Big fish, shallow water
White sand, crystal-clear emerald water and some of the best saltwater fishing in the country, right off the beach.
Calm water, close to shore
Our stretch of the Florida Panhandle has miles of white sandy beaches, several bays and sounds, and numerous river systems. Two major inlets connect the Gulf of Mexico to our inshore bays and estuaries, keeping the water clean and full of fish.
There are plenty of big game fish close to shore, so we always stay in calm water and spend more time fishing than traveling. There's nothing quite like watching a huge bull redfish or giant cobia eat your lure in shallow, crystal-clear water.
Seen on our trips: big schools of bull redfish, jack crevalle, cobia, sharks and tarpon, plus dolphins, sea turtles, stingrays and the occasional manatee.
Company on the water
Light tackle, lots of options
Live bait or artificial lures, whatever you prefer and whatever the fish want that day.
Sight fishing
Cast directly to cruising redfish, cobia and pompano in clear, shallow water. It's the most exciting fishing on the coast.
Power-Pole & anchor
If sight casting sounds too challenging, we stake out on a good spot and let the fish find our perfectly placed baits.
Trolling
A long-time Northwest Florida favorite for putting a wide variety of big game fish in the boat.
Nearshore & deeper water
Deep water is close to shore here, so there's time to troll for king mackerel or drop a line for snapper and grouper for dinner.
What you can catch
Redfish
The big bully on the flats. Found in very shallow water or deeper in the bays and Gulf, caught sight fishing, drifting or at anchor. Hard fighters, always fun on light tackle.
Speckled Trout
Found over grass flats and sandy bottoms, moving to slow, deeper water in cold weather. Fish up to 4 lb are common, and several over 8 lb are caught in our region each year.
Flounder
The tasty inshore flatfish, usually over sandy or muddy bottoms, but also on the grass and nearshore reefs and wrecks.
Kingfish
Fast-running king mackerel come very close to shore here. Kings upward of 30 lb are commonly caught within a mile of the beach.
Pompano
Great on light tackle with small bucktail jigs, live shrimp or sand fleas. They cruise our beaches all year, can be sight fished and make excellent table fare.
Cobia
The "brown clown" is a local favorite, migrating east to west along the Panhandle beaches every spring. Sight fishing at its finest.
Spanish Mackerel
The king mackerel's little cousin swims in big schools along the beaches all summer. Small lures and a quick retrieve do the trick.
Red Snapper
Abundant along the Panhandle on nearshore wrecks and in the deep holes of Pensacola Bay.
Sheepshead
Found year-round around bridge pilings and docks. Very good to eat, and plentiful at certain times of year.
Amberjack
"Reef donkeys" live on nearshore and offshore wrecks. Extremely hard fighting, and great on the dinner table.
Grouper
Usually offshore on natural bottom, artificial reefs and wrecks, and also around deep structure in our bays. Delicious, too.
And more
Tarpon, jacks, bluefish, black drum, sharks and other migratory species pass through at different times of the year.
Seasons and bag limits are set by Florida regulations. Captain Mike will tell you what's in season and biting for your dates.
What's biting this week?
Ask Captain Mike, or follow Emerald Ghost on Facebook and Instagram for recent fishing reports and photos.