Pensacola Fishing Charters April Report
Inshore – Charter Fishing
Fishing around Pensacola Pass you can still pick up a few sheepshead, but don’t go out there expecting to fill the cooler by any means. With the slower bite, live bait is nearly a must so be sure you have some live shrimp or fiddler crabs.
Mangrove snapper, redfish, and a few flounder are being caught around structure like bridge pilings and rock piles. You’ll want to fish for them using a Carolina rig and some type of live bait, either shrimp or a fish bait.
Offshore – Offshore Fishing Charters
The weather this week has made it a challenge for anyone to get offshore, but the weekend forecast looks pretty good. Amberjack are still open in state waters, but remember they are closed in federal in along with red snapper, gag grouper, and amberjack.
Cobia fishing has been hit or miss, it seems like one day a bunch of fish are caught and then the next day nearly none. The good news is that a bunch of the fish being caught right now are really nice size ones.
Piers & Beaches – Inshore Charters
This is the absolute best time of year to fish on the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier or Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. Quite a few king mackerel have shown up in addition to the action from cobia and pompano.
Surf fishing is another good option for land locked anglers. Pompano and whiting will be your primary catches, but it’s possible to hook into a redfish from time to time as well. You’ll want to fish with either live sand fleas or fresh shrimp.
Freshwater – Fishing Guide
Bass fishing has been steady on the local rivers, so hopefully the heavy rains we’ve had this week don’t dirty up the water and effect the bite. April is traditionally one of the best months out of the year to bass fish in both rivers and lakes.