# Surf fishing Destin?



## sleepyluke

I just got back from Perdido and did some fishing while we were there. Was talking to a guy at work who is going to Destin in a few weeks and was going to offer to let him take some of the fishing stuff down to fish while they are there. HE said that every other time they have been there there is no fishing from the beach, even people getting run off by whatAPPEAR to be gw or some other enforcement type official. Is it illegal, frowned upon, or can do down there? We were thinking of going down next year, but if you can't fish, we won't even consider it. I am not trying to stat the whole fishing brings in big sharks to the swimmer debate, but that is what it seems to stem from. Any clue?


----------



## jedisme

You see those signs alot around Henderson Beach, you can always fish the jetties in Destin.


----------



## Sailor50

You can fish anywhere you want on the beaches in Destin. However, people can also swim anywhere they want too and is kinda useless to fish here on any of the public beaches from about 9:00 AM to after 5:00 pm due to the number of people. 

If you want to surf fish during these hours, I would go to either Henderson Beach state park, the east pass (jetties), the Air Force undeveloped part of Okaloosa island -part between the Destin Bridge and Ft Walton), Navarre Beach/Gulf National Seashore (between Navarre and Pensacola beach), or Topsail Hill State Park beach. Some swimmers there but lot more space. The western part of Henderson beach state park is off limits to fishing, but you can fish the eastern part unless that new pavilion/parking lot is done, not sure in that case.

There are people here who say their property extends to the water on the beach and the beach is private property. Florida state law says all beach is public up to the high water mark, and the city of Destin says the beach20' up from the edge of the water is public. Read this article for more information (http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/beach-9739-isn-access.html) Some of the beach vendors (umbrella guys) will tell you to move, but you have a right if you stay within 20'of the waters edge. They are just trying to make a living too, so just use common sense and courtesies, and you wont have a problem. There are numerous public beach access points too here in Destin - go to: (http://www.cityofdestin.com/index.php?src=gendocs&link=BeachAccess&category=Main). 

If I am going to fish the beach, i go early in the morning, or late in the evening, or fish one of the places I mentioned above. Besides, really hot down here now, over 100 past few days. 

As far as shark fishing, I would go to one of the undeveloped beaches, some guys fish the Navarre beach all the time and have good luck there.


----------



## Popsbait

sleepyluke said:


> I just got back from Perdido and did some fishing while we were there. Was talking to a guy at work who is going to Destin in a few weeks and was going to offer to let him take some of the fishing stuff down to fish while they are there. HE said that every other time they have been there there is no fishing from the beach, even people getting run off by whatAPPEAR to be gw or some other enforcement type official. Is it illegal, frowned upon, or can do down there? We were thinking of going down next year, but if you can't fish, we won't even consider it. I am not trying to stat the whole fishing brings in big sharks to the swimmer debate, but that is what it seems to stem from. Any clue?


I am in Destin now, June 2017. My wife and I went to Henderson Beach State Park yesterday afternoon. We started walking down to the beach on the walkways provided by the pavilions. On the east end there are three pavilions and signs that said "No fishing between stairs" meaning that fisherman had to go further from the "facilities". I fished for a bit over 2 hours. I saw non-stop action and caught lots of ladyfish, some to 19" and many snapper blues (too small to keep). But, it was a blast. I used pompano rig with red bead, small strip of fishbites pink shrimp flavor and small shrimp. I never went more than 5 minutes without a hit. Threw them just out to the first trough.

Other beaches in Destin have special privileges. In front of most high rise is no fishing (for safety) and you even need to rent chairs, you can't bring your own. Although supposedly public by state law, expect some restrictions in many places and though the beach may be public, the access may not be.

Hoping to get back to the state park for some pompano!


----------



## Sailor50

You can fish anywhere on the beach in Destin and Okaloosa County for that matter. Legally, public lands extend up to the Erosion Control Line for those beaches that have had sand added (renourishment). If it hasn't had sand added, public lands extend up to the high water mark, as determined by a state agency. This was decided by a supreme court decision years ago.

In reality, condos, beach rental companies, and private home owners have taken the beaches over and put up their own signs claiming a lot of things. And, in the summer, just too many people here to fish in the day. They have equal rights to swim as you do to fish. You will find empty beaches early and late in the day. 

The bottom line is that what you have to worry about is the sheriff department who enforces the beach laws, not the condo staff or umbrella people. I wrote an email to them last year and this is their reply:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: 
Joseph J. Fulghum <[email protected]> 

Date: 
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 4:44 PM 

To: 
[email protected] 
Subject: 
Trespassing on Beach 

Size: 
110 KB 

Attachments: 
G.O. 17.06 Tres. on Beach.pdf (99.8 KB) 
Mr. xxxxxx,
*
As you will see in the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office General Order I attached, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office will not enforce trespassing laws within twenty feet of the water line.* The matter of what constitutes public and private property along the beach has been a point of contention for many years, and until non-conflicting court decision is* reached, we will not address what is public or private in the area you are describing.* It is plan that the area above this twenty foot zone is private.* If you have any question feel free to contact me as I am the supervisor in charge of the Beach and Marine Unit.* 
*
*
Sergeant Joseph Jason Fulghum
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office
East District
50 2nd Street
Shalimar Fl. 32579
Office 850-609-2094
Fax 850-609-2092
mailto:[email protected]
*

The Mission of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office: “Ensuring fair and equal administration of the law, safeguarding civil liberties and preserving public safety; Doing so with professionalism and unity of purpose, while being good stewards of the public’s trust”.


PLEASE NOTE:

This email may contain Law Enforcement Sensitive or Privileged Information, which is intended only for use by the individual or entity to which the email is addressed. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately. E-mail communications to or from Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office employees are considered public records and are available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail communications with attachments, including your email address, are subject to public disclosure.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can google the Okaloosa Sheriff Department G.O. 17.06 Tres. on Beach
for the sheriff's official guidance.

By Destin Ordinance, the umbrella folks have to keep 20' back from the water. Theoretically, you can put your chairs and umbrellas up closer to the water. 

The beaches in the Henderson State Park and Eglin AFB lands have their own rules. But they both allow fishing.

Well, good luck, you can still catch fish here


----------

