destin/ft walton

[dutchmantell]

goin to destin/ft walton area wed. 3/24 for about 3-4 days. would love some suggestions on how and where to catch some fish while there. have med. action spinning and bait casting rigs i use for freshwater fishing in ky.

[JD7.62]

Youre hitting it just in time for some great pompano action!!!

If the water is clear, hit up the pier and sight fish for pomps, its a blast. Most of the locals will have cobia fever as the first cobe was caught a few days ago off of a boat, so its just a matter of time before they are getting them off of the piers. My advice is STAY OUT OF THEIR WAY.

Luckily they will be towards the end while fishing for pomps will be towards the beginning of the pier. Sit up near the 1st sand bar with a good pair of sunglasses. Use a standard pomp jig in white with pink tail. Wait until you see them coming in, sometimes they will be solo sometimes there may be a dozen or more. Give them a proper lead and let it sink to the bottom (these jigs are heavy so it wont take long) and then JIG! I mean jerk jerk jerk very erratically. Its so fun to see them coming at your jig. Tipping your jig with a live flea is always good.

If the pier isnt your thing no problem. Walk the beach until you find a nice wash. Either buy you some LIVE sand fleas from a bait shop or catch some your self. I like to use a simple carolina style rig with a pyramid weight depending on surf conditions, the rougher the surf the heavier the weight. I like to use circle or khale hooks and remember, there is no such thing as too small of a hook, just be sure to get a SW as FW hooks wont be strong enough for a decent fish. And stay AWAY from those pre made pomp rigs.

Bring more then one rod if you can and cast/wade out to different depths until you find them.

Live sandfleas are king for pomps but live/fresh dead shrimp can work too and I like to bring out at least two different types of bait.

If you can you MUST keep and eat your pompano that you catch, they are some FINE eating fish. They fight pretty **** hard too. A 15" fish will feel pretty darn good on the end of your standard bass outfit!

Fishing like this from the surf this time of year will yeild mostly cats, pomps, reds, whiting and black drum.

I hope to be down in a few weeks my self to get in on the action!

[riverrat12]

Everything Jason said, he turned me on to them last year. The only thing I might add is hit Bass pro, Half hitched or a wally world and grab some Gotcha's. they will catch about anything. The jetti's around the bay area are great area's to try to.Good luck Chuck

[lehua768]

Use a standard pomp jig in white with pink tail. Wait until you see them coming in, sometimes they will be solo sometimes there may be a dozen or more. Give them a proper lead and let it sink to the bottom (these jigs are heavy so it wont take long) and then JIG! I mean jerk jerk jerk very erratically. Its so fun to see them coming at your jig. Tipping your jig with a live flea is always good.


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[luke1524]

I tore up Lady Fish and Mackrel off of the Ft. Walton side of the jetty last year with Gotcha's! It is so much fun and you can throw them a long way out.