with 15 big redfish, several nice black drum, and some red snapper. It was a very quick but eventful fishing trip.
Capt Brant
www.captainbrant.com
