Fort Walton Beach

[Fishing machine]

We are leaving on the 21st of this month for a 7 day vacation on Fort Walton Beach, do any of you know if it is worth chartering a boat in that area to go fishing. If so ,what charter and what kind of fish this time of year. I went to Puerto Rico last year and spent $750.00 for one fish. Don't want to do that again. emoEnforce Also, are there any thing to catch in the surf this time of the year?

 

[fishinvol]

From the surf you can probably catch some spanish mackerel, lady fish ( ocean shad), maybe some blue fish. That's what I usually catch from the beach. The King mackerel should be running pretty good right now if you charter a boat. They are fun to catch!

 

[craazyboutbass]

We chartered a boat 2 summers ago in June. (Out of Destin) It was a decent trip. We caught several different species, but landed several King Mackerel. It was fun... But I had a pretty bad earache at that time. emoDoh

 

[Coach B]

You have to go to Destin and there are lots of charter boats to choose. If you want to go on a Party Boat, use New Fl Girl or the American Spirit. Tell Capt Westbrook I said to take care of you. lol
Snapper , groupers, kingfish and other reef dwellers are abound. Remember there are new limits for red snappers.
It is 2 per person and min length is 16". You can have only 1 red grouper per peron with a min of 20". You can have either 2 or 4 gag groupers. There is a discussion which number is still ok with the Gulf Caost Council.
Just got back from Carrabelle and we had limits of snapper and just shy of gag, red was a limit.
We fished the charter boat " Pressure Drop".
Hope this helps and you have a great trip.

 

[Fishing machine]

Fishinvol, what do you use for bait from the surf?

 

[fishinvol]

I like to use top water baits like spook jr's and maybe popping corks. You may try a gotcha too. They are fairly inexpensive and work very well. Fishing from the peir there in Fort Walton can be fun. I've caught some good blues from there. I always stay near the front end of peirs just past where the waves break. The guys on the end are usually going for kings and they can be pretty testy. Here is a picture of a gotcha.

 

[kickinbass35]

I went on the swoop out of destin last year had a blast I'll be down there the 28 and am going out on the swoop on the 29 if your gonna still be down there and wanna go pm me ill give ya the rates and everything

 

[Fishing machine]

kickinbass35 - 6/12/2008 1:22 PM

I went on the swoop out of destin last year had a blast I'll be down there the 28 and am going out on the swoop on the 29 if your gonna still be down there and wanna go pm me ill give ya the rates and everything

I'll be back on the 28th, thanks anyway

 

[Fishing machine]

fishinvol - 6/12/2008 12:20 PM

 I like to use top water baits like spook jr's and maybe popping corks.  You may try a gotcha too. They are fairly inexpensive and work very well. Fishing from the peir there in Fort Walton can be fun. I've caught some good blues from there. I always stay near the front end of peirs just past where the waves break. The guys on the end are usually going for kings and they can be pretty testy. Here is a picture of a gotcha.

Thanks Fishinvol, I own a gotcha

 

[fishmedic]

Ive fished with the Destin Fleet for 20 years and have been out with many different charter services. For the most bang for your buck, drive 20 miles east of destin to Grayton Beach and fish with Fish-on Charters. Its a father son business. They have two center console boats and pick you up right on the beach. They can take four people per boat and thats all the room you would ever need to fish. They only do 4 and 6 hour trips but the times that me and my brother have been out with them we've caught more fish than we would on an 8 or 10 hour private charter out of destin. Its by far the best bargain Ive found on the panhandle. If you would like thier number shoot me a PM. They are great with kids too. I took my 5 year old last year and the boat capt stayed right by his side the whole time and slayed the schoolie dolphin ( mahi )

 

[basser#9]

terry you might want to look into (full draw charter) out of destin. i was down there last april and i went to the docks every evening and they always had a nice catch. if your going for a party boat the (sweet jody) was a good trip i took one day. i also fished off the f/w pier and caught spanish mac on a (gotcha) chrome with red head. just my 02 % good luck and hope you enjoy the vac. emoParty emoSun emoDance emoAngler

 

[Fishing machine]

Thanks guys for all of your help, I'm going to book today with Fish on charters. I talked to them last night, I'm just waiting on my son to tell me what day will be best for him

 

[polo-dog]

FM, you need to go to this site: http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeroforum?id=116 and see what people have been catching and you can even PM folks and they usually respond and even ask if you want to meet up to fish some of their spots. In my experience it's been a great site for finding out what's happening in an area of Florida and getting great info. That site is part of Florida Sportsman magazine. It has good reports from all parts of Florida. Check it out and see what you think. I think that I have a CD with all of the depth charts near the area so if you want some GPS numbers to fish let me know.

 

[Fishing machine]

polo-dog - 6/13/2008 8:10 AM

FM, you need to go to this site: http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeroforum?id=116 and see what people have been catching and you can even PM folks and they usually respond and even ask if you want to meet up to fish some of their spots. In my experience it's been a great site for finding out what's happening in an area of Florida and getting great info. That site is part of Florida Sportsman magazine. It has good reports from all parts of Florida. Check it out and see what you think. I think that I have a CD with all of the depth charts near the area so if you want some GPS numbers to fish let me know.

Thanks Polo