Destin fishing?
 

Takin the family to destin next week and was wondering if anyone ever fished the surf or bank fished there? Is it any good and what kinda fish y'all catch? I'm not interested in wasting money on a offshore charter just looking for something to pass a little time.

get some wire leaders and silver spoon. catch some Spanish. That's the only thing I've ever had luck catching consistently. I've caught reds and trout before on normal stuff before but not many

This off the beach?

I've caught Spanish an lady fish off the beach out there.... Also down the road in Ft. Walton you have the Okaloosa Island Pier. Get some pretty good running out there....

We got a couple florida guys that post on here every once in a while. PM jjam or banana tom they can probably give you some insight

I sent you a PM I'm going there end of next week,thinking of bringing my boat.

I always catch the worlds largest lady fish there. They jump out the water like marlin lol. If you can get out there early you can see the birds easing down the bank and the spanish schooling.

I think we are going to be staying closer to ft Walton.

Sand fleas on the bottom can catch pompano at times, most the times we just caught spanish mackerel and ladyfish from the beach, BUT you can gig some flounder at night

its fun hanging out on the piers though, they flip out over some king mackerel

You giggin on the beach or in the bay?

Beach side, but you catch enough flounder here to not worry about them there:rotfl:

I have done good on the jettys in the pass sight fishing flounder when the water is calm. just look for them on the rocks and put a pice of shrimp in their face.

This is very true. May be something to do with the kids one night

Would be fun, you can catch crabs with a net at night on the bayside too and maybe give the kids a net to chase after those sand crabs at night, always good times:rotfl:

I always catch a few pompano from the beach out there.

thats what i always catch. Sand fleas are the ticket

Just looked up sand fleas...not sure I wanna touch them lol

They make a rake for sand fleas, some places rent the rakes out

the pics make em look scary but my kids help me catch em

What about the stinging and biting?

Florida just called me to tell you to leave your boat at home you catch to many fish and their Sac Aux Lait supply is running low...... LOL

Sand Fleas on a double hook rig, with a pyramid lead weight on the end. I am lazy, and buy the pre-made rigs at the bait shops. Even the ones with three hooks. The hooks need to be small, so they hook the fleas without breaking the shells too much. A hook too large, and the Fleas will fly off during the cast.

The best Flea is a pregnant female. The eggs kinds look like like a blue crab.

Now many say "Let the Momma lay her eggs"

Fleas can be bought from the bait shops, live most of the time, and frozen. Live are best. I usually stop and buy a dozen to start fishin as soon as I get to the beach. Then rake for the rest, to fish all day.

The Pompano are still hitting the beach, the Ladies / Skipjacks just showed, a few Red Fish are cruising the beach, as well as black drum.

You can also catch sting rays, ate my first one this weekend.

And the ever pain in the butt hard hards seem to be hungry right now.

Surf fishing is an art. First, you know/learn where to fish. In a wash out, or area of a rip tide. Look for the hole in the sand bar. And put your lines in the middle.

Next, how to reel in a fish from the beach. Very Very very slowly. This way you attract the beach combers to stop and watch.

Then when you get it to shore, do NOT let it get in the sand. Walk it back to your sand stake, and then hang, the fish there for the beach combers to come get a closer look.

When all interest in your catch has continued walking down the beach, go back to fishing.

Think about this: When you fish in a boat, with a couple of guys, and catch a fish, you get a patt on the back, and a beer. Whe you catch a fish on the beach, as described above, you get a display of Bikini's standing around you, asking all sorts of questions.

The one question I always like :"Hey, you got someone to help you eat all these fish tonight?" and I reply with a smile, " Yes Ma'am I do, but thanks for your concern"

Can you tell I LOVE surf fishing!!!

Thanks for the replies fellas

One of your's on SC is over in the Pensacola area this week. Convinced him to come eat some FREE Raw Oysters on Pensacola Beach Wed.

His name is insidiator

Digging for the fleas is fun for the kids and is a great beer drinking activity for the adults!


BananaTom: do sandfleas bite? i never have held em long enough near their mouthparts to allow one to bite but they look like they would

Nope, they do NOT bite. They wil tickle the kids hands, when they try to dig into them.

They do not cause pain nor blood.

It fun catching them, and then showing people that do not know about them, what is under the childrens butt, while they sit on the beach.

I like to catch a few, and turn them loose around some kids digging a sand pond.

Thanks

On second thought, I put a bunch of live ones in my swim trunks with the mess pockets and kept them there for a few hours.

They tried to dig into my skin. I did not realize it, till I got home ,and my wife asked why I was bleeding.

So do not put them in your pockets for a bunch of hours.

Do not put sand fleas in pockets, check!

wheres the best place to dig/rake for them? Are they real common or will it take some time to find one?

We always just dug em by hand as we were fishing. When the waves come up on the beach and water recedes you will see em digging back into the wet sand. They dig fast too!

Ok I know exactly what you are talking about! I never could catch those little suckers and always wondered what they were.

Take the advice about the small hook for em because they sling off really easy

I bought a rake two summers ago. Still have not gotten the hang of catching them though. My nephew found a few last year. This summer we are going to keep trying it and I'm going to take your advice and buy a few from a bait shop to get started.

Oh btw what kind of rod/reel do you use to catch pompano? All I have are trout rods and I'm wondering if I need to buy one of those long surf rods instead.

How do pompano fair? Are they pretty good to eat? Never ate one

No, a long surf rod is not needed. A couple of years ago, I used a long surf rod, and a short rod. It seemed to me the shorter always caught more.

The nicest thing about long rods, is the fact that beach combers can walk under the line. To combat that with the shorter rod, I used a longer sand stake. That way the line is high above the head of that passing Bikini.

[QUOTE=bmac;586093]I bought a rake two summers ago. Still have not gotten the hang of catching them though. [QUOTE]

You need to look for the fleas first, then dig them.

From a distance you can see the "Vee" the water makes around them, as it rushed back, after a wave.

Once you see them, run up and dig, they will go deep, so you do have to be fast.

Below is a link to the Pensacola Fishing Forum, and a great thread which is "Stickyed" in the Surf Fishing section.

GO TO POST #61.

The earlier post lost the pics, so the pics at #61 will teach you all you need to know.

The entire thread is great, also.

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f30/sandfles-17414/index2/

Someone gave me a fresh pompano once. I baked it in the oven with lemon and butter. I got about one bite out of it...my 10 year old absolutely demolished it! That is his favorite fish by far.

Went last year around this time and was catching Pompano off the fishing pier at the 2nd sand bar some pretty fun fighting fish for the size.

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/587638-post61.html

Does Grand Isle have Sand Fleas?

It has been more than 25 years since I fished there.

And when I did, we wade fished with shrimp for bait.

Never tried to look there, but I would assume the answer is yes, maybe.

Good question, surely so, never have noticed any though:confused:

There is a guy that commercial fishes for pompano from Grand Isle area. Catches all his pompano in the Ship Shoal area WAY west of there.

Very very good eating fish

If you are interested, I can look up the name of a guy I went with last summer. He put us on some massive red snapper about six miles off the beach. If I recall correctly, he was about $425 for a half day trip.

They have an oriental market on my way home that sells Pompano, gutted and frozen whole. I grill the whole thing, my kids eat the hell out of them things. All I do is add some salt, fresh cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon, right before its done I put a few slits or REAL BUTTER on it.

Pompano is awesome

Damn. Gonna have to try and catch one.