# Question: Kayak / Surf fishing south walton beaches



## Thoms (Jul 15, 2008)

I am going down to grayton beach at the beginning of august and wanted to do some kayak fishing. I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on the type of fish i might catch and maybe a few pointers on some techniques to use. Ive been reading a little on this forum and it looks like there are a bunch of knowledgeable fisherman. Any info would be nice. I also wouldn't mind doing wade/surf fishing if yall have any tips for that. THanks


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

You will be able to catch all kinds of stuff kayaking off the beach. Right outside the surf zone you will find lots of ladyfish, bluefish, hardtails, and sometimes spanish mackerel. If you want to go for a bigger fish, take one of those hardtails out a little further and fish for kings. Be sure to put on a wire leader for the mackerels. 

For the ladys, blues, hardtails, and spanish you can use just about anything. A small bucktail jig, gotcha, or spoon will work well.


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## Thoms (Jul 15, 2008)

thanks tk! I am definately going to explore the big fish option. Would you drift or troll the hardtails? Are there anything else besides kings i might run into out there? Also, what's the best method for catching the hardtails?


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## need2fish (Oct 2, 2007)

I've had large Jack Cravaelle (sp) hit a trolled hardtail from my yak also. You might see a few schools of bonita too that you can cast through - not sure what works best for bonita but I've caught them trolling dead cigar minnows or just throwing spoons at them. Not sure how common that is but somebody will chime in for sure with what routinely works.


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Thoms (7/15/2008)*thanks tk! I am definately going to explore the big fish option. Would you drift or troll the hardtails? Are there anything else besides kings i might run into out there? Also, what's the best method for catching the hardtails?


For the hardtails, I would say get a small spoon or gotcha. For the spoon, just cast it out and reel it back in. For the gotcha, cast it out and jig it on the way in. A smaller rod and reel, say 10# test, is good for catching hardtails. For the kings, 20# test on a large spinning reel or medium sized conventional reel will work. The reel for kings should hold about 250 yards of 20 pound test.Try google-ing "king rigs" to see how to set up a king rig.I usually just drift when I fish on my kayak. I don't really trust the rod holders I built on my kayak, so I'm not too fond of trolling. You might also get lucky and hook into a tarpon. They're just starting to show up.


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## Thoms (Jul 15, 2008)

> You might also get lucky and hook into a tarpon. They're just starting to show up.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:clap 

Now that would be a rush! Hooking up on a fish almost as big as the boat!

What kind of bait would be best for the tarpon?


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

Grayton Beach has a really nice recreational area and you can reach the beach by simply parking in one of their lots and following the path over one dune onto the beach.

If you get tired of catching all those monster fish in the surf, you can also launch your kayak in Western Lake and fish for redfish and large mouth bass. It is one of the larger dune lakes that is still allowing watercraft on it. If you go under the near bridge on 30-A just past the campground and fish those lily pads early in the morning, chances are you may come up with some lunkers. Also try the far bridge on 30-A back in the grass beds. You will see what I am talking about with the bridges when you get to the launch ramp.

Good luck.


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## Thoms (Jul 15, 2008)

thanks framerguy. i will bring my fly rod along for the lakes and give that a shot.


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Thoms (7/15/2008)*thanks framerguy. i will bring my fly rod along for the lakes and give that a shot.


Hey, take your fly rod on the gulf side too. You can wear out the ladyfish/blues on it. Good fun.


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