Speckled Trout - Destin

[spottedbass]

Took my boat to Destin and caught some trout before everything was shut down. These were the biggest. We caught 30 or so each trip out.

[Shaugh]

Excellent fish. How do you fish for them ? Thought about going down there many times, but lack of knowledge about the where and how is a wet blanket on it....

[spottedbass]

We fish like you would bass fish. We throw matrix shads on 1/8 oz to 1/4 oz death grip jig heads. Fishing around docks in the 2 - 7 foot range. Just jig the jig back or slow straight retrieve. Once you catch one stay in that place and keep casting because they tend to school together.

[Shaugh]

Nice..I think my boat could handle that...So you're just casting in and around docks in the bay like around Joe's Bayou Boat Ramp or Legion Park?

[spottedbass]

Joe's Bayou is where we caught a lot of them. Also caught a lot of them in Indian Bayou. What kind of boat do you have?

[Flatline]

Beautiful fish... It has been since 1978 since I caught any out in the gulf from Sanibel Island, what a great day that was

[wormdunker]

Wow, really nice ones! Were you able to keep some? We couldn't keep any in South FL back in January. They were planning on lifting that restriction in May, but now I hear they are likely extending it until May '21. Glad you got to go before they shut it down!

[FishAddict]

I have a painted trailer and I would not consider taking my boat down for that reason. They are not made for salt water and it will eat them up in short order. You really need a galvanized or aluminum trailer for salt and brackish water, you just can't rinse it all out.

[spottedbass]

The limit is 3/person per day over 15 in. and less that 19 in. Only 1 fish per vessel per day can be over 19 in. So we were able to keep a few but had to release a bunch.

[spottedbass]

I have a painted trailer and I would not consider taking my boat down for that reason. They are not made for salt water and it will eat them up in short order. You really need a galvanized or aluminum trailer for salt and brackish water, you just can't rinse it all out.

I have a Lowe Bay 20 with an aluminum trailer.

[Shaugh]

I've got an old starcraft 16ft. with an antique Johnson 35 on it. It's an aluminum deep v hull but I've never been on water bigger than Tim's Ford with it..:o

Do the conditions on the bay ever get to the point of worrying ? Not sure I'd every go through the cuts...

[FishAddict]

Spotted, I could tell you know your way around there, but just trying to save someone who didn't some grief. By the way those specs were really nice.

[spottedbass]

I've got an old starcraft 16ft. with an antique Johnson 35 on it. It's an aluminum deep v hull but I've never been on water bigger than Tim's Ford with it..:o

Do the conditions on the bay ever get to the point of worrying ? Not sure I'd every go through the cuts...

You would be fine launching at Joe's Bayou boat ramp and staying in there. The bay can get rough in a hurry if the wind starts blowing any.

Have you ever fished saltwater before in your boat? Just want to make sure you know how to take care of all your equipment after use in the salt water.

[Shaugh]

Thanks for the info spottedbass and FishAddict. I'm not familiar with salt water fishing other than casting from a pier. I do understand the problems with salt in that I need to rinse everything off with fresh after. Run the motor in fresh to flush the cooling... etc. Any tips would be appreciated.

My trailer is painted. I know I'd be using that up, but it's an old home built job that I'd almost look forward to replacing...;)

I've been down there a couple times but I really don't remember the size of that bay. It appears that there's a hundred miles of inland water there to explore... and if there's fish like that in there it makes me wonder why I never tried it. Working all day to catch a few 14" bass is getting boring to me....

My brother and I take a couple trips a year.... Just got back from Coeur D'Alene Idaho.... I'm hooked on bigger fish now... Think I just found our next trip....

[spottedbass]

Sounds like you have it covered. Get yourself a set of "ear muffs" for your motor to flush it with fresh water from a garden hose.


You can use this to help get all the salt off. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A7J8FW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B004A7J8FW&pd_rd_w=27rNr&pf_rd_p=48d372c1-f7e1-4b8b-9d02-4bd86f5158c5&pd_rd_wg=KRBr7&pf_rd_r=Q8GK5Z1VT581FQ9C46Q1&pd_rd_r=7d3a2dd5-eef6-4cce-8c60-712d5016b6fd&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE5SFBUOUw5RzZMSTUmZ W5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAzOTA2NTExVlpCMUpNQ1Y4SVVSJmVuY3J 5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2NjYyMzYxNkM3UFBNWFdGQ0pZJndpZGdld E5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmR vTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==