# Pensacola fishing in October



## Youngp (Sep 30, 2011)

I'm planning to go fishing next weekend. Stay first day at fishing bridge and second day at Navarre fishing pier. What kind of fish I expect to catch at this time of year? Any specific tackle or bait to reccomend? FYI I'm a totally beginner. I'd like to catch anyting I can catch. No specific target but it'd be good if it's good eating fish. Thanks in advance.


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## jamessig (Sep 30, 2011)

http://panhandlepierfishing.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=oha361hqq208tkn81okmg36s12&board=25.0
This site was very recently "upgraded" and I'm not sure if you can access the old forum. As the new forum has been up for just a few days, there's not much useful data there yet. There was a wealth of information on the old forum and it would be a shame if that were lost. The old forum was called EmeraldCoastPierFishing.


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## GASeminole (Sep 30, 2011)

Kings and spanish are in close around the piers.Pompano are in the surf along with whiting.

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f36/


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## MCBIG (Oct 4, 2011)

hey youngp,
my brothers and i just got back from pensacola beach sunday afternoon.we left wednesday night and got down there at daylight thursday we went to the pier at pensacola beach asap and the first couple of hours it was slow,but then the spanish started biting and it was on till we left later that afternoon.friday and saturday they still bit but the dang wind was brutal.the rig that was best for me was the bubble rig.this probably aint a secret so here goes.I use one of the bigger bubbles filled about half way with water,then bead and swivel, 4-5ft leader of 50lb mono ,4/0 weighted hook like you,d screw a horney toad on but I screwed a rainbow superfluke on it and they killed it all spanish in the 4-5lb class.seemed like the faster i moved it the better they liked it.I was throwing it on a 7 ft spinning rod with 10lb braid and it was a blast,with that bigger bubble you could throw it a mile and i promise it works ,i been using this rig for about 5 years now and they kill it,if they are around the piers try this you dont have to mess with cigar minnows and they usually last for 2-3 fish plus the strikes are just awesome !!!!
mike


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## jamessig (Oct 4, 2011)

Spanish will also hit gotcha's, but like MCBIG said the strikes you get on a bubble rig are hard to beat. When bonita come in shallow in the winter I love targeting them with a bubble rig. Sight fishing, great top water strikes and fast strong fish that when they decide to run (and they will!!) will have your drag screaming, it just doesn't get any better than that.


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## Youngp (Oct 6, 2011)

Thanks Guys. I've never seen a bubble rig, but I'm doing some research on Google now. If I can figure out what MCBIG talked about, I'd definitely try it. Thanks again


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## Youngp (Oct 10, 2011)

OK. Now I know what the bubble rig is. What if I put a  gotcha at the end of bubble rig, would it work too? That might be a each combination from what I have.


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## Youngp (Oct 10, 2011)

What if I put a gotcha or king fish rig with a cigar minnow(or live fish) at the end of bubble rig, would it work? I revise my question earlier.


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## Youngp (Oct 10, 2011)

And what kind of fish I'd expect to catch from those tackles? Should I cast and reel in,or just let the bait drifting? I'm planning to go Pensacola this weekend, and I don't want to comeback empty handed. I appreciate for any advice. Thanks.


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## jamessig (Oct 10, 2011)

You can hang just about anything off the back of a bubble rig. I've used small rapala's, tube jigs over treble hooks and live pinfish. The bubble when partially filled with water simply gives you enough weight to cast a good distance and still float on top of the water after the cast. If you use a live bait you may have problems with birds eating your bait as the maximum depth your bait can go is the length of line between bubble and hook and that may not be deep enough to avoid pelicans etc. Any fish that will hit a top water lure will probably hit a bubble rig. Spanish, bluefish, hardtails, bonito, redfish and ladyfish can all be caught on a bubble rig. Typical retrieve for spanish is jerk and pause, jerk and pause. For bonito just reel as fast as you can and don't stop. For live bait open the bail and let the bait go where it wants as long as its away from the pier. You can also use a balloon with live bait especially if the wind is blowing to the south.

http://okaloosaislandpier.blogspot.com/
This site might help also. Go through past years to get an idea of probable catches during the time frame of your visit. For the most part whatever is being caught at any one panhandle pier is likely to be caught at a different pier during the same time of year.


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## Oddball (Oct 11, 2011)

Wow good info here. I can't add anything as I'm in the same boat as you Youngp. I'll be going down to Pensacola the last week of the month. I figured I'd split my time between sound and pier fishing. Mostly sound unless the bite isn't on because the sound is literally out the back door from the place we're going to be staying.


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## jamessig (Oct 11, 2011)

The flounder should be moving out of the bay to near shore structure to spawn by the end of the month. Any pass is a choke point that they must move through and that means they can be targeted with very high odds of success. A carolina rig using small baitfish or Gulp grubs, shrimp or fish patterns fished on light jig heads should all work. If there is some structure near the pass such as docks or rip rap that's even better.


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## Youngp (Oct 11, 2011)

Thanks a lot. Jamessig. This is what I was trying to do.
Line(15lbs mono)+bubble+swivel+wire leader(30lbs)+gotcha or
Line(15lbs mono)+bubble+swivel+kingfish rig+cigar minnow(or live fish) 

Do u think those would work? I'm trying to catch whatever I can King,Spanish, Bonito, or Red etc. No special preference. Since I'm a beginner, I just want catch some and have fun. Oh what about Flounder you mentioned. Do u think I have a chance to catch some at the pier or fishing bridge too?


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## Youngp (Oct 11, 2011)

And good luck to you Oddball.


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## jamessig (Oct 11, 2011)

Sounds good. I often use #50 mono instead of wire and it's good for most spanish and bluefish, if kings are around or the target, stick with wire. 
Flounder have just started moving. I caught 5 lost 2 and released 1 short yesterday and just 1 barely legal today. I think a few more cold nights might do the trick. It's quite possible that you might catch some flounder but I doubt that you'll catch very many until the bay cools some more.


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## jamessig (Oct 11, 2011)

Oh, and good luck!


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## Youngp (Oct 12, 2011)

Thanks a bunch.


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## JoeyWommack (Oct 12, 2011)

Youngp said:


> Thanks a lot. Jamessig. This is what I was trying to do.
> Line(15lbs mono)+bubble+swivel+wire leader(30lbs)+gotcha or
> Line(15lbs mono)+bubble+swivel+kingfish rig+cigar minnow(or live fish)
> 
> Do u think those would work? I'm trying to catch whatever I can King,Spanish, Bonito, or Red etc. No special preference. Since I'm a beginner, I just want catch some and have fun. Oh what about Flounder you mentioned. Do u think I have a chance to catch some at the pier or fishing bridge too?



I am from the panhandle and pier fish alot.  Don't use a bubble with a gotcha.  Just use a gotcha with 40lb mono/32lb wire (single strand) to a 50lb swivel.  If you want to throw a cig or snobble a live bait.  Don't throw it with a bubble.  Use a 50lb barrel swivel haywired to 32lb single strand haywired to a 4x #2 treble hook.  

If you want to catch flounder, they are starting to show up pretty good now.  I carolina rig with just enough weight to keep it on the bottom.  I like using a 1/0 or 2/0 octopus hook.  There should be plenty of small bait around but if not get you some bull minnows and fish the pilings.  

Good luck


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## Youngp (Oct 13, 2011)

JoeyWommack said:


> I am from the panhandle and pier fish alot.  Don't use a bubble with a gotcha.  Just use a gotcha with 40lb mono/32lb wire (single strand) to a 50lb swivel.  If you want to throw a cig or snobble a live bait.  Don't throw it with a bubble.  Use a 50lb barrel swivel haywired to 32lb single strand haywired to a 4x #2 treble hook.
> 
> If you want to catch flounder, they are starting to show up pretty good now.  I carolina rig with just enough weight to keep it on the bottom.  I like using a 1/0 or 2/0 octopus hook.  There should be plenty of small bait around but if not get you some bull minnows and fish the pilings.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the Info. So if I still use bubble(mainly to throw it further), what'd be the downside? Also what kind of bait would work the best for flounder?


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## jamessig (Oct 13, 2011)

Typically you use a bubble rig to give weight to very light lures/baits so that you can cast them or cast them much further. JoeyW has a good point as Gotcha's are quite heavy for their size and a bubble in front of one would probably have a negative effect on it's erratic fish attracting action while adding little, if any, in additional casting distance. Another downside would be the inability to fish the lure at different depths if it were attached to a bubble. Generally if you put a lure within easy striking distance you'll get more takers and you can often do that just by fishing deeper. Working the entire water column, where possible, will produce more fish. 
In my experience flounder are not picky or particularly smart. They will hit anything that looks like a shrimp or smallish baitfish which are all items that are part of their natural diet. Using live bait is a no-brainer and probably the best place to start, but using artificials can be just as effective and in some situations more productive than live bait without the hassle of procuring and keeping live bait alive, as long as you have confidence in your abilities. That being said, if you have a cast net, use either finger mullet or pinfish as they are hardy baits and easy to keep alive. Live shrimp are good but pricy and prone to a variety of undesirable takers such as pinfish, pigfish, puffers, lizardfish etc. I'd use bull minnows before I'd use shrimp, but when the flounder bite is really on you probably won't be able to find them due to demand.
I don't like circle hooks for flounder. I use #1 or 1/0 live bait or octopus hooks. If I'm fishing long baits such as cigar minnows or finger mullet I might add a stinger that may be as small as a #4.
One last bit of advice, if you don't have a net, BUY ONE!!!  Flounder are notorious for coming off whenever they are lifted out of the water. One nice fish lost will pay for a net unless you are fishing off a pier where a pier net will run quite a bit more than a landing net. Many piers have a community pier net or it's likely that some angler will have his own net that he wouldn't mind lending, but waiting for it to become available will eventually cost you a fish.  I can almost guarantee that if you don't have a net on your first flounder outing, you will on your second.


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## Youngp (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks again, Jamessig. You are wonderful. I'll let you know if I catch any fish.


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## mmcneil (Oct 15, 2011)

I'm heading down to Navarre Friday, we rented a house on the island that is on santa rosa sound.  Hopefully the fishing will be good.  First time fishing the area with a boat, so I hope to learn the area quickly.


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