# Christmas eve on Escambia



## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

Left out of Archie Glover around 6am. Got to my first spot and put the Talon down because the wind was already howling. I sat in that one spot for around two hours and caught 30+/- specks most were in the 15"-18" range but a few were over 20". I also caught 28" and 31" reds on consecutive casts. The wind and rain started picking up so I headed home. Good way to start off Christmas! All the fish were caught a gold and black Mirrodine 18MR. The fish seem to be liking the heavy dines more as the water cools down. The area is was fishing was 3'-5' deep.


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## jakec (Oct 14, 2010)

good job man. nice christamas eve present.


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## Faithnfishin (Dec 5, 2010)

Nice! Very nice!


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## Austin (Sep 30, 2007)

Yet another good report from you. Wish I had the chance to get out in the boat like that whenever I get the time. Being land locked is garbage!! Keep the reports coming!


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## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

Nice catch! Going across Escambia Bay this week it seems like the whole thing is a 3 to 6 foot flat, at least the part north of Archie Glover. I suppose it just takes experience to pick out where to fish.  

Congrats, sounds like a great day!


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

Wow! After reading your report I now feel ridiculously unqualified as an angler.


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## wflgator (Oct 1, 2007)

Sweet!


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

dabutcher said:


> Wow! After reading your report I now feel ridiculously unqualified as an angler.


That you are my friend!


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

Where did you find the 18MR at, I haven't seen one in stores yet. have you ran across a 65M deep diver?


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

Where did you find the 18MR at, I haven't seen one in stores yet. have you ran across a 65M deep diver?


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## Kevin B (Dec 3, 2012)

Congrats, it sounds like a awesome day to me.

Kevin


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

Randall2point0 said:


> Wirelessly posted
> 
> Where did you find the 18MR at, I haven't seen one in stores yet. have you ran across a 65M deep diver?


You'll have to order them online. Of bunch of sites carry them. I use anglersystems.com


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

Definitely a nice haul.
Thanks for pics & report.
Catch 'em up.


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## Triton1 (Jan 31, 2010)

Very nice! Merry Chritsmas to all :thumbsup:


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## Bigdady (Mar 5, 2009)

I found my 18mr at Outcast...


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## Tobiwan (Apr 27, 2012)

Nice fish! Always smashin up there!


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## GWally (May 16, 2009)

Kevin B said:


> Congrats, it sounds like a awesome day to me.
> 
> Kevin


Kevin
You might want to order an 18 and a 17MR in 808 before coming down here. I got like the next to last 17 at Academy (I expect they'll restock) and they don't have the 18's. You won't be far from Bass Pro but, I don't know what they carry.


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## Kevin B (Dec 3, 2012)

GWally said:


> Kevin
> You might want to order an 18 and a 17MR in 808 before coming down here. I got like the next to last 17 at Academy (I expect they'll restock) and they don't have the 18's. You won't be far from Bass Pro but, I don't know what they carry.


Thanks Wally
I think that is what I will do.
I don't want to waist time running around looking for baits when I get down there. I would rather be out fishing.

Kevin


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Not that price will make much diffrence to someone on vacation for a short fishing trip, but Mirror Lures at Bass Pro are about 40 to 50% higher than Academy and 
Walmart. That 17MR 808 seems to be in short supply locally stores. The 14MR and 18MR are good alternatives.


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## Kevin B (Dec 3, 2012)

fishwalton said:


> Not that price will make much diffrence to someone on vacation for a short fishing trip, but Mirror Lures at Bass Pro are about 40 to 50% higher than Academy and
> Walmart. That 17MR 808 seems to be in short supply locally stores. The 14MR and 18MR are good alternatives.


 
The price that I have seen on both 17 or 18s is $7.49 plus shipping is that a fair price ?

Thanks
Kevin


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

*price*

Bass Pro 17MR is a little over $9 and Wal-Mart a little over $6. Mid-way seems reasonable for mail order. New Year coming up so I would not be surprised to see a price increase.


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## Kevin B (Dec 3, 2012)

fishwalton said:


> Bass Pro 17MR is a little over $9 and Wal-Mart a little over $6. Mid-way seems reasonable for mail order. New Year coming up so I would not be surprised to see a price increase.


 
Thank you
maybe I will check our Walmarts up here and see if they have any ?, before i order them.

Kevin


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

The only places that carry 18MR locally is hot spots and outcast that I'm aware of. I'm not sure if they stock them all the time either.


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

Personally I wouldn't waste my money on the 17mr and 18mr. The only fish I've ever seen caught on one is the trophy needle fish that Alex caught over the summer. I also wouldn't waste my time fishing Escambia Bay. It is virutally impossible to catch a limit of trout and redfish on that body of water.


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

dabutcher said:


> Personally I wouldn't waste my money on the 17mr and 18mr. The only fish I've ever seen caught on one is the trophy needle fish that Alex caught over the summer. I also wouldn't waste my time fishing Escambia Bay. It is virutally impossible to catch a limit of trout and redfish on that body of water.


I 100% back these statements! And I have that behemoth needle fish mounted over the fireplace!:thumbup:


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

How big is this needle fish? Post a picture! And what's your go to bait for trout if you don't like mirrolures?


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

Randall2point0 said:


> Wirelessly posted
> 
> How big is this needle fish? Post a picture! And what's your go to bait for trout if you don't like mirrolures?


I'm kidding about the mirrodines and Escambia Bay. I think the mirrodine 17mr and 18mr is probably the best all around inshore bait for the Pensacola area. The 17mr and 18mr are absolutely my go to baits for trout. Escambia Bay holds good fish year round and has been particularly good to me over the last 9 months.

As far as needle fish, I'm no expert on the species but they seem to love any bait that is attached to the end of Alex's fishing line. I on the other hand have perfected lip hooking mullet on a mirrodine and I have scored numerous catfish on gold spoons.


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## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

Have you guys had better success working the Mirrodines slowly or with a fast twitch retrieve lately? I threw one the last time I was out, but I think I had a 27mr tied on. Educate me on the difference, is it just the size or does the 27 sink further when allowed to sink, or what?

Any advice is helpful, I have not yet gotten into many fish... just enough to keep the skunk out of the boat so far. I'm hoping to get out maybe tomorrow afternoon and/or Friday before we have to head home to NC. I have been up in the Escambia River delta area where all the channels go through the marsh, but if there are other areas you guys would recommend for Escambia Bay, I'm all ears. I'm most interested in targetting specks and/or redfish, and typically I am lucky to get 4 hour windows to fish due to family duties at home (bad juju for me to leave the wife with the cranky baby all day while I'm off enjoying the water).

Thanks for the discussion, it's been helpful regardless.


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

dabutcher said:


> As far as needle fish, I'm no expert on the species but they seem to love any bait that is attached to the end of Alex's fishing line. I on the other hand have perfected lip hooking mullet on a mirrodine and I have scored numerous catfish on gold spoons.


I guess I'm just a needle fish whisperer of sorts. It takes a hell of an angler to convince those mullet to eat a piece of plastic like you do.


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

SurfRidr said:


> Have you guys had better success working the Mirrodines slowly or with a fast twitch retrieve lately? I threw one the last time I was out, but I think I had a 27mr tied on. Educate me on the difference, is it just the size or does the 27 sink further when allowed to sink, or what?
> 
> Any advice is helpful, I have not yet gotten into many fish... just enough to keep the skunk out of the boat so far. I'm hoping to get out maybe tomorrow afternoon and/or Friday before we have to head home to NC.
> 
> Thanks for the discussion, it's been helpful regardless.


Lately since its been cold,I've worked them SLOW. Twitch the rod tip, wait three seconds,then repeat. The 18MRs have a shimmy to them as they're sinking that trigger bites. I hook up on a ton of fish while its sinking. Both the reds I caught ate it while it was sinking. The number 17,27 those are the size of the bait. I prefer the 17 and 18s because of the smaller profile.


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

In addition to nailing numerous stud needled fish, Alex is spot on why the 17mr and 18mr are a more successful bait for our area than the 27. I spent many years fishing the mirrodine xl but as soon as I swithced to the mirrodine 17mr and 18mr I greatly increased the number of fish I was putting in the boat. I also started to catch bigger trout. For whatever reason, the trout and slot reds in our area prefer the smaller profile of the mirrodine 17mr and 18mr. I have also learned that color does make a difference. The 808 and blue back color patterns have worked very well over the last year and Alex has been catching a lot of fish on the gold/black back/ chartruse belly 18mr.

Another point worth mentioning is that when using the small mirrodines it is best to use 10 lb braid. The small braid will allow you to make very long casts. Long casts give you more opportunities to catch fish before they are spooked by the trolling motor or by the sight of your boat.


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## barefoot (Nov 3, 2011)

Hey Butcher, Alex...are you targeting depth changes or bottom type?


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

I think that the depth change pattern is a pattern that is successful year round. You don't necessarily have to fish areas that have a dramatic change in depth. Many times the most productive areas have a subtle depth change. For example, I have a couple areas I fish where there is a gradual drop from 2 to 3-4 feet of water. You can find some of these areas when the sun is up and just notice the change in color of the water. Also, there are some flats in Escambia Bay that have a little drop off very close to the shore. These type areas can hold some very good trout, especially in the summer after the early morning bite has died. 

You can also find some good areas by using google maps. You can see where some of the depth changes are and it will give you a good place to start. Alex has found many productive areas this way. 

So in short, I definitely use depth change in patterning trout and redfish. However, if an area at the time I'm fishing does not have a dense population of mullet, I will usually not spend much time there.


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## barefoot (Nov 3, 2011)

yep, pretty much as I figured, thanks.


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## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

Helpful responses, thanks guys!


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