Florida North West Coast Information??

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

Try here : http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeromain?id=1

Send me an e-mail, I may be able to help you some. qrrfish1@aol.com or Captpaul462@aol.com :cool:

Oh man…prepare to get hooked on saltwater fly fishing…

I love trout fishing, but when you get introduced into the incredible world of saltwater fly fishing, well now, if I may say so myself, it might be you telling your wife that you guys are going back to the beach in July of ALL the following years.

All you need is one hookup with something small and you’ll understand.

I would probably suggest an 8 or 9wt rod with a floating line for most surf fishing. I had great luck with blue over white clouser minnows with just a little bit of flash tied in there. It’s amazing how much difference it made. Chartruese over white worked well too.
If you tie your own, then you’ll want to tie up a few more than you think you’ll need because saltwater fish are toothy, meaning they will tear up flies like you’ve never seen before. And I would HIGHLY recommend taking a stripping basket with you, or making a cheap one when you get there. If the wind is blowing even just a little and there are waves coming in you’ll save yourself more frustration than you can even imagine with line control.
You’ll often find the fish only a foot or two from the edge of the water in a little trough that runns parrallel to the beach, or you may see some cruising or crashing baitfish on the surface. Cast and strip, cast and strip!!!
I would also see if you could find a fly shop or two in the area and see if there are any other patterns that would be more bait specific for that time of the year up there, but I know you won’t go wrong with clousers.
As for hook size, I usually tie mine up starting with 1/0 all the way up to 3/0 hooks. Lead eyes are good, but I had my best fishing using bead chain for the eyes last year.
For leader/tippet I used 20 lb test for the butt section and then connected 12lb test to it with a double surgeons knot for the basic leader. Now, you will want to get a spool of 30lb flourocarbon for a bite/shock tippet. Attach it to the 12lb line with another double surgeons knot and then use an open loop to attach the fly. There are a few pretty simple ways to tie a loop knot that you’ll be able to find if you do a search.
Walking the beach proved to be pretty effective for us last year. And I’m not talking about a little stroll, more like a few miles! Get a pair of flats wading boots too, getting your feet torn up by the sand and shells makes for a rather unpleasant experience, so save yourself the trouble. I picked up a really nice pair for around $30. And be sure to rinse all your gear in warm water when you’re done using it. The salt can be pretty rough on gear. I’d also suggest some boga grips or the lippa for life pliers to handle the fish…with all those teath out there you don’t want to end up wrestling with the business end of any of those fish. A good stainless steel pair of needlenose pliers is pretty invaluable too.

You should have most of the basics covered now. I hope this helps,
TT.

Man, I used to live in Destin, and a lot of my family is still down there. What I wouldnt give to be heading that way in July. Consider yourself a LUCKY man, not unhappy with being there in July. There are so many fish in that area its ridiculous! I remember handlining catfish out of the bay using panfish that I caught on a bare hook,cut up on the dock, and threw out on a treble hook.

If you go out with a guide, they can definitely advise you on gear, but the only thing to remember is WASH YOUR GEAR. it is truly incredible how fast it will destroy anything it touches. I personally wouldnt use flats shoes in the water, but getting to the water can be tricky in bare feet. And the Lippa rigs are great but dont allow for weighing, so keep that in mind.

Catching saltwater fish is truly a completely different experience and one that can be horribly addicting.

geoff

Andrew…
Also, one of your primary pieces of equipment that you [COLOR=red]WILL need will be a quality pair of polarized sunglasses.[/COLOR]
DickM.

I left that out because I assumed that because he is a trout bum he probably had some, but yes you WILL need some good polarized glasses.

TT

Don’t forget the SPF 97 Sunblock; I like a wide brim hat, but I’m have a rather large forehead.