Destin shore on the Fly

[skram]

I'm headed to the Destin area on Xmas eve and was wondering if anyone had any experience fishing that area on the fly from shore. Does anyone know what's biting in that area at this time of year? I'm only there until the 1st so I can't do too much. Thanks for any help.
Mark

[oldsocks]

I do a lot of flyfishing in the Destin area and all of it is from either the bank or my kayak.

First off, you can read the fishing reports here...updated every thursday:

http://216.149.190.38/fishing_report.htm

From the surf, your best bet will be bluefish.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the area, but there is access to both sides of the destin pass where the jetties are. Basically, before you reach the end of holiday isle, you'll see some parking on the right hand side of the road and a narrow public access for the beach/bay. If you need better directions, let me know. If you go out by the east jetties, you can fish either from the surf, in the bay, or off the jetties (bring a stipping basket).

Also, you can fish the grass flats by the coast guard station. The access for it is by the Destin Bridge. There's a parking lot and you can just walk over and wade (will be chilly now though).

A lot of locals wade by the mid bay bridge, but the parking there seems suspect (i.e. private property).

As far as flies go, a chartreuse and white clouser will go a long ways. Other than those, I would bring along some poppers and whatever else you have confidence in.

As for tackle, Bass Pro and Half Hitch Tackle will be your local shops. The guys in Bass Pro are pretty helpful. Bluebay Outfitters is going out of business and might be closed now (was in there two weeks ago), and Sockeyes is out of business. If you have a chance, go over to Shalimar and see Paul Darby at Quality Reel Repair. He has a nice little fly shop and they also do custom rods. If he has the time, he might help you with either perfecting or learning the double haul which is a must.

You could also try posting a message in the panhandle section of florida sportsman. If I remember correctly, there is another post about destin/panhandle in this forum too.

I'll be down there 12/19 - 1/2...maybe we can get together and give it a go. If you have any questions, just post them here, and I'll do my best to answer them.

[CelticCowboy]

i'll be down that way too. look out for an all white kayak and the guy with a weird looking but very effective cast

[oldsocks]

If the weather permits, I'll throw my kayak in too (blue tarpon). Where do you like to kayak at?

Sockeyes went out of business, and I picked up a used tarpon 100 for cheap. Man, I'll tell you, they blew out their fly shop too. I picked up so much stuff (flies and tying materials) for pennies on the dollar, literally....

Anyhow, I haven't used the kayak since the water temps dropped, and I'm thinking that some scupper plugs might be a requirement...

[oldsocks]

Well, I never saw any posts from you other guys, but I slayed the reds and trout. I started fishing back in the bays and with the warm weather, the trout and reds were everywhere. Hope you had good trips!

[skram]

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately, although I took a rod down with me and some salty flies, the rod never saw the light of day. I had also taken my dive gear and the week was overly filled with general carousing. I found the Destin jetty and intended to dive it to see if there were lots of fish for later fishing but the currents were strong and there was no daytime low tide. I ended up diving with Scuba Tech out of Destin to the Tug and one of the barges and went up to Vortex Spring and then to Crystal River. Saw some awesome Tarpon in the river while swimming with the manatees, along with some spanish mackerel and baby tarpon. However, I couldn't fish there as it was a sanctuary.
I'll have to make a special trip for just fishing, I guess.

[oldsocks]

I did my check out dives at vortex springs... Haven't dived in a long time though. Sounds like you managed to have a pretty good time.

[skram]

I tend to hit the ground running due to time constraints. But with the diving and cooler waters I didn't expect much to be happening; wrong once again. I did a bit of snorkeling in front of the Silver Shells complex where we were staying and didn't see any bait fish; not even one. The one lone fisherman seen said that he'd caught a few cat fish but that was about it.
Next time though will be different. I should make more definite fishing arrangements so as not to lose out and give me proper excuse to sneak away.
I am heading for New Zealand in March for some serious fishing though which will more than make up for things. Ever been? Any comments or advice would be welcomed.
I fished in Tazmania in a small tournament there as well in 2001 and hope that it may be somewhat similar in terms of hatches, etc.
regards,

[skram]

I tend to hit the ground running due to time constraints. But with the diving and cooler waters I didn't expect much to be happening; wrong once again. I did a bit of snorkeling in front of the Silver Shells complex where we were staying and didn't see any bait fish; not even one. The one lone fisherman seen said that he'd caught a few cat fish but that was about it.
Next time though will be different. I should make more definite fishing arrangements so as not to lose out and give me proper excuse to sneak away.
I am heading for New Zealand in March for some serious fishing though which will more than make up for things. Ever been? Any comments or advice would be welcomed.
I fished in Tazmania in a small tournament there as well in 2001 and hope that it may be somewhat similar in terms of hatches, etc.
regards,

[oldsocks]

Yeah, I didn't see any bait around the surf. Beyond the second sand bar, there were nice bait schools going through, but I didn't bother with it. I decided to hit the bays instead. If you come down again with the kayak, let me know, and I'll give you directions to the steam plant canal in panama city. It has a hot water discharge, and the fish are stacked up during cooler weather. The paddle is around four miles which takes me a little under an hour to do.

I might have been the guy you talked to. I did a little surf fishing in the afternoons... caught some cats, bluefish, but no reds. We did pretty good during thanksgiving, but the bait was right on the beaches. In fact, we were using sabiki rigs to catch it.