Inshore Fishing for Trout & Reds in Pensacola

<p>Well, this has to be the windiest April in history and May showed up with the same vengeance. The wind has made it very tough to enjoy a good day out and do any flats fishing, but I have been out and the fishing has actually been pretty good for trout and reds. Since the winds have been so relentless, I've had to fish places I sometimes don't fish much just to hide from the wind. I found a few new honey holes for trout and reds, so I guess I shouldn't gripe too much about the wind. Most of the trout are in the 14" to 16" range with some over 20". I've been pitching MirrOlure's Catch 2000 in mullet color and their Top-Dog Jr. when I want to toss out a top-water.

The dock fishing has also been pretty good for slot reds; you have to hit a few docks to find some fish, but it's worth it. Try pitching a 4" Berkley Gulp on a jig head with 20 to 30 lb Berkley Fusion Original braid on your reel and you should have no problem getting the fish out away from the dock.

In upper Escambia Bay the trout bite has been good. The water is muddier up there, so use dark colors like a spoon or Camo Jerk Shad or Nuclear Chicken on a Gamakatsu Wide Gap hook. I was over in Big Lagoon a few days ago and the bite was ok, not great; I think it was the tides, not sure why I wasn't catching the fish I wanted to catch. We were coming off a neap tide and I think that's what caused the bite to be very slow. I'll be over there again next week and I'll give a report, so hopefully I'll have better luck. Most of my fishing has been in the ICW and the upper bay systems and I've been having fun tossing out a lot of soft plastics and hard baits like MirrOlure's MirrOdine and Catch 2000.

With this cold front that just came in and the little bit of rain, I think this weekend is going to be some good inshore fishing.

Thanks for stopping by; I'll have another report in about 7 –10 days.

Tight Lines.

Capt. John