I guided Joseph and his girlfriend on an inshore trip in Pensacola bay a few weeks back. Fortunately, the trout and redfish bite was off that morning so we got the pleasure of enjoying one of the best bottom fishing bites I have seen in Pensacola bay. We hit 3 to 4 wrecks near fort Pickens and pulled 3 to 4 monster snapper off of each of them. We aslo caught a couple keeper grouper for dinner! The last fish of the day was the largest bay snapper to ever come off my boat, hitting the scales at just under 23lbs. It’s hard for me to believe that the snapper population is endangered when we are boating fish of that calabir in our bay system. All of these beautiful fish were released unharmed and ready to be caught on June 1st!
The tackle and technique we use in the bay is very similar to what we use offshore for Snapper and Grouper . One piece of advice I can give you, is be prepared with very heavy tackle when targeting these bay monsters! We have found that bottom fish in the bay fight twice as hard as bottom fish offshore. Therefore, if your tackle is not heavy enough, you will lose 50% of your fish in the rocks. I like to use as heavy of tackle as I can get away with. On this particular trip we were using 80lb braided line, 60 to 80lb mono leader, and an 8/0 circle hook. The bait of choice was live croakers and threadfin herring. We rigged them basic Carolina style. This method seems to work the best. Because you are fishing in such shallow water, it usually takes longer to get a bite once your bait is on the bottom than it would on an offshore wreck. So, when targeting bay bottom fish, rig with heavy tackle, be patient, and hold on tight! You will soon be catching monster fish like these!
