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Winter 2009 provided typically wonderful false albacore and redfish sight-fishing along the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Speckled trout were plentiful in the inshore bayous and canals, plus we found flounders and small redfish in the mix. Our spin-fishing anglers enjoyed catching grouper and red snappers on nearshore and inshore structure. In March water temperature on the inside flats moved into the high-60's, and redfish sight-fishing with the fly rods was the best in years. The sheepshead became very active around mid-March and provided light-tackle thrills and dinner for our spin-fishing clients. Here are photos from Winter 2009. For photos from previous seasons, check out these additional galleries:Fall 2008, Summer 2008, Spring 2008, Winter 2008, Fall 2007, Summer 2007, Spring 2007, Winter 2007, Fall 2006, Summer 2006, Spring 2006, Winter 2006, Spring 2005, Summer 2005, Fall 2005. Click on any of the small images below to see the full size photos. Use the back button on your browser to return to this page.
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Bill Cornzatzer from Bismarck, ND, leads off the 2009 Winter Gallery with a fine little football landed and released on December 26. |
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The conditions were very rough on December
27 for Richard and Rafale Tatum, but the false albacore were ravenous
along the breakers at Pickens Point. Rafale quickly got the skunk out
of the boat with the first fish of the day. |
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Richard won this battle on a day that ended
up with two broken rods and more fish landed than we could count. |
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A cold front flattened the Gulf for cousins
Dennis and Pete Farkas on December 29, and we found slot redfish
feeding along the shore. Dennis' first fish ended up in the skillet
along with some melted butter and an ample application of Chef
Paul's
Blackened Redfish Magic. |
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All the redfish weren't "slot" sized
on December 29. Pete Farkas landed this beauty on a "Sidewinder" spoon rigged
with a barbless single hook. |
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We ended the day catching and releasing false
albacore that were once again feeding along the current line at
Pickens Point. Pete's ready to release this fish as Dennis fights
another one in the background. |
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Here's
an artsy shot of Smithsonian
Magazine's
Donovan Webster with all systems "on go" as we look for
false albacore in the current late in the day on December 30. Photo
courtesy
of Capt.
Jack Stringfellow. |
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Sight-fishing conditions were excellent for
Tom Zavoral on December 31 shown here with his first redfish on
fly. This fish was in the "slot", but Tom got style points and
a helping of good karma by releasing it unharmed. Way to go, Tom! |
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Northwest
flight attendant Donna Zavoral, Atlanta, and a tough 31" redfish
landed December 31 on light spinning gear. We were anchored in
shallow water, and Donna did a masterful job keeping this fish
out
of the
anchor
line
and the prop. |
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Donna thought the redfish fought hard until
she made a perfect cast and this torpedo slammed her spoon. |
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On
January 1 we anchored on some inshore structure so Joe Hornett
and Andrius Galinis could try to catch a flounder or mangrove
snapper
for dinner. Imagine our shock when these big boys started eating
our shrimp! Happy New Year, indeed!! |
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Allison
and Jeff Morris, Austin, TX, met Allison's dad Jeff Barber from
Kentucky for some family fun on January 2
and 3. Allison broke the ice on her first cast January 2. |
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Jeff Morris now knows what all the fuss is
about after landing his first little tunny on fly January 2. |
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Jeff Barber got into the fly rod action, too, with his first FA
on fly. |
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Jeff will always remember the vision of his
fly line unfurling toward the unsuspecting school of redfish. The
cast was perfect, the fly dropped just beyond the school, and as
Jeff stripped this fish rose up out of the pack and inhaled it.
Very sweet! |
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This
is a great shot of a very happy Allison Morris holding the biggest
fish of the trip...a 38" inch bull red
landed January 3. |
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The redfish became very active late in the
day on January 3, and we stayed until almost dark. Hey, that's
why we have running lights! Here's Jeff
Barber with the last fish of
the day. |
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Pensacola resident Geoff Brodersen attended
the PJC Fly-Fishing class last spring and was ready to test his new
skills on January 4. In this photo Geoff's holding his first false
albacore on fly landed on a Cowen's Albie Anchovy. |
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Geoff's
dad Mark Brodersen, Jacksonville, put his excellent casting to
use when the fish became boat shy and extremely selective. We
dropped down to size 8 gummy minnows, and Mark was
able to coax a strike on maybe one out of thirty 70-80' casts. |
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The
Walters clan from Johnson City, TN, were here on a socked-in
foggy January 5. Since we couldn't see but
about 100 feet, sight fishing was out of the question. Instead,
we began our day grouper fishing in Pensacola Bay. Daniel Walters
is pictured with the first fish headed for the cooler. |
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When
the fog cleared we found pods of false albacore slurping
juvenile bay anchovies just a few feet from shore
at Pickens Point. Ben and Dave Walters jumped out of the boat
with fly rods in hand and chased them down the beach. Congratulations
to Ben for landing the first FA ever from shore. Click on the photo
to see Ben sliding his fish up on the beach. |
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Dave Walters had his hands full with the next
fish landed from shore. Click on the photo for an action shot of
Dave "beaching" his fish while Ben prepares to make a cast to the
next pod. |
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The gulf was perfect for sight-fishing on January 12, and Jeffrey
Waters of Pensacola Beach landed his first redfish on fly. |
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The following day Travis Akins joined in for some "scouting" along
shore, and we boated seven reds on fly. This is a nice shot of Trav
with a pretty fish landed on his own "shrimp" clouser. |
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This was a surprise catch after a cast landed behind a passing
school of redfish, and the fly line came tight after one strip. The
cute little fellow was probably following the reds to feed on leftovers.
January 13 is the earliest we've ever caught a pompano, and it bodes
well for an early migration. |
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Tracy Meader, Powells Pt, NC, with his first redfish on fly taken
(and released) on January 16. We had one of those fabulous winter
days with a diminishing north wind, bright blue skies, and a high
temperature in the 50's. |
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The gulf water was as pretty as it gets that day for Tracy shown
here with redfish #2. |
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A
strong secondary cold front blew through just before Ken Hutchison
and Tony Severa came to town from Nampa, ID. The gulf was too rough,
so we spent January 19 catching trout and flounders in the bayous
around Gulf Breeze. Hutch caught this boat record flounder on
fly in the back of Hoffman's Bayou. |
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We ventured into the gulf January 20 and were surprised to find
bull reds on the surface a half mile out from shore. This redfish
in full spawning colors was the first ever for Tony Severa. |
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Anybody
say anything about it being cold?? These macho guys from Idaho
don't feel the cold...especially when the bull reds are in
clear, shallow water! Hutch landed this multi-spotted brute January
20 on a 10wt with a white bunny strip fly. |
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Later on, Tony caught his "fish of the day" on light spinning tackle. |
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January
21 was the third day after the cold front, and the wind died
leaving the Gulf dead flat. We were in the Hewes poling
the inside troughs for the first time in a month. For the day we
landed a dozen redfish of various sizes and had three double hookups
... a "red" letter day in anybody's book. This is Hutch with his
first fish of the day. |
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Tony's first redfish January 21 with an incredible water background...looks
like a swimming pool. |
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The temperature rose to the mid-50's by mid-afternoon, and
we found the mother lode of redfish holding in a little pocket
close to shore. Looking good, Hutch! |
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The last fish of the day (and the trip) for Hutch and Tony was
this beaut landed late-afternoon on January 21. |
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The false albacore disappeared from the beach on January 16, but
we found them a week or so later four miles offshore. This worked
out well for Rocket Man on January 27 who was in town from Ft Collins,
Colorado. |
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Bob Spencer of Gulf Breeze finished off a spectacular January by
landing one of the biggest redfish of the season...a 42" monster
on January 31. |
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The
bulls continued to roam the Gulf of Mexico shallows during the
month of February. Here's Joe Cleary from Indianapolis with the
fish
of
the
day on February 21. |
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It
must've been good karma that brought Kevin Maxey to town from
Atlanta for the best day of inshore redfish flats fishing ever.
This was Kevin's first fish landed March 9 in the Big Lagoon
west of Pensacola
Pass. |
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Later in the afternoon we poled my favorite flat, and Kevin landed
four fish of this quality in clear water that was 2-3' deep. |
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The fish became boat shy, so Kevin and I got in and waded
after them. At one point we had so many redfish around us on a shallow
sandbar that we couldn't move. On two different occasions
Kevin enticed strikes with the 10' leader in the tip top guide. Water
temp was 70 degrees. |
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Mike
Graham, Monroe, LA, with grandson Beau hanging on March 11 as
a bull redfish heads for Mexico. |
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A
proud Beau Bailey after winning the battle. That's a lot of redfish
on a medium power St Croix rod, Shimano Stradic 2500, and 15 pound
PowerPro. |
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Beau's
dad Mike Bailey and a pretty-as-it-gets photo taken the next
day. . |
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Here's the whole family with the biggest fish of the two-day trip
landed by Beau on March 12. |
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Nick (hood up) and Dennis Farkas weren't detered by a little rain
on March 16. |
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Houston's
Brad Cress caught a few rays on March 17, but that wasn't all.
This sheepshead was pushing 8 pounds and fit nicely in the cooler. |
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On March 18 Bill Johnson and I poled my favorite flat for the first
time in over a week, and the redfish were hungry. Sight-fishing with
8wt tackle for these 30-34 inch brutes is hard to beat. |
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This shot of Bill with his second catch could be a cover shot for
your favorite fly-fishing magazine. Only the background has been
changed to protect the innocent... |
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Schools
of slot-sized and larger redfish were feeding along the shore
for Mark Walenczyk and family on March 19. This is one of a dozen
fish landed on that beautiful early-spring day. |
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An exuberant Paul Wargo finishes off the winter gallery with Ft Pickens Point in the background. |
It’s always a great day on the water with Gulf Breeze Guide Service!
Gulf
Breeze Guide Service
P.O. Box 251
Gulf Breeze, Florida 32562-0251 (USA)
Tel: 850.934.3292 or 850.261.9035 (cell)
Email: gbgsfishing@aol.com
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