Spring Fishing Catches and Challenges in South Walton

March 19, 2014 by Larry Pentel

This March has had the weather so back and forth - warm, cold , rough, calm. The profesional weather prognosticators can't seem to keep on top on what is going to happen next. I am sitting on the hill this morning on a gorgeous, sunny, no-wind morning with no way to get off the beach due to a ground swell that has run since the weekend.

After canceling trips 3 days in a row I really thought today was going to be fishable. Four other charter captains showed up at the beach right after I did at daylight this morning and everybody had the same dread and remorse of having to call their charters up and cancel. I don't know who feels worse, us for not getting a paycheck or the fisherfolks for not getting to fish on their vacation.

On a brighter note we had some great trips before this swell and the forecast for the next 4 days is "light winds and 1 to 2 foot seas". We should be able to get a bunch more catches like the ones below. Still Jacks around on a few spots, Triggers on a bunch of places and Pinks and Vermillions scattered out. A bonus Scamp or Red Grouper has been a steady possibility here lately as well.

A Fine Bonus Red Grouper ... on 40# line no less!

The Family with what we kept.....they had just wanted to catch and release but decided to keep a few for dinner..

The perfect early Spring mix...Jacks, Triggers,Scamp, Vermillions, Black, Snapper, a few of everything around.

These Guys LOVE to Jack Fish... and had a blast catching everything else as well.

Three more happy anglers with a "Spring Mix".

these guys caught 10 Scamps off 1 spot but only 1 made the limit...8 of 'em were 1/4" or less short...a limit of Triggers made up for the throwbacks...

It was bouncy this morning so we stayed in close and went for numbers rather than size.. I cleaned 75 fish they caught on a 4 hour!

Some mornings it's worth getting up at 4:30 just for the view at work.

It got bouncy this morning so we had to call the trip short and come in at 3 hours....after catching a pile of fish first!

A calm warm weather pattern is coming. Not only should that let us go fishing more it should also run a whole bunch more fish in to catch!

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Larry Pentel's picture

Captain Larry Pentel is a native of South Walton, growing up just 300 yards from the beach. Having fished the local waters for over 40 years, he is very familiar with all the different types of local fish, their habits, and most importantly - their habitats. Captain Larry is the owner of Dead Fish Charters

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