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Report for Destin, Florida - Nearshore
Capt. Larry Pentel
August 16, 2000
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
OFFSHORE
You couldn't tell it by the temperature but summer is just about over. It may still be 95 degrees but the beach is empty and I haven't run a trip in three days. The start of school has quickened the traffic but slowed business for a week or two. Luckily the fish stay "in school" all year so we have some to catch all most all the time.
I ran several trips last week that proved the fish are still here and biting. The bigger kings seem to have moved off the beach and out to the edges. The smaller fish have taken up the inshore position and will probably be here for a week or two. The biggest king we caught last week inshore was about 15#. Quite a difference from all the smokers of the previous 6 weeks. It may not have been the biggest but it was probably the most difficult king I've caught all year. My oldest daughter and some of her co-workers all chartered me one day last week. We trolled around some and caught a few mackerals and some bonitas, slip leaded some snappers and then I was told they wanted to two hook fish. I took them to a big flat rock and got the squid out. The girls had a gas, my daughter said this was the way to fish. Bring up two fish at a time and have a bunch of 'em be trigger fish. We had a good box going and were about to call it a day when the fly pole went off screaming. My daughter grabbed it and hung on as the king made his first run. She did real good untill he decided to make his second run and she slammed the spinning rod into the rail. The rod broke right above the reel and slid right down the line. She started to apologize but I was yelling at her to point the reel at the fish, the line hadn't broken and we were going to catch him. She calmed down and did a great job of battling the king with no rod and just a reel. After about 10 minutes she got the fish close to the boat and I reached down to grab the rod. About the time I got the rod the fish took off again but this time we had the rod as a shock absorber as I held it up while the fish ran. It also was aparent that the fight was strong not because the fish was huge but was fouled hooked dead in the middle of his side. It probably would have been comical for anyone to watch us try to get this fish. I was trying to hold the rod up with one hand and kkep it in line with the reel. With the other hand I was trying to shuck line towards the reel so my daughter could reel in some slack. Everytime the fish got close to the boat I would have to let go one or the other to grab a gaff. This would then let the fish take off and we would start all over agian. To make matters more interesting the line angle from the reel to the first guide was always changing as I moved the rod or she moved the reel. This would cause the line to jump off the manual and free spool the fish. After about 5 times of going through this routine the line finally jumped off the reel ito a giant tangle. No more drag, no more reel. I told my daughter to put the reel down, go to the controls and put us in reverse. I dropped the rod, picked up the gaff with one hand and tried to adjust the fish's big slow circle with other. Luck was with us as he came to the top right as the boat backed up to him. I stuck him with gaff to cheers from everybody. It seems my family and I always do things the hard way. It sure made a nice center piece for the rack of fish the girls caught though and I heard it went great at their cook out.
INSHORE
Bay fishing remains slow if your target is trout. All the bays have fish in them but trying to get them to eat in the daytime right now is tough. Your best bet is to night fish the lights. At least untill the temperature drops a little.
Tarpon fishing remains the best bet for inshore fishing. As we get latter into the year there are more small fish (50 to 75#) but still lots of the giants. The day they are going to bite is still just luck though. One day you have to hide your hook to bait it and the next two days it is all you can do to jump one fish. The glory days make it all worth while, there sure aren't many places in the world where you can jump 10 tarpon in one day and have the smallest one be 100# and the biggest over 200#. And even better, the slow days make you fish for triple tail and sharks which is world class fishing in its own right!
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