This week’s show kicks off the first report of 2026 with a clear message: winter is not the “off season” on the Emerald Coast. Host Joe Baya checks in with Brandon Barton out of Pensacola and Capt. Justin Leake out of Panama City to break down what’s biting right now, how to safely fish winter weather windows, and why this time of year can be one of the best opportunities to learn new patterns and refine your approach.
Conditions Recap
The theme across both ends of the panhandle is unusually warm, calm winter weather, with more “bluebird” days than most anglers expect in January. That warm air over colder water has also meant plenty of fog, so visibility and planning have mattered just as much as wind speed. Brandon and Justin both emphasized leaning into weather windows instead of forcing plans, because winter can still turn quickly, and a calm-looking shoreline does not always match what you’ll find a mile offshore.
Pensacola and the Kayak Bite with Brandon Barton
Brandon has been able to stay on the water thanks to the mild stretch, but he’s approaching winter like a different fishery. The grass-flat, topwater mindset gives way to deeper edges, bridge structure, and timing fish that can be more finicky. He’s staying busy with a mix of night bull reds, sheepshead opportunities building toward late winter, and even offshore reef trips when conditions allow. The key is adjusting locations and tactics instead of assuming the winter shuts everything down.
A big part of Brandon’s winter focus is safety, especially for kayak anglers tempted offshore on hard north winds. He pointed out how deceptive it can look near the beach when a strong north wind lays down the surf, even though it can turn rough quickly once you get out a mile or more. His basic winter rule is to respect the forecast, dress for the water temperature (not the air), and be honest about your ability to paddle or pedal back in if the wind builds or shifts.
On the gear side, Brandon called out a dry suit as the best option if you can swing it, but he also offered practical alternatives. He likes waterproof or highly water-resistant pants for winter launches and wet conditions, including AFTCO pants that shed water well, and he mentioned NRS paddling pants with built-in booties and a sealed waist to help prevent that “water-filled wader” scenario if you take a spill. He also recommended spare dry clothes in a dry bag, and stressed a simple decision point: if you get soaked, go in and warm up instead of trying to grind out a bite in wet clothing.
Night Bull Reds at the Three Mile Bridge
Brandon’s most consistent winter pattern has been targeting bull reds around the Three Mile Bridge lights. Those lights draw baitfish, and the reds patrol the edges looking for an easy meal. He likes the falling tide because it flushes bait, crabs, and other forage through the bridge and can trigger active feeding. He also encouraged anglers to pay attention to tide stages and feeding windows, because the difference between “nothing happening” and a hot bite can be a short stretch when the water starts really moving.
His approach is to work the water column based on what the fish are showing. If he sees fish pushing bait or rolling, he’ll stay up top. If the surface looks dead, he’ll go subsurface around the light lines, and if that still isn’t happening, he’ll get all the way down and slow-roll the bottom until he finds where the bite is living. For subsurface, he talked about throwing an X-Rap-style hard bait around the lights when reds were sitting a couple feet down.
For topwater, Brandon prefers larger profiles to reduce the chance of fish choking smaller plugs. His go-to has been the Savage Gear Smash Tail (a plopper-style bait) because it’s simple and effective in both calm and choppy conditions. It’s also client-friendly: cast it out, reel it steadily, and adjust speed until you get bit. He views color as less important at night around lights, with sound and silhouette doing most of the work.
If someone wants to fish natural bait or needs a “last resort” when artificials aren’t getting attention, Brandon laid out a smart bridge plan: use a Gulp shrimp on a jighead to catch white trout under the lights, then send a live white trout back down on a bottom rig. He mentioned Carolina-rig and knocker-rig style setups for getting that bait down where big reds are cruising. It’s a practical way to turn what’s available into the best bait in the system when you can’t buy live bait easily in winter.
Around bridge pilings, he recommends heavier tackle than most people want to fish in a kayak, simply to control the first run and keep fish from wrapping. He described running a 4500-size reel, 30–40 lb braid, and a 30–40 lb leader with a tighter drag than usual. The goal is to pull fish away from the pilings immediately, using kayak position to your advantage. If a fish does get tight to structure, he agreed that dropping pressure briefly and repositioning can save you, as long as you keep track of which side the fish moved to.
Clear Water, Low Tides, and Finicky Flats Reds
Brandon is also seeing plenty of redfish on the flats, especially in the upper bay areas, but getting them to eat has been tougher. Winter clarity and super-low tides (often pushed by north winds) combine with colder water to make fish more cautious and lethargic. He’s spotting fish easily, even filming with a drone, but he’s leaning toward smaller baits, slower presentations, and fishing the best feed windows rather than trying to force bites when fish are just cruising.
Panama City with Capt. Justin Leake
Over in Panama City, Justin echoed the same unusual winter pattern: more fishable days, more calm Gulf conditions, and fewer “classic” cold-front stretches that normally push anglers into narrow windows. He’s using this time of year to stay flexible and let the forecast decide the plan, which he believes makes trips more enjoyable and more productive, especially when many offshore seasons are closed and the pressure to fill a cooler is lower.
Justin gave one of the most useful winter takeaways of the episode: stop looking at only wave height. He’s evaluating wind speed first, then wind direction, then wave height, and finally wave period to understand whether it’s a comfortable ground swell or a steep, wind-driven chop. He mentioned using the Windfinder app as a primary tool to see that whole story at a glance, and he emphasized that the “right” cutoff depends on your area, your boat, and where you intend to fish.
Winter Gulf Opportunities: Scamp, Grouper, and Surprise Flounder
When the Gulf lays down, Justin’s winter playbook includes reef and natural-bottom fishing close enough to take advantage of leeward shoreline protection when winds are up. He described a strong shallow scamp bite in roughly the 75–90 foot zone during winter, tied to bait moving and concentrating along that depth band. He also noted that gags can show up shallow this time of year, which is bittersweet when seasons are closed.
He’s leaning on artificials more than any other time of year, partly because live bait is harder to source, but also because lighter tackle and thinner line let you fish smaller jigs effectively even when there’s some current. His setup has been a small fluke-style soft plastic (he mentioned Z-Man scented Jerk ShadZ) trimmed down and rigged on a sturdy half-ounce to three-quarter-ounce jighead. That jig bite has been producing scamp consistently, and it also opens the door for bonus fish like big red snapper (catch and release) and surprisingly large flounder that can stack up on the same piece of bottom.
Another winter advantage Justin highlighted is reduced shark predation compared to summer. Whether it’s colder water, less fishing pressure “training” sharks around popular spots, or both, he’s seeing more clean hook-ups and fewer lost fish. That’s letting him fish lighter gear for more fun fights and more learning, which he believes pays dividends when open seasons return.
More Winter Options and What to Watch Next
Brandon is looking ahead to a stronger late-winter sheepshead push toward passes, with bridges, jetties, and pier structure becoming better and better as spring approaches. On the nearshore-to-offshore side, blackfin tuna can be sporadic after the late-fall run, but the expectation is that the bite improves again closer to March. Both anglers’ advice was simple: winter fishing is available if you pick your days, fish the conditions you have, and stay flexible enough to pivot between structure, flats, and reef opportunities.
