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Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
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SoWal
mooncreek.com
Fishing Report for:
Destin, Florida (nearshore).
Updated: November 25, 2006.




Thanksgiving week, I was booked all week but only got the last 3 days in. The first part of the week it was blowin' 25-30 out of the North and the last 3 days it has been Chamber of Commerce weather.
Beautiful weather but only so -so catchin'. Since red snapper are closed we naturally caught some GREAT ones that we had to release. The only species that seems to around in big numbers are the Vermillion Snappers. While not near as big as reds they are excellent table fare and are great kid fish. Since this was a family week with the Holiday I had some very happy junior anglers that caught lots of fish that went to the table.
There are some triggers around but not in the numbers I'm used to this time of year. Today we had 9, yesterday we had 18. Respectable counts with everything else in the box but I'm used to being able to limit out this time of the year. The new size limits have a little to do with it, we are throwing back as many or more than we are keeping. But even so they are a lot more scattered than usual.
No amberines up in close ( within 8 miles of the beach). Usually this time of year that is my bread and butter "hard puller". Wear the anglers down and put a bunch of fish in the box. They were starting to show a few weeks ago but seem to have moved elsewear.
There are some groupers around but once again not in great numbers. We had 3 nice gags and a scamp with quite few throw backs yesterday but my folks had been before and knew the drill. Todays folks had never been before - had several shots but none made the boat. Two days ago we kept one nice gag and threw back a few shorts with several great bites missed. When they are hot everybody gets 'em. When you only get a few shots a day you have to be good ( or really lucky!)
The fish seem to be moving around with the water temp dropping a little quicker than usual this year. All my trips were 4 hours so I did not have the time to run out deep and look farther offshore. I imagine that all the trigs and amberines that were in 75 ft of water are now in 100'. I just have not had the chance to look.
I have spent most of the past 2 weeks working on the new boat. I will probably have to keep my play fishing to a minimum this winter so the new ride will be ready for march. I would much rather be fishin' than grindin' fiberglass but it looks like the grinder fits my hand again tommorrow!

Capt Larry Pentel
 

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
I wanted to mention to any other amateur or pro fisherman out there that we would like to see your reports on the forum here. ;-)
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
I wanted to mention to any other amateur or pro fisherman out there that we would like to see your reports on the forum here. ;-)

PA300011sm_654251.jpg

...and pics.
 

redfisher

Beach Fanatic
Sep 11, 2005
374
37
I wanted to mention to any other amateur or pro fisherman out there that we would like to see your reports on the forum here. ;-)

I hear ya Kurt, but I'm afraid there just aren't that many...

If you want to see a tight-knit fishing community, check out this under "Saltwater" and "Fishing Reports";

www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum
 
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Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
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mooncreek.com
Fishing Report for:
Destin, Florida (nearshore).
Updated: February 12, 2007.


I'm Back! And with a new boat too!


I have (finally) put the grinder up for the year and took the new boat out a few times this past week. The motors now have 20 hours on them and I ran my first charter on the new and improved "Dead Fish" yesterday.
Not having been fishing for a while put me behind the curve on the shakedown cruise and first trip out. We did more running than fishing but I was still surprised as to how few fish I marked on the spots we checked. We came in with a nice gag and a few whites and mingos. I worked on the boat 2 more days tweaking out the problems we found and tried again. This time we ran offshore a ways and fished deep (for me)in over 100'. We came in with a limit of amberjacks (3)releasing 7 more, 4 nice gag grouper and a pair of trigs. Two more days of tweaking and I was ready for a charter. The 2 dads and 2 boys I took had driven up from St. Marks having caught redfish there on Sat. and were exited about going after "big" fish.
We ran 10 miles offshore and stopped on an old wreck to catch bait. The boys thought that the rockfish and squirels that were fillimg up the live well were a blast and fought good but wanted something bigger. We ran another 7 miles offshore to where I had located the jacks and fullfilled all thier expectations. We landed our 5 fish limit of legal jacks ( a couple were pushing 30#) lost some big ones and threw back some "shorts". We fished our way back inshore a little and added 2 gag grouper, a big red grouper, and a pile of triggers to the box. A great board for a 6 hour trip.
Several other boats out of grayton were fishing this week also and all had the same story. There are fish to be had but you have to run to get to them. All the wrecks and natural bottom inside of 100' are pretty much devoid of life. As I am often heard to repeat "God gave 'em tails and no fences". Wether it's the water temp or the bait movement the fish are out deep right now. That may change in 10 days but the good news is I know where they are right now!
With cobia season right around the corner I am glad to be done with boat building. The new rig runs great, rides a little better than the old one and is a little faster. I increased the live well by 12 gallons and it has a little more room on the back deck. The peace of mind from having twin engines when your running 20 miles out is pretty nice too! At first glance the boat looks the same as the last one. The hull design is the same ( same mold). Most of the improvements are in the materials and in places you can't see. I look forward to writings years of reports from the newest ( and most improved ) "Dead Fish"
Go get 'em! It may be winter but the nice days are down right gorgeous and you can appreciate 'em even more !!!!
Capt Larry Pentel
 

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
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mooncreek.com
Fishing Report for:
Destin, Florida (nearshore).
Updated: February 24, 2007.




It's the middle of February and what can you catch? Trout are closed up inshore, Red Snapper offshore and now starting this year Grouper are closed in federal waters Feb. 15th till March 15.
Plenty of fins to chase and some pretty good dinners to take home too if you just adjust your trips a little. I went over to Indian Pass last weekend to do some work around the fish camp. Got all my chores done and went playin' on Monday. First thing out I took my son and a couple neighbors out to the oyster bars and we picked up our limit of some of the saltiest, fattest oysters of the year. A stiff North wind had blown all the water out of the bay and made oysterin' by hand super easy. With a good dinner gaurunteed we dropped the neighbors back at the ramp and my son and I went fishing.
That same low tide had run all the redfish out of the usual flats that were now high and dry. I headed to where I thought a few might have staged up waiting for more water. Before I slowed the boat down to climb up on the platform we could see a patch of muddy water of about 2 acres in the middle of an otherwise clear flat. The reds had schooled up tight and there were hudreds and hundreds of fish in all sizes just milling around waiting to be able to disperse back to thier usual haunts. While it makes it easy to hook a few fish I must admit that I prefer to find 'em scattered out a little. When they are that tight the water is all muddied up and you can't pick out a fish to throw to and watch him eat. They fight just as hard though and the one I took home for dinner sure did taste good!
Back to Seagrove to a run a couple trips in the Gulf this week. The first trip had a young angler with a rather "wounded" group of adult anglers. I had wanted to fish in close a while for the young man and then run offshore to try for amberjacks for the big guys. The plan was working good till one of the adults caught a nice gag grouper. We were up inside of state waters so he was legal to keep but if we were to run offshore we would have to throw him back. My crew quickly decided this was a good reason to not have to ride offshore and voted to stay in close on a short trip. We came in with the grouper, a trigger, a dozen vermillion snappers and a dozen Pinks. Plenty of fish for a couple good dinners. We also released quite a few Red snapper one of which was about 15#. He made a great picture and is still out there for somebody else to tangle with.
Yesterday my crew was a couple that had only been in saltwater once before, catching spanish and skipppies. We stayed up in shore most of the morning getting some triggers and pinks in the box and filling up the live well. When the Gulf slicked off I ran offshore to where the amberjacks have been living. We got 'em fired up pretty easy. Broke off 4 big ones, released 3 or 4 "shorts" and put our 3 fish limit in the box.My guys said there was no way they could fight another one so I turned it North. A great catch of fish and the trip home was as calm and pleasant a boat ride as the Gulf can give. A perfect way to end a trip.
Plenty to catch and plenty to eat. Just know the rules and fish with 'em in mind----
Capt Larry Pentel
 

florida girl

Beach Fanatic
Feb 3, 2006
1,453
67
Santa Rosa Beach
"Capt. Larry Pentel was born within 300 yards of the Gulf long before anyone had heard of N.W. Florida. Growing up on the coast he has fished for almost every species available from Pensacola to Carrabelle. His long time local knowledge of fish patterns and honey-holes will help make your trip a memorable one."

We used to call him "Lorie" short for Laurence! His dad was a real estate broker, Pentel Realty. I remember seeing him at the Lions Club meetings with his dad, and mine.
 

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
Fishing Report for:
Destin, Florida (nearshore).
Updated: April 23, 2007.


Open The Gates


After a rather slow start to this seasons annual cobia migration the flood gates have been opened. The past 5 days have had a good a show of the brown backed crab crunchers as could be asked for.
Yesterday I ran a straight cobia trip- no bottom fishing first- just looking for big un's. A good call too 'cause we had a 20 knot SE wind blowing that would have made it not just uncomfortable but about impossible to hold up on a spot. The weather was perfect for pushing our intended species to the top tho and we found 23 fish intent on swimming to the West. The first fish we saw was swimming with a wad of 8 more ! Though these fish weren't ravenous ( I worked a jig right through the school on the 1st cast wothout even a look!), we did convince the biggest fish to eat an eel and after much to do we put a 52 pounder in the box. The sightings came fast and furious after that with most being singles ready to eat a jig right away. By the time we put the boat up on the beach we had tangled with eight of 'em that were willing to play. It was ROUGH tho and the rocking boat made it hard to fight a big fish and stay on your feet. We lost one when the angler abruptly sat down in the middle of the fight and the resulting slack line gave the fish a chance to throw the hook. A glorious day tho and the three big fish I cleaned for my anglers will fill up the freezers.
The best day of the week was an all day that had us catch a limit of fine red snapper to about 8# and a 16# grouper first thing in the AM and then find 9 cobia with 6 of 'em willing to play latter in the day. We hit the beach at 1:30 in the PM with a 4 fish cobia limit from 20# to 55# and a rack of snappers.
Alas the 20 knot wind that is pushing the cobia through made me cancel todays trip. I'm hopeful we can get off the beach tommorrow but the weatherman isn't so sure. The good news is that all the fish that come through on the rough days will be back next year !!!
With LOTS of big fish being seen and caught it seems the run is really just getting going. Hopefully the fish will continue coming through well into May this year. With the water temperature still only in the high 60's we might not see the big schools of "clones" untill the first or second week of May!
If you can't get a boat, don't have $10 to go to the pier- stand on a ladder off the beach!! If throwing at a cobia dosn't get your pulse up call the coroner and reserve a slab!
Capt Larry
 

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
Fishing Report for:
Destin, Florida (nearshore).
Updated: June 22, 2007.




I know I'm behind in writing but a lightning strike took out my internet connection. I believe if I ran my charter business the way MediaCom runs the cable service I would have been out of business years ago!
I have run 15 out of the last 17 days. The weather pattern has finally settled into "summertime" and we have had some beautiful days on the water. The fish are here and the bite seems to be getting better every day. The snapper are doing what they are supposed to and the kings have finally shown up to liven up the action in between bottom stops. The groupers continue to make a good showing also-- I don't know why the grouper bite is still so good but I am not going to argue-----
The bait has finally shown up on the beach in the mornings as well.The past 3 days I have had the livewell full of cigar minnows and herrings when I picked up my party. It sure makes gettin' the bigger bites easier with a tank full of wigglers !
Todays trip had 4 folks I had never fished before and was one of the few days we did not limit out on snapper. We did however catch 7 (legal) scamp grouper and several "just" shorts. I don't thing I have ever had seven scamp on a half day before! Along with the scamp were 3 kings, 13 red snapper, 2 trigger, a lane snapper, 4 mahi ( yes, they are showing up too!)2 Black grouper and 1 and a half Red grouper. The half was the head off a big one that a bull shark ate right under the boat. This annoyed my angler so much that when a smaller (100#) bull ate his snapper and got hooked he told me to put the shark in the boat 'cause he was going to grill 'em up! After a good tug o war on a 4/O I made sure the shark died of lead poisoning and threw him in the box. Like any good cajun the angler had several good shark reciepes he was sharing as I cleaned 'em!
I am booked up till I go over to the 'Pass to chase tarpon July 1st. The fish are allready there but I don't think anyone is after them yet--- I still have 4 open days in July if any one wants to chase a big Silver King.---7 days open in August for Tarpon also.
There are LOTS of small (illegal) triggers around right now. Remember that the rule is now 12" to the FORK of the tail and not overall. As good as they are to eat it's always best to stay legal. If you go and get into 'em be sure to measure- just means that there will be more (and bigger) ones this winter!

capt Larry Pentel
 
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