# destin surf fishing



## mcahill4713

I am going to Destin Florida in september and plan on surf fishing while im down there. I need to know what kind of bait and what kind of fish are common. I would love to catch a small shark to show my son. im going to be about 1/2 mile from the pier on ft walton beach. If anyone can give me some advice that would be great. I do alot of catfishing here in Indiana so i have backround in freshwater just not saltwater so advice on poles and tackle would be great to thank you.


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## johnf

*fishing*

Fishing of the pier, you can use you're catfish gear. Just be sure to rinse it off every day. You need 300-500 yards of 20lb + line. Just do a search for shark leaders and you'll find plenty info. Fishing off the beach I use 4000 class reels and 20lb braid. I live in Arkansas and only fish there early summer, so I cant help you much, but you can google fishing reports for September and probably get all the info you need.


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## mcahill4713

Thanks for the info. i plan on surf fishing while im down there. i dont know what kind of bait to use or bring. i was thinking about buying some of those berkley gulp alive baits and trying the minnows and the sand flea versions they make. i have a 8ft cat rod with 30 pound line i figured that was good enough i was going to take my bass rod there also to see what i can catch of that also.. I read that i have to have a license to fish there but i was also told that off of the beach you dont need a license. Do you know the answer to that question or any of these.


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## johnf

I would get most of the bait down there at the local shops. For the most part live or "fresh dead shrimp" will catch stuff, cigar minnows and menhaden are good for bigger fish. But that's when I'm down there. The local guys will know what you need when you get there. I did very well with the gulp alive shrimp and the mullets. The catfish rod will be good for anything out there even good size sharks, the bass rig will be good for most everything else. I would put 20+lb braid on it though and be diligent about rinsing it off every day. I didn't try the Berkeley sand fleas on the advice of some of the locals on here. Live sand fleas will catch lots of fish though. You need to study how to read the surf and watch some YouTube videos on it. It's pretty simple once you've seen it a few times.


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## mcahill4713

Thanks for the advice. Do you know what the price range may be on live shrimp down there for bait? i also heard that silver spoons are good lures for down there on the surf, any luck ever using them.


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## johnf

I've got a buddy who swears by the Kastmaster 1/4 oz and up. spoons with or without tails, but he prefers the tail. 










He buys them in bulk from somewhere for $2 each without hooks.


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## mcahill4713

thanks ill look online or go to bass pro by where i live and see if they have them. do you know what there good for catching in florida


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## Magic Mike

Sand flea's are the most productive bait for surf fishing in my opinion. You can dig for them at shore breaks (where waves crash on shore). You can also do damage with fresh dead shrimp with half the shell peeled off. September is usually the start of the Pomp fall run (or sometime around there depending on the year's weather patterns). Youtube a few videos on making a double drop rig... use some sort of pyramid weight at the bottom (just enough to hold in the surf). Longer poles tend to do better because it keeps your line over the breakers. You'll need sand spikes or some sort of rod holder (patience is a key to surf fishing). Some people use pomp jigs, but I prefer bait. They (pomps) are visual hunters so make sure you use fluorocarbon leaders. Try just before the sandbars, just past the sandbars, or in any trouth or wash-out. Low tide recon will help... you can see the depressions in the shore better. Hope this helps. Good luck


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## johnf

mcahill4713 said:


> thanks ill look online or go to bass pro by where i live and see if they have them. do you know what there good for catching in florida


I've heard trout, spanish and even small sharks. :thumbsup:


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## mcahill4713

i was going to try some sand fleas but everywhere i have looked on youtube you have to have the special scoop to dig them up. i figured if i have to get a sand flea scoop i can go to a bait shop and buy one i just dont know the price. Is live shrimp expensive down there or would frozen shrimp from walmart be ok. i know some of these questions may be simple to you guys but your answers are really helping me.. what i use for catfishing here in the Ohio river is very simple compared to the baits you guys use down there.. The biggest fish i have ever caught was a 86lb flat head. But the thought of waiding into the ocean and casting and catching small sharks and pampano and 3 to 5lb red fish seems amazing. One more question i have always thought that striped bass were only freshwater. we have them here were i live is there place in the gulf because of migration or what?


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## Magic Mike

Nah, just get a bucket and a shovel or a hand "scoop" and get down an inch or two below the surface of the sand. Hell, you could even use a gallon milk jug cut in half. Dump out the wet sand on dry sand and pick out your fleas (try to put the cocinas back... little mollusk looking things... or grind them and use them for chum). You can ask the bait shops for fresh dead; they sell as live until they kick the bucket. If not, try Joe Patti... they have fresh shrimp (I don't like using frozen). I've never caught a stripper, but know some who have. We have sea bass around the 3mile bridge. BTW - Live shrimp will net you TONS of catfish. And if the catfish find you and that's all you're catching, move a little ways down the beach


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## mcahill4713

Awsome thanks for the advice. Are the catfish good to eat? If so i guess cleaning them is just like cleaning a cat fish here in Indiana? Do you honestly think i should have a wire leader on both my bottom poles just in case a blue or a small shark takes it? Another question is if i decide to clean a shark to let my family try, do i skin them like i do cat fish?


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## BY Ryan

I love saltwater cats, even the hard heads. Everybody says they are nasty but that's nonsense. I just cut the tail off right behind the dorsal fin (everything in front of it is bone), then cut the tail fin off and skin it. They wind up like fat fish fingers with no small bones to worry about and they taste good. Just be sure to soak them in a brine, which is salt water, for a few hours at least to leach the blood out. Then you can use the heads as crab bait and get some more dinner. If you get sail cats, which are the ones with the big tailing dorsal fins, clean them like a regular cat. The biggest issue with saltwater cats aside from their spines is their slime, but their spines are way sharper and more painful than freshwater cats. Got one straight through the middle of my foot once and it broke off in my foot so I had to have it surgically removed. That was not a fun night.

I actually use a silverware strainer from the dollar store to catch my fleas. Once you see a big pod of them just run up there and scoop the sand deep. I usually catch a few dozen in about 15 minutes that way when they're thick. One thing I've found with fleas is that it's a good idea to get a good deal more than you think you'll need, depending on what you're fishing for because they come off quick. You can even catch a bunch and freeze them, just blanch them before you put them in the freezer and they'll do fine.


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## mcahill4713

The strainer is a good idea for the sand flea's i think ill do that. So when it comes to catching them how do i find them are they always where the water breaks or are they in certain spots? How big do the salt cats usually get?


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## BY Ryan

They are usually where the water breaks but sometimes they will get higher or lower, though the bulk of them are at the break. Walk along the shore and watch when the water runs back after a wave. When the wave comes in they pop out of the sand to feed then bury back under the sand on the way out. If you rush them while they're out of their hole they will take off. Look for a patch of arrows as the water recedes and that's them. 

This is what it looks like, but you'll want to find a big patch of these if you're using a strainer:









The bigger hardheads usually get around 3 lbs but sometimes bigger, while the sail cats can get up to 10 lbs.


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## mcahill4713

cool i appreciate the picture that helps out. I work at a hospital so when im not dealing with patients i have been reading and talking to you guys on here about how to fish there in destin and you guys have been a great help. How do i crab with the heads do i just throw them back out in the water or do you need a net of some sort.


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## BY Ryan

I put the heads in a crab trap when I have one with me. They make some that are like baskets that you can lower off a dock or bouy and check periodically if you don't want to use the set-it-and-forget-it types. Otherwise I always bring some thin nylon rope with me and tie it onto the heads. Loop the string through the mouth and out the gills then tie it in a knot. Throw it out there a ways and watch for the string to move. When it moves, slowly pull the head to you and the crab will usually continue to hold onto it. Once it gets within range scoop it up with a net and throw it in the cooler. On good nights I can usually fill a 5 gallon bucket doing this, just don't forget to cut the spines off the fish first so you don't have an accident.


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## mcahill4713

ok. ill try that to. if im on the beach how far how do the heads need to go you think. i mean i know that crabs are all over the place but i dont want a shark to grab it and take off.


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## BY Ryan

Well the sharks come all the way up into calf deep water so that's something to be cautious of at all times while fishing out there. Just tie them off to a stick or something that you don't mind losing if something pulls it away. Worst case scenario you lose your bait. I usually just toss it out there 20 yards or so at most because the longer you have to pull it the better chance he has of letting go. I usually do my crabbing in calmer waters rather than in the surf so I haven't had any run-ins with sharks yet. You could also just toss the heads in the cooler and take them to the bay or under the Destin bridge when your done fishing the surf, which is probably better crabbing anyway. 

I'm actually going to get some fleas on Friday too so I'll take some video to show you how it looks. Once you see it that part of the equation is pretty simple.


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## mcahill4713

ok thanks for the advice. Ill try that to while im down there. My wife is deafly scared of crabs so ill catch some for here. We went on the boat ride called the dolphin cruise last year and the cpt paid my wife 50$ to touch a crab.. when you do the video make sure to get a hold of me on here so i can see it.. there are some videos on youtube but most dont explain that well.


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## johnf

In my limited experience frozen shrimp doesn't stay on a hook very well, while fresh dead does. Every year I threaten to buy a sandflea rake but end up improvising with something else. Once you figure out how to find them it's not hard to catch a couple at a time by hand.


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## BY Ryan

Do a search on youtube for sparrowsquad and you'll see me, just subscribe and you'll get it as soon as I post it. I'll probably do a fiddler crab video too since I'm going to hit the sheepshead this weekend.


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## johnf

I love hunting fiddlers at night. It's a blast, especially with a bunch of teenagers running around on the beach chasing each other. I assume you surf fish with them? What do you catch? I've seen videos on how to rig them. 


Do you ever use small circle hooks for surf fishing with the sandfleas or shrimp?


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## BY Ryan

I use them solely to go after sheepshead around bridges, and they can't resist them usually. I do occasionally get reds with them too, so if reds are in the area I'm sure they would work.

I always use small circles with fleas and fiddlers no matter where I'm fishing. I think they help since fish tend to roll the crabs around in their mouth a bit to crush them before swallowing, and the circles tend to just wind up in the right spot.


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## mcahill4713

I found your video's on youtube, ill be sure to look threw them. Are there any that have surf fishing in them. where do i find the small fiddlers at when im in Destin?


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## BY Ryan

Haven't done any on surf fishing yet but I did just film one on catching sand fleas. The weather is pretty awful so I think I'll be frying this batch up and eating them so that should be interesting.

I'm not sure where to find them in Destin, but I'm sure some of the old salts on here would know. I generally look for them around the bay and bayous, along the shore on rocks and in grass. Rock retaining walls are good places for them, and there are some traps you can make for them as well. Google would be your best source for them though as I haven't tried any traps.


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## ironmike68

You can pick some up at Half Hitch in Destin.


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## mcahill4713

Awsome, cant wait for you to post the sandflea video ill be sure to watch it thanks for the advice on where to look.. Thanks mike for the info also, ill be sure to go and look. is that place a bait house?


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## johnf

mcahill4713 said:


> I found your video's on youtube, ill be sure to look threw them. Are there any that have surf fishing in them. where do i find the small fiddlers at when im in Destin?


I always go out to the beach late at night with my kids. We have a great time catching them and chasing each other around on the beach at 0dark30. We use little kiddy nets and a bucket.


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## BY Ryan

Alright so I just reviewed my video for the sand flea trip but it's awful. It was so cloudy that you can't the crabs, and it's too windy to hear me speak. I'll try again on Sunday with my gopro. Sorry for the delay!


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## mcahill4713

Thanks john ill try that with my wife she is scared to death of crabs so i think it will be fun to get her out there to try and catch some..


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## BY Ryan

Well I fried these suckers up in tempura and they tasted like a potato chip from the sea. I will be picking these up every weekend now fishing or not lol.


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## mcahill4713

Thats alright, thanks for taking the time to make the video..


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## Grey Sellers

mcahill4713 said:


> i was going to try some sand fleas but everywhere i have looked on youtube you have to have the special scoop to dig them up. i figured if i have to get a sand flea scoop i can go to a bait shop and buy one i just dont know the price. Is live shrimp expensive down there or would frozen shrimp from walmart be ok. i know some of these questions may be simple to you guys but your answers are really helping me.. what i use for catfishing here in the Ohio river is very simple compared to the baits you guys use down there.. The biggest fish i have ever caught was a 86lb flat head. But the thought of waiding into the ocean and casting and catching small sharks and pampano and 3 to 5lb red fish seems amazing. One more question i have always thought that striped bass were only freshwater. we have them here were i live is there place in the gulf because of migration or what?


It’s is easy to hand scoop all you need. Just go to youtube.


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