Heading to Destin Florida in the next few weeks. Will be surf fishing & maybe off a pier. Here's what I know about fishing in the gulf.
1. Put bait on your hook
2. Cast it in the water.
Am I missing anything? Suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks

Paging Mastertangler to the house phone.

Hmmmm..........there is lots and lots to know. But it can also be surprisingly simple. Everything depends on what you want to catch. My advice is to contact a bait shop locally and find out what's around. Many species are caught at only certain times of year.

Inlets are always good places. Be careful clambering around on the rocks. Everything eats a shrimp and a shrimp on a popping cork will catch reds and trout. Avoid wire leaders like the plague and huge hooks aren't required. Match the hook to the size of the bait but they need be strong or they will bend out.

Another excellent trick is to use a small hook or a sabiki rig to catch a small fish and the deploy it on a larger rod. A sardine caught via the sabiki can be fished live or dead. A small fish like a pinfish can be "butterflied" and fished on the bottom. Keep a very close eye on your rod as it can go airborne very quickly.

If you catch a catfish be careful. The spines are very painful. If you get stuck rub the belly slime on the puncture (seriously). They are very strong and can be hard to handle.

When are you going? If you have some time I can send you a care package of sorts. You will have to copy and paste my email as the link does not work (it's a long and uncertain story).

Find out what kinds of fish are around and we can flesh it out in a specific manner.

MT, I'm heading out next weekend. At Padre Island I use a double drop rig with a live shrimp on one hook and a pink strip on the other hook that looks like bubble gum. I try to find a rip tide and cast it to the 2nd trough. I read that in Florida they use sand fleas. I'll be mostly fishing the surf by my condo. But will take my pole where every I go. I want to try the pier at least once.
Thanks

The rig you describe is widely used for catching pompano. They are an excellent eating fish and I strongly suggest keeping them. Usually there will be a local eatery will prepare your filets. They are not to be missed. I suggest braid and the longest rod you own to chuck out your rig a considerable distance. A sand spike type rod holder will keep your line out of the surf. If the surf is rough you will need considerable weight to keep your bottom. The triangular type weights is what you want.

I know this type of fishing weds itself nicely to hanging out at the beach with the wife but here is an example of the early bird getting the worm. Most serious pompano guys will be out at first light. I strongly suggest looking for other pompano fishermen. They are likely locals and know where to fish. If you see guys with 2 or 3 rods stuck in the sand sticking straight up they are pompano fishing.

As per the pier it's always fun but success varies widely. If bluefish or mackerel are present a "Gotcha" lure retrieved very quickly will catch them. Wire leaders will cut your success to almost nil if the water is clear. You will get cut off some but typically they will eat without the wire. Sheepshead are crustacean eaters and will eat shrimp as well as the pompanos favorite food the sand flea. The sheepies are tricky as they inhale your offering, crush everything and then exhale anything hard including your hook. The trick is to jerk just before they bite ;-)

My personal preference for pier fishing is to have a bait rod and a heavy rod. Use a small hook and weight with a small piece of shrimp and catch a wee little fish. Then I butterfly the small fish and place on the big rod with a big hook and 2 oz sinker. In Florida it is called a fish finder rig. Chuck it out or fish it under the pier. Sometimes piers have a reef located out a ways and others it's just sand.

Butterflying a bait fish requires a small sharp knife. A small rapala filet knife is ideal. Start at the tail and "filet" the fish towards the head stopping at the gills. Repeat on the other side. Rip the backbone and dorsal fins out and discard. Hook through the lips (but not to deeply, your hook must rip out of your bait on the hook set and into your game fish. To lightly and the initial strike will dislodge it). Do not set the hook on "nibbles". Only when the line moves off. Patience is key.

quote Captn Tony: "Heading to Destin Florida in the next few weeks. Will be surf fishing & maybe off a pier. Here's what I know about fishing in the gulf.
1. Put bait on your hook
2. Cast it in the water.
Am I missing anything? Suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks"

And catch a hardhead catfish!

I have lived in Florida for over 30 years and a few of them in the panhandle...

Spinning tackle (3-4000 series reel) with 15 lb power pro and 3-4 feet of 30 lb fluorocarbon leader will handle the vast majority of shore based fishing. Don't forget to seriously clean your equipment after each outing.

The only time I use bait is pompano or whiting fishing. Then I just use a cheap white or yellow pompano jig tipped with a piece of shrimp. Do NOT use frozen shrimp as they will fall off way too easily. You can usually get three pieces off of one shrimp.

Otherwise, I wade fish and use plastics, with or without weight. With some weight during the day for reds and without early or late for trout or snook, though it is unlikely you will find snook up that far north. When wading, shuffle step. These fish will all eat bait, especially shrimp, but I don't like to waste time or bait on throwback fish like CATFISH!

If you find the schools of Spanish Mackerel or Bluefish, silver Gator spoons work well. They like shiny and moving but have VERY sharp teeth. I wouldn't fish the schools without a metal leader or you WILL get cut off. The random fish it might not matter. Also, be careful taking Blues off the hook; they will bite you.

None of this applies to fishing off the end of a pier, unless it is in a bay. There are smoker kings frequently caught off of piers there and this tackle will not be enough!

Good luck!

Mapsguy1955 comments on bluefish are spot on. I fished for bluefish for over 20 years on Long Island Sound in Connecticut. Besides striped bass fishing ... blue fishing was one of my favorite fish to catch. They are powerful fish and have some of the sharpest teeth I have ever encountered. I had a 14 lb bluefish take a chunk out of my sneaker when I landed it and swung it on to the deck of our boat. My foot got too close to its snapping jaws and it bit a chunk right out of the toe of my Converse All Stars.

Steel leader is a must. We would use binoculars and look for seagulls and other birds feeding on bits of herring that were getting chomped up by large schools of bluefish. You could throw a hook with some aluminium foil on it and a bluefish would strike it when they went on a big feed.

Bluefish migrate from Maine through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey... all the way down the coast to Florida. Our hot time was Sept and October.

Captn Tony ... you can do well shore fishing for blues too but watch out as I have seen large schools of voracious bluefish run extremely large schools of baitfish right up the shore of a sandy beach. Bluefish are in an ATTACK MODE.

Have fun. Capn Tony, let us know how you do.

I caught several bluefish in Pensacola bay several years back during October so they just might be around. I used a top water lure off the beach and it was quite fun stuff. Indeed they have a very nasty disposition and the dental equipment to back it up. I rarely touch any of the salt water fish i catch. Between spines and teeth coupled with strength tripling fresh water counterparts the stage is set for unpleasant interactions.

Here is a funny story at my expense. I had just started salt water fishing and had brought my Bass Tracker style boat to Florida. I promptly caught a Gaffs top catfish. I marveled at the strength of the fish as I struggled to gain the upper hand while trying to remove the hook. "Wow, this fish wants to stick me" I mumbled to myself. It was lying flat on the bottom of my boat with its dorsal fin flat. I got the bright idea of using my sneaker clad foot to pin mr. catfish to the bottom of the boat.

Yup you guessed it. Just as my shoe went to pin the cat that dorsal fin popped up and went through my shoe like a hot knife through butter and went right into the soft part of the bottom of my foot. I howled with pain and started shaking my foot catfish and all. It wouldn't release and I had to grab the fish and pull it free. Trust me, getting spiked with a salt water cat is very painful. I remembered what an old timer told me and I rubbed the cats belly on the puncture and it stopped stinging.

Now I use a "flipping stick" and flip unwanted fish right back in the water without using any hook removal tools (its magic ;-) or I use a boga and pliers.

flipping stick

I lived nextdoor to destin in ft walton beach when I was in the Air Force in 1975. Those beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world. Squeaky clean white sand! I miss the area.have fun fishing in destin,capt tony! Marc

My comment on catfish and bait was meant for HARDHEAD catfish, not necessarily Gafftop sailcats. Those guys are bigger and ALWAYS hungry. It does not matter what you have on the end of your line if one of them is around, it is going to attack it. I've caught them on surface plugs, plastics, flies, and certainly live/dead bait... They pull hard and if you want to clean one, the meat from back of the ribs is actually good. Did I tell you they are slimy? Seriously, these fish are hungry... Did I tell you they were slimy? I heard someone say a Pike was slimy...

Ha! Mapsguy you are right on the button when you say Gaffs tops are slimy. They fight hard and roll in your line and your line will be slimy 3ft up. I was told that they are actually good to eat and I kept 4 or 5 of them once. Cleaning my cooler was an experience I wouldn't soon forget. I cooked some up and thought they were terrible. Somebody knows how its done.........I wonder what I did wrong?

Speaking of eating fish which have a bad reputation............I used to fish down in the ten thousand islands out of Everglades City almost every week for many years. I started keeping Jack Crevalles which were 12" or under. I would take only the top strips of meat. You end up with 2 small fish fingers. Pretty darn tasty! I invited 3 other friends over for a fish fry. These guys were used to eating good fish and all owned boats. I wouldn't tell them what the fish was until they ate it and they were surprised ;-)

Now I keep all the little jacks and cook them up. Quick and easy to clean. Soak them in milk and Italian dressing overnight to impart a spectacular flavor. You can do it with trout or reds as well. Very tasty. Try it sometime, you can thank me later ;-)

FWIW........you may then be tempted to start keeping Jacks 14" and up. Its a trap! Don't do it. Blah!!

Thanks for the info. You got me all pumped up. I'll report when I get back.

yo Tony

Have you considered a headboat for a day? Destin area has world class bottom fishing and there is a whole fleet of day boats which will take you out for a day at a very reasonable price. I would definitely look into that. Nothing quite like getting a nice grouper on. Remember, its hard bottom, if they get back into their hole its game over. "Stop em or pop em" is my motto. And no sitting down even if its slow........."sit on your pooper, lose the grouper" is wisdom which should be enshrined on every party boat.

I've caught so many of those sailcats, and had numerous people say they were good, though most of them had only HEARD that they were good. I was not so sure I wanted to try but one day I caved in. You have to skin them and then take the meat from right where the ribcage ends to the tail. There is a decent amount of meat there. It is definitely edible, actually pretty good and can save a poor day fishing. Do NOT fillet with the skin on!!

My absolute favorite fish eat down here is Northern Sennet, but they aren't so common anymore. They are a school fish that you catch from the beach on spoons, related to Barracuda, but because they aren't so big you don't have the Ciguatera issue.

quote mapsguy1955: "I've caught so many of those sailcats, and had numerous people say they were good, though most of them had only HEARD that they were good. I was not so sure I wanted to try but one day I caved in. You have to skin them and then take the meat from right where the ribcage ends to the tail. There is a decent amount of meat there. It is definitely edible, actually pretty good and can save a poor day fishing. Do NOT fillet with the skin on!!


My absolute favorite fish eat down here is Northern Sennet, but they aren't so common anymore. They are a school fish that you catch from the beach on spoons, related to Barracuda, but because they aren't so big you don't have the Ciguatera issue. "

Do I need to be worried about ciguatera when if I decide to eat some of my catch? Never had to worry about it where I fish?

quote mastertangler: "The rig you describe is widely used for catching pompano. They are an excellent eating fish and I strongly suggest keeping them. Usually there will be a local eatery will prepare your filets. They are not to be missed. I suggest braid and the longest rod you own to chuck out your rig a considerable distance. A sand spike type rod holder will keep your line out of the surf. If the surf is rough you will need considerable weight to keep your bottom. The triangular type weights is what you want.


I know this type of fishing weds itself nicely to hanging out at the beach with the wife but here is an example of the early bird getting the worm. Most serious pompano guys will be out at first light. I strongly suggest looking for other pompano fishermen. They are likely locals and know where to fish. If you see guys with 2 or 3 rods stuck in the sand sticking straight up they are pompano fishing.


As per the pier it's always fun but success varies widely. If bluefish or mackerel are present a "Gotcha" lure retrieved very quickly will catch them. Wire leaders will cut your success to almost nil if the water is clear. You will get cut off some but typically they will eat without the wire. Sheepshead are crustacean eaters and will eat shrimp as well as the pompanos favorite food the sand flea. The sheepies are tricky as they inhale your offering, crush everything and then exhale anything hard including your hook. The trick is to jerk just before they bite ;-)


My personal preference for pier fishing is to have a bait rod and a heavy rod. Use a small hook and weight with a small piece of shrimp and catch a wee little fish. Then I butterfly the small fish and place on the big rod with a big hook and 2 oz sinker. In Florida it is called a fish finder rig. Chuck it out or fish it under the pier. Sometimes piers have a reef located out a ways and others it's just sand.

Butterflying a bait fish requires a small sharp knife. A small rapala filet knife is ideal. Start at the tail and "filet" the fish towards the head stopping at the gills. Repeat on the other side. Rip the backbone and dorsal fins out and discard. Hook through the lips (but not to deeply, your hook must rip out of your bait on the hook set and into your game fish. To lightly and the initial strike will dislodge it). Do not set the hook on "nibbles". Only when the line moves off. Patience is key.


"

I have 20 lb. braid to which I will add a flourocarbon leader.
I'll only add wire if I start losing fish to cut offs.
I will be out early, as sleeping in for me means I'll be awake by at least 6 so will be on the beach at sunrise. I also have some pyramid sinkers from my Padre trips.
When you skin pompanos is it skin on like trout or skin off like eyes?

Your braid and leader combination sounds perfect. How do you intend to keep your rod in the upright position (no jokes please). You need to keep as much of the line out of the surf as is possible. Otherwise it will be tough to detect a strike. You might want to pick up a sand spike type rod holder. Otherwise hope for calm conditions. Kahale style hooks or Mutu light hooks are the norm. The fish hook themselves preferably.

No need to worry about citugeura. It can be a rather serious and debilitating ailment but is prevalent in other areas like the Bahamas and usually one needs only be concerned with large fish which prey exclusively on other fish. Large Barracuda are associated with it as well as very large grouper. I ate my biggest Black grouper which instantly bottomed out a 50lb scale and have eaten several 30lb Blacks all without problem.

As per cooking Pomps........simple is best. If you grill them add some ground ginger, olive oil and salt and pepper. Leave the skin on. But if you take it to a local eatery they will want a filet. Avoid the popular blackened method which works well with redfish. Just have them grill it with a light amount of seasoning. Presto magico !

No mention of the party boat? You need to go on one. Bottom fishing out of Destin is world class. Be certain to bring a light rod with you and a small hook. Put a piece of shrimp or better yet a small strip of squid on and drop it to the bottom with a 3oz weight. You will likely yank up a small fish in short order. Then transfer that bait onto the rod and reel the boat provides. Don't be afraid to ask the mate how to hook your newly caught bait. I like in the forehead if it is 12" or lightly through the lips if it is 6". Grouper hit these baits hard and fast. Hooked to lightly and he will knock it off the hook.........hook your bait to deeply and the hook will not come out of your baitfish and into the grouper. Clip the corners of the tail fins of your bait. It will wiggle furiously and still not go anywhere. That helps induce a bite but also keeps your bait from tangling in other lines. Find a quiet place on the rail if you can.

Just before the bite your bait will start to bounce your rod a bit (or not;-). DO NOTHING! Often a grouper bite will be slam bam but other times it will be a series of hard thumps. What I do in either case is to follow the fish down. I let him pull my rod straight down. I will be leaning over the rail with my rod tip pointed at the fish. An instant before all is really tight I heave myself backward all while REELING FURIOUSLY. If you try and "jerk" to set the hook nothing will happen and you will miss the fish. You must REEL quickly to set the hook.

Great! Your hooked up! Did you tighten your drag very tightly? You forgot? Tsk, tsk, to bad. If you did then great! Now we don't pump and wind on these fish. It only works the hook out of their mouth and / or allows them to turn their head and use that massive tail to power down into the rocks. The method is called "straight crank" and its just like it sounds. Set your rod on the rail and steadily turn the handle. You winch these fish in.......quickly at first to get them off the bottom and out of trouble and then slow and steady afterward. To feel the power of these fish while using 60lb test and a heavy rod is quite an experience.

Day trips are typically less than $100. Another fun experience is to be at the docks when the boats come in. A flurry of activity and calling out the numbers. You will likely be on board the following morning ;-)

Some guys will be fishing for smaller fish. They will be busy. Don't do it! Be patient and fish for a memory! You might be fishing for only 1 or 2 bites all day. But keep the faith and be READY! I know its hard not to look around but you must be concentrating the entire time. The bite will come and you can't be caught unawares and they will make fun of you. Been there, done that! Don't forget the camera!

Check out halfhitch tackles website......they have shops in Destin, PC Beach And Port St. Joe......they have monthly forecasts, trip reports, and rigging tips......This time of year, you may be limited on what you catch off the beach.....still fun though!

Mike

MT is correct... Ciguatera is primarily an issue with big barracuda (see my reference of Northern Sennet) and to a much lesser degree with Amberjack, smoker Kings, bigger snappers, Hogfish and grouper, but it isn't just the Bahamas. It is in all the waters around Florida and in fact, all tropical waters in the Pacific and Atlantic. It is found in reef fish and those that dine on them.

You have been given some great information. More suggestions, when surf fishing for whiting, cast your shrimp pieces close to shore around where the waves are breaking. Use a circle hook and a fish finder with a pyramid weight.

Just got back
Day one: Out at 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. 2 or 3 bites but no fish. Went to the pier and paid my $2.00 to check out the catch. The only fish caught were whiting and some small fish, which I think was some kind of snapper. So decided not to fish of of the pier. Went back out at 3 and fished until dark, nothing not even a bite. Waded out as far as I could and casted trying to get to the second drop off. Rigged a double drop with a fish bite on one hook and a shrimp or sand flea on the other hook. Also rigged up a single drop using only fluorocarbon, nothing!! Perfect day for swimming and sunbathing. Warm weather, sunny, calm warm water.
Checked with all the other anglers and no one had got a bite.
Day 2: Out at day break fished until 10:00 not a bite getting a little frustrated.
Went to the wharf for lunch and tried to find a 1/2 day party boat with no luck. They weren't getting enough people so wouldn't go out.
Went out at about 3:00 fished until dark, not a bite. At this point I'm starting to get upset. All the other anglers hadn't had any bites also.
Another perfect day for swimming same as day 1
Day 3: Out at day break and still having no luck. The water is quite a bit rougher and I can't wade out as far to cast to the second hole because of the waves. I keep moving looking for holes and small rip tides. About 9:00 i got lazy and I don't pull in my line as I'm moving a short distance and just drug my line down the beach. When I pull in my second line there is a fish on it. Then I realized I was fishing way too deep. I started fishing about 10 yards off of the shore and started catching fish. I caught fish all day between 10 and 50 yards out. I caught about 2 dozen, they were all whiting, 3 of them were good sized.
After I talked to the others they started fishing closer to shore and started catching fish also. Whiting was the only species caught.
Funny, it suddenly it went from a bad fishing trip to good one!
ATwater you were right, problem is I didn't check the forum so I had to figure it out by way of luck.
Thanks to all for the advice.

Thanks for the report Tony. Pompano can be fickle and they arent always around. Sometimes you can catch 5 or 6 in an hour and then other times its zip.

I never let a poor showing at a pier dissuade me. That is typical as the vast majority of anglers there (with the exception of the spring cobia run) are typically clueless for the most part. A fresh bait caught at the pier and butter flied as per the detailed instructions I left on this very web site will often get you into a quality fish. Landing it, however, amongst the pilings can be another story.

1/2 day party boat? Go all day next time. Are you fearful of getting seasick? That would of been my first inclination as the potential for a memorable fish would of been excellent. The Whiting you were catching would of made nice bait.

quote mastertangler: "Thanks for the report Tony. Pompano can be fickle and they arent always around. Sometimes you can catch 5 or 6 in an hour and then other times its zip.


I never let a poor showing at a pier dissuade me. That is typical as the vast majority of anglers there (with the exception of the spring cobia run) are typically clueless for the most part. A fresh bait caught at the pier and butter flied as per the detailed instructions I left on this very web site will often get you into a quality fish. Landing it, however, amongst the pilings can be another story.


1/2 day party boat? Go all day next time. Are you fearful of getting seasick? That would of been my first inclination as the potential for a memorable fish would of been excellent. The Whiting you were catching would of made nice bait. "

I didn't want to spend all day on a boat and leave Gunsmoke by herself as it was a couples trip. I should have fished off the pier but I didn't. But just wait until next time!

Gunsmoke? Now theres a name with some character. I have an artist friend whose wife's name was Moonstone. Yep she was pretty far out, as in way out there. So how does someone get the title "Gunsmoke"?

quote mastertangler: "Gunsmoke? Now theres a name with some character. I have an artist friend whose wife's name was Moonstone. Yep she was pretty far out, as in way out there. So how does someone get the title "Gunsmoke"? "
Good Question.
She was down having lunch with her parents and friends across the border in Mexico when the federales and the cartel got into a shootout. I wasn't with that trip. Even though everyone was panicking she still went to the counter and purchased some good tequila for a friend and I.
She was telling a friend about the experience and the rest of the night he called her Gunsmoke.
Now you know the rest of the story!

P.S. the Federales won the battle.