Home Tournaments Calendar Weather Merchandise Sponsors

Go Back   Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum > United States Geographical Locations > Upper Gulfcoast

Upper Gulfcoast This is the area for spearfishermen in Panama City, Destin/Ft. Walton, Pensacola, Alabama, Miss., and Louisiana.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 12-31-2017, 06:21 PM   #1
grey2112
Registered User
 
grey2112's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New Port Richey FL
Posts: 1,984
Fishing/Spearing in April in Pensacola area?

Wife and me will be visiting Pensacola in April (early part). Will be bringing her 17 foot Key West cc, our fishing gear, and my SCUBA gear (as long as the water temp isn't below 68 at that time of year). Will be staying with my parents who live off 9th avenue right off I-10.

So, where should we launch from, what sort of fish should we expect to catch (we like to eat fish, so Spanish mack, snapper, flounder, trout, etc. would be nice to target). I spearfish and would love to nail a bunch of lionfish.

I'd be up to a dive/lionfish charter trip as well.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
grey2112 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2017, 06:53 PM   #2
Wood Guy
Registered User
 
Wood Guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Orange Beach, Alabama
Posts: 1,075
Re: Fishing/Spearing in April in Pensacola area?

I would suggest Dive Pros in Pensacola for air fills and tanks if needed, and they can put you on the lionfish as well. There are lots of public sites in Pensacola Bay as well as near offshore that you can dive on with that boat if you watch the weather. Diving in Pensacola Bay is low vis, strong tide diving, and can be a challenge if you're not used to it. Trolling for Spanish is available and cobia migrate along the coast in the spring, although by the time they get to us they are pretty spooky. Flounder can be found around most all dive sites, around the jetties at Pensacola bay and Orange Beach. Flounder, redfish, and speckled trout can also be caught in Pensacola Bay, and in the bayous and rivers emptying into the bay, as well as at the jetties, and April is a great month for in shore fishing.
Pay attention to what seasons are open, and size and bag limits, since they are often different for FL state, AL state, and Fed waters.
Wood Guy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2018, 11:22 AM   #3
grey2112
Registered User
 
grey2112's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New Port Richey FL
Posts: 1,984
Re: Fishing/Spearing in April in Pensacola area?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wood Guy View Post
I would suggest Dive Pros in Pensacola for air fills and tanks if needed, and they can put you on the lionfish as well. There are lots of public sites in Pensacola Bay as well as near offshore that you can dive on with that boat if you watch the weather. Diving in Pensacola Bay is low vis, strong tide diving, and can be a challenge if you're not used to it. Trolling for Spanish is available and cobia migrate along the coast in the spring, although by the time they get to us they are pretty spooky. Flounder can be found around most all dive sites, around the jetties at Pensacola bay and Orange Beach. Flounder, redfish, and speckled trout can also be caught in Pensacola Bay, and in the bayous and rivers emptying into the bay, as well as at the jetties, and April is a great month for in shore fishing.
Pay attention to what seasons are open, and size and bag limits, since they are often different for FL state, AL state, and Fed waters.
Thank you! Looks like the time I'll be there (April 7-16) the water may be too cold for my southern Florida blood, so fishing may be on the plate vs. diving.
grey2112 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-01-2018, 09:16 PM   #4
Alec
Registered User
 
Alec's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Denver/Palm Beach
Age: 29
Posts: 2,158
Re: Fishing/Spearing in April in Pensacola area?

Should be a good time to target cobia if seas allow. Contact Josh Livingston with DreadKnot charters in Destin. He kills more lionfish than anyone else in Florida, let him know Alec sent you. Also be sure to stop by Benthic!
Alec is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2018, 09:50 AM   #5
grey2112
Registered User
 
grey2112's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New Port Richey FL
Posts: 1,984
Re: Fishing/Spearing in April in Pensacola area?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alec View Post
Should be a good time to target cobia if seas allow. Contact Josh Livingston with DreadKnot charters in Destin. He kills more lionfish than anyone else in Florida, let him know Alec sent you. Also be sure to stop by Benthic!
Sweet, thanks. I was born in Pensacola, lived there on and off for years, did my last year of high school and then went to UWF for 5 years. Not once during any of that time was I into boating, fishing, or diving. Now I kick myself for not enjoying what the area had to offer. Hopefully I can change that this year.
grey2112 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-09-2018, 06:31 PM   #6
Billybob
Gulf Breeze
 
Billybob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Gulf Breeze
Posts: 1,260
Re: Fishing/Spearing in April in Pensacola area?

from 9th Ave near I-10 you'll have several choices for launching
there is a new launch off of Barancas Ave on Bayou Chico..theres the old faithful at the N.E. end of the 3 mile bridge but with new bridge being built that would be a challenge there's Navy Point off of Sunset
..all are good choices
MBT is convenient to both of those as a dive shop
if your military you could launch at Sherman's Cove on base
April has all kinds of great fishing with the water warming up but watch the seasons CLOSELY...they change the damn things daily it seems
water temp should be in the mid 60's if this unbelievable cold we've had returns to more normal
lionfish in large quantities are best found in 90+ feet of water. To get lots you need to hit small private stuff.
if you do feel the urge to go after them let me know and I can shoot you a few private numbers where you should kill some. enjoy your visit!
Billybob is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:21 PM.


The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Social Media Forum Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2002 - 2014 Spearboard.com