02-15-2007, 03:29 AM
Friday:
February is here and the inshore Redfish bite is very good along the bridges and pilings.
I met up with Capt. James LaVanway from S.C. and his buddy Tim to do some mid- February Red fishing along the beaches of Pensacola and in our bays and inlets.
Our first stop was out off the beaches out of the pass about 7 miles. We spotted some birds working the area, and within a few casts James was hooked up, but the fish spit the hook. We moved around searching the skies for bird activity and watching the bottom machine for some glimmer of a Redfish, when I finally spotted some fish on the machine. Once again, James was hooked up and again the hook pulled. I checked the hook to make sure it was good and sharp, and it was. We continued to look for fish in the gulf, and after a couple hours of looking, I decided to head to a few secret spots where we had been catching some nice White Trout, Specks, and a few Reds. Well, I definitely made a good call. I had James and Tim working a jig off the bottom with a Berkley Gulp, and they quickly started hooking up Trout. James was the first to hook up a nice 34” Red. James said the Red hit the jig like a ton of bricks.
![[Image: PDMR22112.jpg]](http://www.gulfcoastangling.com/img/PDMR22112.jpg)
Fishing so close to the bridge pilings can make it hard to land a fish, as the fish will try to head for cover in the pilings and break you off, but James, being an expert angler, played this fish like a pro. We used the trolling motor up and down the bridge for a while catching some nice White Trout, and still hoping for another Redfish bite. Next thing I knew, I heard Tim yelling out from the back of the boat, FISH ON!
![[Image: PDMR22116.jpg]](http://www.gulfcoastangling.com/img/PDMR22116.jpg)
And he to was hooked up with a nice bronze beauty. We fished the bridge hard for over 5 hrs jigging our jigs off the bottom, while trying not to get hung up on structure, and waiting for that precise feel of a strike. I had been watching them catch fish for quite some time, and James asked, “Why don’t you try to hook one up?” The temptation was just too much to resist, and I started to fish for just a short while, and within a few casts, I was hooked up to a nice 36” Red. After a few more hours of catching Reds and Trout, the wind started to pick up and we were ready to call it a day. The weather could not have been better, 68 degrees and partly sunny with a light NE wind around 6 knots. The fishing was great and the company even better. James and Tim had such a great time hooking up Reds and Trout, that they booked another trip on Saturday, even knowing Friday would be hard to top.
Total for Friday’s trip was 12 Reds hooked, 9 landed, and too many White Trout to count.
Saturday
We arrived at the boat ramp around 8am, and the cold front that the local news was talking about last evening had arrived in full force. The temperature in the morning was a chilling 38 degrees, with the wind coming out of the north a solid 12 knots. I told the guys that it was going to be tough conditions, but being the diehard fishermen that we were, we decide to give it a shot. This time, I worked the west side of the bridge, hoping that the bridge would shield us from some of the wind, which it did. We were able to fish, but it still wasn’t as good as it was on Friday. On James’ first cast, he hooked up with a Monster fish, although we never got to see it. It headed straight for the pilings, and there was no turning it. It had to be either a big Redfish or a large Grouper. During the winter months, large Grouper come into our bays, and from time to time the bite can be pretty good. James and I were not happy about losing a fish to structure, but that’s fishing. It wasn’t long until Tim hooked a good fish, and it also took to the pilings for safety. This happened a couple of times during the day, but not to worry, James and Tim redeemed themselves. James had a bet on who would land the first Red, and both Tim and James had their chance a couple of times. Well after about 15 – 30 minutes of catching White Trout, Tim yells out FISH ON and I could tell by his voice and the rod bend it was no Trout. Tim was about to be $10 dollars richer.
The wind made it tough to hold position with the trolling motor but I managed to keep us close to the structure. We were only going to fish for 4 hrs as they had to get back to the hotel and get on their planes to had back home, Tim was from North Alabaman and James from S.C. so since we were more on a time schedule than on Friday we wanted to fish up to the last minute. James wanted to fish tight to one of the bridge pilings and I moved the boat as close to the structure as I could and it proved to work out well as James pulled out a nice 19” Speck, we took a quick pick and let it go back to be caught another day.
![[Image: PDMR22115.jpg]](http://www.gulfcoastangling.com/img/PDMR22115.jpg)
While James was fighting his Speckled Trout Tim was busy hooking White Trout in the 1 – 2 lb range.
Well it was about 40 minutes before we had to head back and James hooked up with a his own Redfish. This put a
on both mine and James face, Tim’s fish was a slot Red measuring in at 25” and James fish went 26 ½ ”.
![[Image: PDMR22114.jpg]](http://www.gulfcoastangling.com/img/PDMR22114.jpg)
It wasn’t the best conditions on the water, but we managed to hook up some fish and have a great time. March is just around the corner and the Sheepshead bite should be on fire near March 10.
Take care and See Ya on the water.
Till Next Time Bent Rods and Screaming Drags.
Capt. John Rivers
[url "http://www.megabiteinshore.com"]http://www.megabiteinshore.com[/url]
[signature]
February is here and the inshore Redfish bite is very good along the bridges and pilings.
I met up with Capt. James LaVanway from S.C. and his buddy Tim to do some mid- February Red fishing along the beaches of Pensacola and in our bays and inlets.
Our first stop was out off the beaches out of the pass about 7 miles. We spotted some birds working the area, and within a few casts James was hooked up, but the fish spit the hook. We moved around searching the skies for bird activity and watching the bottom machine for some glimmer of a Redfish, when I finally spotted some fish on the machine. Once again, James was hooked up and again the hook pulled. I checked the hook to make sure it was good and sharp, and it was. We continued to look for fish in the gulf, and after a couple hours of looking, I decided to head to a few secret spots where we had been catching some nice White Trout, Specks, and a few Reds. Well, I definitely made a good call. I had James and Tim working a jig off the bottom with a Berkley Gulp, and they quickly started hooking up Trout. James was the first to hook up a nice 34” Red. James said the Red hit the jig like a ton of bricks.
Fishing so close to the bridge pilings can make it hard to land a fish, as the fish will try to head for cover in the pilings and break you off, but James, being an expert angler, played this fish like a pro. We used the trolling motor up and down the bridge for a while catching some nice White Trout, and still hoping for another Redfish bite. Next thing I knew, I heard Tim yelling out from the back of the boat, FISH ON!
And he to was hooked up with a nice bronze beauty. We fished the bridge hard for over 5 hrs jigging our jigs off the bottom, while trying not to get hung up on structure, and waiting for that precise feel of a strike. I had been watching them catch fish for quite some time, and James asked, “Why don’t you try to hook one up?” The temptation was just too much to resist, and I started to fish for just a short while, and within a few casts, I was hooked up to a nice 36” Red. After a few more hours of catching Reds and Trout, the wind started to pick up and we were ready to call it a day. The weather could not have been better, 68 degrees and partly sunny with a light NE wind around 6 knots. The fishing was great and the company even better. James and Tim had such a great time hooking up Reds and Trout, that they booked another trip on Saturday, even knowing Friday would be hard to top.
Total for Friday’s trip was 12 Reds hooked, 9 landed, and too many White Trout to count.
Saturday
We arrived at the boat ramp around 8am, and the cold front that the local news was talking about last evening had arrived in full force. The temperature in the morning was a chilling 38 degrees, with the wind coming out of the north a solid 12 knots. I told the guys that it was going to be tough conditions, but being the diehard fishermen that we were, we decide to give it a shot. This time, I worked the west side of the bridge, hoping that the bridge would shield us from some of the wind, which it did. We were able to fish, but it still wasn’t as good as it was on Friday. On James’ first cast, he hooked up with a Monster fish, although we never got to see it. It headed straight for the pilings, and there was no turning it. It had to be either a big Redfish or a large Grouper. During the winter months, large Grouper come into our bays, and from time to time the bite can be pretty good. James and I were not happy about losing a fish to structure, but that’s fishing. It wasn’t long until Tim hooked a good fish, and it also took to the pilings for safety. This happened a couple of times during the day, but not to worry, James and Tim redeemed themselves. James had a bet on who would land the first Red, and both Tim and James had their chance a couple of times. Well after about 15 – 30 minutes of catching White Trout, Tim yells out FISH ON and I could tell by his voice and the rod bend it was no Trout. Tim was about to be $10 dollars richer.
The wind made it tough to hold position with the trolling motor but I managed to keep us close to the structure. We were only going to fish for 4 hrs as they had to get back to the hotel and get on their planes to had back home, Tim was from North Alabaman and James from S.C. so since we were more on a time schedule than on Friday we wanted to fish up to the last minute. James wanted to fish tight to one of the bridge pilings and I moved the boat as close to the structure as I could and it proved to work out well as James pulled out a nice 19” Speck, we took a quick pick and let it go back to be caught another day.
While James was fighting his Speckled Trout Tim was busy hooking White Trout in the 1 – 2 lb range.
Well it was about 40 minutes before we had to head back and James hooked up with a his own Redfish. This put a
on both mine and James face, Tim’s fish was a slot Red measuring in at 25” and James fish went 26 ½ ”. It wasn’t the best conditions on the water, but we managed to hook up some fish and have a great time. March is just around the corner and the Sheepshead bite should be on fire near March 10.
Take care and See Ya on the water.
Till Next Time Bent Rods and Screaming Drags.
Capt. John Rivers
[url "http://www.megabiteinshore.com"]http://www.megabiteinshore.com[/url]
[signature]
