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Winter 2012 was outstanding! For those willing to risk a little "cold" weather the winter sight-fishing for redfish and especially false albacore was over the top. Imagine gin-clear Gulf of Mexico water close to shore...like 50'...with a 6-8# FA coming in your direction closing fast looking for something to eat! You're on the bow of the skiff anchored in 2' of water with the fish coming right at you. It's Show Time! That's what we live for around here in the wintertime, and not many people know about it. In addition, the winter redfish sight-fishing is outstanding with plenty of fish and zero fishing pressure. Other winter species include red snapper, grouper, black drum, flounder and speckled trout. For non-anglers this is the time of year to stroll for miles along some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and not see another human. Typical highs are in the 50's with lows in the 30's, and there are many days in the 60's and low-70's. Of course there's always a chance of a cold front blowing through, and we work around those days. Accommodation rates are the cheapest of the year. Here are the photos from the winter 2012 season. Click on any of the images to see the full size photos. For photos from previous seasons, check out these additional galleries:Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Spring 2011, Winter 2011, Fall 2010, Summer 2010, Spring 2010, Winter 2010, Fall 2009,Summer 2009, Spring 2009, Winter 2009, 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. Use the back button on your browser to return to this page.
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We
open the winter gallery on a beautiful December 28 with Vic
Farkas and a picture-perfect slot-sized redfish taken on the
flats of Santa Rosa Sound. |
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A
little later we moved out to the Gulf of Mexico where it was
glassy calm, and
the false albacore were feeding along the shore. Dennis Farkas
landed this "bad little dude" on ultra-light spinning
tackle and released it unharmed. |
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With
blue skies and clear water the sight-fishing was outstanding.
Dennis landed this trophy redfish on a SPRO bucktail jig.
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Brother Vic and another impressive redfish landed in 6-8' of water.
As is often the case during the winter months we were the only boat
out there. |
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On December 29 the Gupta family from Gulf Breeze was ready to hunt for bull redfish, but the first thing we found was a school of big black drum. Here's Nick Gupta with the first fish of the day landed and released unharmed. |
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Nick's brother Nathan Gupta on break from Harvard
University with his first catch. |
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Sunil Gupta landed the biggest drum which
we released to fight another day. |
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With
the overcast skies sight-fishing was challenging, but we found
another school of fish. This time they were reds,
and Sunil landed a beauty. |
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Late in the morning the clouds burned off and the schools of fish were much more obvious. Here are the Guptas with a triple hookup. Double click on the photo, and you'll be able to see the school of fish at 11 o'clock.
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A nice black drum "double" for the Gupta "boys"... |
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It
was indeed a "Happy New Year!" on January
2 for Capt Baz and Jonas Magnusson as they headed to a lovely
stretch of Santa Rosa Island hoping to find false
albacore feeding along the shore. Double click the photo for a
good look at the winter scene they experienced walking through
the sea oats toward the beach. |
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Now THAT's what I'm talking about! The albies were there indeed, and Jonas nailed (and released) this fish in 1-2' of water. You'll never find more beautiful water anywhere. Of course all the crowds in the background are a problem... |
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Here's
Jonas suited up for winter wade-fishing with the first FA of
the day. 3mm neoprene boot-foot chest waders
are ideal, and they are very reasonably priced (< $100) at Cabelas. |
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Woo-Hoo!
Capt Baz hooked up and palming the reel as a false albacore strips
off backing heading for Cuba. The winter FA weigh between 5 and
8# and run a hundred yards or more in a matter of seconds.
Top quality reels with bomb-proof drags are a must. |
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The targeted species...a fine FA in a foot of gin-clear water |
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Capt Baz with the first of four false albacore landed Jan 2. Jonas also landed four FA that day... |
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On
January 3 Howell Raines celebrated the new year with some
world-class false albacore fishing... |
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The following day Howell brought Krystyna over
for some light-tackle sight-fishing for redfish and black drum.
Once again conditions were ideal, and Howell and Krystyna started
off the trip with this redfish "double". |
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Krystyna Raines with her first black drum. |
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Howell was the proud papa of this beauty... |
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Late
in the day on a cool January 13 we found a school of bull reds
crashing bait on the surface in Pensacola Bay, and Mike Lynam,
Atlanta, GA, landed the most spectacular redfish of the winter
season. |
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We
had gorgeous sight-fishing conditions January 14 for the Linton
family from Charlotte, NC. This is Jim Linton with
the first fish of the day. Redfish have an incredible range of
camouflage colors depending on habitat. Compare the colors of
this fish with
the one
above. Hard to believe they're even the same species... |
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Another light tan and silver redfish landed
and released by Ty Linton on January 14. |
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Mother and son...Marla and Ty Linton with
a redfish "double" on January 14. |
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The
rumor was that
a particular nearshore wreck in the Gulf of Mexico was loaded
with redfish, and we were en route to check it out when we saw
pelicans diving
frantically in Pensacola Bay. Sure enough it was a January 15
episode of "the running of the bulls"! Latham Gaines
with a fish landed on his fist cast. |
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Laura
Interval on January 15 with another very impressive bull redfish
landed on ultra-light tackle. Laura's fingernail polish is
the perfect match... |
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We finally made it out to the wreck, and it
was indeed covered up with slot-sized and larger redfish. Our party
of four landed 40-50 fish that morning. Here's a nice "double"
by Julie Weatherly and Malcolm Yunker. We released all the fish
unharmed. |
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Julie Weatherly with her biggest redfish of
the day... |
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But Malcolm took the biggest fish of the day
honors with this beast. |
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January 29 was another beautiful sight-fishing day for Warren
Jerrems of Gulf Breeze, and we found school after school of redfish
feeding along the Gulf Islands National Seashore. |
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Warren
with another trophy redfish landed and released unharmed |
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False
albacore were working the tidal rip at Pickens Point, and Warren
took full advantage of the situation....this time on fly!
The fish spit out the sz 6, clear gummy minnow just as we were
snapping
the
photo, and it's hanging from Warren's finger. This was his first
FA on fly... |
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On
Feb 2 Russ Shields, Jonas Magnusson, and Capt Baz were just starting
a planning
meeting to discuss the upcoming FFNWF fly-fishing class
when the phone rang. It was Capt Eddie Woodall of Full Net Charters
alerting Baz to a giant school of redfish on the surface at Deer
Point. Ten minutes later they were in the Mako heading for Deer
Point where Russ nailed this fish on his first cast. It's Russ'
biggest
fish ever on fly. Thanks Capt Eddie! You da man! |
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February 6 was yet another perfect day for sight-fishing and Drifa
Freysdottir landed her first-ever redfish on ultra-light tackle and
a SPRO bucktail jig. Photo courtesy of her main squeeze Jonas Magnusson. |
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The
next day Capt Baz and Jonas decided to sight-fish the same stretch
of beach but with the fly rods. Jonas took this shot of
Baz hooked into
a redfish that had been feeding along the outer edge of the inner
sandbar. |
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The
redfish ate a "green weenie" fished on an intermediate
sinking line. Intermediate sinking lines work well along the
beach, as they quickly drop below shore break turbulence allowing
for better fly control. |
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Local
cardiologist Jim Williams was ready for some sight-fishing on
February 12, and the redfish were cooperative. Jim landed this
trophy fish on ultra-light spinning tackle and a SPRO bucktail
jig. |
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Jim
was hoping to land his first redfish on fly, so we set up on
the inner sandbar with the skiff anchored from the
stern in 2' of translucent-green water. We were positioned with
the wind at Jim's back when a school of about thirty redfish
appeared
to the east of us moving in our direction. When the fish came
into range Jim dropped the tan/white Clouser minnow in their path,
and this redfish grabbed the fly. The fly is a customized
Clouser tied by Chris Windram at www.saltwaterflies.com.
Double click on the photo for a nice view of ideal wintertime
sight-fishing
conditions
along
the Gulf
Islands National Seashore. |
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A
little later we found a school of huge black drum around structure
in 10' of water. We anchored close enough to watch the fish
but not too close to spook them. We tried various
jigs and spoons, but could not get them to eat. Finally Jim tossed
his jig close to the school, let it sink, and didn't
move it. This monster swam over and ate it right off the bottom!
You learn something every day... |
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The Nall brothers from Nixa, MO, brought their dad to town on Feb
24 for some winter fishing. Here's Jeff Nall with the first sheepshead
of 2012. |
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Another shot of Jeff with a healthy redfish from Pensacola Pass. |
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Ron Nall showed "the boys" how it's done with his first
Pensacola redfish and the biggest fish of the day. |
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Daron Nall with another bull redfish landed while drifting live
shrimp through Pensacola Pass. |
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On February 27 we were sight-fishing with the fly rods for redfish
around the docks in Gulf Breeze. As we poled around the end of one
dock we saw some large fish swimming around the pilings in relatively
deep water...around 6-7'. Assuming they were reds we anchored within
range and changed to a larger, heavier version of the original yellow
"pompano rocket". Expert caster Sigurbrandur Dagbdartsson from Iceland
got a take on his first cast and to our amazement landed this big
sheepshead...only the fourth sheepshead on fly in the past 20 years. |
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"Pretzel"
Michaels, "PJ" Goyette, "Duke" Duval, and "Wojo" Wojciechowski
were called the "wolfpack" back in high school in New
Jersey. Moderately mellowed
some 30 years later they like to get together to relive old times
and do a little fishing. Here's Wojo with a killer red
snapper landed and released unharmed in Pensacola Pass on March 1. |
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A
proud PJ Goyette with a monster redfish...the biggest fish of
the day. Of course size is not important to the wolfpack... |
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Duke
Duval with a fine Pensacola Pass redfish. It's always
a pleasure-packed
day when the wolfpack comes to town. |
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Steve
Nguyen, Albany, GA, was back on March 4 with son Nathan and Physics
professor Indra Mukhopadhyay (Dr
I). We had a lot of fun with the big redfish in Pensacola Pass
before filling the cooler with 22 sheepshead and 30-something
Spanish mackerel. Fortunately for Capt Baz, Steve had the fish
cleaned
and processed later that evening in Panama City... |
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A proud Nathan Nguyen with a huge redfish landed on light spinning
tackle |
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Another shot of Nathan after he boated and released an 8# red snapper. |
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Physics
professor Dr I was impressed with the myriad forces in play as
he landed his first redfish. |
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Don Joyner, Great Falls, MT, enjoying a break from the Montana
late-winter on March 5. Hard to beat a "shirt sleeve" day with big
fish when it's still freezing back home. |
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Another shot of Don with a hard-fighting gag grouper in Pensacola
Bay caught and released unharmed. Sunshine...glassy water...not too
shabby. |
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We were poling a sandbar in total fog March 17 when a school of
about twenty bull redfish rose to the surface just out of casting
range
for Bob
Kelly and his 8wt. We let the current quietly sweep us into range,
and Bob cast his Clouser minnow to the edge of the school and let
it
sink.
This
40"+ fish cut away from the others, followed the fly, and then ate
it about 20 feet from the boat. It was a vision Bob will never
forget! Forty minutes later Bob landed the fish in bright sunshine
and in full view of about a dozen boats. So much for that "secret"
spot... |
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We
close the winter gallery on March 18 with a nice shot of Victor
Sharp, Birmingham, Alabama, with yet another outstanding
Pensacola Bay red snapper. Let the good times roll... |
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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