My wife has informed me that we are going to Fort Walton Beach Florida for 10 days at the end of July. I'm not too happy about going to Florida in the summer or being no where near a trout stream but I want to make the best of it.

Looking on a map, Ft Walton Beach is in the Northwest of Fl on the Gulf Coast. I guess saltwater fishing is the thing to do? The thought of going deep sea fishing scares the wits out of me as I get seasick just looking at boats going up and down....

I am mostly a small stream trout fly fisherman with the occasional small pond/lake bass/panfish fishing thrown in. I know nothing about salt water or "real" bass fishing.

Does anyone know any good guides in the area or how to go about finding one? How do I go about finding places I can fish on my own? What kind of tackle do I need? I imagine there is both fresh and saltwater fishing in the area.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Andrew