Navarre Beach Fishing Charters & Guides

Navarre Beach Fishing Charters

A thin barrier island stretches along Florida's panhandle, separating the mainland from the Gulf of Mexico. Navarre Beach is about midway on the island and only one of three places with road access to Santa Rosa Island. Santa Rosa Sound is 33 miles long and ranges from 1.8 miles to 200 yards across. The Navarre Beach Pier reaches well into the Gulf, providing anglers a great place to fish either from the pier or in a boat next to it. On the bayside, tidal creeks and grass flats provide food and shelter for plenty of fish. South Side Park gives visitors a look at bayside life and the Sea Turtle Conservation center a short walk away has history, ecology and the information on the current efforts to help sea turtles recover. The Gulf Breeze Zoo is just a short drive away. Miles of beaches offer plenty of space to get away from the crowds found at more popular places like Pensacola and Ft. Walton. You just cannot go wrong picking Navarre Beach as your next destination for fishing and family time. Navarre Beach fishing charters will make sure you have a grand time.

Navarre Beach Inshore Fishing

In addition to Santa Rosa Sound, anglers fishing out of Navarre Beach have ready access to Pensacola Bay, Escambia Bay and Blackwater Bay. These inshore waters are home to some of the toughest bull reds and gator trout you can hope to find. Thanks to redfish restrictions in the Sunshine State, your chances of connecting with a giant redfish these days range from good to excellent. Tidal creeks in the three bays are feeding grounds for redfish on their way to being 20-plus pounders. The trophy reds are found in the passes and along the bridges that cross to the island and go over the bays. The same technique that works on the smaller reds, works on the big bulls and the speckled trout. Just upsize your offering to catch the bigger fish. Start with live and artificial shrimp under a popping cork. Shrimp, small pinfish, bull minnows and glass minnows also make excellent bait. When you are after huge fish, use hand-sized pinfish or equally large cut bait. Less targeted, but just as much fun are black drum and sheepshead. Drum are found all over the place and prefer cut bait and small crabs. Sheepshead are specialists at eating clams, barnacles, snails and oysters. Fish around pilings and structure covered with bivalves. You can even get bait right there. Pry barnacles and oysters off the piling and stick them on a hook. Sand fleas caught on the beach and fiddler crabs caught on the bayside at low tide make excellent bait for sheepshead and drum.

Navarre Beach Offshore Fishing

When it is time to strain your arms and grab a heating pad for your back, head offshore. The deep waters off Navarre Beach hold mahi mahi, king mackerel, barracuda, tuna, wahoo and huge sharks. Well below the surface on the wrecks and reefs in the area, you will find grouper, snapper, triggerfish and other structure-loving fish. A trolling rig is the most common way to catch the fish that are constantly on the move. The same rig you use to catch mahi mahi will catch mackerel, wahoo, tuna and more. Which one is more fun to catch? The one on your line right then. Tuna is especially prized because they move around even more than the others. If you hook up with a tuna, hang on. If you can hold on and have enough line on the reel, one reel-stripping charge is all they have. The other fish will give and take before being worn out. Reef fish are plentiful here. The Gulf of Mexico is an excellent place to catch amberjack and other species mentioned above that love to hang around structure at the bottom. Catching these fish is a matter of knowing where the reefs are and then getting right on top of them. If you drop your bait a few yards away from the reef, you may catch something eventually. The closer you are to the structure, the better your chances of making a connection. Deep water jigging is finding more and more fans. Be warned as Joe Richard says, "It's vigorous work, which is why there is specialized tackle built for this very tactic, and it's a treat when hefty amberjack, grouper, snapper, wahoo and tuna latch onto solid, metal baits." If bouncing heavy lures on the bottom is not your thing, drop a line with a live or cut bait right over the reef. If the fish are there, your wait for a bite will be short. If you want triggerfish, you need to downsize. They have small mouths; grouper and snapper hooks are too big.

Book A Navarre Beach Fishing Charter

Navarre Beach fishing charters have the fish. They are just waiting for someone to show up to catch them. It needs to be you. Book your Navarre Beach charter today with FishAnywhere.