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Santa Rosa fishing?

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Cache

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Anyone familiar with it? We're heading down for the kids fall break in a week and I've never been to the area. I've got everything to fish from the beach but I've been watching videos from the sound. Also not opposed to hiring a guide for a day.

Appreciate any tips yall throw my way!
 
Speckled trout on the sound side should be good. Great eating fish too. Gulp shrimp or any good plastic shrimp bait behind a Cajun Thunder or any popping cork should get you connected. The beach side I have been seeing has been loaded with lots of fish from Pensacola to PCB (more fish toward Pensacola end, of course the hurricane) Less swimmers have kept them closer to shore but it is all fall break week next week, so that will probably change. The pier should be great for Kings and Spanish right now, I am guessing you are going around Navarre?
 
There are some bull reds and really large trout in the surf right now. I have a friend down that way who has been whacking them on a Yo-Zuri 3D Inshore Popper in the 90mm size. Both the clear silver and pilchard colors are working well for him.

If you are interested in a guide, I can highly recommend Capt. Jason Stacy. I fished tarpon with him for several years and found him to be VERY patient and VERY knowledgeable. He lives at Santa Rosa, and is really dialed into that fishery. I have some friends that have taken family trips with him and had a ball. Most are now a many time repeat customer like I was with him. His number is (850) 419-7697. If interested, I would call him pretty soon as he stays booked up.

Have a great trip!
 
90% of the folks i see fishing from the surf are chunking dead shrimp above a pyramid sinker. I guess they do ok, but I just can't stand that style of fishing.

For surf fishing, I prefer to cover ground to find the ledges close to the shore with current breaks, throw a 3.75in paddletail on a 1/4 oz jighead and bounce down the ledges. Flounder usually sit right off the ledges in the early morning hours. You will also pick up reds and trout.

Get there EARLY and start fishing as soon as you can barely see. Fish will be in close, but 1.5h after sunrise will move well off the beach.

Fish surf side if you have a north wind and green flag conditions on the beach. If the ocean has 2 to 3 ft seas, I would head over to the sound side (again early) and work around docks. You will likely need to wade out to knee deep water there to be able to reach 3 to 4ft depths with your casts to get to the target zone.

I'm on Dauphin Island now with my youngest daughter. We went out last night around 830p on the sound side and fished under a dock light. We caught probably 40 white trout and 3 specks (largest was 16in) on paddletails and 1/8oz heads for a slower fall. Released all,
 
bowtechgump said:
Speckled trout on the sound side should be good. Great eating fish too. Gulp shrimp or any good plastic shrimp bait behind a Cajun Thunder or any popping cork should get you connected. The beach side I have been seeing has been loaded with lots of fish from Pensacola to PCB (more fish toward Pensacola end, of course the hurricane) Less swimmers have kept them closer to shore but it is all fall break week next week, so that will probably change. The pier should be great for Kings and Spanish right now, I am guessing you are going around Navarre?
Click to expand...
We will be east of Destin.
 
If you are fishing the beach a fish finder rig with fish bites is hard to beat. Also called pompano rigs. You can also tip them with small pieces of shrimp or sand fleas if you can get them.
 

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