Flyfishing The Destin/ft. Walton Beach, Fl Area

[Randall]

I'm making a trip down to see my little brother who's stationed at Hurlbert airfield near Ft. Walton Beach, FL and I want to do some saltwater fishing. I'll probably only be able to fish for one day but I want to chase redfish and maybe some snook. Does anybody know of some good fly shops to go into for some advice... a guide is probably not gonna be in the budget so I'm gonna be going pretty much blind.

[denjac]

One word, live croakers 4-6 inches long on a drag rig. I always did better with the tide going out. I did catch some shorter reds wading on the bay side at Cape San Blas about 100 miles south of where you will be. I was throwing artificial then. As far as fishing with a fly rod I have no clue. There are lots of bait shops/ sporting goods stores all over the place. The locals tend to be tight lipped about where and how. Thats been my experiance anyway. Thats a 38 inch red in my picture. Had anothe go 42 on the same trip. Anything over 25 is considered a trophy. They are a blast to catch and will wear you out. Sorry I couldnt help you more, but those reds are a passion with me and just had to chime in.

[Gavin]

You can fish the beach, or hunt around for some wadeable flats, or fish the bridges at night. Its not hard to catch fish with a fly rod, if you can find them.. but finding them can be tough w/o knowledge of the area, knowledge of wear to be depending on the tide, or some type of watercraft so you can cover a lot of water.......Best bet would be to hire a guide for a couple hours of night time dock light fishing. Docklighting isnt very demanding, and its usually fast action... The hard part is picking out the better fish.....Lots of snook, trout, jacks, and occasionally a small tarpon. Cheers.

[Randall]

Hey, thanks. Night fishing will probably be out b/c I'll be hanging out with my brother. I found a few fly shops in Navarre I think I'm gonna check out. I figure if I buy 50ish in flies and maybe some other gear I'll get enough info to at least get a few hookups. I'd love to hire a guide but the whole broke student thing really limits my options.

As far as traveling goes, I'm gonna have about a 30 minute drive time max. I'm mostly going to see my brother so fishing is not priority 1.

I've heard that reds, snook, and small tarpon are an absolute blast and I figured I'd give it a shot while I've got the chance.

[Gavin]

Worth a shot...have em mark a map for you, and ask em when the would go there to fish it in the next couple days based on their knowledge of the tide table.

Best time to scout is at low tide...look features that will funnel water and baitfish when the tide changes and for holes or structure that might hold fish when the tide is in. Falling tide fish the outside of the funnels, rising tide fish the inside of the funnel and have an escape route planned, high tide, fish the deep spots inside, slack low tide fish the edge outside and have an escape plan. Cheers.