Pensacola - Navarre - Perdido Key

September 29th, 2009

With all the rain we had last week here on the panhandle, the water is very muddy both in the upper bays and in the pass. It will take a couple of weeks to clear up before it’s back to normal. However, even though the water is dirty, the fishing has still been pretty good.

I’ve been out in the pass a couple of times fishing the rock jetties for black snapper, and the bite was great. We pulled in some nice black snapper for the ice chest, and we also hooked up a couple of nice slot redfish. On the flats, the Spanish mackerel and Bluefish bite has been very good with a few slot reds mixed in. If you like top-water fishing, then there is good news for you. I’ve been catching most of my fish on the flats on top-water the past week. I went up near Escambia Bay this week even with the muddy water to see if the bite would be any good, and to my surprise the redfish bite was decent. I managed to hook up 7 reds, with four in the lower slot and three in the middle to upper slot; one of the reds was 26 ½” and a healthy 7 ¾ lb. Man, I wish I was in a tournament that day, because I would have done well.

I’ve been pitching a few different baits at my reds and some of the other fish. For my reds, I’m throwing a Mann’s Spoon or a Mann’s Tube Jig in watermelon color. I’m also throwing a Bass Assassin Paddle Tale 3” jerk shad in Electric Chicken and a mullet pattern. One of my favorite ways to hook fish is by throwing a top-water plug, and two great top-water plugs are Mirrolure’s Top Dog and a new lure I just tried out called the Sebile top-water stick shad. I like to keep trying different lures and presenting them in different situations to see what does best.

It won’t be long before the big reds will be invading our waters. I’m chomping at the bit to get hooked up with these monsters. November is my favorite time to fish, because not only is the weather perfect and the water not as crowded, but also I’m hooking up a 20 lb redfish almost every cast. It’s THAT good. Just let me take you out this fall, and I’m sure you’ll be hooked and want to come down every year you are able to get some time off.

Hope you enjoyed the report; check back every week or two to see what else is going on aboard the Mega-Bite.

Tight Lines.
Capt. John.