Destin, FL advice?

[nhunter344]

I will be in Destin this August and was wondering if there is anyone here that can offer any advice on the area. I'm not looking for your personal honey holes, but would like any advice to make sure I'm not trying to fish in some wastewater treatment pond.

Thanks in advance!

[rwh]

This thread on a local forum there may get you started. Have fun down there!

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com...ap-you-836570/

[nhunter344]

Perfect! Thank You!

Now I just have to figure out how to enter GPS Coords in my FF.

[baitball]

I will be in Destin this August and was wondering if there is anyone here that can offer any advice on the area. I'm not looking for your personal honey holes, but would like any advice to make sure I'm not trying to fish in some wastewater treatment pond.

Thanks in advance!

nHunter344,

I answered a similar question for 1idrod a couple of months ago. I cut and pasted my response (as well as the link) below; I figure you probably have similar questions. Let me know if you are interested in something else.

Here was my response:

http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...ghlight=destin

I lived in Destin for six years and know the area pretty well. Although I didn’t fish out of a kayak back then (I owned a power boat), I’m very familiar with the local waters. Three years ago, I was able to return to the area with my old Hobie Revo and enjoyed wetting a line on the Emerald Coast.

To help answer your question, I would offer up these points:

Q1: How many times do you plan to fish?

A1: If you are planning to get out on the water only once or twice, then I’d recommend leaving your kayak at home and hiring a personal kayak guide. If this is outside your budget, then jump on a “head boat” leaving from Destin harbor. The head boats are relatively inexpensive and their captains have some good numbers to put you on some quality reef fish. All tackle, bait, and sometimes lunch is provided by the charter boats. The rest of the time you can try your hand at surf or pier fishing.

Q2: What kind of fishing do you want to do? Inshore or Offshore?

A2: If you are hoping to do some offshore fishing in your kayak, your chances will depend heavily on the wind and sea state. What may seem like a mere 2-foot chop on some innocuous weather report, quickly makes for a miserable, maybe even dangerous, trip in a kayak on the open Gulf. That said, if the weather gods are smiling and you get a glassy Gulf, the chances of hooking up with Cobia, Kingfish or Amberjack are high. I recommend you check out some YouTube videos from folks in the area. Search for “Navarre Beach Kayak Fishing” to get some ideas and possibly hook up with a local yakker.

A2.1: If you decide to stay inshore, Choctawhatchee Bay is fantastic. You will easily get on ladyfish, trout, jacks, redfish, sheepshead, and many other species. A number of kayakers launch around White Point at the foot of the Mid-Bay Bridge. This area is directly across from new Destin (closer to SanDestin) where Bass Pro Shops is located.

A2.2: If you happen to be military or a DoD ID card holder, then you can drive on base and gain access to a number of launch sites not accessible by the general public. Launching from Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, or Pensacola NAS puts you in waters where the fish are less pressured and the crowds are smaller.

A2.3: If you really want to get away from it all and experience some undisturbed NW Florida scenery, then I suggest you put in at Black Creek in Walton County. Don't let the name fool you, Black Creek is as wide as a river. It is located on the far eastern side of Choctawhatchee Bay. After a short paddle/pedal you will leave what little civilization there is at the boat ramp (Live Oak Landing) behind and quickly be amongst wild, undisturbed vegetation. I recommend bringing along a good GPS and a back-up map because there are many tributaries and offshoots to get lost in (think FL Keys mangrove maze). If you explore far enough, you will be rewarded with a frosty beverage at the local Harley Davidson hangout, The Outpost (where Black Creek Rd, goes over the creek).

….and one final suggestion: Take a break from fishing and surprise your wife by taking her for a drive down Hwy 30A to the town of Seaside. It’s in between Destin and Panama City. It’s quaint, full of cutesy boutique shops, art deco-colored beach homes, and overpriced seafood restaurants, but you will score HUGE brownie points with her.
After you feel like the brownie points are in the bag, act surprised and announce you just found out there was a kayak shop down the road. [Yellowfin Ocean Sports, Seagrove Beach]

I almost forgot to mention the very popular, on-the-water local hangout in Destin. It's called Crab Island. It's not technically an "island", but rather an area of knee-high shallow water directly adjacent to the Destin Bridge.

You can't miss it when driving over the Destin Bridge. On a sunny weekend day, the area will have hundreds of boats, PWCs, kayaks, and basically anything that floats anchored around it. The area becomes a giant party with thousands of revelers, music, debauchery and good times - even the local bars have large pontoon boats anchored at Crab Island selling blended drinks to the partiers!

I hope this helps.

Let me know how your trip turns out.

[nhunter344]

Wow, way more info than I was expecting!

Thanks everyone, Ill be sure to post a report when I get back.

[nhunter344]

Just got back from Destin and all I can say is that they have one hell of a fishery down there. I fished 4 or 5 days and only had one day where I only caught one fish. That fish was a 25" trout so I cant complain too much. Other than the one slow day it was fish on all the time. It was one of those fishing trips where you're catching so much you just have to take few minutes here and there to stop fishing and catch your breath. Managed to come home with a cooler full of redfish, trout and mangrove snapper.

I really wanted to get offshore, but I spent too many nights fishing the bay docks at night until 2 or 3am to get up early enough to hit the gulf in good conditions.

I have to send a special thanks to Half Hitch tackle in Destin and Jarrett at Destin kayak charters for putting me on some serious fish. Half hitch gave me a good rundown of what to fish for in the surf, in the bay and off shore if I decided to paddle out there. I didn't get offshore but every one of their tips produced fish. I found their advice rare when most of the time you get the "stop bothering me and go buy stuff you don't need you dumb tourist" from a lot of tackle shops. They even saved me close to $100 in rigs and lures that they said I didn't need and wouldn't catch fish during this time of year.

Two other random thoughts from my trip:

1. Holy crap is it hot down there!
2. I hate saltwater catfish.

Thanks again for the suggestions and tips!

[baitball]

So glad to hear you were able to get on some fish.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit jealous :-)

Congrats!


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