Yes, we are still fishing here along the northern Gulf Coast of Florida.

Despite all the media rumors about the BP oil spill, our waters remain open to recreational fishing from inland to nearly 35 miles due south of Pensacola.

We have been very fortunate to have a strong easterly wind flow for the past 10 days or so. This will continue, we hope, to hold the spill west of the panhandle. Right now, the vast majority of the Gulf of Mexico remains open to fishing.

Last month, aboard the Entertainer, we did our annual Military Appreciation Fishing Trip for 42 of our men and women serving in the Armed Forces. Most of these young military personnel had never seen the Gulf of Mexico and, furthermore, had never been deep sea fishing. I thought it would be fitting for them to fish over the Oriskany, so I made that our first stop of the day.

Because of the depth, strong northeasterly current, a slow bite and lack of fishing expertise, we had to evacuate to another shallower location. After about the third stop they got the hang of it and became pretty dog-gone good fishermen. Needless to say a few were chumming for us.

Master Angler Terry Pape shows off a 20-pound Red Snapper, caught aboard The Entertainer Submitted photo These men and women caught nearly 450 pounds of fish which consisted mainly of Vermilion Snapper and Trggerfish, a local favorite. Returning to the dock they were greeted by 100 volunteers including comedian Bubba Bechtol. Bubba told a few of his favorite jokes while others cleaned and prepared the fish for a quick fish fry. Their catch fed about 200 guests and a great time was had by all.

June 1 marked the opening of Red Snapper season, and many of the local fishermen do not even fish offshore until Red Snapper season opens. The Vermilion Snapper, Triggerfish, Scamp, Grouper, Amberjack, King Mackerel and even a few Wahoo are biting like there is no tomorrow. We hope the Red Snapper will as well.

Inshore, the Speckle trout have moved on to the grass flats up and down the intercoastal waterways. They tend to be a little more aggressive early morning and late evening. They also love to hang around any lighted structures at night if your into night fishing. The Redfish can also be found around these same structures and in the deeper holes around piers and marinas. A golden color spoon is a good bait choice along with live shrimp or pinfish.

Flounder fishing has heated up in and around the pass. They will hang around structure as well and love bull minnows. Pinfish will also do the job if you cannot find any other bait. A great place to fish for flounder is along Fort Pickens beach bayside. There is a fishing pier along with rock jetties that attract flounder.

Summer is here and the fishing is great along the panhandle of Florida. Lets load up and go catch some dinner.

As we always say on the Entertainer " May the Good fishing be yours"!