Here's A Photo...

[Smalliebigs]

Mitch- red snapper are good,and I would like to have a mess of snapper throats right now. I like mangrove snapper better, and they don't have a closed season. I probably like flounder best for eating, though. May have to make a gumbo this weekend- got myself thinking about food now- good fishing to all- Ed Mashburn

Fresh caught Flounder is delicious!!!!! and so is taking a Grouper from the reef to the skillet and a little blackening seasoning and i'm starving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh i want a fresh grouper snadwich!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are going to be fishing the destin bridge and doing some beach kayak fishing in three weeks hammering pig Reds, Blues, Ladies,Pompanos,Cobia a few Spinner sharks and throw in some spanish and i'm already there, can't wait!!!!!!! The jetties and the bridge over the east pass provide some of the best fishing on the gulf coast without having to go off shore, there is also two artificial reefs with in a mile or so off the coast right at the Crabtrap and Pompano Joes....both spots hold huge fish. Last September I had a fish start to tow me out to sea and I pussed out as the beach started to disapear in the horizon and cut the line. Destin is the redneck riviera but, i love it

[edmashburn]

Fresh caught Flounder is delicious!!!!! and so is taking a Grouper from the reef to the skillet and a little blackening seasoning and i'm starving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh i want a fresh grouper snadwich!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are going to fishing the destin bridge and doing some beach kayak fishing in three weeks hammering pig Reds and Blues, Ladies, throw in some spanish and i'm already there can't wait!!!!!!! The jetties and the bridge over the east pass provide some of the best fishing on the gulf coast without having to go off shore, there is also two artificial reefs with in a mile or so off the coast right at the Crabtrap and Pompano Joes....both spots hold huge fish. Destin is the redneck riviera but, i love it

So it is- come on down- the water is fine, the fish are startin to bite. Crowds should be much less in October than during the summer season. Get you some live shrimp and GULPS to put on a jig head and get you some- Good fishing to all- Ed Mashburn

[Tim Smith]

In my occasionally humble opinion, the great increase in both the size and number of red snapper in the northern Gulf- Alabama water in particular- comes from last season's total closure because of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. No one fished, no snapper were caught. This year, all of the snapper are much bigger and much more aggressive- they are eating everything in the Gulf.

Also, the gulf bottom is classically much like a pool table- flat, featureless with nothing to attract and hold fish. The Gulf states have both privately and publically put a great deal of fish attracting and habitat improving stuff- like old bridge rubble, storm damage stuff and even old army tanks.

To cut my tirade short, for a lot of reasons, there are more and bigger red snapper in the Gulf right now than ever before. A short fall season would have been very nice. Whether the statistics used to determine fishing seasons are good or not is very much open for discussion- I do know for an observed fact, there are more big snapper around than ever before.

Sorry, friends, didn't mean to go off-really. Ed Mashburn

That's a fairly tame tirade.

I'm sure you're right the oil spill helped the fish size, but the fact that things are just that much better underlines the point that the fishery was over stressed in the first place. Under the restricted seasons the snapper were trending bigger and were more abundant before the oil spill too.

Now you have better catch rates and pictures of wicked big fish to show off on the forum and a better fishery in general, just like NOAA said you would have. The system is behaving just the way they said it would.

If really would be nice to see you guys admit that NOAA did something right.

[Flysmallie]

I've only been once so I have no idea if they are right. I do know that the guides would love to see a longer season but I also know that most of this is money motivated.

[Ham]

The crashing of fish/seafood populations due primarily to overfishing has been well documented in multiple locations around the world. These fish populations are always believed to be limitless, but that is NEVER the case.

Most of the commercial fishermen I have ever been around are far more concerned about the money they are making than the health and well being of the fish and/or enviroment. Maybe thie will change. God I hope so.

One concern I do have abou the deep water fish like snapper is about the mortality of short fish released after having been cranked up from the depths. Just because they aren't kept doesn't mean they survived.

[edmashburn]

The crashing of fish/seafood populations due primarily to overfishing has been well documented in multiple locations around the world. These fish populations are always believed to be limitless, but that is NEVER the case.

Most of the commercial fishermen I have ever been around are far more concerned about the money they are making than the health and well being of the fish and/or enviroment. Maybe thie will change. God I hope so.

One concern I do have abou the deep water fish like snapper is about the mortality of short fish released after having been cranked up from the depths. Just because they aren't kept doesn't mean they survived.

Good evening to all- it is a pleasure to be able to talk to people in a civilized manner about this topic. down here on the coast, this is a very hot topic- especially with the recreational anglers and the charter boats who cater to the recreational anglers. If I had the power, every fourth year would be closed to any and all Gulf fishing- recreational AND especially commercial- this would apply to the foreign fishing fleet, also. The problems that we have here are seeing that NOAA is using data collected from other fisheries- down south in the Keys, on the east coast of fFlorida and so on to help determine the status of reef fish in the northern Gulf- that's not always a valid use of statitics.

As far as releasing caught snapper- that is a very dubious conservation measure. I really don't expect many of the vented fish that are released make it back down to the reef. venting and releasing is better than nothing, I guess, but not much better. I will say this though, in this year's snapper season, we didn't have to fish the really deep strcuture to catch snapper. We were catching 15-20 pound snapper less than 30 feet deep-sometimes they would hit baits on the surface. i will reports that a 15 pound red snapper chasing down a live bait on the surface is a great deal of fun to see and catch. When snapper are caught in shallow water, they don't blow up at all and can be released in very good shape with a good chance of survival.

I wish that you folks could come down and go fishing some time- it's a different ballgame, but the skills are much the same- just don't grab anything by the lower lip like you would a smallmouth! Good fishing to all- Ed Mashburn

[Smalliebigs]

Good evening to all- it is a pleasure to be able to talk to people in a civilized manner about this topic. down here on the coast, this is a very hot topic- especially with the recreational anglers and the charter boats who cater to the recreational anglers. If I had the power, every fourth year would be closed to any and all Gulf fishing- recreational AND especially commercial- this would apply to the foreign fishing fleet, also. The problems that we have here are seeing that NOAA is using data collected from other fisheries- down south in the Keys, on the east coast of fFlorida and so on to help determine the status of reef fish in the northern Gulf- that's not always a valid use of statitics.

As far as releasing caught snapper- that is a very dubious conservation measure. I really don't expect many of the vented fish that are released make it back down to the reef. venting and releasing is better than nothing, I guess, but not much better. I will say this though, in this year's snapper season, we didn't have to fish the really deep strcuture to catch snapper. We were catching 15-20 pound snapper less than 30 feet deep-sometimes they would hit baits on the surface. i will reports that a 15 pound red snapper chasing down a live bait on the surface is a great deal of fun to see and catch. When snapper are caught in shallow water, they don't blow up at all and can be released in very good shape with a good chance of survival.

I wish that you folks could come down and go fishing some time- it's a different ballgame, but the skills are much the same- just don't grab anything by the lower lip like you would a smallmouth! Good fishing to all- Ed Mashburn

Ed, i can hardly wait!!!!!! our annual trip to Destin is an epic fishing adventure for the last eight years in a row. The people on this forum who haven't caught saltwater fish..... well you have no idea until you do.......any saltwater fish will punk out anything freshwater..... other than mabey steelhead.

[10pointer]

I love saltwater fishing, had a great trip to visit the gf's family down in st.pete back in June. Fishing was excellent and caught a ton of snapper and sharks. You are absolutley right, if you havent ever fished saltwater give it a try....the fish fight like no other...its like hooking into a freight train with some of the big snapper and grouper and sharks!