# From Shooting RedFish in a Barrel to a Tale of Tails..



## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

Captain John Rivers and I were ready to get back to action after the holidays, so on a hunch (lol) we headed to an undisclosed location in Escabia Bay Thursday...We pulled up to the spot with a couple of other boats and first cast bam! It was on...we stayed in one position and caught over 50 Redfish Thursday...all on Matrix...We of course caught our limit...It was very fun and we left them biting....

Friday Morning was so foggy that we had to go try the secret spot by instruments...10 feet of visibility...once we arrived it was obvious that the phenomenon had ended....we hung around and caught a slot a piece and I caught a surprise fish on a matrix...it was a sheepshead....pretty cool!....So John says to me...Man it's over...and I agreed...John took us to another area to sight fish and run the sidescan...We were easing along and he saw a reed wagging in the grass...then a beautiful blue edged tail...he threw about 4 feet away and worked the matrix very slow...and bam fish on...a beautiful 26 1/2 " fatty...from there it was looking for tails and reeds...we caught 9 more slots and called it a day...

I got to the house and my kids saw the meat and said Daddy please cook the fish...so I heated some extra virgin olive oil on the skillet...cut the filets into nuggets...I then dipped the nuggets into egg, black pepper and Creole seasoning...followed up by chicken fry mix and flour...because there was no fish fry...lol..so we had chicken fried redfish....the boys tore it up...just nuggets and nothing else...What a fun couple of days with John Rivers...


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

*more pics*

More pics


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

The bite dont look over by the looks of those smiles well done boys keep up the reports we all enjoy to read'em..


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Nice trip !


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## testoner (Oct 18, 2014)

Great report. Nothing liking tailing Red fish.


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

*more pics*

More pics


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

*and back home..*

Funny boys! And a beautiful sheepie nugget....oh so good...the boys were looking for the black lateral line....they loved it...


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

Thought that was Capt. John, but didn't know that was you, Large. Beautiful catches. You're right, I wouldn't have been over there Friday without the chartplotter.


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

UncleMilty7 said:


> Thought that was Capt. John, but didn't know that was you, Large. Beautiful catches. You're right, I wouldn't have been over there Friday without the chartplotter.


Thanks Buddy...That's a sharp looking boat you have Unc....


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## Capt. John Rivers (Jul 28, 2012)

Sonny, it was a lot of fun catching those reds in the fish bowl. The same thing happened during the flood of April 29th two years ago on one of the local bridges. Me and a few other guides and locals had fun catching a lot of reds after Escambia Bay got washed out along with Blackwater and pushed hundreds of trout and redfish into the lower bay system. Floods are not good for anyone; it hurts business, property and causes a lot of damage, but it does do one thing, it pushes the fish in groups in selected areas where the fishing can be downright awesome for a few days or even weeks depending upon the pressure it gets. 

Like Sonny said, the fishing was outstanding the first day of our two-day adventure. We lost count of the reds we hooked on day one. A lot were shorts, which showed me we have a good amount of juvenile reds in our estuary. We weeded through the shorts and managed to get four nice keeper fish for dinner on our first day. Day two was more like typical inshore fishing since the honey hole was dried up. Now that the honey hole had been pillaged it was time to get back to real inshore fishing and try and figure out a pattern. The fog was very thick so it was nice having the 999CI HD SI on board the Triton. Having fished this area for almost 20 years now, I had an idea where the fish had moved to and I gave it a shot. We hit a few areas that I thought were holding fish and some were and some came up dry. I will say that even though it was foggy out, I did venture out into the bay and made a few long runs to find fish, I just took my time and was very careful. Some spots in the bay were really foggy and others weren’t, so it wasn’t too bad at times. 
No spots given, sorry, it will make you a better fisherman if you go out and learn them on your own. I will tell you the pattern though.

*attern:*​ The bay was muddy and cold with a lot of fresh; look for water 3-8 ft and if you’re not getting bites, go deeper like 6-12 or more if you’ve not gotten bites then. Always make sure that there is some form of drop-off with the depth changes, as this is where the fish will be staged. Another thing to look for is structure on the bottom, such as a long log, or rocks, and if you have a good bottom machine you’ll be able to find these. Redfish hold to structure like bass do, so if you see a long log, give it a look, you just might get you some dinner.

Toss colors that are dark or very bright; in muddy water it creates a silhouette that the fish can see and hone in on. Fish don’t see colors, they see in shades of gray. The colors are for the fishermen to catch our eyes most of the time. But seriously, why does chartreuse do better than silver some days and vise versa? It all has to do with water clarity and if it’s cloudy or sunny. I fish trout and redfish like I did for bass when I lived back up north. On cloudy dull days, I used dark colors, and on bright or sunny with some clouds, more natural colors. This has been a good rule of thumb for me and it’s worked for years.

So when fishing the lower and upper bay system of either Blackwater or Escambia in the winter, remember slow presentation as a rule of thumb, try different depths, sometimes the fish will be shallow, and sometimes they will be deep, but that’s something you’ll just have to figure out on your day of fishing. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to figure out. Just because I’m a guide, I still have days where I want to crumple up my hat and toss it on the deck, because I just can’t seem to figure it out, but when I do I’m all smiles, and my hat stays on my head, and I put that away for the next time I get into the same conditions. Keeping a log can help, but the best log is your mind. Also when you find a honey hole, sometimes it’s best to keep it to yourself and a few close friends, or you just might see the fleet of PFF armada pillage your hole.
Wait, that didn’t sound right.

Tight Lines everyone.


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

153 Large fish said:


> Thanks Buddy...That's a sharp looking boat you have Unc....


 It's not that Triton you guys were in, but I'm really pleased with that Frontier. Uncle Sugar bought it for me when I turned 62.


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

Awesome report and info. I got to get me some of those matrix shads...I'm sold!!

I'm really still learning the inshore game, I'm bad about just beating the banks and docks for reds, next time I will look for deeper water and drop offs to try. Is the pattern that is producing now similar in the warmer months too? Or is it just the cold weather that pushes them off the flats into deeper water?


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## t time (Mar 6, 2015)

Great pictures hey this coach tim


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## BlueWaterWarrior (May 28, 2015)

Capt. John Rivers said:


> Sonny, it was a lot of fun catching those reds in the fish bowl. The same thing happened during the flood of April 29th two years ago on one of the local bridges. Me and a few other guides and locals had fun catching a lot of reds after Escambia Bay got washed out along with Blackwater and pushed hundreds of trout and redfish into the lower bay system. Floods are not good for anyone; it hurts business, property and causes a lot of damage, but it does do one thing, it pushes the fish in groups in selected areas where the fishing can be downright awesome for a few days or even weeks depending upon the pressure it gets.
> 
> Like Sonny said, the fishing was outstanding the first day of our two-day adventure. We lost count of the reds we hooked on day one. A lot were shorts, which showed me we have a good amount of juvenile reds in our estuary. We weeded through the shorts and managed to get four nice keeper fish for dinner on our first day. Day two was more like typical inshore fishing since the honey hole was dried up. Now that the honey hole had been pillaged it was time to get back to real inshore fishing and try and figure out a pattern. The fog was very thick so it was nice having the 999CI HD SI on board the Triton. Having fished this area for almost 20 years now, I had an idea where the fish had moved to and I gave it a shot. We hit a few areas that I thought were holding fish and some were and some came up dry. I will say that even though it was foggy out, I did venture out into the bay and made a few long runs to find fish, I just took my time and was very careful. Some spots in the bay were really foggy and others weren’t, so it wasn’t too bad at times.
> No spots given, sorry, it will make you a better fisherman if you go out and learn them on your own. I will tell you the pattern though.
> ...


Capt. John, I've taken a bunch of notes. This is some of the best information I've ever read...anywhere. You are a true fishing savant. 

Can you please tell me what mental process you used, what analysis, to find the 'fish bowl' spot?


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## Capt. John Rivers (Jul 28, 2012)

jcoss15 said:


> Awesome report and info. I got to get me some of those matrix shads...I'm sold!!
> 
> I'm really still learning the inshore game, I'm bad about just beating the banks and docks for reds, next time I will look for deeper water and drop offs to try. Is the pattern that is producing now similar in the warmer months too? Or is it just the cold weather that pushes them off the flats into deeper water?


Great question. 
This winter has been weird; because it got cold, then warm, then cold, then warm again. The reason the fish are and went deep in that area and in the far upper bay right now is because of all the fresh water. Saltwater is heavier than fresh, so when we get an influx of fresh water the fish move away from it and look for water which has the salinity levels they like. Redfish can handle a wide range of salinity levels. They can also live in fresh water, but apparently don't like it much from studies that I have read. I guess they watch their behaviors, since they can’t speak. LOL. What I've read is they can't reproduce in fresh water, so they will move to where it feels most comfortable with some kind of salinity level in the water table. 

This is why the fish were stacked up in that area where it was from 8 ft -14 ft. Some of the areas I was catching them yesterday were only in 2 ft of water, so this tells me that the salinity levels were tolerable or they were just very hungry and were looking for any kind of food. 

Trout are similar to redfish, but when it comes to freshwater they don’t like it much and will look for salinity levels that they like. I think that specks, (trout) can't handle much freshwater, but can handle very low salinity levels, but not near as low as redfish can. 

The reason I say they can handle very low salinity levels is that I've caught them pretty far up river, but when I did, they were in deep holes 13-18 ft, so again, saltwater is heavier than fresh. But I have no way of knowing how much saltwater was down at the bottom of that area, but I’m sure there was some or the trout wouldn't have been there. 

With regards to wintertime fishing for trout and redfish, yes, they usually are deeper when it's really cold. I mean when we have temps in the low 30's for a couple of weeks where it drops the water temps significantly. Trout stack up in deep holes when it gets really cold and are pretty easy to catch once you find that honey hole. Redfish will also stack up in holes too when it’s cold, but will venture out more on their own more than trout. But this is just a presumption from past experience. I have found holes with redfish in them, but nothing like numbers of trout that are stacked up in a deep hole.

Now let’s take the fresh water out of the equation for a minute, meaning what if we didn’t have all this rain. Where would I be fishing?
I would fish all of Escambia and Blackwater from the North end to the South end. All the areas would be holding fish, because we’ve had a mild winter so far. This is both in Escambia and Blackwater Bay. 

For both trout and redfish, I would fish in depths from 2-6 ft. Right now the water is cold, but not too cold for them to be in very shallow water. You can catch them on the flats meaning 2 ft - 4 ft of water right now. Think of it like this, when the sun pops out on a cold day the shallows warm up faster than the deeper water does. I have found big trout sitting on the muddy bottom in 1-2 ft of water on very cold days sunning themselves. So are you confused yet, I know I am, because I just told you that on very cold days go deep, and now I said go shallow. Fish are strange creatures and on some days even on cold days they will be shallow but usually only on sunny days when it warms the shallow water up. On cloudy days when it's really cold out my rule of thumb is to go deep, but I'll still hit a few shallow areas just to see if the fish are there.

Summer is a completely different animal all together. Fish can and will be staged at all different levels of the water column depending upon the water temperatures of the bay, pressure outside, temperature outside, whether it is cloudy, sunny, you name it, it all affects the fish. I'll try to keep this short, but it’s probably too late.

Early spring and summer, the fish will be on the flats in 1-4 ft of water. When the water gets really hot (85 degrees plus) I have found that the fish go a little deeper where it’s cooler 4-6ft and upwards of 6-8 ft and even as deep as 10ft+. But again, you will find some fish that are up in very shallow water not sunning themselves, but looking for a meal like shrimp, mullet or whatever they can get a hold of.

To sum it up, that’s why they call it fishing and learning the pattern for the day. A lot of things affect the bite. And just because you go to a certain spot on one day and crush them doesn’t guarantee you crush them again the next day in the same area. Did the fish leave? Maybe, or maybe they just moved out off the banks into a little deeper water. Or if you caught them in deeper water one day and you go back the next and they are not there, move in close to the bank or go deeper. It’s a guessing game some days. But once you find the pattern you should have a good day. 

Lastly, I didn’t go over choices of bait. That’s another thread all together. 
I’m an artificial fisherman 99% of the time except when it comes to sheepshead fishing.

Here are a few things to put in your tackle box right now.
Get a few MirrOlure 17 MR’s along with some 18MR’s, definitely get some Matrix Baits and some Flukes, either Bass Assassin’s or ZMan’s and a couple of top-water plugs. 

Remember sometimes it’s best to KEEP IT SIMPLE. We all love buying a lot of tackle, but really I usually only use a few things on my trips. Over the years I acquired a ton of tackle, but the last few years I liquidated a lot of it and now only have a lot of the baits I use on a regular basis. 

Sorry for the long read. I hope this helps you and whomever reads this to become a more proficient angler. 
Tight Lines.
John


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

Capt. John Rivers said:


> Sorry for the long read, hope this helps you and whom ever reads this to become a more proficient angler.
> Tight Lines.
> John


Good Grief. Sorry for providing a complete primer? LOL. I don't think I'll accept that apology, Cap. Great read!

(Snipping Tool comes in real handy for this sort of thing.)


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## BlueWaterWarrior (May 28, 2015)

Capt. John Rivers said:


> Great question.
> What I've read they can't reproduce in fresh water, so they will move to where it feels most comfortable with some kind of salinity level in the water table.
> 
> This is why the fish were stacked up in that area where it was from 8 ft -14 ft. Johnhttp://www.pensacolafishingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


So, just to understand this more clearly, the fish were there due to their reproductive preferences?


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## Tmrunner (Mar 8, 2014)

So many spots, has to be photoshop!:thumbup:


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## Capt. John Rivers (Jul 28, 2012)

BlueWaterWarrior said:


> So, just to understand this more clearly, the fish were there due to their reproductive preferences?


That's not what I was trying to say, but hey, maybe they wanted some privacy and we interrupted it by fishing it everyday for a week and that's why they left to find a more quiet place to do their business.

Oh, I had my wife go back in and proof my post and correct punctuation and misspellings since I suck at that kind of thing. 
Tight Lines.. 
John


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## BlueWaterWarrior (May 28, 2015)

Capt. John Rivers said:


> That's not what I was trying to say, but hey, maybe they wanted some privacy and we interrupted it by fishing it everyday for a week and that's why they left to find a more quiet place to do their business.
> 
> Oh, I had my wife go back in and proof my post and correct punctuation and misspellings since I suck at that kind of thing.
> Tight Lines..
> John


Got it. I'm not that good at that stuff myself.

Heh, back during the flood of April 29th, couple of years ago, what was your bait of choice for those fish and where did they stack up?


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

:shifty:

Has anybody caught a speck hahaha


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## BlueWaterWarrior (May 28, 2015)

Specks are in hibernation, like alligators. Didn't you study that in school?


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

*where are the specks?*



LIM-IT-OUT said:


> :shifty:
> 
> Has anybody caught a speck hahaha


That sounds like the question of the month Josh...I heard a couple of really small specks were caught last week but that's all I've heard..


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

I had a 10 incher out of the Glory Hole. He must have run away from school.


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

UncleMilty7 said:


> I had a 10 incher out of the Glory Hole. He must have run away from school.


Wo wo wo .... Unc!!

Hahahaha.... no comment


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

LIM-IT-OUT said:


> Wo wo wo .... Unc!!
> 
> Hahahaha.... no comment


Lol..lol...bra that's funny...take that sentance out of context and...lol


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## 49913 (Apr 18, 2014)

Get ur minds outta the gutter, Boys!

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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Hahaha 

Thats good stuff Unc. needed that laugh today


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## RollingOn (Oct 13, 2015)

Catching several good specks lately. But only found a few yesterday


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## BDALE BOY (Nov 22, 2015)

capt,
i am very new to this inshore fishing game and am trying to learn as much as i can, ive had a couple of good days by luck that were enough to make me quite addicted to a good redfish or trout bite but havent been in it long enough to understand patterns or techniques but i have to say that reading informational and knowledgable posts like these make me have a better starting point when i do get the oppurtunities to get on the water

so from a beginner to an expert i say thank you sir for spreading your knowledge


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