More Productive Fishing at the Trysler Grounds

EDITOR'S NOTE: Many sport fishermen in the Pensacola, Florida, area stop at the Trysler Grounds to catch bait on their way out to fish offshore wrecks and reefs.

"Because the Trysler Grounds have a natural bottom, the region produces squirrel fish and vermilion snapper, which are both excellent bait for amberjack, cobia, grouper and big red snapper," Captain George Pfeiffer explained. "Many times when I run offshore to deeper water, I stop by the Trysler Grounds to catch these species to use as live bait for bigger fish. The rocks there provide an excellent place for baitfish to hide in and reproduce.

"One of the reasons that the Trysler Grounds don't get as much fishing pressure as the artificial reefs is that anglers must work harder to catch fish off the Trysler Grounds than they do off artificial reefs. Most artificial reefs contain a large number of snapper and triggerfish. So, most captains can go to four or five artificial reefs and get their limit of snapper easily and quickly. However, when you fish the Trysler Grounds, you must move all over the reef to catch the same number of snapper. You may have to hunt and peck all day at the Trysler Grounds to find and catch as many snapper as you will on four or five artificial reefs."

After our trip to the Trysler Grounds this past spring, I understood why we had fish on our lines the entire day. This natural bottom always produced plenty of fish for Panhandle anglers in the past -- and still does today, although we had to throw back 50% of the snapper we caught due to their not meeting the legal size limit.

To experience a rod-bending trip, avoid heavy fishing pressure and catch a number of a wide variety of species of fish, load up, and head for Trysler Grounds -- the rocks that home Pensacola's closest and most-productive hard bottom.

For more information about fishing in Pensacola, Florida, contact Captain George Pfeiffer at (850) 432-0337; call the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, (800) 874-1234; or visit the website: www.visitpensacola.com.

TOMORROW: More Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico