Destin Bound

[TWiles]

Hoping to chill, relax, and maybe harass a few redfish and trout this week.
It's a longshot, But I've got a tip on a tarpon flat off Appalachicola that I hope to pursue as well.
With our house still disassembled from remodeling, it's a good time to break away.

The Hog's not ready with motor and batteries yet, so I'm towing the SeaArk "the Tank."

Here we go....overpacked as usual:








Hope to post up something good this week

[Glenn Hawkins]

Have a safe trip!  Good Luck

[owengrad]

It appears as though you forgot the kitchen sink!

[Steve H]

You need more gear. I think you missed widget 8,546,345, 235,104,203.

[TWiles]

The redfish are being stubborn, but having fun chasing them.  Tons of mullet, and a few smacks on top water.  I've had some fun playing around with the wildlife in the bay.

https://vimeo.com/m/69086934

Had to get low to pass under this bridge...  I had to make sure the tide didn't come back in.

[MikeA]

You going to try to head over to St Andrews?

[MikeA]

Check this out.
http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?75558-Spanish-Tree-Straw-Rigs-101

[TimM]

I like that pool noodle idea for storing rigs like this.  That's a useful tip for sure.

[jkilday4]

Good luck Travis. Are the folks there saying tarpon season shorter than normal up that way too?

[TWiles]

I’ve been slacking on the report posts lately.  Here’s a little summary of the Destin trip:
A very NICE family getaway with the wife and baby girl, and Brother in law and his wife.  I was able to sneek off for a few fishing excursions in the early AM.  Found tons of lady fish and a couple of other species, but the redfish and trout were quite elusive.  I decided against the 4 hour haul to the panhandle tarpon due to the insane amount of traffic.  Weather was perfect, except for the random thunderstorm/lightning squall while on the water.   I had several neat dolphin encounters, and thanks to Mike, I capitalized on the inshore trolling/live bait switch game.  No sharks, but a nice grouper was landed.  Found the motherload clearwater redfish flat at the last possible minute of our trip, but the tide was not outgoing---a couple of locals  confirmed their abundance.  Our boat rental ended hours before the fish would pass through—so a heartbreaking ending that will bring me back.  All in all: a great family trip with some beautiful water.
Driving In:




Good Seafood and Citrus:







So glad to discover that Baby Girl LOVES the water!!!






















She even loved her first boat ride!










And she braved a bad storm without getting fussy.






The Locals were catching some serious snappers---no charters for us this time..but on another trip, definitely:






Enjoying the salt:








































Rasta Baby:






This was the flat about to get swarmed by Redfish…we had to leave before they arrived:









Blue Runner for bait:





This Gag Grouper ate him  (photo doesn’t do the fish justice):





Brandon’s Catch Video:




This is one of two times that dolphins rushed to the boat after  fish we had caught:







Can’t wait to return to the Ocean again…

[MikeA]

I'm telling ya we need to do a fall fishing only trip.

Great report thanks. I still can't imagine why you didn't get hit by the sharks. It was almost too easy to get them to eat a week prior. I wonder if the wire scared them away??? I'm not crazy either we all saw these fish and there is no question they were sharks. One I'm pretty sure was a black tip.

[Yoda]

Nice!!! Looks like a great time!!!

[Yoda]

I'm telling ya we need to do a fall fishing only trip.

Working on something right now, space will be limited, details coming soon.

[Steve H]

Very nice Travis.