Hilton's "Eyes in the Sky" Wahoo Breaks and Pensacola Kayak Topwater Bite

In this week's Northwest Florida Fishing Report, host Joe Baya leans on two timely conversations to make sense of a windy, weather-scrambled week: offshore wahoo intel from Hilton's Real-Time Navigator and a Pensacola-area inshore kayak pattern that's producing reds and trout during warm windows. Joe starts with Butch Thierry and Tom Hilton to talk "good wahoo water" for boats running out of Pensacola, Destin, and Panama City. Tom explains dialing in a wahoo temp range in the upper 60s into the 70s to make clean edges pop, then stacking the odds with water color, current, structure, and bait. They key in on Destin FADs and the Oriskany area, why even small temp breaks can matter when they're tight and defined, and how current hitting contour can create the kind of feeding zone you want to fish. To wrap, Joe checks in with Brandon Barton of Emerald Waters Kayak Charters on a fun inshore bite: redfish and trout eating topwater well beyond first light when conditions warm up. Brandon breaks down his go-to spook-style baits, when he upsizes for ripple, and how he works saltwater chatterbaits through submerged grass in dirtier river water to trigger winter reds. He also shares how drone scouting is changing his view of where trophy-class trout and mixed schools are staging in shallow ICW water during midday warming periods, plus a quick look ahead to March kayak offshore opportunities for blackfin tuna and early-season reef fishing.   Sponsors: Dixie Supply and Baker Metal Killerdock Coastal Connection EXP Realty AFTCO SlipSki Solutions Black Buffalo Hilton's Realtime Navigator