Captain Chris Phillips
Inshore –
The nighttime bull redfish bite has been good this past week around the Pensacola Bay Bridge. Anglers are finding the redfish near the surface in the lights on the east side of the bridge. You want to go slow outside the lights looking for the redfish and throw to the fish once you see it. Soft plastic lures on a jig head typically work as well as anything.
Sheepshead fishing will continue to get better and better each week. Through the winter the fish will be hanging around just about all the bridges in our area. Fish close to the pilings with a Carolina rig and a live shrimp or live fiddler crab.
Offshore –
Unfortunately, most of the bottom dwellers we typically fish for in the Gulf are currently closed including red snapper, amberjack, triggerfish, and gag grouper. If you’re heading offshore looking for something to bring home for dinner vermillion snapper are a good option.
A lot of times in the month of January the flounder show up on the nearshore wrecks, but according to a few reports there haven’t been very many fish caught just yet out there this year.
Piers and Beaches –
Pensacola Beach Gulf Fishing Pier reported that a decent amount of bonita have been caught over the past week. They will be found off the end of the pier and you can catch them on a white bucktail jig.
Surf fishing has been pretty good with anglers catching redfish, black drum, a few whiting and pompano. Fresh dead shrimp on a two drop rig will be your best bet.
Bob Sikes Bridge has been a good spot for anglers to target bull redfish at night. Fish near the bottom with a larger piece of cut bait or a soft plastic lure on a jighead. An incoming tide seems to be best, but as long as the water is moving you will have a shot at catching a few.