Hello, fishermen! It looks like Spring has FINALLY sprung here on the Emerald Coast! After one of the coldest winters I can personally remember here in Destin, the water is a little cooler than usual at 66 degrees, but you can still find plenty of fish out there!
Plenty of bull reds in the bay over the last month. They’re oversized, but fun to catch! We are seeing more slot-sized redfish starting to come in now that the water is getting warmer too. And they’re biting on just about anything: trolling plugs, artificial light tackle, and live bait. Sheephead can be found around the structures on live shrimp and crabs.
Vermillion snapper and triggerfish are out in force! On a lot of days, you can limit out on them. Despite waters being a little cooler than usual, the Cobia have shown up and are running along the beach, as you would expect for this time of year. The Harbor Docks Cobia World Championship and Harborwalk’s Destin Cobia Tournament are both in session, with an 84lb Cobia currently on the leaderboard, and many more catches in the 40-60lb range. If you’re interested in shark fishing, there have been several catches of note recently, including this 720lb monster that had crowds along the boardwalk captivated last week.
Once the water gets a little warmer (closer to 70 degrees), we’ll start seeing kings, spanish, and mahi as well.
If you’d like to get in on the action, be sure to book a fishing charter with one of our captains or, for the more experienced fishermen, rent a fishing boat for the day. We also offer fishing pole and tackle rentals, and have bait and tackle for sale in our ship’s store. Contact us for more information!