Cobia:
Good stuff here. Big run, bigger fish. Mid-March through end of May. Sight casting to some truly behemoth fish. Most, if not all, of the IGFA World Record fish are caught out of Destin. It's a sure 'nuff good gig. Book early as this is a busy, busy season for us.

Redfish:
Year 'round fishing with live bait, sight casting with plug and fly.

Tarpon:
Megalops Atlanticus. Sight fishing on the beaches with live bait and fly. Moving (migrating) fish generally in fairly large schools (20-100 fish) that are a challenge on fly, but suckers for livies.....your choice and either is a bloody hoot. There may be nothing more exciting than seeing a big school of six-foot fish moving along through a few feet of crystalline Gulf waters. This is a catch-and-release only gig.

Jack Crevalle:
Called "Toro" (bull for those not bilingually gifted) on the west coast, they live entirely up to their names. We get very large (50-200 fish) schools of jacks (averaging 20-30 lbs.) up on the beaches and on the bay flats from early spring throughout the summer months. A terrific gamefish, they are absolute chumps for topwater plugs and popping flies with testosterone-loaded surface strikes often from multiple fish. Fly fishing for these fish is a gigantic load of fun as sight casting is the norm. These schools may often be found daisy-chaining on top and the Captain may cast out a hookless topwater plug and utilize a bait-and-switch technique often luring the entire school up to the side of the boat offering point-blank shooting for fly or short spin casting with live offerings. Unless you have a giant cat at home (and can prove it) these fish are photographed and released.

Wahoo:
High speed trolling is the generally preferred method of fishing here, although they can be targeted, they are pretty much an incidental catch while trolling for billfish and other pelagics. Fish of 20-40 lbs. are not uncommon at all with a few between 50-90 lbs. caught every year. In a more committed scenario, these fish may be targeted offshore with chum lines for the fly fishing and light tackle enthusiast.

White and Blue Marlin:
While our white marlin may be found incidentally within just a few miles of the beach, they are generally targeted, along with the blues, out beyond the 30 mile range. Primarily a trolling gig around weedlines, drop-offs and thermal or color breaks, billfish trips are generally an all-day venture and the possibility of picking up tuna, blackfin, yellowfin as well as the occassional bluefin, plus mahi, wahoo and sailfish. We strictly tag and release all billfish. Bring your lunch.

Tuna:
Yep, we got 'em. Blackfins are occassionally caught along the beaches in the fall when they follow the big bait runs in close. Occassionally, there are a few smaller yellowfins around as well. Mostly these are summer through winter trips on an all-day basis. Bruisers on even the heaviest tackle, they are big fun whenever they are around.

Sailfish:
Generally small, (40-60 lbs.), our sailfishery here is spotty at best. We generally consider them an incidental catch. Having said that, we put a dozen or so in the boats every season, often within sight of the beaches. There are times when they are here in numbers sufficient to target them and that's when we can make them pay. Usually during, or just after a hard eastern front, we can target sails around structure, weedlines and FADs. When this happens, it's a good time to be flexible as to your preferred target species, as catching sails here is a memorable deal.Release only.

Bottom fishing trips:
Depending on seasons and federally regulated quotas, our snapper and grouper fishing here along the Gulf Coast may be unequalled anywhere in the World. Trips are generally begun catching bait and then on to the Gulf where at times the fishing is simply so fast and furious that it defies description. Amberjack, triggerfish, king mackerel, sharks and the occassional pelagic fishes may be encountered. You just never know what will eat and a good deal of the fun is guessing the species. This is a great trip for anglers of any skill level and/or experience. One rule: don't go over the side. Also see: dramamine.

Seasickness:
Let's talk about this for a second. A physician client of ours who specializes in such things told us that everyone, everyone, can suffer from motion sickness at some time or another. Some are blessed with the ability to suffer less than others. There are several elements that can contribute to motion sickness, but primarily it's sea conditions. Once the motion of the sea affects the individual, well, there are a kajillion other elements that seem to kick in; heat, sun, lack of sun, lack of heat, last night's beverage consumption, breakfasts from as far back as childhood, exhaust fumes, overcast conditions, clear conditions, your first girlfriend, your last divorce, her divorce attorney, your insurance agent.........you get the idea. While there are a number of things that have cause-and-effect, they are debatable. What is pretty certain however, is that anchored-up bottom fishing doesn't help. Inevitably, there is always some benevolent soul, (who never gets motion sick), whom will proffer advice as to how to counter the effects. He is wrong. Likely as not, it ain't gonna get any better unless you head inshore, or at least get off the hook, and now. The truth is, don't be a hero. If one of your party even thinks they are getting sick. tell your Captain. You won't be the first, nor the last, to have this malady and he can take steps to ensure you don't get worse. This is not a head boat charter where you are stuck for the duration; we can be flexible and find alternative measures or locations in order to continue fishing with everyone comfortable. Take dramamine the night before your trip and again in the morning or utilize the patches if you are unsure.

Inshore trips are far less likely to cause motion sickness and flats trips are pretty safe for anyone.

Live bait fishing for snapper, grouper, amberjack, triggerfish, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, tuna, wahoo, sailfish, marlin, mahi,
Nearshore/inshore fishing for redfish, speckled trout, pompano, mackerel, jacks, tarpon, bonita, sharks, mahi, sailfish.
Light tackle and fly fishing for tarpon, redfish, speckled trout, pompano, ladyfish, jack crevalle, Spanish and king mackerel, bonita, blackfin tuna, mahi.

Backcountry/Flats fishing: (limited to 2 anglers) Sight fishing trips with light tackle and fly gear aboard Hewes HPX flats skiffs for redfish, speckled trout, pompano, jack crevalle, bluefish, ladyfish, mackerel and of course, the highly desirable gafftop sailcat, sea robin, lizardfish (the Choctawhatchee Slam).

Offshore fishing: White and Blue Marlin, sailfish, mahi mahi (all saltwater fish have two dozen names: none of us are from the South Pacific, but for the purposes of clarity here, we will call these fish Mahi as we are also not dolphin watch guides.....although we can always, and we mean......show you a Flipper-style dolphin).
While the fishing season here is year-round, federal and local regulations do apply.

Mahi-mahi, Dolphin, Dolphinfish, Dorado or, as one of our fairer-species clients dubbed them: 'the pretty aqua-greenies'. 
 
 Whatever you wish to call them, they can and do represent all that is good in a sportfish.  Plentiful, almost stupidly hungry at times, numerous, acrobatic and excellent table fare.  This past November the sage souls at Fish & Game finally put some size and possession limits on these fish and now a minimum size of 20" applies.  This is a good thing and we applaud the passing of these management parameters.  Dorado come in to our nearshore waters as early as March, but most often it is a May-October run with fish from 12" to 40 pounders.  Trolling along weed lines and temperature breaks, sight casting with fly and light tackle around FADs and floating debris can deliver spectacular action and often a boat full of bent rods. 
 
Bonita, Little Tunny
 
We get runs of these tough little member of the tuna family in numbers just not to be believed.  Averaging anywhere from 5-6 lbs up to 18 pounds, they are hard-running boogers with enough shoulder to put a significant bend in all but the biggest tackle.  Often seen breaking in enormous schools all along the beaches, they are also found in significant numbers offshore and there they are often substantially larger in size.  They are a great target for the fly fisherman and can be taken in ridiculous numbers on trolling gear, often with every bait in the spread getting eaten.  In the fall, the numbers defy logic when they follow the enormous glass minnow migration right up onto the beaches.  Considered one of the very best tuna and marlin baits, this migration, not surprisingly, attracts all forms of ubiquitous predators including billfish, tuna, Amberjack and King mackerel.  Unless you are feeding Idi Amin, you probably won't want to keep these beautiful fish for the table, however, we may matriculate some of these guys into the livewell as incentives for the larger pelagics.
 
Ladyfish, Poor-man's tarpon:
 
The only folks that sneer at ladyfish are those who have never caught them on fly or superlight tackle.  Pound for pound, one of the greatest sportfish ever created and our spring and fall migration is similar in size, numbers and willingness to the bonita runs.  Staggering numbers of fish, on top and literally acres of fish in a mad feeding frenzy.  Topwater flies, glass minnow imitations and floating plugs bring almost instantaneous strikes followed by tarpon-ey jumps and full-into-your-backing runs.  For those of you who always wondered what that orange stuff was underneath the fly line on your reel, you are fixin' to find out.  Dozens of fish days with average sizes between 2 and up to 5-6 lbs., ladyfish will exercise your backing with as much determination as a bonefish, jumps like a tarpon and is generally sight-fished with vicious topwater strikes in 1-2 feet of water.........and what you don't like about them is......................?  Oh yes, the don't grill well: also see: tarpon, jack crevalle.
 
Bluefish:
 
Yep, for those of you who have fished the Northeast, we have this species so you will feel at home.  Not as big, perhaps 3-5 lbs on average, but equally fun, almost as numerous and just as stupid, taking topwater plugs and flies with abandon.  Debatable table fare, we do however, like to troll them or cast them to the Amberjacks who seem to differ with our opinion of table fare.  Great fly and light tackle fun.
 
The Choctawhatchee Slam: 
 
Many have asked, but few have ever been willing to pay the price to obtain perhaps one of the most dubious honors in all of saltwater fishing.  Similar to a hole-in-one, a hat trick, but without any of the glory, this Slam is possibly only possible in a very few locations.  For those of you seeking inglorious history, we can accommodate this dream as well.  Lizardfish, Sea Robin and, of course, the ubiquitous Gafftop Sailcat.  Ugly, vile and heinous beyond description, these three species are all available for the very undiscriminating angler.  Hey, we give and give and then, well......we just keep on giving.  It's what we do.
 
Speckled trout:
 
One of our most popular target species our trout numbers, as well as average size, are growing exponentially.  Pretty much a year-round species for us, we can accommodate anglers in pursuit of this great gamefish with fly, light tackle or bait fishing.  Pretty much an inshore deal and often an early and late bite, these trips are often fished in combination with other species.  The flats of West and East Bays in Panama City Beach are superb areas for concentrated trout numbers and we recommend fishing out of our skiffs, poling over the considerable grass flats that this area has to offer.

850.687.7037
info@angryfishcharters.com