love the fishing report. what kind of bait do you like for tarpon? any chance a guy in a kayak drifting some live bait off the beach at grayton could jump a poon?
Dead Fish report - Capt. Larry Pentel
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Capt. Larry Pentel
July 28, 2008
Apalachicola - Saltwater Fishing Report
After my last report the fishing went along just great with us putting at least 1 fish in the air every day I had a tarpon trip and averaging over 1 a day to the boat. Then hurricane Dolly kicked up the surf last Tues. and the Tarpon shut down. Not slowed down but shut down. Tarpon like it calm and if the surf only comes up for a day it dosn't seem to bother 'em. When it's rough for 3 days tho they pull a Houdini and just vanish.
There are enough other options around to keep an angler busy tho and my folks caught sharks and trout and tripletails in the silver kings absence. Finally, after 5 days of no big fish we saw quite a few yesterday and had a couple bite. This morning, with just 1 angler on the boat and us the only boat out, the fish went ballistic. I guess they had to make up for not feeding much for almost a week. At 11 AM my angler told me to take him in - said he was happy and beat down and couldn't catch another fish. He had jumped 5, breaking one off after 6 jumps (his tackle) and geting a big fish to the boat after 45 minutes on my tackle (sorry, just a little dig against braided line-not the angler). The fish I leadered up was over 150#, probably 'round 175# -and we didn't jump a fish under 100#. I saw several fish crashing in the 250# range but with all the activity it was hard to focus on just 1 fish. I convinced my angler we could catch something less demanding so I broke out a light rod and we went Tripletailing. After throwing at a few and landing a good 'un he decided we made the right call---
The fish are here and chewin' again. I just checked my answering machine and my trip tomorrow just canceled. Darn it!!! The bites hot and these folks don't have a clue what they are missing!!!! Oh well, I need to change oil in the engines, respool all the reels, wax the hull etc..
But you know, if it gets too hot in the yard before noon I may just have to go out on the water to cool off---and if I happen to jump a fish or 2 I'll just say I was making sure I had that new line packed good------Think my wife'll buy it or will I have to cut the grass?
I promise I'll have pictures posted when I get back to Seagrove.
I still have a few open Tarpon dates. It should stay calm barring any tropical weather and the Silver Kings should keep on chewin'!!!!! Give me a call and come see the show!!
capt Larry Pentel
July 28, 2008
Apalachicola - Saltwater Fishing Report
After my last report the fishing went along just great with us putting at least 1 fish in the air every day I had a tarpon trip and averaging over 1 a day to the boat. Then hurricane Dolly kicked up the surf last Tues. and the Tarpon shut down. Not slowed down but shut down. Tarpon like it calm and if the surf only comes up for a day it dosn't seem to bother 'em. When it's rough for 3 days tho they pull a Houdini and just vanish.
There are enough other options around to keep an angler busy tho and my folks caught sharks and trout and tripletails in the silver kings absence. Finally, after 5 days of no big fish we saw quite a few yesterday and had a couple bite. This morning, with just 1 angler on the boat and us the only boat out, the fish went ballistic. I guess they had to make up for not feeding much for almost a week. At 11 AM my angler told me to take him in - said he was happy and beat down and couldn't catch another fish. He had jumped 5, breaking one off after 6 jumps (his tackle) and geting a big fish to the boat after 45 minutes on my tackle (sorry, just a little dig against braided line-not the angler). The fish I leadered up was over 150#, probably 'round 175# -and we didn't jump a fish under 100#. I saw several fish crashing in the 250# range but with all the activity it was hard to focus on just 1 fish. I convinced my angler we could catch something less demanding so I broke out a light rod and we went Tripletailing. After throwing at a few and landing a good 'un he decided we made the right call---
The fish are here and chewin' again. I just checked my answering machine and my trip tomorrow just canceled. Darn it!!! The bites hot and these folks don't have a clue what they are missing!!!! Oh well, I need to change oil in the engines, respool all the reels, wax the hull etc..
But you know, if it gets too hot in the yard before noon I may just have to go out on the water to cool off---and if I happen to jump a fish or 2 I'll just say I was making sure I had that new line packed good------Think my wife'll buy it or will I have to cut the grass?
I promise I'll have pictures posted when I get back to Seagrove.
I still have a few open Tarpon dates. It should stay calm barring any tropical weather and the Silver Kings should keep on chewin'!!!!! Give me a call and come see the show!!
capt Larry Pentel
Capt. Larry Pentel
August 14, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
I got back to Seagrove from Indian Pass yesterday evening. I had planned to stay almost a week longer but the weather had been horrible for 2 days and as rough as it was I figured the tarpon bite would be off for a while. How rough was it?
Well, St Geaorge Island was without power yeaterday afternoon and the talk was it would take a couple days to get ANY power back and weeks to fix it right. Seems the wind was so strong in one of the squalls that came through it blew down 4 of the big power poles that run across Appalachicola Bay to the Island and blew the line apart in several other places. Glad I'm not trying to sell ice cream on the island----
The Tarpon did right what they were supposed to and when it was calm for a few days in a row the bite was great! Lots of big fish the week before I left. I had a young (14 yr old) angler turn to me Sunday afternoon and say " These fish are too big for me, if I try to fight one like you say they are going to pull me overboard, I can't catch 'em". 'Course the poor kid had just lost a 200#+ fish after fighting it for an hour- the 5th fish we had hooked for him and the ones that got stuck were all giants. Wish we could have got a "little" 75# fish for the fellow-- He did catch a nice a tripletail on his own tho---.. Friday I had 2 anglers in great shape wanting a big fish. One of 'em had a fine tarpon 'bout 200# eat his pogy and get hooked. About 3 and half hours latter we got the monster to the boat for me to leader up. The old adage "Be carefull what you wish for" comes to mind with the big Tarpon!!!.
All in all it was a great season at the 'Pass, lots of Tarpon and sharks and 'tails. I've got a couple days of getting caught up before I can start bottom fishing off Grayton again but should be in full swing by next week. The fishery here is extrordinary, catching red snappers a mile from the truck some days . But, you know, there is nothing like making a fish bigger than you are jump 10 feet out of the water right in front of you!!
I promised pictures when I got back so here are few-- I'll add more to the next couple reports as well-
My 22# 'Tail from a day off
This angler beat me by 4 with a 26# 'Tail
Just under 20# but a fine fish- And this angler had also just caught the Tarpon below!
Nothing like having it all !
This one by a die hard bass fisherman that I have converted to "real" fishing! He left his bananas at the bunkhouse this day!
And one more- Just a neat shot of one at the boat
All the reports from the other beach boats at Grayton are that the Red Snapper bite has been fantastic. I figure my wrecks and rocks should be packin' pretty good since I have left 'em alone for 6 weeks. Give me call and we'll go fill the freezer!
Capt Larry Pentel
"Dead Fish"
August 14, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
I got back to Seagrove from Indian Pass yesterday evening. I had planned to stay almost a week longer but the weather had been horrible for 2 days and as rough as it was I figured the tarpon bite would be off for a while. How rough was it?
Well, St Geaorge Island was without power yeaterday afternoon and the talk was it would take a couple days to get ANY power back and weeks to fix it right. Seems the wind was so strong in one of the squalls that came through it blew down 4 of the big power poles that run across Appalachicola Bay to the Island and blew the line apart in several other places. Glad I'm not trying to sell ice cream on the island----
The Tarpon did right what they were supposed to and when it was calm for a few days in a row the bite was great! Lots of big fish the week before I left. I had a young (14 yr old) angler turn to me Sunday afternoon and say " These fish are too big for me, if I try to fight one like you say they are going to pull me overboard, I can't catch 'em". 'Course the poor kid had just lost a 200#+ fish after fighting it for an hour- the 5th fish we had hooked for him and the ones that got stuck were all giants. Wish we could have got a "little" 75# fish for the fellow-- He did catch a nice a tripletail on his own tho---.. Friday I had 2 anglers in great shape wanting a big fish. One of 'em had a fine tarpon 'bout 200# eat his pogy and get hooked. About 3 and half hours latter we got the monster to the boat for me to leader up. The old adage "Be carefull what you wish for" comes to mind with the big Tarpon!!!.
All in all it was a great season at the 'Pass, lots of Tarpon and sharks and 'tails. I've got a couple days of getting caught up before I can start bottom fishing off Grayton again but should be in full swing by next week. The fishery here is extrordinary, catching red snappers a mile from the truck some days . But, you know, there is nothing like making a fish bigger than you are jump 10 feet out of the water right in front of you!!
I promised pictures when I got back so here are few-- I'll add more to the next couple reports as well-
My 22# 'Tail from a day off
This angler beat me by 4 with a 26# 'Tail
Just under 20# but a fine fish- And this angler had also just caught the Tarpon below!
Nothing like having it all !
This one by a die hard bass fisherman that I have converted to "real" fishing! He left his bananas at the bunkhouse this day!
And one more- Just a neat shot of one at the boat
All the reports from the other beach boats at Grayton are that the Red Snapper bite has been fantastic. I figure my wrecks and rocks should be packin' pretty good since I have left 'em alone for 6 weeks. Give me call and we'll go fill the freezer!
Capt Larry Pentel
"Dead Fish"
Capt. Larry Pentel
September 5, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Lots of fish, weather and hype by the weather channel since my last report. Here's the Readers Digest version --
The surf finally came up Sunday evening (late) from Fay and it rained Monday- long after TWC circus had left town. Things lay down and got pretty by the end of the week and all the fish were right where we had left 'em . Thursday my folks had a limit of Kings and Snappers with a couple grouper thrown in for good measure. Fri we had 5 mackerel (and our snapps) and on Sat. the kings had all but gone- we did have one at around 17# in the morning - along with our snappers and a grouper- pictured below
One of the Gals caught the grouper and showed up the boys!
I ran another trip in the afternoon with some folks that were supposed to fish later in the week. I usually only run one trip a day but with the forecast of Gustav I wanted to take 'em while it was slick. The pic below shows the fine rack they got. Once again the guy got shown up by his wife (who caught the biggest Snapper) and his Son, who got the grouper! By the end of the trip the wife and son were fishing one rod and double teaming the fish! They had it figured out
Be careful taking the family- they may out fish you!!
Sunday I canceled 'cause of the forecast, once again the surf didn't come up till evening-By Monday the Surf was huge as Gustav headed to La., pushing snappers and groupers inshore as he went. Yesterday (Thursday) was the first day calm enough to want go. I only had 2 anglers, the rest of the party didn't come since the forecast was for "rain all week". My 2 guys fished under bright sunshine and wore out themselves and the fish. All that surf had moved fish right up to our doorstep!
Great Fishing after a storm! We broke off another dozen grouper. The folks that listened to the weather channel missed out big.
Todays folks caught a fine grade of Snappers and we even had to throw a 10 pounder back 'cause we had all ready kept our limit. The 4 Gag Grouper had 'em smiling pretty good for a half day trip--
Easy Snapper Fishin' after Gustav-
The fishing should just get better the next couple days as the fish calm down from the storm. Now if we could just get the TV folks to calm down ! My party for next Sat (8 days away) is worried that the forecast has Ike coming near here and will mess us up. As far along as the weather guys have come they still don't have a clue within 1000 miles where a storm will be in 8 days! I wish they wouldn't try to play scare tactics for ratings so much. A hurricane is a serious thing but usually doesn't effect the entire Gulf Coast!!
Back at 'em again tomorrow
Captain Larry Pentel
September 5, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Lots of fish, weather and hype by the weather channel since my last report. Here's the Readers Digest version --
The surf finally came up Sunday evening (late) from Fay and it rained Monday- long after TWC circus had left town. Things lay down and got pretty by the end of the week and all the fish were right where we had left 'em . Thursday my folks had a limit of Kings and Snappers with a couple grouper thrown in for good measure. Fri we had 5 mackerel (and our snapps) and on Sat. the kings had all but gone- we did have one at around 17# in the morning - along with our snappers and a grouper- pictured below
One of the Gals caught the grouper and showed up the boys!
I ran another trip in the afternoon with some folks that were supposed to fish later in the week. I usually only run one trip a day but with the forecast of Gustav I wanted to take 'em while it was slick. The pic below shows the fine rack they got. Once again the guy got shown up by his wife (who caught the biggest Snapper) and his Son, who got the grouper! By the end of the trip the wife and son were fishing one rod and double teaming the fish! They had it figured out
Be careful taking the family- they may out fish you!!
Sunday I canceled 'cause of the forecast, once again the surf didn't come up till evening-By Monday the Surf was huge as Gustav headed to La., pushing snappers and groupers inshore as he went. Yesterday (Thursday) was the first day calm enough to want go. I only had 2 anglers, the rest of the party didn't come since the forecast was for "rain all week". My 2 guys fished under bright sunshine and wore out themselves and the fish. All that surf had moved fish right up to our doorstep!
Great Fishing after a storm! We broke off another dozen grouper. The folks that listened to the weather channel missed out big.
Todays folks caught a fine grade of Snappers and we even had to throw a 10 pounder back 'cause we had all ready kept our limit. The 4 Gag Grouper had 'em smiling pretty good for a half day trip--
Easy Snapper Fishin' after Gustav-
The fishing should just get better the next couple days as the fish calm down from the storm. Now if we could just get the TV folks to calm down ! My party for next Sat (8 days away) is worried that the forecast has Ike coming near here and will mess us up. As far along as the weather guys have come they still don't have a clue within 1000 miles where a storm will be in 8 days! I wish they wouldn't try to play scare tactics for ratings so much. A hurricane is a serious thing but usually doesn't effect the entire Gulf Coast!!
Back at 'em again tomorrow
Captain Larry Pentel
Capt. Larry Pentel
September 12, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
My last report I said the bite should just get better as the fish calmed down from Gustav. I got lucky and nailed it! The fishing was as good as it gets until the surf came up again from Ike. The surge and swell from Ike is even bigger here than Gustav was so the fishing has the potential to be incredible this fall after things calm down again. A big storm always "shuffles the deck" with the fish and will generally move a lot of quality fish up to right on the beach. I have seen the grouper at the Jetty's in Destin piled up like redfish in years past-
The storms run the fish in but run our vacationers off. I did not have a trip last Saturday so I took a few locals out for a "freezer trip". Even though 2 of my crew of 3 had never been before we filled up the box in less than three hours. I even got to catch a few myself for change! The picture below gives proof to the "grouper after a storm" stories--
For you music fans the boys on the left are the picker and fiddler from the " Waco Ramblers"- While they get prettty animated during a show I don't think I have ever seen 'em as exited as when they were bowed up! The fiddler (T-Bone) caught the cobia in the middle and was all fired up.
I got to run a few charters as well before it got rough again. These folks were hard core flyfishers from out West who had never beach launched before. As good as the catch in the picture is it'sless than half of what they caught- about and hour and a half into the trip they told me to quit keeping fish. Said they couldn't eat any more and just to release everything else!!
We released well over another 150# on a half day!
The forcast has it calming down either Monday or Tuesday next week. My (southern)family and I are leaving Monday evening to visit our youngest daughter in Maine for a week. While I hate missing out on more exceptional fishing I'm sure the other Grayton boys won't be able to put that big a dent in the fish while I'm gone. My son, son in law, and I have a bluefin trip charterd while in Maine but it's still gonna be hard not to think about the the bite here!
Destin Fishing Forecast:
should be stacked up like cordwood in a week !
September 12, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
My last report I said the bite should just get better as the fish calmed down from Gustav. I got lucky and nailed it! The fishing was as good as it gets until the surf came up again from Ike. The surge and swell from Ike is even bigger here than Gustav was so the fishing has the potential to be incredible this fall after things calm down again. A big storm always "shuffles the deck" with the fish and will generally move a lot of quality fish up to right on the beach. I have seen the grouper at the Jetty's in Destin piled up like redfish in years past-
The storms run the fish in but run our vacationers off. I did not have a trip last Saturday so I took a few locals out for a "freezer trip". Even though 2 of my crew of 3 had never been before we filled up the box in less than three hours. I even got to catch a few myself for change! The picture below gives proof to the "grouper after a storm" stories--
For you music fans the boys on the left are the picker and fiddler from the " Waco Ramblers"- While they get prettty animated during a show I don't think I have ever seen 'em as exited as when they were bowed up! The fiddler (T-Bone) caught the cobia in the middle and was all fired up.
I got to run a few charters as well before it got rough again. These folks were hard core flyfishers from out West who had never beach launched before. As good as the catch in the picture is it'sless than half of what they caught- about and hour and a half into the trip they told me to quit keeping fish. Said they couldn't eat any more and just to release everything else!!
We released well over another 150# on a half day!
The forcast has it calming down either Monday or Tuesday next week. My (southern)family and I are leaving Monday evening to visit our youngest daughter in Maine for a week. While I hate missing out on more exceptional fishing I'm sure the other Grayton boys won't be able to put that big a dent in the fish while I'm gone. My son, son in law, and I have a bluefin trip charterd while in Maine but it's still gonna be hard not to think about the the bite here!
Destin Fishing Forecast:
should be stacked up like cordwood in a week !
Capt. Larry Pentel
September 28, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
After being gone "to Yankee Land" for over a week I am happy to be back at the beach catchin' fish.
My trip to Maine was fun, had beautiful scenery and it was nice to visit with my daughter. I have never seen so much pretty water with NO fish in it though! The Tuna trip I thought we had chartered was shut down by the captain - he said " No fish this year, I'm not running any charters". and that was it- no lets try something else or anything. I went through all the tourist magazines and only found a handful of saltwater guides- none of whom returned my calls. I finally called a Fresh water guide, Capt Clifton Ames with Ten Mile Guide Service. He was pleasant, talkative and more than willing to take my son (capt Will) and I Bass fishing the next day. Naturally we fished the day a cold front blew through with 25 knot winds and a high blue sky and even higher barometer. capt Clifton did a great job of finding places out of the wind that held a few Bass willing to co-operate, both Small and Largemouth. We had a fun afternoon and I would recommend his guide service to anyone who finds themselves on the central Maine Coast and needs a fishin' fix. After all, you can only spend so much time eatin' lobster or looking at yet another lighthouse!
A different brand and colder conditions!
Meanwhile, back at the beach- It seems the first 5 days I was gone had fish-able weather and a good bite of fish from Ike. The last 6 days had been to rough for anyone to go and I made it back just in time for the first fish-able day in a while. We got home Wed. night and I was out Thurs. morning with a charter. The wind was stiff from the NE so we hugged the beach and ran down a bit to stay inshore. The plan worked and my folks landed a great catch on a half day including 4 nice gag grouper. Seems they hadn't fished in several years and were already talking about going again while I was cleaning the catch
A beautiful sight after being off the Gulf for over 2 weeks!
Friday gave us a slick calm morning so we blasted offshore about 7 miles. LOTS of snappers everywhere and even a few of those tasty triggerfish showing up on plenty of spots. The little shark was the high point of my anglers day tho. The fellow that caught it (and the Grouper) quit fishin' a hour into the trip- said he was happy and was going to let the other 3 catch up! We were steady catchin' and releasing fish our whole 4 hours!
Maybe a 5th of what we released!
Yesterday I ran around and "looked" a little bit after having an idea of where the fish had moved to. My plans paid off as we found a big school of amberines and boxed a bakers dozen of the feisty jacks. We kept some good snappers early in the trip only to have to throw back one over 10# toward the end since we had already limited out. The one at the far right in the picture is in the 12-14# range tho and was the last one we kept so nobody felt too bad!
One of the few trips where the gals got out fished by one of the guys!
Overall there are plenty of fish around. I did not have any King bites but one of the other Grayton boats had a couple nice ones on Thurs. so there are a few here- The triggers are definitely starting to bite and I saw several BIG stands of 'em where we just caught a couple and then went to losing bait. The catches of "Fuds" should just get better over the next 2 months. While we didn't find any "piles" of grouper on 1 spot we had several more good ones bite each day than what we landed- There seem to be quite a few of the hard pullers scattered around. All 3 of these trips were half days and I was trying to hit as many species as possible in just 4 hours and didn't "target" any one. With the moon almost dark the grouper catches will probably get better as it heads closer to full-- I can see a box full trip a good possibility in the next 2 weeks.
A day off today to wirte this and catch up up ALL that other stuff that piles up while your gone and back in the water tomorrow- wish I was out there today!
capt Larry Pentel
September 28, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
After being gone "to Yankee Land" for over a week I am happy to be back at the beach catchin' fish.
My trip to Maine was fun, had beautiful scenery and it was nice to visit with my daughter. I have never seen so much pretty water with NO fish in it though! The Tuna trip I thought we had chartered was shut down by the captain - he said " No fish this year, I'm not running any charters". and that was it- no lets try something else or anything. I went through all the tourist magazines and only found a handful of saltwater guides- none of whom returned my calls. I finally called a Fresh water guide, Capt Clifton Ames with Ten Mile Guide Service. He was pleasant, talkative and more than willing to take my son (capt Will) and I Bass fishing the next day. Naturally we fished the day a cold front blew through with 25 knot winds and a high blue sky and even higher barometer. capt Clifton did a great job of finding places out of the wind that held a few Bass willing to co-operate, both Small and Largemouth. We had a fun afternoon and I would recommend his guide service to anyone who finds themselves on the central Maine Coast and needs a fishin' fix. After all, you can only spend so much time eatin' lobster or looking at yet another lighthouse!
A different brand and colder conditions!
Meanwhile, back at the beach- It seems the first 5 days I was gone had fish-able weather and a good bite of fish from Ike. The last 6 days had been to rough for anyone to go and I made it back just in time for the first fish-able day in a while. We got home Wed. night and I was out Thurs. morning with a charter. The wind was stiff from the NE so we hugged the beach and ran down a bit to stay inshore. The plan worked and my folks landed a great catch on a half day including 4 nice gag grouper. Seems they hadn't fished in several years and were already talking about going again while I was cleaning the catch
A beautiful sight after being off the Gulf for over 2 weeks!
Friday gave us a slick calm morning so we blasted offshore about 7 miles. LOTS of snappers everywhere and even a few of those tasty triggerfish showing up on plenty of spots. The little shark was the high point of my anglers day tho. The fellow that caught it (and the Grouper) quit fishin' a hour into the trip- said he was happy and was going to let the other 3 catch up! We were steady catchin' and releasing fish our whole 4 hours!
Maybe a 5th of what we released!
Yesterday I ran around and "looked" a little bit after having an idea of where the fish had moved to. My plans paid off as we found a big school of amberines and boxed a bakers dozen of the feisty jacks. We kept some good snappers early in the trip only to have to throw back one over 10# toward the end since we had already limited out. The one at the far right in the picture is in the 12-14# range tho and was the last one we kept so nobody felt too bad!
One of the few trips where the gals got out fished by one of the guys!
Overall there are plenty of fish around. I did not have any King bites but one of the other Grayton boats had a couple nice ones on Thurs. so there are a few here- The triggers are definitely starting to bite and I saw several BIG stands of 'em where we just caught a couple and then went to losing bait. The catches of "Fuds" should just get better over the next 2 months. While we didn't find any "piles" of grouper on 1 spot we had several more good ones bite each day than what we landed- There seem to be quite a few of the hard pullers scattered around. All 3 of these trips were half days and I was trying to hit as many species as possible in just 4 hours and didn't "target" any one. With the moon almost dark the grouper catches will probably get better as it heads closer to full-- I can see a box full trip a good possibility in the next 2 weeks.
A day off today to wirte this and catch up up ALL that other stuff that piles up while your gone and back in the water tomorrow- wish I was out there today!
capt Larry Pentel
Capt. Larry Pentel
October 6, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Too blowy to be fun today but the fishing has been as good as the weather the past 10 days.
Lots (and lots) of Red Snappers around, probably as good a bite as I have ever seen. Plenty of fish in the 6-8# class if you run a bait big enough to slow down all the 2-4#'s! While I don't understand fishery management it sure is nice to throw back a 5# Snapper 'cause you know you can catch a bigger one!
Plenty of other species around too. The old saying about you never what's going to bite next got played out a couple times the past few days. I had regular client dangling a grouper bait over the side as I rounded up on a spot. He starts yelling at me "What's this, a big cobia?" I looked over the side to see a 6' long dark purple shape casually eying his bait. I grabbed a rigged mackerel rod and a live cigar minnow and flipped it over the stern. The sailfish lit up like a neon sign and chased that minnow all over the place before he was finally able to catch it. I handed the rod to my angler got to yell "Set The hook!" about a spilt second before he started yankin' down. The fish put on a wonderful show, jumping over 20 times before making some great runs on the little TLD. We got him up to the boat, I grabbed his bill and we made some pictures before releasing him. As great a catch as this was it was actually the second time this angler had a caught a sail with me in the exact same way! This one was smaller than the first (and had broken bill) but we got pictures of this one having had camera (man) issues the first time!
Always a beautiful sight!
Proof of the Catch
The "Rest of the Story"
As much fun as the sail was a first time couple with me 2 days later had as a big a time with a more regular bonus. We were still weeding through the snapper when I saw a pair of chocolate shapes swim by the side of the boat. I yelled at my folks to wind up their baits to right under the boat but the bigger cobia of the pair had already seen the minnow I had out on the flypole and crashed it. My angler did a great job of running in circles around the boat and keeping the line clear as the fish put him through a fire drill. At about 25# it was a perfect 1st time cobia. The 2nd fish didn't appear to quite be legal so we didn't mess with him and saved the chance of losing the nicer one. A limit of snappers, a king, a trigger and a grouper rounded out our catch.
They don't have fishing like this in New Jersey !
While most of my folks get big fi****is on a trip I sometimes have anglers who will spend the time to catch Triggers. While they don't photograph like a Grouper or King I still say they are the best table fare in the Gulf. This group from Alabama had a couple folks stick with a 2 hook rig while the other 2 ran grouper baits after we had our snappers. It paid off with 15 nice triggers to fill the board (and freezer).
A little time triggerin'!
It looks to be a little bouncy for the next couple days. While I hate to miss more than a day with fishing this good it may make things even better. The only species that hasn't had a good showing lately is the Kings. While we have caught a few they could show up in force after a good East blow. It's that time of year when the smokers start to show up in close and a 40# King will rock your world every time.
See you on reef!
Capt Larry Pentel
October 6, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Too blowy to be fun today but the fishing has been as good as the weather the past 10 days.
Lots (and lots) of Red Snappers around, probably as good a bite as I have ever seen. Plenty of fish in the 6-8# class if you run a bait big enough to slow down all the 2-4#'s! While I don't understand fishery management it sure is nice to throw back a 5# Snapper 'cause you know you can catch a bigger one!
Plenty of other species around too. The old saying about you never what's going to bite next got played out a couple times the past few days. I had regular client dangling a grouper bait over the side as I rounded up on a spot. He starts yelling at me "What's this, a big cobia?" I looked over the side to see a 6' long dark purple shape casually eying his bait. I grabbed a rigged mackerel rod and a live cigar minnow and flipped it over the stern. The sailfish lit up like a neon sign and chased that minnow all over the place before he was finally able to catch it. I handed the rod to my angler got to yell "Set The hook!" about a spilt second before he started yankin' down. The fish put on a wonderful show, jumping over 20 times before making some great runs on the little TLD. We got him up to the boat, I grabbed his bill and we made some pictures before releasing him. As great a catch as this was it was actually the second time this angler had a caught a sail with me in the exact same way! This one was smaller than the first (and had broken bill) but we got pictures of this one having had camera (man) issues the first time!
Always a beautiful sight!
Proof of the Catch
The "Rest of the Story"
As much fun as the sail was a first time couple with me 2 days later had as a big a time with a more regular bonus. We were still weeding through the snapper when I saw a pair of chocolate shapes swim by the side of the boat. I yelled at my folks to wind up their baits to right under the boat but the bigger cobia of the pair had already seen the minnow I had out on the flypole and crashed it. My angler did a great job of running in circles around the boat and keeping the line clear as the fish put him through a fire drill. At about 25# it was a perfect 1st time cobia. The 2nd fish didn't appear to quite be legal so we didn't mess with him and saved the chance of losing the nicer one. A limit of snappers, a king, a trigger and a grouper rounded out our catch.
They don't have fishing like this in New Jersey !
While most of my folks get big fi****is on a trip I sometimes have anglers who will spend the time to catch Triggers. While they don't photograph like a Grouper or King I still say they are the best table fare in the Gulf. This group from Alabama had a couple folks stick with a 2 hook rig while the other 2 ran grouper baits after we had our snappers. It paid off with 15 nice triggers to fill the board (and freezer).
A little time triggerin'!
It looks to be a little bouncy for the next couple days. While I hate to miss more than a day with fishing this good it may make things even better. The only species that hasn't had a good showing lately is the Kings. While we have caught a few they could show up in force after a good East blow. It's that time of year when the smokers start to show up in close and a 40# King will rock your world every time.
See you on reef!
Capt Larry Pentel
Capt. Larry Pentel
October 23, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
I know I sound like a broken record sometimes but this time of year has countless fishing opportunities and this year has darn near all of 'em red hot. Yesterday was the perfect example. My charter canceled last minute so I went out all alone to commercial King fish. It's about the only time I get to catch fish myself and I enjoy the tar out of it as well as being able to make a good paycheck. The kings bit great and I was coping with sloppy conditions and a hot bite when something hit the minnow I was dropping back. Ten feet further back it hit again and 5 seconds after throwing the reel in gear a great big sail came out greyhounding like he had somewhere to go! I had 2 other lines out and the fish turned to run straight up sea quickly dumping my little TLD. I managed to get everything clear and chased 'em down for about 40 minutes. He only jumped about 3 times using the energy instead to fight more like a big Tarpon and try to wear me down. I got him up to the boat, made a couple pictures, pulled the hook and watched him swim off to hopefully get caught again some other day. Only the 3rd time I have ever got to catch a sail myself (clients usually get 'em) and at about 80# by far my biggest and probably the 2nd biggest ever to my boat
Everything is biting with the snappers still as good as they have ever been. We are throwing back 5# fish steady as you know the next one is going to weigh 8#. The only thing that hasn't been easy have been the Dolphins. They are getting more and more aggressive about stealing fish off the line and shutting down the bite. If it's calm you just pick up and run but when it's rough it makes it difficult. I am not going to sit there and throw fish to 'em though. I hate to leave a good bite but I refuse to train 'em up even more!
These folks didn't have to mess with other air-breathers and got a fantastic catch of both Black and Red snappers along with a few of everything else. Five of the snappers weighed over 10#!
This is half the crew-other half went out of Destin- We won the bet for best catch!
Last report I mentioned the Kings should start soon. This Gal and her daughter got handed a rough blowy day but made the most of it by getting a beautiful rack of fish even though we came in early. The fish in the middle is 56" long- a KIng, not a Wahoo!
Glory fish plus a freezer full of triggers!
Most of my trips are half days but sometimes I have folks want to stay longer. This group decided to fish an extra 2 hours after we already had a nice catch of Snappers. What to do? catch Jacks and triggers of course- and maybe grouper fish a little---
Hard to fit all the fish in the picture!
These folks have few fewer fish but what a catch on a half day. They landed a couple of almost every usual target species as well as a great grade of snappers. A couple of 'em are regulars that I had tried to teach how to trigger fish for years. It finally clicked this year!
The perfect 1/2 day catch!
The reports from Indian Pass have lots of 100+ fish trout trips as long as the weather is good. The surf guys here in S Walton have been blistering the skippies and blues as well as some great whiting and redfish catches. The Pomps are starting to show pretty good but no "banner" catches yet. Probably start after this blow-
Blowy today and tomorrow but I'll be back out as soon as the weather allows. About the only things to limit your catch right now are weather and experience. Usually 1/2 an hour experience is all you need to get past that part. If you'll turn the crank I can have anybody catchin' fish by the end of a trip!
Only 1 week left to snapper season. It's been the best one I can ever recall but I'm ready to start changing gears and chasing other species. I know there are more sails in close and it would be nice to finally get that King over 65# I've been after all these years------
capt Larry Pentel
October 23, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
I know I sound like a broken record sometimes but this time of year has countless fishing opportunities and this year has darn near all of 'em red hot. Yesterday was the perfect example. My charter canceled last minute so I went out all alone to commercial King fish. It's about the only time I get to catch fish myself and I enjoy the tar out of it as well as being able to make a good paycheck. The kings bit great and I was coping with sloppy conditions and a hot bite when something hit the minnow I was dropping back. Ten feet further back it hit again and 5 seconds after throwing the reel in gear a great big sail came out greyhounding like he had somewhere to go! I had 2 other lines out and the fish turned to run straight up sea quickly dumping my little TLD. I managed to get everything clear and chased 'em down for about 40 minutes. He only jumped about 3 times using the energy instead to fight more like a big Tarpon and try to wear me down. I got him up to the boat, made a couple pictures, pulled the hook and watched him swim off to hopefully get caught again some other day. Only the 3rd time I have ever got to catch a sail myself (clients usually get 'em) and at about 80# by far my biggest and probably the 2nd biggest ever to my boat
Everything is biting with the snappers still as good as they have ever been. We are throwing back 5# fish steady as you know the next one is going to weigh 8#. The only thing that hasn't been easy have been the Dolphins. They are getting more and more aggressive about stealing fish off the line and shutting down the bite. If it's calm you just pick up and run but when it's rough it makes it difficult. I am not going to sit there and throw fish to 'em though. I hate to leave a good bite but I refuse to train 'em up even more!
These folks didn't have to mess with other air-breathers and got a fantastic catch of both Black and Red snappers along with a few of everything else. Five of the snappers weighed over 10#!
This is half the crew-other half went out of Destin- We won the bet for best catch!
Last report I mentioned the Kings should start soon. This Gal and her daughter got handed a rough blowy day but made the most of it by getting a beautiful rack of fish even though we came in early. The fish in the middle is 56" long- a KIng, not a Wahoo!
Glory fish plus a freezer full of triggers!
Most of my trips are half days but sometimes I have folks want to stay longer. This group decided to fish an extra 2 hours after we already had a nice catch of Snappers. What to do? catch Jacks and triggers of course- and maybe grouper fish a little---
Hard to fit all the fish in the picture!
These folks have few fewer fish but what a catch on a half day. They landed a couple of almost every usual target species as well as a great grade of snappers. A couple of 'em are regulars that I had tried to teach how to trigger fish for years. It finally clicked this year!
The perfect 1/2 day catch!
The reports from Indian Pass have lots of 100+ fish trout trips as long as the weather is good. The surf guys here in S Walton have been blistering the skippies and blues as well as some great whiting and redfish catches. The Pomps are starting to show pretty good but no "banner" catches yet. Probably start after this blow-
Blowy today and tomorrow but I'll be back out as soon as the weather allows. About the only things to limit your catch right now are weather and experience. Usually 1/2 an hour experience is all you need to get past that part. If you'll turn the crank I can have anybody catchin' fish by the end of a trip!
Only 1 week left to snapper season. It's been the best one I can ever recall but I'm ready to start changing gears and chasing other species. I know there are more sails in close and it would be nice to finally get that King over 65# I've been after all these years------
capt Larry Pentel
Capt. Larry Pentel
November 4, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Snapper season ended last Friday with a sloppy day but a great bite. We came in with a limit of fish of a real nice grade and threw back a bunch that would have made any board look good. My folks wanted triggers along with their snappers and we had a good mess of them as well with 2 bonafide "banjos". The day before I had a group that had never been out with me before. They had no special requests so I went and tried to get 'em a few of everything. The day was slick calm and the fish were very co-operative. We got a limit of snappers pretty quick, nothing huge but all respectable. Moving just a little I slid the boat over to a school of Amberines that were more than willing to stretch everybody's strings ( and arms!) Next we tried Triggers but the fish were more experienced than my anglers and we only boated 1, we did land 7 nice vermilion's in the process though. With an hour left on a half day I ran back inshore to chase Kings. It took us 15 minutes to find 'em but they were voracious when we did. We boated 8 Kings and 4 Bonita before it was time to go in.
A Great Mix of Everything on a Half Day!
I had a group of regulars who wanted in at the end of Snapper season that have quite a bit of grouper experience. We had some very respectable inshore snappers and some BIG Grouper bites but proved once again that shallow water groupers can put a hurt on anybody. My folks did put 4 nice ones in the box in between me tying hooks!
Looking for the Big Pull
I have a couple who come down every year from Tennessee to catch the end of Snapper season and then go over to Indian Pass and chase Trout and Reds. The picture below is the first trip with a great box of freezer fish to take back up North.
Headed for a Freezer in Tn. !
We went over to the Pass the day after snappers closed and sight fished redfish in the middle of the day and Trout fished in the afternoon for 2 days. The first day I wasn't up on the poling platform for more than 10 minutes when I saw a BIG fish pushing a wake in a foot of water. A couple of casts later my fishing gal on the bow was hooked up to a Black Drum around 20# on 6# test. A fine fight and up to the boat to be released. We went on to catch a couple redfish, 41 trout and a bucket of oysters. The oysters made for a wonderful dinner at the fish camp that evening. The next morning I ran way up into the back of an oyster maze and we had reds running all over the flats before the boat was off the plane. My anglers got 8 to eat and we boated 5. Sightfishing reds with ultralights may not be the most productive way to catch numbers but it is by far the most exciting! To have to place the cast perfectly without spooking a fish in inches of water and then play 'em down in that skinny water always gets even an old fish head like me excited. We went back out into the bay a little after lunch and found a school of Trout that were stacked up on an oyster bar like cord wood. My folks boated 81 (eighty one) before they gave out and we headed in at 3PM with our limit of 15 specks and 3 Redfish
From Offshore to Inshore These Folks Love It All
As good as the bite was that day the next day blew me away. I had the day off so my son , a friend, and I all headed out a little after lunch to sight fish reds. Alas, the water was muddy were I had found 'em the day before. Plenty of fish but you couldn't see 'em till they spooked. Okay, we'll go chase Trout. We went where they had been the day before- only caught 2 in 20 minutes. Ran up the Bay 2 miles and tried again. My sons first cast got a fish, our buddy quickly hooked up right behind him while I was sliding the anchor over . For the next 2 hours we never moved the boat and landed fish almost every cast. On the empty casts it was because the fish you had on pulled off on the way in. I actually got 2 trout about 2# each on the same lure at the same time! We had 15 minutes where we didn't even open the bail on our spinning reels- just drop the jig next to the boat and bounce it right under the surface and watch 4 or 5 fish fight over it. A good grade of specks for the first hour with most fish between 14 and 18 inches. After that the white trout started and by the time we gave out (the fish were still just as hot!)every other fish was a white. Probably the best grade of whites I have seen in Apalachicola Bay with a range of about 13 to 18 inch fish. We kept our 15 specks and 21 whites , releasing another 30 or so whites. Now all 3 of us are charter guides and while we lost count of actual releases the consensus was we had boated over 200 trout in just under 2 hours. I can honestly say it was the was the best bite I ever pulled off of 'cause I was tired! My son, being the youngest on the boat at 23, was still throwing over my shoulder as I cranked up the engine and started up on a plane!
Back to Seagrove today and out in the Gulf for the next week or so, My calenders open the last half of next week---- I may have to go back over to the pass, just to work on the fish camp of course.------------
See you on the water. With weather like this the only reason to not go fishing all day would be to be on your Honeymoon. Even then you could probably get in the afternoon bite-----
Capt Larry Pentel
November 4, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
Snapper season ended last Friday with a sloppy day but a great bite. We came in with a limit of fish of a real nice grade and threw back a bunch that would have made any board look good. My folks wanted triggers along with their snappers and we had a good mess of them as well with 2 bonafide "banjos". The day before I had a group that had never been out with me before. They had no special requests so I went and tried to get 'em a few of everything. The day was slick calm and the fish were very co-operative. We got a limit of snappers pretty quick, nothing huge but all respectable. Moving just a little I slid the boat over to a school of Amberines that were more than willing to stretch everybody's strings ( and arms!) Next we tried Triggers but the fish were more experienced than my anglers and we only boated 1, we did land 7 nice vermilion's in the process though. With an hour left on a half day I ran back inshore to chase Kings. It took us 15 minutes to find 'em but they were voracious when we did. We boated 8 Kings and 4 Bonita before it was time to go in.
A Great Mix of Everything on a Half Day!
I had a group of regulars who wanted in at the end of Snapper season that have quite a bit of grouper experience. We had some very respectable inshore snappers and some BIG Grouper bites but proved once again that shallow water groupers can put a hurt on anybody. My folks did put 4 nice ones in the box in between me tying hooks!
Looking for the Big Pull
I have a couple who come down every year from Tennessee to catch the end of Snapper season and then go over to Indian Pass and chase Trout and Reds. The picture below is the first trip with a great box of freezer fish to take back up North.
Headed for a Freezer in Tn. !
We went over to the Pass the day after snappers closed and sight fished redfish in the middle of the day and Trout fished in the afternoon for 2 days. The first day I wasn't up on the poling platform for more than 10 minutes when I saw a BIG fish pushing a wake in a foot of water. A couple of casts later my fishing gal on the bow was hooked up to a Black Drum around 20# on 6# test. A fine fight and up to the boat to be released. We went on to catch a couple redfish, 41 trout and a bucket of oysters. The oysters made for a wonderful dinner at the fish camp that evening. The next morning I ran way up into the back of an oyster maze and we had reds running all over the flats before the boat was off the plane. My anglers got 8 to eat and we boated 5. Sightfishing reds with ultralights may not be the most productive way to catch numbers but it is by far the most exciting! To have to place the cast perfectly without spooking a fish in inches of water and then play 'em down in that skinny water always gets even an old fish head like me excited. We went back out into the bay a little after lunch and found a school of Trout that were stacked up on an oyster bar like cord wood. My folks boated 81 (eighty one) before they gave out and we headed in at 3PM with our limit of 15 specks and 3 Redfish
From Offshore to Inshore These Folks Love It All
As good as the bite was that day the next day blew me away. I had the day off so my son , a friend, and I all headed out a little after lunch to sight fish reds. Alas, the water was muddy were I had found 'em the day before. Plenty of fish but you couldn't see 'em till they spooked. Okay, we'll go chase Trout. We went where they had been the day before- only caught 2 in 20 minutes. Ran up the Bay 2 miles and tried again. My sons first cast got a fish, our buddy quickly hooked up right behind him while I was sliding the anchor over . For the next 2 hours we never moved the boat and landed fish almost every cast. On the empty casts it was because the fish you had on pulled off on the way in. I actually got 2 trout about 2# each on the same lure at the same time! We had 15 minutes where we didn't even open the bail on our spinning reels- just drop the jig next to the boat and bounce it right under the surface and watch 4 or 5 fish fight over it. A good grade of specks for the first hour with most fish between 14 and 18 inches. After that the white trout started and by the time we gave out (the fish were still just as hot!)every other fish was a white. Probably the best grade of whites I have seen in Apalachicola Bay with a range of about 13 to 18 inch fish. We kept our 15 specks and 21 whites , releasing another 30 or so whites. Now all 3 of us are charter guides and while we lost count of actual releases the consensus was we had boated over 200 trout in just under 2 hours. I can honestly say it was the was the best bite I ever pulled off of 'cause I was tired! My son, being the youngest on the boat at 23, was still throwing over my shoulder as I cranked up the engine and started up on a plane!
Back to Seagrove today and out in the Gulf for the next week or so, My calenders open the last half of next week---- I may have to go back over to the pass, just to work on the fish camp of course.------------
See you on the water. With weather like this the only reason to not go fishing all day would be to be on your Honeymoon. Even then you could probably get in the afternoon bite-----
Capt Larry Pentel
Capt. Larry Pentel
November 17, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
I guess it's officially winter. The beaches are empty and this last front has got it cold early this morning. Not many folks around wanting to go fishing this week but that's not 'cause there's nothing to catch!
I ran several trips before this front came through and we had plenty of bites to keep everybody going. One of my regulars brought his buddies and we spent 4 hours trying to catch fish for the box in between throwing back Red Snappers. As the photo below shows they did a pretty good job. The guys had a bet on biggest fish but my client threw in a curve- sharks don't count and if you catch a shark it kicks out your biggest fish. Guess who was Way ahead until they caught the little shark on the board ?
The shark "ate up" a $40 bet!
These folks had never been off the beach before and didn't know what to expect. They were worried about catching enough fish to feed 10 folks. After the first 2 stops they were talking about not keeping everything 'cause it was more fish than they could deal with ! While all 3 of 'em caught fish and had fun the Gal figured it out quick and was way excited to be getting bites (and fish )non-stop. I believe she'd have gone everyday for a week!
Nothing'll stretch your string like a Jack!
The bait has left the beach so I poked around a little before I ran my last couple trips. When you are used to being up and on the water at daylight it's hard to change. What I found was the flounders are here! I stopped on a couple little spots in close and ran down strip baits on jig heads. I got flounders (and a couple triggers) everywhere I tried. What got me started was a big show of bait. I ran a sabiki rig and didn't get a thing- tried tipping the bottom couple jigs with squid in case it was bigger baits. After a couple minutes still no bait but I caught a flatfish ! I changed over to the jig head and away we went! The week before Thanksgiving in normally a slow one for charters with next week being a trip everyday. If it's pretty for a a few days like the weatherman is predicting I may have to make a flounder day this week-.
Plenty to do off season- rebuild the trailer,and about 2 dozen reels, build a few rods, gel- coat the deck etc. In between going fishing a little myself and getting in on some great bites in uncrowded waters!
capt Larry Pentel
November 17, 2008
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report
I guess it's officially winter. The beaches are empty and this last front has got it cold early this morning. Not many folks around wanting to go fishing this week but that's not 'cause there's nothing to catch!
I ran several trips before this front came through and we had plenty of bites to keep everybody going. One of my regulars brought his buddies and we spent 4 hours trying to catch fish for the box in between throwing back Red Snappers. As the photo below shows they did a pretty good job. The guys had a bet on biggest fish but my client threw in a curve- sharks don't count and if you catch a shark it kicks out your biggest fish. Guess who was Way ahead until they caught the little shark on the board ?
The shark "ate up" a $40 bet!
These folks had never been off the beach before and didn't know what to expect. They were worried about catching enough fish to feed 10 folks. After the first 2 stops they were talking about not keeping everything 'cause it was more fish than they could deal with ! While all 3 of 'em caught fish and had fun the Gal figured it out quick and was way excited to be getting bites (and fish )non-stop. I believe she'd have gone everyday for a week!
Nothing'll stretch your string like a Jack!
The bait has left the beach so I poked around a little before I ran my last couple trips. When you are used to being up and on the water at daylight it's hard to change. What I found was the flounders are here! I stopped on a couple little spots in close and ran down strip baits on jig heads. I got flounders (and a couple triggers) everywhere I tried. What got me started was a big show of bait. I ran a sabiki rig and didn't get a thing- tried tipping the bottom couple jigs with squid in case it was bigger baits. After a couple minutes still no bait but I caught a flatfish ! I changed over to the jig head and away we went! The week before Thanksgiving in normally a slow one for charters with next week being a trip everyday. If it's pretty for a a few days like the weatherman is predicting I may have to make a flounder day this week-.
Plenty to do off season- rebuild the trailer,and about 2 dozen reels, build a few rods, gel- coat the deck etc. In between going fishing a little myself and getting in on some great bites in uncrowded waters!
capt Larry Pentel