Captain Chris Phillips
Inshore –
The next few days we should see some warmer temps and active inshore species. Expect to find speckled trout in the bayous and canals as well as the mouth of Blackwater and Escambia River. Artificial lures will be productive, soft plastics on a jig head or a hard-plastic jerk bait like a Mirrolure are your best bet.
Slot sized, and bull redfish are being caught at both the Garcon Point Bridge and Pensacola Bay Bridge. Fish around the center portion of the bridges close to the pilings. Live bait is preferred, but lures will work also. Black Drum and white trout are also possibilities using the same technique.
Offshore –
It’s going to start sounding redundant if you read our reports each week, but vermillion and scamp have been the most targeted species for those going bottom fishing and looking for something they can keep.
If you’re just looking to have some fun and don’t mind catch and release there are plenty of red snapper, ambjerjack, and triggerfish on a lot of the popular public wrecks.
Piers & Beaches
Surf fishing still has been pretty good from Navarre Beach to Pensacola Beach. Whiting and redfish have been biting the best with anglers also catching a few pompano and black drum. Fresh dead shrimp on a two-drop surf rig is the way to go. Fish on the deeper side of a sandbar or in a hole or washout if you can find one.
Anglers fishing on the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier have been catching whiting, redfish, sheepshead, and a few bonita. Take some shrimp with you as well as some white bucktail or nylon jigs for the bonita.