Redfish Cup Punta Gorda-May 1-3, 2009

The first Redfish Cup event of 2009 took place in Punta Gorda, FL. on May 1-3. We were greeted with some difficult tides and conditions. We found the larger fish to be very uncooperative and set a goal of concentrating on more catchable redfish as this event would be the trickiest of the year. Each morning, we quickly secured two medium-sized fish in the well and then concentrated on a small group of redfish that were 26-30″ in hopes of grabbing a few quality tournament fish for upgrades. Ended up getting some over-slot fish and then going back to some other fish that would help us in the end. I found that the Berkley Gulp! 3″ Shrimp in camo were the ticket for both sightfishing and blindcasting holes along mangrove flats. All in all, a difficult event but we accomplished our goal and got 17.59# to secure 16th place and a nice check for $3500. Sometimes it’s best to play the tricky venues on the conservative side especially since the Redfish Cup Championship is right here in Pensacola, FL. in late September.

Thank you very much for all the words of encouragement and best wishes, we represented Pensacola well and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. Photos to follow.

Eric Holstman

Fun morning with Pompano-April 11, 2009

Headed to the beach this morning with Tracy and friend, Randy, to do some pompano fishing. Found a nice, deep washout and set up. Pretty slow fishing but managed to get 4 nice pompano for fish tacos this evening. All fish caught on double rigs(20# fluoro. and #2 hooks.) Sandfleas and fresh peeled shrimp did the trick. We also caught a drum, a bluefish and a stingray. Oh yeah, and Randy caught a beautiful catfish.

Solid day at Redfish University! March 30, 2009

Guided Mr. R.J. McDermott today and found very clear water, decent amounts of bait and mullet but very difficult redfish. Some usually outstanding areas today were painfully unproductive. Found some solid consistency and replicated it over and over. Found quite a few redfish in the 20-30″ range along some sand/grass ledges. We saw some and blindcasted others. Pretty tough day but we popped 8-9 good redfish with a few more coming unbuttoned. Also some very nice trout and a good flounder were also in the mix. All fish caught on Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in camo and all fish released. RJ got his personal best, a 36″ 14# redfish on artificial today and we also saw a naked person on the shore.

Redfish University quicktrip-March 18, 2009

Fished with friend and tackle rep., Brant Peacher, this morning and found very good quality redfish. The water was as clear as a swimming pool and the redfish were incredibly aggressive and could be sightfished with ease. Ended up catching over a dozen fish in a few hours with some massive upper slot fish. All fish caught on Berkley Gulp! 5″ Jerkshads in sardine this time(forgot my camos) and Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons. All fish released.

Great afternoon at Redfish University-March 17, 2008

Guided Mr. Aaron Sago today. Aaron is the owner of a new 22 Pathfinder and wanted to get comfortable with the boat and find some productive areas to catch some fish. We ended up with 14-15 Redfish, 12 Trout and one nice flounder. We fished some shallow water areas where we found plenty of milling mullet. All fish caught on 5″ Gulp! Jerkshads in camo and all fish released.

High production at Redfish University- March, 13 2009

Lots of great trips lately, although I don’t report all trips, the redfish are extremely predictable and very cooperative. Look for them in very shallow water around bait and schools of mullet.

Guided Mr. Patrick St. Romaine this morning on the Maverick 17HPXV and found lots and lots of redfish. Steady action all morning on the very shallow flats and fish were, as predicted, following large schools of mullet.  Ended up sticking around 25 quality redfish with some impressive trout mixed in. Could have been more but we both had an alarming amount of fish come unbuttoned. Short bites with the full moon maybe? Probably not, but a great excuse!! Perfect morning, cooperative redfish and great company. All fish caught on Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons and all fish released healthy.

A Steady Day at Redfish University-March 6, 2009

Guided Dr. Edwin Yee and fishing partner Mitch this morning on the new 2009 Maverick 17Hpx that I am guiding on until my new Hewes arrives. They both wanted to learn some basic shallow water techniques. It was a little difficult at the beginning but as always, we figured it out and produced a pretty consistent bite. Ended up with 10 quality shallow water redfish including 2 very nice 6.5# fish. We also stuck 3 very nice trout in the mix. Final score: Dr. Yee-5 Mitch-3 and Eric H.-2(I poled all day!) All fish caught on Johnson 1/4oz. Gold Spoons and all fish released.

Important Announcement regarding upcoming Redfish University trips-March 2, 2009

Dear Clients and scheduled anglers,

Thanks to everyone who has enrolled and graduated from Redfish University. We continue to stay very busy with 3-5 Redfish U. classes per week. Thank you everyone.

The month of March is typically a boat transition period for me and this March is no exception. With several Redfish University trips tentatively booked in the coming weeks, I have contacted several of you to reschedule if possible. Today, I cleaned out my 2008 Hewes 21 Redfisher to take delivery of my brand new 2009 Hewes Redfisher. Unfortunately, I will be personally boatless for a few weeks. But never fear!! For those that have the flexibility to reschedule have done so, those that would like a Redfish University session on their OWN boat(insurance and waiver) are very welcome to here locally. For those who wish to experience a Redfish University trip on a 2009 Maverick/Hewes flats boat, trips will be available in Destin and Panama City ONLY for the next few weeks. A 2009 Maverick  17  HPX with a Yamaha F90 will be my temporary redfish catching machine. My apologies for the short inconvience and see everyone at Redfish U. soon. Eric

Redfish University at Bass Pro Shops-Feb.28-March 1

Over the weekend, I was invited by (Pure Fishing) Berkley to represent the new Abu Garcia reels(Soron and the Inshore Revos) as well as all Berkley products such as Gulp! and Johnson Spoons. I also performed a few Redfish University seminars for the packed house. My only regret was that I failed to get Rick Klunn’s autograph! Anyway, I really enjoyed meeting everyone at Bass Pro Shops, thank you for all the phone calls and emails to booked Redfish University sessions and I especially enjoyed helping everyone learn more about shallow water redfishing. See you next time!! Eric

Dozens and dozens at Redfish University-2/27/09

Guided Mr. Jim Lawrence and his son Brett this morning on an epic Redfish University trip. What a fun day with some really nice people!! We absoluting hammered the redfish sticking over 30 quality fish(23-27″) with a few 3-4# trout mixed in. Concentrated on very shallow flats with large schools of mullet. All fish caught on 1/4oz. Johnson Gold Spoons. All fish released. This was definitely a Top 5 Redfish U. Trip of the Year.