The currents have finally changed form the northwest and turned up speed from a more southeasterly direction. This means nothing but cleaner water and better fishing for anglers along the Florida panhandle. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the shoreline to forty miles offshore are as pretty right now as you will ever see it. Not only do anglers love the pretty water, but fish of all species do as well.

During the past few weeks the blue water has been nearly 180 miles south of the Pensacola pass. This current change has and will continue to move the blue water in a northerly direction and this should make the offshore trolling for marlin, dolphin, tuna and wahoo much better in weeks to come. There have been several nice wahoo reported caught around the edges and 100 fathom curve along the nipple. Capt. Ronnie Hogue on the "Hog Wild" brought in a 100 pound swordfish while fishing at night around the spur.

Just last week, we took out a family of twenty one aboard the Entertainer for an eight hour trip. They caught there limit of Red Snapper rather quickly, so we proceeded further offshore to 250 feet of water to try to catch some vermillion snapper and scamp.

Submitted Photo Mates Jack Begley and Will Condon with a 150-pound Bull Shark Boy what a surprise, Tommy Lett of Gulf Breeze tossed out a live cigar minnow on a 30 pound spinning rod and before it hit the water he was on. Jumping up the port side of the Entertainer through a maze of other fishing lines was a nice sailfish.

First mate Rusty Smith was able to clear and free everyone's line from the jumping sailfish. After a 30 minute fight and nearly 35 jumps Rusty was able to bill the fish and pull him on board for some quick photos. The fish was safely released back to his environment for someone else to enjoy.

The inshore trolling for King Mackerel is as hot as it gets right now. There has been large schools of threadfin herring and cigar minnows around the buoys in the pass and southwest of the Battle Ship Massachusetts. In and around these large schools of bait are plenty of kings. Trolling around the larger public wrecks, out to 150 feet of water, has produce larger kings along with a few Amberjacks. My favorite lure is a 3½ drone spoon behind a number five captain action planner. If live bait is not available, this combination is often deadly.

The Spanish mackerel have been biting good in the early morning and late evening hours around the pass. I have found the Spanish to be more abundant to west side of the pass in the murky waters. They also love a smaller spoon and any kind of jig similar to a pompano jig.

Inshore fishing is still fairly good, with the red fish and specks. Your best time of day is still early morning and late evening. They are still hanging in and around piers and the deeper holes. Flounder have been biting great around the Bob Sikes bridge and on the drop offs along the ship channel in the Pensacola pass. The best bait is always live bull minnows if you can find them.

Bottom fishing in the gulf remains excellent and time is running out for the Red Snapper. There are still plenty of nice snapper to be caught. We have found on the Entertainer that the larger fish are now just inside of the edge around 150 to 180 feet of water. Remember Red Snapper season closes this year August 14th at 12:00 midnight.

If you would like to check out some of the local catches, stop by the Pensacola Beach Marina any time from 3:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon. There is always fish on the docks. The booking office is always open from daylight to dark, so stop by and check us out. As we always say "May the good fishing be yours" the next time you go out.