Panhandle, John Kumiski

Destin Inshore Fishing Report
I’m writing this from an Air B&B room in Destin, while lightning flashes and rain pours, thus the Destin Inshore fishing report. The report covers a lot of water, from East Bay to Hogtown Bayou near Sant Rosa Beach. I even fished Basin Bayou today after the lightning stopped.

Monday
Jim Tedesco and I paddle fished on our own on East Bay. The water was too deep to see the bottom and we fished blindly, catching several trout that lacked a certain desirable size dimension. But this trip is about exploration and learning, and we did both under beautiful sunshiny skies.

destin inshore fishing report
The fish lacked a certain size dimension.

Tuesday
Tuesday Jim and I fished the south side of Santa Rosa Sound in Gulf Islands National Seashore, walking and wading along a half mile or so of stunning flats.

destin inshore fishing report
The flats were stunning.

We did not see, nor did we touch, a fish. I am sure they use this place sometimes, and a discussion with a local fisherman confirmed this. They just weren’t there when we decided to show up, as so often happens when one is fishing a new spot on a one-shot deal.

destin inshore fishing report
We did not touch a fish.

We tried fishing the spectacular beach, too. Other than one large, distressed fish that I could neither identify nor catch we did not see nor catch any fish there either.

Afterwards we visited the Quayside Art Gallery in Pensacola. It’s a fine gallery- if you’re in Pensacola it’s well worth your time.

Wednesday

destin inshore fishing report
A historic pelican?

Wednesday was Pensacola museum and travel day to Destin. Pensacola has an historic district with some interesting museums, and we spent close to three hours exploring them before driving to Destin and our Air B&B. And my friend Jim headed back to North Carolina.

destin inshore fishing report
A historic door?

destin inshore fishing report
I enjoyed the street art.

destin inshore fishing report

Thursday
Chris Gatz and friends were kind enough to show me their fishing spot out of Fort Walton Beach. Thank you, Chris!

destin inshore fishing report
Chris and Dean deal with a fish.

destin inshore fishing report
Joe in action.

There were fair numbers of trout and reds around, although they behaved like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. In spite of that I managed a nice red on a plastic shad. Other members of the party got some fish, too.

destin inshore fishing report
I managed to get one.

One thing I’m discovering up here is that there is certainly no lack of fishing pressure. The behavior of the fish reflects that.

destin inshore fishing report
Spotted on the road in Fort Walton Beach. He means business.

Friday
I drove to Santa Rosa Beach and launched the kayak in Hogtown Bayou. I was by myself and knew nothing whatsoever about it. In spite of that I found both trout and reds, although the one trout I got was shall we say modest in size. The water was fairly clean, the seagrass looked good. A local fly fisher at the dock told me I had gone to the most heavily fished area, where catching fish was always tough. Go figure.

destin inshore fishing report
This guy was just fine until I showed up/

Saturday
In the morning lightning and heavy rain convinced me to not go fishing. I instead visited the Destin Fishing Museum. It was interesting, but lots of pictures of large dead fish are not for me.

destin inshore fishing report
A helm at the museum.

destin inshore fishing report
An old tackle box, full of old tackle.

destin inshore fishing report
Insert caption here.

destin inshore fishing report
I thought of Bob Stearns immediately. I don’t think he was writing for them then.

Once the rain stopped I went to Basin Bayou and fished for a few hours. Actually I probably spent as much time with the camera as with the rod. What a lovely body of water!

destin inshore fishing report
Lovely indeed.

Water’s clear, bottom’s covered with Vallisnaria, I caught a bass and missed a couple strikes, and just had a grand time. Wish I had more time to explore the place.

destin inshore fishing report
More loveliness. I tried not to get carried away.

destin inshore fishing report
And fish too! Never said it was a big bass 🙂

And that is the Destin inshore fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com