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Report for Destin, Florida - Nearshore
Capt. Larry Pentel
September 20, 2001
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
It's official, fall has definately started. The way to tell for sure here is when the trigger fish show up on the inshore spots. This past week they showed up so thick that the water looked like gumbo under the boat. Tuesday morning I didn't have a trip so I went "freezer fishin". The first spot I hit less than a mile from the truck had what I wanted. In an hour and a half the box had 4 snappers, 26 triggers and my pound of squid was gone. Dinner was going to be good ! I ran a couple on a 4 hour yesterday and we did pretty good on our first stop with 8 nice red snapper in the box and we threw several "just legals" back looking for a big one. The second stop I rounded up on the wreck and looked over to see a huge school of trigs rising to meet us. My lady angler was amazed at all the fish right under the boat and caught about 14 nice ones so fast that she had to quit and rest her arms. It was her first gulf trip and she was very impresed. Her friend however only wanted snappers and kept trying to send a live bait through the trigs to get at the snappers below. I don't think a turbo charged nuclear powered cigar minnow could have made it past the toothy gray gauntlet under the boat. We went on to limit out on snappers at another spot and added a 25# King to the box off the fly pole. I am always amazed at the folks (there are a few left) that don't care for trigger fish. While not very glamorous or photogenic they are my favorite fish at the dinner table. I have yet to find a way to cook 'em where they don't taste good. ( Okay, I burned some once but...) All fresh fish is good but a lot of species are good grilled but not broiled, etc. Triggers just seem to fit any style of cooking. I knew a chef once who called them the perfect "utility" fish as he could plug them into any seafood reciepe he had and get raves.
On the inshore scene the beach has been a frothy mass on three of the mornings I've fished this week. The spanish, hardtails and skipjacks are ravenous right now and traveling in huge schools. I've also seen a few pompano on the beach this week for the first time in ages. It looks like the fall fish migration has started in full swing.
Don't get left out!! The fishing will be great for the next 6 to 8 weeks as all the migratory predators start moving. The weather is fantastic and the beaches empty during the week. If you don't take advantage of the best time of the year you might as well just take up golf-
Capt, Larry Pentel
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