|
From the pier or a charter boat, fishing is great!
Mark Clabaugh
Hello folks, the local fishing has been doing pretty good lately from the Pensacola Gulf Fishing Pier to offshore Snapper Fishing. So, I thought I would start with "you have arrived at Sunny Pensacola Beach and want to do something different." Well, let's go fishing!
The first place I am going to take you is the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier which is the longest gulf pier in the State of Florida at 1471 feet. The pier is a great place to go if you are including bottle nosed dolphins, sea turtles, crabs as well as many types of fishing
Ok, all we need for this fishing expedition is 2 rods, one small light tackle rod for catching bait and a good size spinning reel with 20-25 pound test for the king mackerel. We will need King Rigs and Sabiki Rigs for catching bait. If you are out of town and do not have your own gear, well you are in luck because the pier has everything you need and Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle is just around the corner.
If you're fishing at the pier the first thing you are going to do is rig your sabikki rig onto your light tackle rod with a small 2oz weight at the bottom. Also, have ready your spinning reel with rigged with a king rig. This is typically a steel leader with a treble hook. Some fishermen/women engineer a second hook right behind it called a cheater rig for a little extra advantage. Next, looking for a school of baitfish cast out and jig the rig back to you. When you hook up bring your bait fish in. If you have a hard tail, hook him through the back; if your catch is a cigar minnow, ballyhoo, etc then hook it through the lip.
 | | LEFT: Vivian Prevate with Snapper. |
|
The best fishing for Kings and Spanish are at the end of last 1/5th of the pier. Most fisherman/women who are regulars fish the end of the pier casting out and allowing their bait to float along the surface. Please, when fishing be sure to always be mindful not to cross up everyone's lines. With your drag loose wait for the fish to strike. If you do not get a strike and your bait has now drifted a ways and in danger of tangling, bring it in and recast. When the fish strikes, allow him to run with it then jerk the pole back setting the hook. Now, the rest is up to you and there are plenty of friendly people on the pier to help you bring your catch aboard.
 | | ABOVE: Josie Rollo with Red Snapper |
|
The next place I am going to take you is aboard a charter boat. Charter boat captains are fishing every day and they have the line on where the fish are most of the time. There are 2 type of charters you can get depending on the level of service you want, private with just you and y o u r family/group and party boats where you fish with several other people for a per person price. I prefer the "private charters" because the Captain and Crew can focus on you; they typically produce better and customize the fishing experience to you and your needs.
When fishing on a fishing charter you will want to be at the boat about 30 minutes ahead of time. Do not worry about weather, the Captain will let you know what the offshore conditions are and I have fished sunny days offshore and it rained all day at the beach. Bring plenty of food, drinks and suntan lotion ... the boat will take care of the rest from catching live bait for you, cutting bait, helping you fish, baiting hooks, taking your fish off the lines to cleaning your fish when you return to the dock. Some Captains even have restaurants that they can suggest to clean your fish for you. This is the ultimate in fishing entertainment.
 | | Lucy Waters shows off her Red Snapper catch. |
|
Currently, the boats are catching Red Snapper for which Pensacola is World Famous for, Grouper, Triggerfish, Amberjack, as well as many other gulf species. The offshore bite is stronger further offshore so if you are considering a charter you might want to think about one 8hrs or so. We fished this weekend aboard the Reel Eazy with Captain Buddy Rogers during one of his family/Children fishing afternoons and returned with plenty of Red Snapper, Grouper and King Mackerel as well as many smiles!
This is just two options for fishing our area, of course there are many more from fishing the shores for Whiting and Pompano to fishing the bridge next to the Bob Sikes for flounder, trout, and croakers. If you have any questions about fishing please feel free to call Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle or any charter service and they will be more than happy to help you.
A little side fishing story, last Friday, Shelley Reynolds arranged a fishing charter aboard the Reel Eazy with Captain Buddy Rogers for her family and some close friends that have helped her in her new law practice. The charter was an awesome experience especially since for some it was their first time offshore fishing for a lot of the children on board. Josie Rollo caught her very first fish ever, "Miss Vivian Prevatte" caught her very first Red Snapper and the biggest fish ever, Lucy Waters brought up her first snapper as well as Cody Harris. Shelley's boys Matt, Tanner and Chas caught a mess of snapper and Chas even snagged a nice King Mackerel. However, the best catch was the fishing fever everyone caught from a great day on the water.
So, are you still looking for something to do on Pensacola Beach? Go fishing!
|
|
)
)
)