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Report for Destin, Florida - Nearshore
Capt. Larry Pentel
June 18, 2000
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
OFFSHORE
The weather has ruled small boat fishing the past 10 days. With TD #1 in the SW gulf last week and an upper level low in the NE gulf this week it has been to rough to go play more often than not. As I tell all my clients " it's supposed to be fun". If the weather looks iffy or the gulf is bumpy I'll usually try to postpone a trip untill a pretty day. The bank account my not fill up but I have a lot happier repeat customers.
The pretty days we've had have proved the fish are still here. I ran a 4 hour trip this week with 4 folks from Louisiana who were with a group of 60. They wanted to catch enough fish in one morning to feed everybody! I put them on the fish and they caught more than they missed. We tallied 19 red snappers with 5 of 'em over 5#. A young lady who had never been in the Gulf before caught the biggest at about 9#. We also had 2 nice Black Snapper (mangrove) a mackeral, a mahi, some amberines and a big old seabass. When I finished cleaning all their fish they decided there was more than enough to feed everybody and they could even take some home.
I launched the boat this morning at 6:30 and went and caught bait for an hour. The wind and seas had started to kick up by the time I went to pick up my folks at Seagrove at 8:00 . I talked them into postponing untill tommorrow as the weatherman has predicted it to start laying down tonight. So here I am, boat in the gulf, livewell and fuel tank full and no trip. Naturally I went scouting places I hadn't fished in a while. My first stop was shallow (60') just to see if the snappers had moved up to the beach. I dropped a live cigar minnow and had a bite the second I hit bottom but no hook up. My next down I ran a pinfish , same thing except there was a pair of lips left on my hook when I came up. Not used to missing fish but realizing what was going on I grabbed a two rig and some squid. First drop, to the bottom and set the hook! A nice 4# trigger hit the deck. Second drop down 40', set the hook, another one! By my fourth drop they were right under the boat and I didn't even have to take the reel out of gear for number 4. I kept the 4 for a nice dinner and left the school there for a trip or two later this week. I checked half a dozen rocks with little happening except a few kings. It's now 10:00 and I'm ready to go in with the SouthEaster kickin in. One more wreck to check on the way to the truck. It was dead 3 months ago but you gotta look. I rounded up on the numbers and the bottom machine showed a stand of fish 35' off the bottom. I ran a dead minnow down and immediately hooked a 3# snapper. Next down, a 4# snapper. The bottom machine is now marking more fish than background! I guess I'll have to take a few trips to that one and thin 'em down some. I'd hate to have someone run near it with a show like that and fish it for me.
INSHORE
With the Gulf rough I've done a little trout fishing in the bay. Conventional fishing with live bait and a popping cork caught my folks some fish but more cats than trout. I went looking (sightfishing) in the shallow water and saw probably 30 nice trout in a couple of hours . I only had three interested thogh and two of 'em spit the bait as fast as they had inahled it. The next afternoon I went down to 6# test and a #8 hook and went looking again. This time I only saw 5 fish but but got 'em to eat including one at 4#. There arestill plenty of trout here, you just have to go light and finnese 'em.
I'm going to Indian Pass the week of July 4th (escape the madness of Destin)and have some openings to Tarpon fish. Give me a call, we'll go jump a silver king in the morning and trout fish in the evening.
Capt. Larry Pentel
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