The first bull reds of fall have shown up at Pensacola Pass, right on schedule for the first week of September. The water is still warm and the summer patterns are holding — kings nearshore, snapper and other bottom fish on the wrecks, trout and slot reds in the bays — but the pass reds are the sign that the best fishing of the year is a few weeks away.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week: bull redfish at the pass and along the beach, with schools of 20- to 35-pound fish pushing bait in the mornings. King mackerel are steady on the nearshore wrecks and the bait schools in 40 to 80 feet, and Spanish mackerel are around the pass and the Pensacola Beach pier. On the bottom, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, and scamp are producing on the natural bottom and public reefs, and there is still a strong red snapper population — but check the current federal and state season status before targeting them. In the bays, trout and slot reds are on the grass early, and flounder are starting to show around the docks and the pass.
Where to Find Them
Pensacola Pass and the beach on either side of it, especially the Fort Pickens jetty side, is the bull red zone on the outgoing tide. Kings are on the Three Barges, the Russian Freighter, and the nearshore public reefs. Trout and slot reds are on the grass flats of Big Lagoon and Santa Rosa Sound at first light. Flounder are showing around the Fort Pickens pier and the docks in the pass.
Tides & Conditions
Gulf temps are in the mid-80s and the bays are a touch warmer. Outgoing tides at the pass are best for the bull reds. Seas have been light most mornings, allowing easy runs to the nearshore reefs, with storms building by early afternoon. Tropical activity is the wild card in early September — check the Gulf outlook every morning.
Tackle & Tactics
Bull reds want a chunk of cut mullet or a live menhaden on a fish-finder rig with a 5/0 circle hook and 50-pound leader. When they are pushing bait on the surface, a big topwater or a heavy spoon cast into the school is a blast. Kings take a slow-trolled live cigar minnow or menhaden on a stinger rig with light wire. Bottom fish take a cut bait or a jig on 60-pound leader, and flounder want a bull minnow on a jig head.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Shoreline Park ramp in Gulf Breeze, the Galvez Landing ramp on Innerarity Point, the Navy Point ramp, and the Bayou Chico ramp in Pensacola. Fish are concentrating at the pass and along the beach for bull reds, and on the nearshore reefs for kings. Bull reds are over the slot and must be released — check current FWC regulations for redfish, and both state and federal seasons for snapper and other reef fish before keeping anything.
This Week’s Tip
When a school of bull reds is pushing bait at the pass, mark where they surfaced and cast well ahead of the direction they were moving. The school moves fast; casting to where they were puts your bait behind the fish every time.
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