1eyefishing
...just joking, seriously.
Headed out into Pensacola Bay last night around 9pm in less than perfect conditions. Targeted bull reds under a little known, tiny bridge there (ha!).
I was able to put these two in the boat and got broken off by one more. One of my fishing partners had one break off and another break a jig hook...
The fish were actually sightfished at night under the bridge lights! The outgoing current and the bridge lights bring a lot of bait to the surface, which in turn bring the red fish up into the lights and shadowlines. No lights=No sights! The water is too murky during the day to see the fish. I got to see the first fish turn and eat a white Yamamoto heart tail shad on a 3/8 ounce jig head. The second fish was caught blind casting into the light.
Good thing the bridge was so small it made it obvious where the fish were holding. Not!
The southeast wind gusting to 20 eventually turned eastward and made us pretty miserable with trying to control the boat. My spotlock was working good but even with my TM shaft all the way down in the water, the nose of the boat was riding the bigger chop high enough to cavitate the motor which scared the fish from our set ups.
Even though the fish were released after photos, I woke up with this little momento this morning...
Looking forward to more adventures soon! This was my first splash in Pensacola in a few years, but plan on spending a lot of time down here in the near future.
I was able to put these two in the boat and got broken off by one more. One of my fishing partners had one break off and another break a jig hook...
The fish were actually sightfished at night under the bridge lights! The outgoing current and the bridge lights bring a lot of bait to the surface, which in turn bring the red fish up into the lights and shadowlines. No lights=No sights! The water is too murky during the day to see the fish. I got to see the first fish turn and eat a white Yamamoto heart tail shad on a 3/8 ounce jig head. The second fish was caught blind casting into the light.
Good thing the bridge was so small it made it obvious where the fish were holding. Not!
The southeast wind gusting to 20 eventually turned eastward and made us pretty miserable with trying to control the boat. My spotlock was working good but even with my TM shaft all the way down in the water, the nose of the boat was riding the bigger chop high enough to cavitate the motor which scared the fish from our set ups.
Even though the fish were released after photos, I woke up with this little momento this morning...
Looking forward to more adventures soon! This was my first splash in Pensacola in a few years, but plan on spending a lot of time down here in the near future.
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