Pensacola is home to very good inshore fishing. From the bays to the bayous to the pass, there is plenty of water to fish here.
Fish the Pass
Pensacola Pass
Pensacola Pass is an inlet that is between Santa Rosa Island and Perdido Key. The pass connects the inshore waters of Pensacola, Florida to the Gulf of Mexcico. There are so many fish that use this pass to enter the inshore waters and then move back out to the Gulf of Mexico waters. You will see plenty of large boats moving through this pass, so you have to be careful when fishing out here, but there is usually somewhere to fish whether on the inside or outside of the pass. It is a popular spot to target a variety of saltwater fish such as redfish, trout, flounder, sheepshead, mackerel, bluefish and more.
Fish the Bays & Bayous
This area has several bays and bayous to fish. The calmer waters found in the bays offer anglers a lot of water to fish and a many different species to catch year round. Most anglers target redfish, sea trout and flounder, but other fish are available too.
Big Lagoon
Big Lagoon is known for its good fishing for redfish and trout in the numerous shallow grass flats, however, there is plenty of deeper water in the lagoon. The lagoon is popular among anglers with smaller boats and kayaks, but you’ll see some nice bay boats fishing the lagoon as well.
Blackwater Bay
Blackwater Bay can be tough to fish for many anglers, but plenty of fish are found in the bay throughout the year. The bay is fairly shallow, but there is deep enough water to hold a variety of saltwater fish. There are a bunch of tidal creeks that can hold some fish in skinny water during the tidal changes. Moving water is key, so find some schooling fish during a tidal change and you can put some fish in the boat.
East Bay
East Bay is kind of one huge flat with water in the 6 to 10 foot range for most of the bay with very shallow water up near the shorelines. There are some tidal creeks, but the water gets very shallow leading up to them. The Garcon Point Bridge is a popular spot to fish in this part of Pensacola. The bridge offers plenty of deep water with shallower water on both sides of the channel that leads into East Bay. You can find a mixed bag of fish species around the bridge.
Escambia Bay
Escambia Bay is a good-sized bay with fairly shallow water, however, it is plenty deep enough to move around the bay and fish a variety of spots comfortably in most boats. You have a couple large bridges to fish, plenty of docks, some nice marsh areas and a little deeper water as you get closer to Pensacola Bay.
Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay is a great area to fish. There is plenty of deep water, multiple large bridges and it is the main bay that leads into the other larger areas to fish in the Pensacola area. You will find just about every species of fish that is found in the inshore waters here, but you’re also going to see plenty of boat traffic in the bay as boats have to move through this bay to get to the pass and out to the Gulf of Mexico.
Santa Rosa Sound
The Santa Rosa Sound is an awesome inshore fishery that is close to Destin. The sound consists of no major rivers, streams or permanent passes, which helps to create a consistent calm water fishery that is known for its great fishing for redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and more.
Fish the Bridges
This area has a lot of bridges to fish and some of them are very large bridges. Take a look below to learn about these spots to fish.
Pensacola Bay Bridge (3 Mile Bridge)
This is a large bridge that is very popular for fishing. Anglers catch a little bit of everything around this bridge, so don’t be surprised if you catch redfish, sea trout, flounder, snapper, grouper, mackerel, bluefish and more.
Bob Sikes Fishing Pier
The Bob Sikes Fishing Pier is the old bridge that connected Pensacola Beach to Gulf Breeze, Florida. Now, this bridge serves the community as a long fishing pier, which is very popular among anglers. Many anglers will be out here fishing and it can be very productive during the tidal changes. You will also see many boaters fishing around this bridge as well. Anglers catch redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead, snapper and more from these waters.
Escambia Bay Bridge
The Escambia Bay Bridge is a six-lane freeway bridge that carries the I-10 highway across Escambia Bay. This is a large bridge that gives anglers a lot of fishing options. At times, it can be intimidating to fish since it is such a large structure, but with good electronics, you can narrow down some of the better spots to fish on any given day. Anglers catch a variety of fish around this bridge. Fish during the tidal changes and you’ll have better success.
Smaller Bridges
There are some smaller bridges that do attract some anglers. The larger bridges will give you a much better shot at catching quality fish and/or larger numbers of fish, but these smaller bridges do have their moments, so don’t rule them out if you’re looking for some new spots to fish.
Bayou Chico Drawbridge
Escambia River Bridge
Graffiti Bridge
Theo Baars Bridge
Popular Fish Caught Inshore
Below you can find some of the most popular fish that you can catch in the inshore waters of Pensacola. There are also pictures and some fishing tips to help you catch more fish on your next visit here.
Black Drum
Black drum move into the inshore areas of Pensacola in large numbers every spring. Black drum are available here year round though, so anglers will often run into some black drum while targeting redfish, sea trout and other inshore species. There is so much good inshore water to fish here with the Pensaola Pass, several bridges, tons of docks, grass flats and more.
Black Drum Fishing Tips
Spring and fall are popular times to target black drum because they head into the bays and inlets to spawn. They feed on the bottom and some of the best baits are clams and crabs.
Visit our Black Drum fishing page to learn more.
Flounder
Flounder are found year round in the inshore waters of Pensacola, Florida. Anglers can find flounder around the pass and throughout the bays in all types of areas such as bridges, docks, canals and grass flats.
Flounder Fishing Tips
Flounder can be caught with artificial lures, however, for many anglers, live bait or natural baits are considered the norm when fishing for flounder. Flounder love hanging tight to the bottom, so pick out your favorite bottom rig and pair it with a bull minnow, finger mullet, pinfish or shrimp and you should catch some fish.
Visit our Flounder fishing page to learn more.
Jack Crevalle
Jack Crevalle are common in the inshore waters of Pensacola. The warm weather months will push more fish into this area. They can be super exciting to catch when you find a school of them. Anglers target them with a variety of lures and baits, but topwater lures can be a lot of fun when they are feeding near the surface.
Jack Crevalle Fishing Tips
Jack Crevalle are a very popular species for inshore anglers, although, they are commonly found offshore as well. These fish are extremely powerful and capable of making long runs, especially if you are using light tackle. Their average size ranges from 2 to 5 pounds, but in most areas fish up to 10 pounds are plentiful. Some people eat these fish, but most people would rate them as very poor-tasting.
Learn More About Jack Crevalle
Ladyfish can be a fun fish to catch, especially for younger anglers. They do not get very big, so the more experienced anglers usually see them as bait for bigger fish. Ladyfish are an excellent bait both alive and dead as cut bait. There will be plenty of ladyfish in the bays of Pensacola during the warmer months of the year.
Ladyfish Fishing Tips
Ladyfish are cousins of the much larger tarpon. They have a long, slender body and are fairly small, averaging 2 to 3 pounds. They are fun to catch for young anglers, but for most adult anglers, ladyfish are used for bait. Ladyfish can easily be caught with a small hook, weight and live shrimp, small bait fish or cut bait.
Visit our Ladyfish fishing page to learn more.
Redfish
Redfish are very common in the inshore waters of Pensacola, Florida. You can catch redfish year round here, however, the fall is when anglers have their best shot at a trophy-sized bull redfish. It is one of the most consistent fish to target here, so if you’re fishing inshore waters, plan on running into some redfish while fishing in the bays, creeks, around bridges, docks, grass flats and near the Pensacola Pass.
Redfish Fishing Tips
Anglers target redfish with a variety of artificial lures, live baits and natural baits. While you have so many options for targeting redfish, most anglers will keep it simple and use live shrimp, dead shrimp or lures that mimic a shrimp. You can target the smaller reds with medium heavy rods and reels, but if you are going after bigger redfish, you’re going to want to go with medium heavy to heavy action gear to help land some of these huge fish.
Visit our Redfish fishing page to learn more.
Saltwater Catfish
You will find plenty of catfish in the bays of Pensacola well as around the pass and out along the beaches. They can be annoying if you don’t want to catch them or exciting to provide some action while other fish aren’t biting.
Hardhead Catfish
Gafftopsail Catfish
Catfish Fishing Tips
Catching catfish is easy in saltwater. Once you find them, they will easily bite many different types of cut baits. Just get your bait on the bottom, wait for the bite and then set the hook.
Sea Trout
The bays of Pensacola are home to some very good fishing for sea trout and these fish are available year round. Along with redfish, sea trout are a reliable fish to catch here even during the colder times of the year. Fish the grass flats, passes and bridges and you should find some sea trout.
Sea Trout Fishing Tips
Sea trout give anglers lots of options because they can be very aggressive. At times, you can do just as well or even better with artificial lures. For the live bait anglers, you have a variety of live and natural baits that you can use to catch sea trout. Anglers can also get away with using lighter tackle as well since most of the better spots tend to be around shallow water grass flats.
Visit our Sea Trout fishing page to learn more.
Sharks
In the Florida Panhandle between Destin and Pensacola, anglers have access to very deep water. Within 25 to 35 miles from shore, anglers can be fishing from 100 to 600 feet of water or even deeper in some spots. While the 100 Fanthom line may be closest to Destin in this region, you can get out to some very deep water in 25 to 35 miles from Pensacola. This gives anglers some awesome offshore opportunities for targeting a variety of sharks including some very big sharks. Inshore and along the beaches, there are plenty of sharks as well especially during the warmer weather months.
Learn More About Sharks on our Shark Fishing page.
Sheepshead
Sheepshead are common in the bays and around the Pensacola Pass. These fish head inshore and feed well throughout the colder months of the year, so they give anglers another species of fish to target when there are less fish around in the winter. Find some rocks, pilings or oyster bars and you should be able to find some sheepshead.
Sheepshead Fishing Tips
Sheepshead are one of the tougher saltwater fish to catch on artificial lures. It can be done, but using live or natural baits can out fish lures by 10 to 1 or more at times. It is easy to understand why most anglers just go with live bait and they don’t even mess with lures when fishing for sheepshead. Shrimp and fiddler crabs are the most popular baits, but don’t rule out a variety of cut baits, oysters and sand fleas. Sheepshead are known for stealing your bait and they also are a tough fish, so make sure you have a strong enough hook and a solid medium-heavy to heavy action fishing rod or you will lose a lot of fish.
Visit our Sheepshead fishing page to learn more.
Mangrove Snapper
Mangrove Snapper are a popular to fish to target in the inshore waters of Pensacola, Florida.
Mangrove Snapper Fishing Tips
Mangrove Snapper are one of the most popular snapper to catch because large populations of juvenile fish can be caught inshore where most anglers fish. Offshore, you will find bigger mangrove snapper over the reefs and wrecks. Some of the best baits to use for mangrove snappers are live and dead shrimp, mud minnows, small pinfish, small finger mullet and small crabs.
Tarpon
Tarpon migrate into this area from late spring through fall. While the tarpon are here, there will be plenty of anglers that get out here to fish for them. Tarpon can be found roaming the beaches, hanging around the Pensacola Pass and good numbers of them will come into the bays as well. The summer provides some of the best fishing for them around Pensacola.
Tarpon Fishing Tips
While many anglers may run into smaller tarpon and catch them without much effort, to consistently target bigger tarpon, you need to make sure you have the right tackle & equipment so things go your way. Tarpon will eat a variety of baits, so you have a lot of options when it comes to live & cut baits or artificial lures. The time of year is very important as well since tarpon will migrate a long way up and down both the Gulf & Atlantic Coasts each year.
Visit our Tarpon fishing page to learn more.
