June is a one of the best months for our local fishery and it is the start of the real summer here in the Navarre area. The weather is normally mild in the morning with pop up thunderstorms most afternoons and pretty much everything that swims in our fishery is available.

SOUNDS, BAYS AND RIVERS
Most game fish will be feeding on the schools of baitfish and shrimp on the grass flats. Shallow water sight fishing early in the morning for redfish and trout along the grass flats in the sound and east bay can be especially productive. Top water fishing opportunities for redfish, speckled trout, blue fish, and ladyfish early in the morning and late afternoon is very effective as well. Flounder will be invading the bays and sounds too and will readily attack tiger minnows and soft plastics fished around potholes on the flats as well as around deep structure. Almost all of these species are structure oriented fish so pay attention to docks, bridge pilings, oyster bars and drop offs. Early morning and late afternoon will be the better times to fish. Fishing at night around lighted docks for redfish and trout is also productive. Fly fishing with small white or black size 4 clouser minnow is highly effective presentation and will out fish live bait at times.

SURF AND PIER FISHING
The king and Spanish mackerel bite should be in full swing on the pier. The pier will also be producing blackfin tuna, tarpon, sharks, and the occasional mahi or sailfish. In the surf the Pompano fishing will most likely slow a little this month. Ladyfish (skipjack) and blue fish will make up for the lack of pompano and will be available all summer long. From here on out it is best to fish early in the morning and late afternoons. Fishing the hottest part of the day can be very slow.

NEARSHORE AND OFFSHORE GULF
June 1st kicks off the beginning of red snapper season and should last for 44 days in state water and 27 days in federal waters this year, unless the powers that be decide differently as they have in the past. So make sure to keep up with the FWC news broadcast for any changes. Schools of Bonita, Spanish and king mackerel will be in and around area passes. Be sure to check out the buoys in and near the pass, this time of year they will hold some cobia and the occasional triple tail. Slow trolling live baits, spoons or Duster rigs are very effective for king and Spanish mackerel, but don’t be surprised if you hook into a bull Redfish, monster Jack Crevalle, Cobia or even a Dolphin. Red and scamp grouper, amberjack, red snapper, land snapper, and vermillion snapper bite should remain good in 60 to 200 plus feet of water. Don’t forget that trigger fish will be off limits to harvest until from June 1 to July 31. Further off shore Dolphin, Wahoo and other game fish will be showing up more frequently.

May is one of the best months to come fishing. The weather is normally very nice, calm seas and not much rain, Spring Break is over and the crowds are light until the end of the month and Memorial Day approaches.

King Mackerel
Troll a live cigar minnow on a wire 2 hook leader with a 4oz trolling lead or a hard bait like a Yozuri minnow with a 4oz trolling lead over reefs and wrecks. You can also drift with cigar minnows or throw rattle traps from the pier.

Spanish Mackerel
Troll a straw rig with a spoon and 4oz trolling lead, a Gotcha Troll or small Yozuri lure just off the sand bar, around the pass, around crab island in the channel or the harbor. For shore fishing us a Gotcha, spoon or jig from the jetties or the pier.

Bonita
Troll a live cigar minnow on a wire 2 hook leader with a 4oz trolling lead or a hard bait like a Yozuri minnow with a 4oz trolling lead over reefs and wrecks. You can also drift with cigar minnows or throw rattle traps from the pier.

Blackfin Tuna
Troll a live cigar minnow on a wire 2 hook leader with a 4oz trolling lead or a hard bait like a Yozuri minnow with a 4oz trolling lead over reefs and wrecks. Another good option is chumming on the edge and chunking with cut cigar minnows or herring. You can also drift with cigar minnows or throw rattle traps from the pier.

Cobia
Cobia can be caught from the pier or boat. Live eels, jigs, live mullet, pinfish and ruby lips are the best baits.

Pompano
Throw jigs, sand fleas or shrimp from the jetties or pier. Bottom fish with sand fleas, shrimp or fiddler crabs from the surf.

Whiting
Bottom fish the pier or surf with small hooks and fresh peeled shrimp in the shallows.

Flounder
Fish the pier, harbor and bay with grubs, Berkerly gulp and live bull minnows. For boat fishing in the fall use bull minnows or live shrimp fished on the lee side or reefs or wrecks, around the sea bouy and just outside the pass.

Speckled Trout
Use live shrimp under a popping cork drifted across the flats. Try a live shrimp free lined with just a split shot around boat docks. Cast Yozuri Crystal minnows, Crystal Shrimp or live Target Pinfhish and Mullet lures on flats, deep water docks and mouth of bayous. Berkeley Gulp work as a good sub for live shrimp.

White Trout
Bottom fish with shrimp, Berkeley Gulp, or grubs around bridges, bayous and harbor.

Sheepshead
Fish live shrimp, fiddler crabs and oysters on a fish finder rig around bridge pilings, jetties, pier and docks.

Redfish
Use live shrimp or menhaden to bottom fish around bridges, jetties, bayous and docks. Cast hard baits, grubs and Berkeley Gulps in the harbor, bayous around docks and flats. Also jig 2oz spoons in the pass and around the Destin and Midbay bridge.

Ladyfish
Cast Gotcha lures, spoon and jigs from the jetties, pier and surf.

Blues
Use cut bait on a heavy mono or wire leader, cast spoons, jigs and gotchas from the pier, jetties or surf.

Vermillion Snapper (aka Mingo Snapper )
Use a 2 hook bottom rig with small circle hooks about the size of a nickel and one ounce of lead for every 10 feet of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom with cut squid, cut northern mackerel or fish bites.

Trigger Fish
Use a 2 hook bottom rig with small circle hooks about the size of a nickel and one ounce of lead for every 10 feet of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom with cut squid, cut northern mackerel or fish bites.

White Snapper
Use a 2 hook bottom rig with small circle hooks about the size of a nickel and one ounce of lead for every 10 feet of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom with cut squid, cut northern mackerel or fish bites.

Amberjack
For your rig us a circle hook about the size of a half dollar on a 5ft 80lb leader and a 1 oz. egg lead for every 10ft of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom mostly in water 125 to 400ft depths. Best spots are on the southwest edge or just beyond. And for bait live and frozen cigar minnows, herring, threadfin herring, northern mackerel and hardtails. Butterfly jigs are a great option.

Red Grouper
For you rig us a circle hook about the size of a half dollar on a 5ft 80lb leader and a egg lead one ounce for every 10ft of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom mostly in water 125 to 400ft depths. Best spots are on the southwest edge or just beyond. As for bait live and frozen cigar minnows, herring, threadfin herring, and northern mackerel. Butterfly jigs are a great option.

Wahoo
Trolling along the edge, timberholes, nipple and spur with Yozuri Bonita, Islanderʼs rigged with ballyhoo or Moldcraft lures rigged with ballyhoo.

Dolphin
Troll the edge, weed lines, nipple, spur and the 131 hole with ballyhoo rigged on a Islander, Soft Head or Boone feather.

White or Blue Marlin
Troll a ballyhoo on a Islander or Soft Head around weed lines, nipple, spur and squiggles. Smaller Black Bart lures are a good option.

Yellowfin Tuna
Troll small Islanders and Soft heads with or without ballyhoo, Zuker feathers, cedar plugs and Yozuri plugs. Fish the spur, squiggles, steps and rigs. Jigging with butterfly jigs works good around rigs and chunking at night while chumming on the spur also does good.

Swordfish
Fish at night around the spur with whole squid, northern mackerel and mullet. Fish 3 to 4 rods, fish 4 rods spread at different depths 25ft deep, 50ft, 100ft and 200ft gives you a good spread.

Sharks
You can catch them from the surf or boat, using a 5ft or longer steel leader with a large circle hook. The best baits are northern mackerel, cut ladyfish, bonita chunks or bluefish.

Spring is upon us and fishing will be heating up! Look for someone to catch a cobia the first week of March, kings should be right behind them and with the very warm winter don’t be surprised if the wahoo, tuna and maybe even dolphin show up early.

King Mackerel
Troll a live cigar minnow on a wire 2 hook leader with a 4oz trolling lead or a hard bait like a Yozuri minnow with a 4oz trolling lead over reefs and wrecks. You can also drift with cigar minnows or throw rattle traps from the pier.

Spanish Mackerel
Troll a straw rig with a spoon and 4oz trolling lead, a Gotcha Troll or small Yozuri lure just off the sand bar, around the pass, around crab island in the channel or the harbor. For shore fishing us a Gotcha, spoon or jig from the jetties or the pier.

Bonita
Troll a live cigar minnow on a wire 2 hook leader with a 4oz trolling lead or a hard bait like a Yozuri minnow with a 4oz trolling lead over reefs and wrecks. You can also drift with cigar minnows or throw rattle traps from the pier.

Blackfin Tuna
Troll a live cigar minnow on a wire 2 hook leader with a 4oz trolling lead or a hard bait like a Yozuri minnow with a 4oz trolling lead over reefs and wrecks. Another good option is chumming on the edge and chunking with cut cigar minnows or herring. You can also drift with cigar minnows or throw rattle traps from the pier.

Cobia
Cobia can be caught from the pier or boat. Live eels, jigs, live mullet, pinfish and ruby lips are the best baits.

Pompano
Throw jigs, sand fleas or shrimp from the jetties or pier. Bottom fish with sand fleas, shrimp or fiddler crabs from the surf.

Whiting
Bottom fish the pier or surf with small hooks and fresh peeled shrimp in the shallows.

Speckled Trout
Use live shrimp under a popping cork drifted across the flats. Try a live shrimp free lined with just a split shot around boat docks. Cast Yozuri Crystal minnows, Crystal Shrimp or live Target Pinfhish and Mullet lures on flats, deep water docks and mouth of bayous. Berkeley Gulp work as a good sub for live shrimp.

Sheepshead
Fish live shrimp, fiddler crabs and oysters on a fish finder rig around bridge pilings, jetties, pier and docks.

Redfish
Use live shrimp or menhaden to bottom fish around bridges, jetties, bayous and docks. Cast hard baits, grubs and Berkeley Gulps in the harbor, bayous around docks and flats. Also jig 2oz spoons in the pass and around the Destin and Midbay bridge.

Vermillion Snapper (aka Mingo Snapper )
Use a 2 hook bottom rig with small circle hooks about the size of a nickel and one ounce of lead for every 10 feet of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom with cut squid, cut northern mackerel or fish bites.

Trigger Fish
Use a 2 hook bottom rig with small circle hooks about the size of a nickel and one ounce of lead for every 10 feet of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom with cut squid, cut northern mackerel or fish bites.

White Snapper
Use a 2 hook bottom rig with small circle hooks about the size of a nickel and one ounce of lead for every 10 feet of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom with cut squid, cut northern mackerel or fish bites.

Amberjack
For you rig us a circle hook about the size of a half dollar on a 5ft 80lb leader and a egg lead one ounce for every 10ft of water. Fish reefs, wrecks and natural bottom mostly in water 125 to 400ft depths. Best spots are on the southwest edge or just beyond. As for bait, live and frozen cigar minnows, herring, threadfin herring, northern mackerel and hardtails. Butterfly jigs are a great option.

Wahoo
Trolling along the edge, timberholes, nipple and spur with Yozuri Bonita, Islander’s rigged with ballyhoo or Moldcraft lures rigged with ballyhoo.

Dolphin
Troll the edge, weed lines, nipple, spur and the 131 hole with ballyhoo rigged on a Islander, Soft Head or Boone feather.

Yellowfin Tuna
Troll small Islanders and Soft heads with or without ballyhoo, Zuker feathers, cedar plugs and Yozuri plugs. Fish the spur, squiggles, steps and rigs. Jigging with butterfly jigs works good around rigs and chunking at night while chumming on the spur also does good.

Sharks
You can catch them from the surf or boat, using a 5ft or longer steel leader with a large circle hook. The best baits are northern mackerel, cut ladyfish, bonita chunks or bluefish.

Inshore
The inshore bite will be mostly reds and sheepshead around bridges, deep water docks and jetties. The trout should be the far eastern most bayous of the bay and the mouth of the river.

Surf
In the surf expect most whiting, maybe a pompano and some redfish.

Bottom Fishing
Bottom fishing in the gulf will be mingo snapper, triggerfish and black snapper near shore. In deep water 125 to 300 foot range you will find amberjack, red grouper, and scamp.

Pier
On the pier some whiting, a few reds, a few sheepshead and possibly some bonita.

Jetties
On the jetties mostly redfish, sheepshead and a few black snapper will be caught.

Gag Grouper opens July 1st and Red Snapper closes July 10th so it will be time to switch gears and head to a little deeper water and bigger baits for grouper with snapper season ending. 
 
Bottom Fishing
For grouper the best fishing will be 100 to 300 foot depths fishing natural coral bottom, wrecks and man made reefs. Whole northern mackerel, live threadfin herring, live cigar minnows and butterfly jigs will all work well. Along with the grouper you should find a steady supply of red, snapper, triggerfish, vermillion snapper, red grouper and amberjack.
 
Trolling Nearshore
Kings are the main focus using live baits and lures. Plenty of chicken dolphin and some tuna action will also keep you busy trolling.
 
Trolling Offshore
Offshore fishing stays great inJuly and is a great time to try your hand for wahoo, dolphin, tuna, marlin and swordfish. It is starting to really heat up weather wise so make sure to have some deep diving lures and downriggers for wahoo as they will be going deep looking for cooler water.
 
Surf Fishing
As long as the water in the surf stays nice the pompano, whiting and ladyfish should be easy targets. Plenty of sharks after dark on cut bait.
 
Pier Fishing
When we get weather fronts coming by, early most mornings and in the afternoons when the trade winds blow there will be kings, spanish and bonita. For the kids plenty of ladyfish and hardtails to keep them busy. Should be good numbers of tarpon at the pier most days. 
 
Bay Fishing
Trout on the flats very early and very late in the day. Some good trout action can also be had after dark on docks with lights to attract baitfish. Reds will be in deep water most of the day trying to escape the heat so fish bridges, channels and drop offs near the bayou mouths.

Red is the color for June, why you might ask? Well finally after months of waiting Red Snapper Season is here!!!

Bottom Fishing
First and foremost Red Snapper will be one of the easiest fish to target. Fishing wrecks, man made structure and natural bottom. Anywhere from 50 to 300ft depths will produce. You can jig for them, us live baits or frozen cigar minnows. Using a larger bait will help to get a better grade of fish. Along with the red snapper you should find a steady supply of triggerfish, vermillion snapper, red grouper and amberjack.

Trolling Nearshore
Kings are the main focus using live baits and lures. Plenty of chicken dolphin and some tuna action.

Trolling Offshore
With the nice June weather and several tournaments along the coast now is a great time to try your hand for wahoo, dolphin, tuna, marlin and swordfish.

Surf Fishing
Pompano should be around unless the seaweed starts to accumulate in the surf. There is a summer bloom of alge we call June grass, sometimes it starts in June and last about 6 weeks some years it does not happen until August. As long as the water in the surf stays nice the pompano, whiting and ladyfish should be easy targets. Plenty of sharks after dark on cut bait.

Pier Fishing
When we get weather fronts coming by, early most mornings and in the afternoons when the trade winds blow there will be kings, spanish and bonita. For the kids plenty of ladyfish and hardtails to keep them busy.

Bay Fishing
Trout on the flats very early and very late in the day. Some good trout action can also be had after dark on docks with lights to attract baitfish. Reds will be in deep water most of the day trying to escape the heat so fish bridges, channels and drop offs near the bayou mouths.

May is a great month to be in Destin, before Memorial Day it is fairly quiet in town and you can have great fishing without the crowds.

Inshore---Plenty of Redfish around the bridges, most structure and on the flats. Trout will be on the flats and most boat docks. Sheepshead will be around the bridge pilings and jetties biting on live shrimp and sand fleas.

Pier Fishing---There should be Kings most mornings and in the afternoon when the wind is blowing. Spanish, Pompano, Bonito and Whiting will be caught almost daily.

Surf Fishing---Pompano, whiting and ladyfish most all day and plenty of sharks at night.

Trolling Near Shore---Kings will be the main target; they will be mixed with Bonito, Black Fin tuna, Spanish mackerel and some Chicken Dolphin.

Trolling Offshore---Wahoo, Bull Dolphin and tuna will be 20 to 30 miles offshore. Blue and White marlin should be on rips and grass lines 30 to 60 miles offshore.

Bottom Fishing---Lots of choices for bottom fishing in May, close to the beach in 60 to 150 depths you will find scamp, triggerfish, mingo snapper and some red grouper. Going a little deeper 125 to 300ft you will find a better grade of red grouper, scamp, amberjack, almaco jacks and some black grouper. And lastly fishing 300 to 600ft deep there will be some nice snowy grouper, yellow eye grouper and some swordfish.

On the pier tarpon are the most prized catches from the pier but they provide a challenge. The first challenge is to get the bite. Many days the tarpon come in just out of range of most casters. It takes a 9-10 foot rod to reach them most days. The favored lures are Braid Runners, large 4 oz spoons, cedar plugs and the like. Live hard tails and ly's work if they come close enough to reach with these baits. Once you get the bite having enough line and strong enough line to handle the battle of an hour or more with a tarpon is key. Power Pro line will help immensely here as its small diameter allows plenty of line with good strength and does not tend to blow up reel spools like mono will on large species. The other target fish from the pier are king mackerel which are generally caught between 4:30 am and 8 am or in the afternoons if the trade winds blow above 10 mph. any time we have a weather front pass is a good time to try your luck. Live Ly's are the best baits but are harder to get now that they don't allow the use of Ly ribbons anymore. Plain gold hook rigs will work to get baits but are no real substitute for a Fluorocarbon Sabiki rig rigged with a 2oz lead. There always seems to be an abundance of sharks in the surf in summer. There are several sizes of sharks that roam the beaches that you can catch. First there are the black tips and sand bar sharks that are generally just the right size for large spinning tackle using a 4-6 foot leader and a porgies or

Kings at the pier are going to be biting good for the same reasons they are good while trolling. The best days at the pier are the days the wind blows for the south or southwest. There will always be a few kings caught early in the morning and a few right at sunset but for the rest of the day the mid morning will be slow. On those afternoons the wind blows good (10 miles or harder) the afternoon bite should be really good. Spanish we be biting most days on gotchas and bubble rigs. Tarpon will also beginning to show in numbers in June. Tarpon are fantastic pier prizes but remember they need to be released in good condition, this means no gaffing them. Once you get them to the pier you need to get a quick picture of them in the water and then break the line as close to the fish as possible to ensure there life for future generations Pompano in the surf will become harder to catch sometime this month as the June grass takes over but there is a good chance it won't happen until either late in the month of maybe even into July sometime. We call it June grass because it usually comes in June, if you surf fish much you know what I'm talking about. It is the green slime seaweed looking stuff that takes over the beach for 2 to 3 weeks every year. What it actually is a bloom of algae that looks like seaweed and happens when the water temperature and salinity come to a certain point with just the right amount of rain water. We all hate it as it gets all over your rigging and is a slimy nuisance if you are swimming but it is a natural happening and refurbishes the beaches and water. So don't be disappointed when it happens as it is a good thing. There are other things to catch when the pompano bite slows, there are whiting near the beach, plenty of ladyfish and all the sharks you want late in the afternoon and early evening fishing with cut chunks of the ladyfish you caught earlier in the day or a whole porgies that we sell here at Half Hitch Tackle. Spanish mackerel have invaded the jetties and should continue to bite all month. The black snapper should be making the appearance this month and are a prized target for jetty anglers because of there excellent table fair. Bonito will make off and on appearances at the jetties along with all the hardtail and lady fish you could ever want. Reds will bit on the out going tides along with the blues. The blues are fun and good eating. The reds are here but not in the numbers you find during the cooler months.Snapper, triggers and mingos should good on the inshore reefs. If you want triggers I would make some rigs say 30lb out of the new Yozuri disappearing pink fluorocarbon. Then use a # 4 live bait hook and tiny pieces of squid. When looking for triggers the smaller the hook and the bait the better, if you use too large a hook and bait it is much easier for the trigger to nibble the bait away and not get hooked. Triggers are very adapt at this because of their exceptional maneuverability in the water. Their size and shape make it easy for them to hover, turn sideways or upside down to nibble the bait from the hook and not get hooked. You should also find a good supply of mingos using this same technique. Red snapper will be caught using slider or egg lead rigs using 60lb leader and a 5/0 Mutu Light Owner cheater rig fishing in water depths between 75-150 foot deep. The kings have been late showing up this year so I expect June to be a better than normal month for king fishing. The water did not warm up nearly as fast in May and the bait fish are just now starting to show in really good numbers. There will be a steady bite of threadfin herring just north of the Destin Bridge, then some on the south side. Farther out towards the jetties you will find regular herring and cigar minnows for live bait. With cooler water temps than some years I would think you might have an excellent chance of limiting out on kings most days trolling the new Braid Runners, Yozuri Tobi minnows or even a duster rigged with a frozen cigar minnow. If you go during the heat of the day it would be best to use either a planner or downrigger to fish deeper. There is also the opportunity to catch a black fin tuna, wahoo or chicken dolphin inshore this month.Now here is where I start to get extremely excited now that the blue water has fully moved in. Opportunities are abound for those wanting to venture deep. This is truly big Dolphin month as large weeds lines consisting of Sargaso weed bunch up in light to moderate wind conditions. I have seen weed lines inside of 12 to 15 miles but these most hold only chicken dolphin, an occasional wahoo, bonito, barracuda and hardtails. The real action on big dolphin happens on the weed lines that form offshore of the 100 fathom curve. This is the same area as you will find the larger wahoo, blue and white marlin and tuna. Smaller juvenile whaoo (15-40lb) can be caught on the south or southwest edge as well as the rock cliffs but the larger more mature fish will be in open water as they become more solitary and less school oriented. I concentrate more efforts on wahoo, dolphin and tuna because of the dinner table factor. But the blue marlin fishery is as good as it gets in June and all the tournament winners will attest to that. There is almost a tournament every weekend in June somewhere along the coast and I would never feel comfortable with a fish on the leader board unless he was a solid 500-600lbs. The grouper (keeper sized any how) will have moved to the edge or deeper (165-300ft) range. Amberjack will get more finicky as the water temps warm; you will need either live hardtails there favorite or extremely lively threadfins to get the bite. The Bait fish have become more available and the AJ's get to where the really want a bait with a lot of movement to attract the bite.Specked trout and red fish at sun up or just before sun down on the grass flats. Live shrimp drifted over the flats underneath the popping cork works wonderful. If you like lures yozuri, crystal minnows, DOA shrimp, fin's lures and top dog lures work also. Mid day and afternoon find the trout and redfish near deep water docks and bridge pilings. Live bait is a must during the heat of the day, shrimp or menhaden are the first choices during these times. At night under dock lights is the time to find a gator trout. Black snapper can be caught around bridge pilings, chumming with menhaden milk and live shrimp or menhaden. Flyfisherman will fin June to be a great month.Green and white clousers, shrimp and crab patterns work very well. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel around bridges, jetties and surf. Spanish can be caught on spoon flies, glass minnows, and red and white deceivers. Along the surf, look for pompano, lady fish and hard tails. Pink or orange crazy charlies, small shrimp and crab patterns. Off shore fly fishing should produce lots of bonitos and some king mackerel. Best bet for offshore fly fishing chumming over natural reefs or wrecks to get fish up to the surface. Bonitos and Kings regularly take large streamers, blue and white or green and while or very small glass minnow patterns. On offshore weed patches you should find plenty of small school dolphin. They will take almost any fly, they are not very picky and are a great deal of fun on a 5-6-7 fly rod.

On the pier cobia are the trophy catch this month but lots of other opportunities abound. Spanish are the most plentiful and reliable but pompano, sheepshead and reds are daily arrival. This first king should be caught some time near the middle of the month. If by chance you are the lucky one to get the first king it will get you a free season pass to the pier. The cigar minnows are becoming abundant and this is a good sign the kings are only days away. Jack Cravelle are also roaming the beaches and even though they are not great table fare the are exciting to catch as pound for pound there are not many others that can compete for the sheer fight the can hand out. In the sand fleas have become much more plentiful; this is a good sign and should bring many more fish to the beach. Pompano are being caught on sand fleas, shrimp or fish bites and the best fishing has been to the east of Destin but this should be changing and more fish should be on the west beaches. Pompano are the popular targets but there is now a much larger variety of fish to be had. Spanish mackerel are plentiful on Sea Striker jig fish, Braid Blades, spoons and Gotcha plugs. Cobia can be caught bottom fishing with live or frozen eels, cigar minnows and whole squid. As normal don't be surprised if you get whiting, reds or sheepshead. On the jetties Spanish are preferential targets here, gotcha's are the best choice, then the new Braid Blades or Yozuri Live Minnows or baits but jig fish spoons and jigs do well also. Pompano are good on Carolina pompano jigs tipped with Fish Bites shrimp, sand fleas or smelly jelly. Reports of blues have been consistent and I expect them to remain thought the month. Expect the reds to be ok with most of them being over the slot limit.Kings and Spanish are the principal focus here now that the bait fish have shown up. Spanish bite best on trolling style gotcha's, straw rigs with a Clark spoon and 3-6oz trolling lead. Kings and larger Spanish can be caught on Yozui Tobi minnows, dusters rigged with a live or frozen cigar minnows, live cigar minnows and herring drifted over structure.Groupers and amberjack will be caught mostly on the edges and deep water wrecks. Where most of the winter you could get a few on live pinfish and frozen cigar minnows and fishing was tough now it is much easier and the live cigar minnows and herring are easy to get along the beach and in the pass fishing is heating up and the fish will be soon moving into shallower water. Remember to throw over a fly line rig now as this is how to catch your first king of the season. There is also a good chance to pick up a black fin tuna fishing this way also. For those seeking the offshore trolling experience there is good tuna action at the rigs and canyon, some wahoo will be moving near the edge and you would have a excellent opportunity for them within 30 miles by the last 2 weeks of April.Trout and redfish are moving to the flats and becoming much easier to catch. Top water plugs will provide excellent action and well a array of plastics. There are plenty of sheephead around the jetties, bridge pilings and bay reefs. Also there is good action on Spanish mackerel in the harbor, the coast guard channel and around the Destin bridge trolling. If you like to fly fish this is an excellent chance to hone you skills on the Spanish as they take the fly well and are plentiful.

Trolling for Spanish is the most productive type of fishing. The best bet is trolling either a Clark spoon with a straw rig, maybe a gotcha troll. Either way it is best to run a trolling lead in front of either. You will find them near the pass, along sand bars and in the harbor. Bottom fishing is mostly triggers, mingo snapper and amberjack. Early in the year you do have the opportunity to get some keeper amberjack fairly close to home. Cobia show up in March and are one of the prize catches this month. They catch the first one usually in the 3rd week of the month but in recent years several have been caught as early as the first week of March. The main part of the run appears during the last week of the month. Cobia jigs, ling tubes and live eels are the most popular baits. More people catch them by sight casting bud a few are caught trolling or bottom fishing.March brings the start of the real fishing season. Typically they have already caught the first pompano by now and in some cases the first ones of the year are either stragglers left over from the fall run or some that have decided to winter here in town. March does bring the first of the true spring run. They can be caught either bottom fishing with sand fleas or shrimp or jigging with small 3/8 to 5/8 ounce jigs. Spanish will also show up this month and fishing with Seastriker Gotcha's, spoons and straw rigs is the best way to end up with a limit of fish. The Spanish show up anytime from late February to early March depending on weather. You will see just a few one day and then all the sudden they are just about everywhere over night. Cobia show up this month also usually during the last week. There have been rare times they come earlier if the weather gets good. Most of the pier fisherman use jigs to catch them, some will take live eels or bottom fish with whole squid. The ells or squid work much better if you are looking to get one from the surf.

Pompano, along with a few redfish, black Drum, sheepshead, whiting make for the bulk of fishing here. Do not look for the action to be fast and furious but enough to make the day enjoyable. The best days will be those just before a weather change, normally temps will be up just a bit ahead of a weather change, also helps to have a nice beach swell and some breakers to stir up the sand and make fish feed better in the crystal clear water you get in winter months. The best baits would be fresh peeled shrimp, sand fleas when available, and Fish Bites. Reports have it there are of some sharks from around the Topsail hill to Grayton beach area. If you are interested in trying your luck for them use, a frozen cigar minnow on the bottom. This is the best opportunity for shore fishing most of the winter. Many species hold up around the jetties in winter. The rocks provide good hiding and feeding opportunities for most fish. Redfish are just as easy as ever and you get good action on both tide movements, the out going being the better of the two. The best action comes using live shrimp, live bull minnows and a few on spoons. Sheepshead and black drum have been abundant on live shrimp and fiddler crabs. There are a few grouper around the jetties now and a large live bull minnow or pinfish will do the trick. Also look for pompano to start biting on the nice days. For pompano jigs of orange, pink or chartreuse tipped with Fish Bites, live or frozen sand fleas and or live shrimp. We have some Berkley Gulp Sand fleas here at Half Hitch Tackle that work especially well of you and are much more convenient than live or frozen BaitPier fishing is some what like surf fishing in the winter as you can never tell from day to day what might be happening, so there is good reason to try your luck here. Many mornings there are some winter bonito and northern mackerel, they are best caught on white jigs and bubble rigs. Look for flocks of birds to give away the fact that bonito and northern are on the way to the pier. Flounder on bull minnows, sheepshead and black drum on live shrimp and reds most days all oversized. The real prize here is Pompano. With the milder winters we have been having, there are always a few pompano hanging around. They are normally better around the jetties, Grayton Beach and Phillips Inlet but if you manage to catch the first one of the year from the Okaloosa Island Pier you receive a season pass to the pier. They offer a season pass for the first black fin tuna, king mackerel and cobia, but a pompano is a real possibility in January or February. The others there are no real shot until late march. Fishing in the surf can vary all winter depending on the weather; there are several options for fishing.Trigger and Mingo snapper should be good in the 18s, Nicky grounds and mingo ridge area. Flounders are also still good on near shore reefs on live bull minnows. Using Mann's Stretch 25

Trolling will not be as good as summer months but Kings will again stay very good until the second or third freeze. You don't even have to go very far some days, as just around the pass and the near shore reefs will hold some fish. Once we have a few cold snaps the kings will move offshore to the edges. Live bait is always a winner but the kings are frisky with the cooler water and Yozuri plugs, Mann's stretch 25's and 30's, and spoons. Also loads of bonito if you want something just for fun. Flounder should be very good this month fishing the leeside of most near shore reefs and around the pass using bull minnows, Fishbites and Gulps.This month the pier will produce flounder, pompano, whiting and winter bonito. Flounder take the usual offerings of bull minnows, live shrimp, jigs tipped with fish bites and grubs. Pompano prefer fresh peeled shrimp, sand fleas and jigs. Whiting of course like fresh peeled shrimp too!!!. Winter bonito can provide excellent fun from the pier to occupy slow winter mornings. Most morning you can see bonito working the beach under the birds. They seem to feed best and be most active the first few hours of daylight. As they move in and out from the pier they can be caught on white jigs, straw and bubble rigs and small spools. Please do remember if you are not going to keep the bonito use a pier net and not a gaff as you will want to release them unharmed and a gaff surely means death and less fish for the future. Pompano and a few whiting can be found all winter, look to catch them best on the couple days just prior to a big cold front coming down from the north. The reason for this is most days we have a offshore wind blowing and the water is calm and clear and pompano get veryWahoo and blackfin tuna will be active around the rock cliffs, the nipple and towards the spur. Yellowfin tuna will be in the mouth of the canyon and the rigs to the southwest. If you are going to the rigs be careful, I have heard of lots of floating debris and some rigs are badly damaged and they will only let you get so close before asking you to move on. Marlin are heading out to deeper warmer water now but a few white marlin will stay until the first freeze. Whites will be around the nipple and the flats about 35 miles out, the better bet is a spread of teasers on one shot gun rig. Have several pitch baits ready for when the fish appear. Using pitch bait will help out with the hook up ratio on whites over just trolling lures rigged with ballyhoo. Grouper have moved out to somewhat deeper water around the edge and offshore wrecks. Live cigar minnows, herring and hardtails are the best baits for them. I expect the grouper fishing to continue for several months like it was in October. Also if you have trouble catching throw backs, try a larger bait like Boston Mackerel or whole mingo snapper.This area produces many choices for the inshore angler this time or year whether fishing from the bridge, shore or boat. Redfish are the main targets and take a variety or baits. Seastriker spoons 1

Kings can be difficult when the want to be in August as the hot dog days keep them fairly inactive some days. To be the most productive at catching them you must fish very early if you are going to surface troll for them. Once the sun gets going the kings move to deep water drop offs and edges looking for a cooler place to spend the day foraging for minnows. A planner or better yet a downrigger is the key to a successful day on the water. The downrigger unlike a planner allows the angler to fish relatively deep but still use very light tackle. The lighter tackle is more fun to fish with and the lighter the terminal tackle the more bites you normally get. The Braid Runners and Yozuri plugs can be effective when live baits are hard to come by. Snapper can be found near the beach still in August but you have to be savvier to get them. Try real light leaders and smaller hooks with live baits. Fishing man made structure like chicken coops will provide the best action. Even though live bait is best for the snapper you should still be able to do well butterfly jigging.These are truly the dog days at the Okaloosa Island Pier. The summer kill of Lys has begun and this can be considered by many beach goers as a bad thing as they wash ashore and smell. To the pier fisherman this can mean the thoughts of catching a real smoker king. Overall kings will be slow this month with only a few caught each day but the larger kings get lazy in the heat and all the dieing Ly make easy pickings for them. Drift one along with the other dead ones and chances are good at picking up a nice smoker one afternoon. There should be a few tarpon still and some bonito. The ladyfish and hardtails will be abundant if you have the need to entertain some kids for a morning or afternoon. They should get the occasional pompano or whiting but only in small numbers. Hot august temps make for long hot days surf fishing. Pompano are a possibility for early morning hours either on sand fleas, fresh peeled shrimp or fish bites. One or the most productive activites will be catching ladyfish using spoons, bubble rigs or pompano jigs. There are some whiting this month bottom fishing and some blues to be caught at night on cigar minnows or menhaden. Sharks are still in abundance and are easiest to pursue at night using chunks of ladyfish or bonito for bait. The sharks range in size for several feet in the 20-30lb range up to ones in excess of 10ft weighing up to several hundred pounds. The sand sharks, bulls and black tips are excellent table fare also. Black snapper are one of the prime species for the savvy jetty angler. Drifting either a small piece of cut cigar minnow, menhaden or live shrimp when available along the rocks is a great way to find some snapper for dinner. Fishing to far from the rocks only gets you trash fish so real, real close to the rocks for the best chances at snapper. The reds will be active on the outgoing tide, spoons or live baits are the best for them. Blues and ladyfish are around most afternoons and can be caught on cut baits, jigs or spoons. The bonito will be around on some mornings and drifting a live cigar minnow or tossing a bubble rigs will entice the most activity.Opportunities abound here as the heat really only bothers the fisherman here. All the offshore species are well equipped to handle the heat. The wahoo hang on the deep edges looking for food. The dolphin prefer to roam weed lines and rips and the tuna like the mouth of the canyon, the rigs and hanging around the large offshore shrimpers looking for the royal reds. When the shrimpers are culling there catches the tuna find easy meals and they get careless running around the boat looking for food and this is the time to take advantage of them chunking with menhaden. As for the marlin they are likely to be anywhere you find the dolphin and tuna. This is a tough month for bottom fisherman, the weather is hot, live bait can be tough and fish have moved off shore looking for cooler feeding grounds and the current can be very bad. With that said there is still plenty of action if you are willing to work a little. Going to a much lighter fluorocarbon leader, lighter lead, smaller hook and lighter rod/reel you can still be productive. Fish see to like natural bottom better than wrecks when the temps are hotter. Live bait will help a lot but sometimes they can be hard to come by. If you are bait fishing and having trouble getting bites even though you see plenty of bait try out one of the new fluorocarbon bait rigs, there are more money but can save a trip.Reds are the main focus here, look for them especially the larger bulls on the outgoing tide in the pass near the Destin Bridge and jetties. Some tarpon near the shipwreck between the mid bay and 331 bridge. Trout will favor the area around Mack and Horseshoe Bayou's. Floundering in the Bayous around Niceville will be good for now through mid to late November when the move to the gulf on the first cold fronts. Jack cravelle can be found in the Santa Rosa Sound and in Cinco and Poquito Bayou's. Lastly there will be good runs of mullet around the bridges and bayous.

On the pier tarpon are the most prized catches from the pier but they provide a challenge. The first challenge is to get the bite. Many days the tarpon come in just out of range of most casters. It takes a 9-10 foot rod to reach them most days. The favored lures are Braid Runners, large 4 oz spoons, cedar plugs and the like. Live hard tails and ly's work if they come close enough to reach with these baits. Once you get the bite having enough line and strong enough line to handle the battle of an hour or more with a tarpon is key. Power Pro line will help immensely here as its small diameter allows plenty of line with good strength and does not tend to blow up reel spools like mono will on large species. The other target fish from the pier are king mackerel which are generally caught between 4:30 am and 8 am or in the afternoons if the trade winds blow above 10 mph. any time we have a weather front pass is a good time to try your luck. Live Ly's are the best baits but are harder to get now that they don't allow the use of Ly ribbons anymore. Plain gold hook rigs will work to get baits but are no real substitute for a Fluorocarbon Sabiki rig rigged with a 2oz lead. There always seems to be an abundance of sharks in the surf in summer. There are several sizes of sharks that roam the beaches that you can catch. First there are the black tips and sand bar sharks that are generally just the right size for large spinning tackle using a 4-6 foot leader and a porgies or ½ a ladyfish for bait. The other species like the bull, hammerhead and dusky generally require much heavier tackle to catch as they can be from 4-12 foot in length. For the larger one, a Penn Senator 6/0-12/0 filled with 80lb line is best. Your leader should be longer than the targeted size of shark. Again ladyfish whole or ½ of a bonito make the best bait. Most of the sharks are caught during the evening hours. For fishing in the day time, the pompano will bite from time to time on shrimp, sand fleas or Fish Bites. There are plenty of lady fish and some Spanish to catch jigging lures. There are some reds around but not as numerous as the cooler months. The jetties will have some black snapper hanging around the rocks. They can be caught drifting fresh cut porgies or cigar minnows and even live shrimp. The reds and blues will bite on the out going tide either on cut baits or lures. They should be a few Spanish and pompano around but not nearly the numbers we experience in the spring months.  Kings should be steady all month. Some real smokers were caught in June. Early in the mornings you will find the kings on the inshore spots like the airplane rock, Billy spot, broken bottom, pier rubble and El Matador gulley. Once the day heats up the fish move off to the Nickey Grounds, 18"s and Timber Holes looking for cooler water to escape the heat of the day. This is also the month where it is not unheard of to catch a sailfish, black fin tune or whaoo in shore also while trolling or live baiting for kings. Plenty of schoolie dolphin should be prevalent also. Do you want snapper? We most would have you believe they have all moved to deep water because of heat. But check those inshore wrecks and see if you don't see something on the bottom machine. A lot of times the snapper are ther but is hard to get a bite, if this is the case get a light spinning rod with like 20lb line and a 3-6oz lead with a live shrimp. a lot of times this is a excellent way to get a bite. If live shrimp are in short supple because of summer heat cast new a few small menhaden in the bayous as they work good on a light rig to. Sometimes in the summer heat the snapper like a smaller snack rather than a larger one.  Wahoo and dolphin can be found anywhere from just inshore of the edge and out. The rock cliffs, steps, flats, the nipple and the squiggles have all had their share of fish. White marlin and blue marlin have picked up around the spur, squiggles and the mouth of the canyon. Yellow tuna have been fantastic with lots of black and skip jack tuna around the spur, canyon mouth, double titty and rigs have all been good. If you get lucky enough to find an offshore shrimper or whale shark, try you best to stay with them. Shrimpers normaly cull the catch twice or three times a day and the tuna will normally be around for that. As for the whale sharks, they only hang out in areas with a lot of plankton, and where there is plankton there is squid. Where there is squid offshore, there are tuna and usually lots of them. There have even been a couple of bluefin tuna caught this year. Troll spreader bars of squid or bullyhoo to attract the tuna and use small soft heads, islanders or jets to get the tuna. Wahoo wasters in black/red, black/green and black/purple have all been good. Also the new Voodoo jets and highspeed lures have worked well. Grouper and amberjack will be good in water over 150 deep. Water temps have heated up and will require live hardtails for amberjack and live cigar minnows or threadfin herring for grouper. Use a extra long leader for more action. A couple good places are the large rocks south of Destin around 22 miles. 3000.027/8631.687, 3000.194/8631.521 and 3000.118/8631.671.   Trout will be moderate to good during the day and best at night. Live shrimp, menhaden, D.O.A. lures and Yozuri minnows work best. Best of all are the number of black and or mangrove snappers around the bridges and jetties. If you just want a good pull on the line look for large schools of jack cravelle in the mouths of the bayous in the early mornings.

Kings at the pier are going to be biting good for the same reasons they are good while trolling. The best days at the pier are the days the wind blows for the south or southwest. There will always be a few kings caught early in the morning and a few right at sunset but for the rest of the day the mid morning will be slow. On those afternoons the wind blows good (10 miles or harder) the afternoon bite should be really good. Spanish we be biting most days on gotchas and bubble rigs. Tarpon will also beginning to show in numbers in June. Tarpon are fantastic pier prizes but remember they need to be released in good condition, this means no gaffing them. Once you get them to the pier you need to get a quick picture of them in the water and then break the line as close to the fish as possible to ensure there life for future generations Pompano in the surf will become harder to catch sometime this month as the June grass takes over but there is a good chance it won't happen until either late in the month of maybe even into July sometime. We call it June grass because it usually comes in June, if you surf fish much you know what I'm talking about. It is the green slime seaweed looking stuff that takes over the beach for 2 to 3 weeks every year. What it actually is a bloom of algae that looks like seaweed and happens when the water temperature and salinity come to a certain point with just the right amount of rain water. We all hate it as it gets all over your rigging and is a slimy nuisance if you are swimming but it is a natural happening and refurbishes the beaches and water. So don't be disappointed when it happens as it is a good thing. There are other things to catch when the pompano bite slows, there are whiting near the beach, plenty of ladyfish and all the sharks you want late in the afternoon and early evening fishing with cut chunks of the ladyfish you caught earlier in the day or a whole porgies that we sell here at Half Hitch Tackle. Spanish mackerel have invaded the jetties and should continue to bite all month. The black snapper should be making the appearance this month and are a prized target for jetty anglers because of there excellent table fair. Bonito will make off and on appearances at the jetties along with all the hardtail and lady fish you could ever want. Reds will bit on the out going tides along with the blues. The blues are fun and good eating. The reds are here but not in the numbers you find during the cooler months.Snapper, triggers and mingos should good on the inshore reefs. If you want triggers I would make some rigs say 30lb out of the new Yozuri disappearing pink fluorocarbon. Then use a # 4 live bait hook and tiny pieces of squid. When looking for triggers the smaller the hook and the bait the better, if you use too large a hook and bait it is much easier for the trigger to nibble the bait away and not get hooked. Triggers are very adapt at this because of their exceptional maneuverability in the water. Their size and shape make it easy for them to hover, turn sideways or upside down to nibble the bait from the hook and not get hooked. You should also find a good supply of mingos using this same technique. Red snapper will be caught using slider or egg lead rigs using 60lb leader and a 5/0 Mutu Light Owner cheater rig fishing in water depths between 75-150 foot deep. The kings have been late showing up this year so I expect June to be a better than normal month for king fishing. The water did not warm up nearly as fast in May and the bait fish are just now starting to show in really good numbers. There will be a steady bite of threadfin herring just north of the Destin Bridge, then some on the south side. Farther out towards the jetties you will find regular herring and cigar minnows for live bait. With cooler water temps than some years I would think you might have an excellent chance of limiting out on kings most days trolling the new Braid Runners, Yozuri Tobi minnows or even a duster rigged with a frozen cigar minnow. If you go during the heat of the day it would be best to use either a planner or downrigger to fish deeper. There is also the opportunity to catch a black fin tuna, wahoo or chicken dolphin inshore this month.Now here is where I start to get extremely excited now that the blue water has fully moved in. Opportunities are abound for those wanting to venture deep. This is truly big Dolphin month as large weeds lines consisting of Sargaso weed bunch up in light to moderate wind conditions. I have seen weed lines inside of 12 to 15 miles but these most hold only chicken dolphin, an occasional wahoo, bonito, barracuda and hardtails. The real action on big dolphin happens on the weed lines that form offshore of the 100 fathom curve. This is the same area as you will find the larger wahoo, blue and white marlin and tuna. Smaller juvenile whaoo (15-40lb) can be caught on the south or southwest edge as well as the rock cliffs but the larger more mature fish will be in open water as they become more solitary and less school oriented. I concentrate more efforts on wahoo, dolphin and tuna because of the dinner table factor. But the blue marlin fishery is as good as it gets in June and all the tournament winners will attest to that. There is almost a tournament every weekend in June somewhere along the coast and I would never feel comfortable with a fish on the leader board unless he was a solid 500-600lbs. The grouper (keeper sized any how) will have moved to the edge or deeper (165-300ft) range. Amberjack will get more finicky as the water temps warm; you will need either live hardtails there favorite or extremely lively threadfins to get the bite. The Bait fish have become more available and the AJ's get to where the really want a bait with a lot of movement to attract the bite.Specked trout and red fish at sun up or just before sun down on the grass flats. Live shrimp drifted over the flats underneath the popping cork works wonderful. If you like lures yozuri, crystal minnows, DOA shrimp, fin's lures and top dog lures work also. Mid day and afternoon find the trout and redfish near deep water docks and bridge pilings. Live bait is a must during the heat of the day, shrimp or menhaden are the first choices during these times. At night under dock lights is the time to find a gator trout. Black snapper can be caught around bridge pilings, chumming with menhaden milk and live shrimp or menhaden. Flyfisherman will fin June to be a great month.Green and white clousers, shrimp and crab patterns work very well. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel around bridges, jetties and surf. Spanish can be caught on spoon flies, glass minnows, and red and white deceivers. Along the surf, look for pompano, lady fish and hard tails. Pink or orange crazy charlies, small shrimp and crab patterns. Off shore fly fishing should produce lots of bonitos and some king mackerel. Best bet for offshore fly fishing chumming over natural reefs or wrecks to get fish up to the surface. Bonitos and Kings regularly take large streamers, blue and white or green and while or very small glass minnow patterns. On offshore weed patches you should find plenty of small school dolphin. They will take almost any fly, they are not very picky and are a great deal of fun on a 5-6-7 fly rod.

May is still a time of optimism and opportunity for the surf angler as many options abound. If you like evening fishing there will be plenty of small sharks to entertain you from late afternoon into the evening. Using a spinning rod rigged with a wire pulley rig and a cigar minnow you can target sharks from 15-50lbs. you have the opportunity to catch several in a couple hours this way. If you want to try for larger sharks using a 114H 6/0 senator reel or larger you can target the larger bull and sand sharks using either a chunk or ladyfish or bonito. You will need to pick a north wind day so you can use a balloon to drift the bait out or swim the bait as it will be to large to cast out. Pompano will continue to be the main target of surf anglers using sand fleas, jigs or Yummy fleas tipped with Fish Bites yellow, pink or orange crab flavor. For the angler who likes jigging May is an excellent month to spot cast pompano and offers good practice for fly anglers targeting Spanish and ladyfish.The primary targets in May are King Mackerel but again many other opportunities abound on the pier. Come cobia should be hanging around especially when the big bottom rays, turtles and sharks move in. Spanish will be around all month and can be caught jigging Gotchas, Rattletraps or Sea Striker slab spoons. Pompano should be near the shore break at the pier and take jigs, sand fleas and shrimp, and somewhere near the end of the month the whiting should also be moving in good. There is always a chance of a few black fin tuna in May and late may offers a shot at a tarpon. As I said earlier the King Mackerel are the primary target and can be caught best on drifting live or frozen cigar minnows or using Rattletraps.The jetties in May provide multiple chances at many different species ranging from Pompano, Spanish, Bonito, Reds, Ladyfish and hardtails. Most of the fish at the jetties take a variety of lures but Gotchas, Braid Runners in the small size, bubble rigs and Calcutta jigs tipped with shrimp are best. Bonito will take lures but if you take a Sabiki rig and get live cigar minnows you will do even better. While fishing for bonito you may occasionally run into a grouper or cobia also but either of these will require a net of gaff or some sort to land at the rocks. Black snapper will show towards the end of the month.May is excellent for bottom fishing for several reasons. The weather is normally wonderful in May, light breezes and small seas. Because it is early in the year the water has not really heated up and the fish are much more active and aggressive and can be caught Jigging with Clouts and Sea Striker Slab spoons unlike later in the year when live bait is a must. There are good numbers of beach groupers and amberjack. It is also a good time for mingo snapper and some triggerfish. Trolling inshore (inshore I mean 10-15 miles or less) you will find exceptional numbers of King Mackerel. Some of the more common places to find kings early in the year like this are the southeast rocks, broken bottom, El Matador Gulley, Nicky grounds and the 18"s. kings can be caught trolling many different lures ( Yozuri Crystal Minnow Deep Divers ) or cigar minnows (live or frozen) both run with a trolling lead, planner or downrigger.Offshore truly turns on in May, the wahoo, dolphin and tuna are very close (as close as 25-30 miles at times in fantastic numbers. The dolphin and wahoo prefer to feed near tide lines, weed patches and rips. They like these places because weed patches provide shelter for many small bait fish, tide lines and rips also attract bait fish because of extra nutrients collected in the areas from the mixing or ocean currents. White marlin will range to within 35 miles or so with the Nipple being one of the hot spots. The Blue marlin typically likes to feed in the deeper areas close to the spur, the steps or the squiggles. The tuna can be almost anywhere food can be found from around weed patches, tide lines rips and just plain old open water. Why open water you may ask well it really isn't just open water as many schools of offshore squid and anchovies are present over deep structure and it appears to be just open water. Water color also dictates where fish will be as they like the dark blue to cobalt water over the green water, the blue water is much saltier and carries more nutrients for bait fish there for producing more predators. Grouper will be along edges and natural live bottom. As for the jacks the often prefer the larger offshore man made reefs. The reason the jack like the man made reefs is many of them are old metal hull boats, barges and tanks (metal). The metal reefs for some reason attract large numbers of what we call Speedos or chum mackerel and amberjack love them. Moral here is attract and have the right bait and you will get the jacks the bite.May is the month you really want to be bay fishing as plenty of trout and reds roam the flats early every morning and in the evening hours. Try a Yozuri Tobi minnow, DOA shrimp or terror eyes. Reds sneak in also. As the day warms the trout and reds move to channel edges, deepwater boat docks and bridges. Large jack cravelle roam the bayous most mornings and can be spotted chasing menhaden. Large spoons, mirrolures, and rattle traps work well here. Get your fly rod out for some early morning fun on the flats. Spanish, trout and reds all take flys good and May is an excellent time to get them to bite - the water is still pleasant and fish are aggressive.

On the pier cobia are the trophy catch this month but lots of other opportunities abound. Spanish are the most plentiful and reliable but pompano, sheepshead and reds are daily arrival. This first king should be caught some time near the middle of the month. If by chance you are the lucky one to get the first king it will get you a free season pass to the pier. The cigar minnows are becoming abundant and this is a good sign the kings are only days away. Jack Cravelle are also roaming the beaches and even though they are not great table fare the are exciting to catch as pound for pound there are not many others that can compete for the sheer fight the can hand out. In the sand fleas have become much more plentiful; this is a good sign and should bring many more fish to the beach. Pompano are being caught on sand fleas, shrimp or fish bites and the best fishing has been to the east of Destin but this should be changing and more fish should be on the west beaches. Pompano are the popular targets but there is now a much larger variety of fish to be had. Spanish mackerel are plentiful on Sea Striker jig fish, Braid Blades, spoons and Gotcha plugs. Cobia can be caught bottom fishing with live or frozen eels, cigar minnows and whole squid. As normal don't be surprised if you get whiting, reds or sheepshead. On the jetties Spanish are preferential targets here, gotcha's are the best choice, then the new Braid Blades or Yozuri Live Minnows or baits but jig fish spoons and jigs do well also. Pompano are good on Carolina pompano jigs tipped with Fish Bites shrimp, sand fleas or smelly jelly. Reports of blues have been consistent and I expect them to remain thought the month. Expect the reds to be ok with most of them being over the slot limit.Kings and Spanish are the principal focus here now that the bait fish have shown up. Spanish bite best on trolling style gotcha's, straw rigs with a Clark spoon and 3-6oz trolling lead. Kings and larger Spanish can be caught on Yozui Tobi minnows, dusters rigged with a live or frozen cigar minnows, live cigar minnows and herring drifted over structure.Groupers and amberjack will be caught mostly on the edges and deep water wrecks. Where most of the winter you could get a few on live pinfish and frozen cigar minnows and fishing was tough now it is much easier and the live cigar minnows and herring are easy to get along the beach and in the pass fishing is heating up and the fish will be soon moving into shallower water. Remember to throw over a fly line rig now as this is how to catch your first king of the season. There is also a good chance to pick up a black fin tuna fishing this way also. For those seeking the offshore trolling experience there is good tuna action at the rigs and canyon, some wahoo will be moving near the edge and you would have a excellent opportunity for them within 30 miles by the last 2 weeks of April.Trout and redfish are moving to the flats and becoming much easier to catch. Top water plugs will provide excellent action and well a array of plastics. There are plenty of sheephead around the jetties, bridge pilings and bay reefs. Also there is good action on Spanish mackerel in the harbor, the coast guard channel and around the Destin bridge trolling. If you like to fly fish this is an excellent chance to hone you skills on the Spanish as they take the fly well and are plentiful.

Trolling for Spanish is the most productive type of fishing. The best bet is trolling either a Clark spoon with a straw rig, maybe a gotcha troll. Either way it is best to run a trolling lead in front of either. You will find them near the pass, along sand bars and in the harbor. Bottom fishing is mostly triggers, mingo snapper and amberjack. Early in the year you do have the opportunity to get some keeper amberjack fairly close to home. Cobia show up in March and are one of the prize catches this month. They catch the first one usually in the 3rd week of the month but in recent years several have been caught as early as the first week of March. The main part of the run appears during the last week of the month. Cobia jigs, ling tubes and live eels are the most popular baits. More people catch them by sight casting bud a few are caught trolling or bottom fishing.March brings the start of the real fishing season. Typically they have already caught the first pompano by now and in some cases the first ones of the year are either stragglers left over from the fall run or some that have decided to winter here in town. March does bring the first of the true spring run. They can be caught either bottom fishing with sand fleas or shrimp or jigging with small 3/8 to 5/8 ounce jigs. Spanish will also show up this month and fishing with Seastriker Gotcha's, spoons and straw rigs is the best way to end up with a limit of fish. The Spanish show up anytime from late February to early March depending on weather. You will see just a few one day and then all the sudden they are just about everywhere over night. Cobia show up this month also usually during the last week. There have been rare times they come earlier if the weather gets good. Most of the pier fisherman use jigs to catch them, some will take live eels or bottom fish with whole squid. The ells or squid work much better if you are looking to get one from the surf.There are always some tuna both black fin and yellow fin around the rigs and the canyon. Also you have a shot at wahoo around the rigs. As for bottom fishing if groupers are open they will be good around the edges and deepwater reefs. Boston mackerel and live pinfish are good baits. Amberjack should be plentiful and aggressive taking Butterfly type jigs, clouts and spoons very well.Speckled trout will open back up in March and with warming temps will start to take lures better. The best lures are Yozuri plugs, DOA shrimp and Gulps, as for live bait shrimp will be the choice. Reds should be plentiful around almost any structure. Spanish mackerel should also be abundant near the pass and in some of the bayous around the Cinco and Shalimar Bridges.

Pompano, along with a few redfish, black Drum, sheepshead, whiting make for the bulk of fishing here. Do not look for the action to be fast and furious but enough to make the day enjoyable. The best days will be those just before a weather change, normally temps will be up just a bit ahead of a weather change, also helps to have a nice beach swell and some breakers to stir up the sand and make fish feed better in the crystal clear water you get in winter months. The best baits would be fresh peeled shrimp, sand fleas when available, and Fish Bites. Reports have it there are of some sharks from around the Topsail hill to Grayton beach area. If you are interested in trying your luck for them use, a frozen cigar minnow on the bottom. This is the best opportunity for shore fishing most of the winter. Many species hold up around the jetties in winter. The rocks provide good hiding and feeding opportunities for most fish. Redfish are just as easy as ever and you get good action on both tide movements, the out going being the better of the two. The best action comes using live shrimp, live bull minnows and a few on spoons. Sheepshead and black drum have been abundant on live shrimp and fiddler crabs. There are a few grouper around the jetties now and a large live bull minnow or pinfish will do the trick. Also look for pompano to start biting on the nice days. For pompano jigs of orange, pink or chartreuse tipped with Fish Bites, live or frozen sand fleas and or live shrimp. We have some Berkley Gulp Sand fleas here at Half Hitch Tackle that work especially well of you and are much more convenient than live or frozen BaitPier fishing is some what like surf fishing in the winter as you can never tell from day to day what might be happening, so there is good reason to try your luck here. Many mornings there are some winter bonito and northern mackerel, they are best caught on white jigs and bubble rigs. Look for flocks of birds to give away the fact that bonito and northern are on the way to the pier. Flounder on bull minnows, sheepshead and black drum on live shrimp and reds most days all oversized. The real prize here is Pompano. With the milder winters we have been having, there are always a few pompano hanging around. They are normally better around the jetties, Grayton Beach and Phillips Inlet but if you manage to catch the first one of the year from the Okaloosa Island Pier you receive a season pass to the pier. They offer a season pass for the first black fin tuna, king mackerel and cobia, but a pompano is a real possibility in January or February. The others there are no real shot until late march. Fishing in the surf can vary all winter depending on the weather; there are several options for fishing.Trigger and Mingo snapper should be good in the 18s, Nicky grounds and mingo ridge area. Flounders are also still good on near shore reefs on live bull minnows. Using Mann's Stretch 25;s, Rapala CD 18s and spoons you can expect to get in on the action with the abundance of over sized reds that hang out most of the winter. You can venture out of the pass most mornings and look either east or west and see large flocks of seagulls and pelicans working schools of reds and bonito feeding on small rain minnows. Most if not all the reds will be over sized but you get a legal one on occasion. Lots of bonito and a stray black fin tuna also are in the same mix of feeding fish.  Amberjack are the choice for deep water bottom fishing this month. Pick your days to head to the edge and beyond and make sure to spend a few days prior to heading out catching up a good supply if live pinfish or live mullet. Live baits are sometimes hard to find in winter months but can be the difference in a successful trip. If you are going to go with frozen baits, larger ones like Northern Mackerel will be better than cigar minnows, producing a better grade of grouper and also be large enough to discourage snapper bites as red snapper season is closed. Don't wait until the day you are going to look for bait. If you cannot find pinfish or mullet try the Broken bottom or Frangista reef for some ruby lips, rockfish and Mingo's for deep water baits. The rigs produce black fin and yellow fin tuna most of the winter. Finding the right window of opportunity is the biggest obstacle here. Winter weather fronts can change fishing conditions rapidly so keep a good ear to the radio for weather changes if you venture this far. Fishing can be excellent this time of year normally a day or so after a big winter weather event.  Destin Bridge and Coast Guard Station - Redfish have been exceptional over the last month; the only real problem has been finding one here small enough to keep. Bull minnows and live shrimp are the way to go for bait. Also with colder temps the sheepsheads have been much more plentiful. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs for bait rigged on a Carolina rig made of 15-20 fluorocarbon leaders, a #4 Owner fly liner hook and a 1-2 oz lead. Mid-Bay Bridge / Bayous / and Flats- Trout will be excellent in the bayous that have freshwater creeks running into them. The back of Cinco, Joes, Indian and Tom bayous are good choices. Alaqua bayou, Mack's, Hewett's bayou and the Intercostals water way from Choctawhatchee to east bay in Panama city have been excellent for large quantities of trout. Redfish have been abundant neat Midbay bridge and most any deepwater boat docks.