As the biggest fishing-charter operation between New Orleans and Jacksonville, Hot Spots Fishing Charters offers the opportunity to land some downright legendary gamefish out of Pensacola Beach.
A skilled local crew headed by six full-time captains sets Hot Spots Fishing Charters apart. The company leads most of its charters out of Pensacola Beach at Shaggy’s Waterfront Bar and Grill, but can also embark from other regional ports such as Gulf Breeze, Perdido Key, and Navarre. The bodies of water open to you with a Hot Spots charter include Santa Rosa Sound, Pensacola Bay, Big Lagoon, East Bay, Escambia Bay, and the wild blue yonder of the Gulf of Mexico itself.
That means a broad spectrum of angling opportunities, from backwater and lagoon prowling to offshore deep-sea adventures. And that, meanwhile, equates to a lot of different fish on the potential Hot Spots radar: red snapper, amberjack, king mackerel, speckled trout, gag grouper, red grouper, scamp, mahi-mahi, and wahoo, plus such hefty quarry as sharks, yellowfin tuna, and billfish.
You can specifically request a certain target species, or solicit your captain’s advice on what’s biting in particularly hot-and-heavy fashion at the moment. In both cases, here’s where the intimate familiarity the Hot Spots crew has with Pensacola Beach’s liquid backyard comes into major play.
Options include two-, four-, five-, and six-hour inshore/nearshore charters as well as six-, eight-, 10-, and 12-hour offshore voyages. This spectrum means there’s likely a Hot Spots Fishing Charters trip for just about everybody: from a quick, close-to-shore, estuarine cruise after redfish or flounder for those strapped for time to full-day journeys into open Gulf water miles from the mainland. (The latter will give you the best shot at tuna, marlin, wahoo, and other coveted offshore species; you need extra time to travel to prime depths.)
Fish are obviously going to be the main concern on a Hot Spots charter, but there are always secondary highlights: blazing Gulf of Mexico sunsets, sudden encounters with dolphin pods, an ice-cold beverage with which to toast the Emerald Coast beachfront, and surely some fishing stories being thrown around when the action’s on the slow side.
Speaking of beverages, all you need to bring along on a Hot Spots fishing charter, generally speaking, are whatever food and drink suits your taste and some sturdy sun protection. Your flat rate fee covers rod, tackle, live bait, catch-cleaning, and other essentials, not to mention fishing licenses for all onboard.
Hot Spots Fishing Charters can handle a wide range of group sizes; these trips are a great choice for everyone from families to a whole troop of fishing buddies ready for some bucket-list angling in the subtropical splendor of Florida’s Gulf shore. And, needless to say, the weather, the scenery, and the sheer variety of gorgeous and spirited gamefish in this neck of the woods definitely hits bucket-list territory.
Insider Tip:
-On the subject of “tips” (pardon the pun), they’re recommended for your captain and deckhands, obviously at your discretion.