Destin FL May fishing guides / ideas
 

The inlaws have booked a week in Destin . . . Can anyone recommend a fishing guide or charter boat in the area?

Capttodd is a member and runs a charter not far from there send him a pm

Depends on what they want to fish for. Date and time they will.be in would be nice.. Capt Todd Jones is in Panama city. I am sure he can point you in the right direction

Next time plan your trip A little further west and you won't need a charter... if you plan for the 2 weeks I'm home that is....

Rusty - That's super generous . . . will keep that in mind for the future. The wife's parents are planning to relocate to the area from Dallas. We're there May8th - 13th which overlaps with the start of red snapper . . . getting close.

yup... Hope to get mine put together this trip home... because my hitch after that I get home Tuesday the 31... of may .... for FED season... I have some holes that we culled anything under 10#...biggest we pulled was pushing 30.... but 6 fish average was around 18 3 years ago .... didn't hit it last 2 years and pretty sure no one else did much on it either because of its location ....
are they relocating to destin or my side .... im not a destin fan ... too many people ... our area is like destin was 20 years ago..... but the water there stays a little clearer with rain ... but id wager we have as many dockside restaurants as they do....

Holy smokes those are good size fish!! Don't share that spot. Thanks for the suggestion . . . I'll pass it along. I think they are looking anywhere b/w the Alabama line to Destin. They don't like crowds either, so I was surprised to hear they are going to be spending a day with a realtor. They have some good friends that are living near you in Alabama,so maybe they will end up there. I think the "no state income tax" thing is part of the FL attraction.

I was born and raised in Pensacola.... we moved to al 10 years ago... you will pay the same overall tax load just in different places.... I thought it would be a big difference but it wasn't noticeable... perdido key is a good area... still in florida... but less crowd !!

Hate to pile on, but will also be in Destin from May 28th to June 4th and looking for charter recs. I have PM's Capt Todd, but haven't heard back yet.

If any recommendations please pass along.

TIA!

Capt Todd
 

Just spoke to Todd this afternoon. And he said that bigshrimpin will be fishing with him... Glad to hear that. Todd is a great guy and a seasoned Captain.. He will put you on the fish. Oh and he runs a 23 seacraft as well..

Where are your Inlaws staying..I heard Santa Rosa beach area.. Beautiful stretch of sand.. I will keep a look out, I work in the area from Sandestin beach to Rosemary beach..

Hi Martin-

Thanks for the update! Where is Capt Todd out of, and does he have a website?

ETA: What should be biting in late May/early June timeframe out of Destin area?

Thanks, Sandlapper

Sandlapper - http://www.backbayadventures.com/ is Todd's website.

Martin - We're staying at a rental house overlooking Camp Creek Lake (100 yards from Seacrest Beach). I'm looking forward to fishing with Todd on the new boat . . . thanks for the suggestion. is there any good fishing from shore? if you are in the area swing by and say hello.

Thank you Big! CT emailed me and I will be calling him shortly.

Santa Rosa
 

Sounds good. I know where that is.. Are you on the west or east side... Are you on the Lake? Do you need kayaks to borrow while in town.. There is some decent fishing up around Cessna landing or as some call it Hog Town..North on 393 .. Kayak around the area. Or get a guide. I know of a few in the local area as well.
Have a drinks down in grayton area at the red bar... And dinner at cafe 30 a.... If you like the grayton area.y buddy has a rental on Western lake in grayton..let me know about the yaks. We have a couple we can drop off for you all to use

Martin - pm sent. Thank you!!!

Thanks for all the help guys. Booked a "Nearshore" trip with Capt Todd for the 31st. Good luck on your trip Big.

Jamie

So how did these trips go?!

Pictures fellas, PICTURES!

Just had the trip yesterday with Capt Todd. Was a very enjoyable trip. Caught Several King's and a Mahi Mahi. Also had several short strikes and even a couple that threw the hook (not me). Boat the day before caught a Sailfish in the same area we were fishing.

We took a 4 hour afternoon "near shore" trip and fished about 4 miles offshore. Weather was good and capt Todd's refurbished Seacraft performed very well. Boat and gear were in excellent shape and Capt seemed to know his business. He was also very personable with both adults and kids.

Only downside for us (and this really doesn't relate to the charter or Capt) is that we were staying in Destin and it was about an hour drive to Capt Todd's location. This wasn't a problem since we booked an afternoon trip, but would have been a challenge if we booked a morning trip.

I don't want to speak for BigShrimpin, but believe he had a great time as well.

My fishing rod was bent almost the entire trip, so that's my excuse for the limited pictures. Todd is a great captain and we were on fish the entire time (Amberjack on poppers, Mahi, False Albacore, Snapper, (We blew an opportunity at 3 different Tripletail) . I highly recommend going if you are ever in the area. The boat is beautiful too. Katie's dad doesn't show a LOT of emotion, but he was one happy guy. I think this trip sealed the deal for them moving to the area.


Martin hooked us up HUGE too with info and loaned us some kayaks. It was great to meet them both and explore a new area. I'd like to go back again with just the wife ; ) no offense to the inlaws (in case they find the post on the forum).

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...2837_Small.jpg
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...3021_Small.jpg
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...5328_Small.jpg
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...1958_Small.jpg

After fishing on Todd's boat I removed the under the gunnel teak rod rack toe stubbers. What a HUGE improvement!!!!

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...2837_Small.jpg

Man looks like it was a good trip. And that boat is very pretty. Will have to keep Capt Todd in mind if the wife and I make it down that way. Thanks for sharing.

Anytime Tim, maybe my secret will be done by the time ya'll make it down again...

Seacraft..lol

Capt Todd
 

Snapper fishing