Fishing in Destin Florida?
I am an avid Canadian Fisherman and am visiting Destin from Jan- Mar. I want to fish from the Beach or a pier. What can I expect to catch, what rig should I use and I believe I will need a non resident fishing licence for about 47$ , is this accurate. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.
You can use live shrimp, sand fleas. I would rig with the a lead weight above the hook on a swivel (Carolina Rig). Use a #1.0 or 2.0 hook. Use a 25 to 30 lb leader from 18″ to 3 feet long. I like a small bait caster reel or spinning reel medium action bass type pole about 6 feet long. Just know your drag. You may catch:
Whiting
Sea Trout
Red Fish
Pompano
Sharks
Rays
Flounder
Sheephead
Maybe a Cobia.
It would be great if you could get a small cast net and learn to get live bait fish like menhadden.
I would also look for bridges or piers on the bay side of the islands to catch fish as well.
Get to know the tides. And find a good bait shop to ask questions.
Go find some people fishing and just watch and ask questions.
Please consider at least one party boat fishing trip. Tackle is supplied and no license is required. It gets deep close to shore down there so your chances of varied and larger fish go up. Just remember to add a couple of tentacles to the squid rings they give you for bait.