Pensacola Fishing Report September 2023*
Welcome back Gulf Coast Sportsmen for another fishing report for September 2023 in Pensacola, FL. Welcome back Gulf Coast Sportsmen for another fishing report for September 2023 in Pensacola, FL. The time has come, and Amberjack is now open along the gulf coast! The season is now open from September 1 – October 31. There are some new rules, and they could change over the course of the next two months as catches are reported. Anglers should be sure to keep up with FWC’s Informational page to keep up to date throughout the season for bag limits and other resources. Red Snapper and Triggerfish are now closed. Much like the rest of the coast, weather has affected fishing all over the area, but charters and anglers have still been on the bite on Pensacola waterways.
Inshore
The Pensacola area has had a good production of slot sized redfish lately. Most catches have been on live bait and soft plastics around docks and structure during the early hours of the day. Trout have been decent on the flats and around dock lights at night. Black drum are also in the area around the docks. They will take live shrimp and/or chunks of cut crab on the bottom. Weather has made most captains run their charters early in the morning before the afternoon storms roll in so be sure to book an inshore charter guide to fish the Pensacola are this September!
Nearshore and Offshore
Like neighboring areas, weather in Pensacola has varied the past few weeks and is projected to remain volatile into the month. When anglers have been able to get out, King Mackerel and Wahoo have been taking Yozuri diving lures trolled deep in the water column. Mingo snapper, triggerfish, and small amberjacks have been taking live and cut bait around the many sunken wreckage reefs in the area. Mahi mahi have been caught just a little a little farther out past the reefs. Look for floating vegetation and debris and keep some live bait and topwater popping lures ready when the fish are found.
Beaches and Piers
Surf and pier fishing in Pensacola has improved since more and more of the grass is out of the water. Look for plenty of Spanish mackerel around the pier using bubble rigs. King Mackerel are found off the end of the piers as well. The surf still has pompano on the bottom with some bull reds mixed in. Sharks have been solid in the surf at night on live and larger cut bait. Pick up some frozen Bonita at a tackle shop or anglers can use any they may have recently caught. Cut them in to long strips and get them in between the sandbars.
