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Captain John Rivers - Florida Panhandle
 Inshore Report:
We have had excessive high temperatures along the Northwest gulf coast the past 4 days and we are forecasted to have temps around 95 – 100 for another 6 days with heat indexes around 105 –118. This means that if you’re going to do some fishing you’re going to have to start the day early and quit before 10 am, and then maybe start back around 5 pm or do some fun (and slightly cooler) night fishing. With the higher than normal temperatures, the fish bite slows down in the mid-afternoon, but is productive in the early morning hours and much later in the afternoon and at night. Despite the heat, the speck bite has been on and off the past two weeks. Try using popping corks with jigs and artificial lures like Bass Assassin’s 4” Blurp shrimp or some suspending baits like Mirr0lure’s 17MR Mirr0dean in red, silver and black. Most of the specks are between 14 to18 inches. Along with some fun speck fishing, the ladyfish and bluefish bite has been off the charts. If you’re looking for redfish, try the outgoing tide in the pass near the rock jetties with a live finger mullet or a medium pinfish.
Summer is in full swing and that means sharks in the bay, surf, and on the flats. If you’ve never hooked up with a big bull shark or hard-fighting black tip shark, you need to give me a ring.
If you can’t make it down this summer, don’t forget about the annual bull redfish run which happens every fall. The redfish run starts in late October and lasts until March, and is one of my favorite times to fish. It’s not too hot and the fish are big and a lot of fun to catch.
Let’s get you hooked up on the Mega-Bite. Tight lines.
Tight Lines.
Capt. John
Tackle corner:
Lets talk tackle for a minute; I'll give away a few secrets when fishing for these reds. First thing first is to keep it simple. My rod and reel combos are Boca 30's with Boca's 7ft, 14 - 20lb class Med-Hvy Rods. Spool with 30 lb Berkley Big Game braid or 30 lb Spiderwire Stealth braid. I also use 40 - 50 lb Berkley Fluorocarbon leader, depending upon if the kings are cutting me off.
Lures for fishing for these big reds is again very simple.
First let's talk jigs, and you simply need a jig with a very strong hook. I've seen these big reds mangle a substandard hook in just one bite with their strong crushers.
I like to throw a few different jigs, and my first choice almost always is the SPRO JIG, in either a 1oz - 2oz, rigged with a Chartreuse curly tail or some type of swim bait.
Second pick is the swim bait without a buck tail jig, just a plain 1oz - 2oz jig. Mann's makes a great jig for this; it has a long J hook and works very well when rigged with swim baits. Two good swim baits I prefer are Mann's Hard-Nose and Strike King's Shadalicious in the 4.5" long mullet pattern. Rigged properly, this bait will fool most fish into striking. A couple weeks ago, we hooked a 30lb king on a Mann's 1oz red headed jig rigged with a Strike King 4.5" mullet pattern Shadalicious. What an awesome fight we had!
Another good all-around bait to use is a trolling plug, such as a stretch 25. This bait covers a lot of water fast and helps to locate the fish. Two of my favorite colors are Pink and the Cabo Sunset.
Well, I've given a few tips to get you started on catching these big reds, now just get up off the couch, put on your winter jackets, and hit the water. If you don't have a boat or just need a few more pointers, please give me a ring and I'll be happy to set you up on a great red fishing adventure.
Till next time, here's wishing you bent rods and screaming drags.
Mega-Bite Inshore Charters
Capt. John Rivers
850-341-9816
www.megabiteinshore.com
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About Us!
Capt. John has a lifetime of fishing knowledge and over 9yrs of experience fishing the northern gulf coast and our local waterways. I have enjoyed fishing all my life. While living in the Midwest, I fished Kentucky & Barkley Lake for years along with the Ohio River and many local waterways. My first passion was bass fishing, but when I visited the Gulf Coast I found my new love: Salt Water Fishing !
The excitement of saltwater fishing is like nothing else. Hooking into monster Trout on the flats or having a big King pull off 80 yards of line in seconds is what it's all about.
 Fishing is my life, and I enjoy seeing my clients hook up on fish just as much as if I caught them myself. Depending upon what time of year it is, there is always some type of fish to be caught in our area.
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