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Report for Destin, Florida - Nearshore
Capt. Larry Pentel
April 9, 2001
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
IT"S SPRING !!
While the rest of the country is still getting hammered with less than ideal weather spring has come to NW Florida. The daytime temps are pushing 80, the water is crystal clear, and the breeze has been from the Southeast at no more than 15 knots.
Oh, yeah. The fish are showing up right on schedule too. The cobia run is in full swing with conditions bordering on perfect the past few days and projected to continue through the week. The full moon has had the fish feeding a little a more at night the last couple of of days so not all the fish you find are as hungry as you like but there are plenty to catch. There seem to be a lot of smaller fish in the 25-30# range running right now which always looks good for the fishery. Not that there aren't big ones scattered in. The best thing is just the numbers of fish though. Cobia fishing stays exiting when you are steady finding fish and this year promises to be an exiting one.
A word of caution to tone down the "cobia fever" that seems so rampant this time of year. If you are not familar with operating a boat in the surf-DON"T. While cobia fishing yesterday we saw someones pride and joy, thier 24' boat, washed up on the beach. They had rolled it over on the bar while cobia fishing. Remember that not every boat is made to cobia fish from. I had to take a half hour break out of my trip yesterday to rescue a fellow who had decided to fish from a kayak out with the "big" boats. He rolled over, swamped his rig and was unable to get back in. When we picked him up he was out of breath, cold and probably 15 minutes from being in serious trouble. It worked out good for me tho-. He was so impressed after looking at the catch in our cooler that by the time I got home he had left a message on my machine to book a trip!
All the other species are showing up right on time too. The pompano are in the surf and the troutare biting at the bayou mouths. For those that desire more action than size the spanish are showing up good also. My trip yesterday just wanted big fish so we did not chase them but I saw two big schools of good sized spanish while looking for (and finding) cobia. Red snapper season opens Easter Sunday and it promises to start with a bang. On my bottom trips this past 10 days or so we have caught some fine snappers in the 10-15# range on close in spots. I can't wait till my folks can start keeping them. While I'd rather look for cobia nothing lights up a fish picture like a big ole snapper.
Call me up, pump up the kids and lets go!!!
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