Snappers and Kings Rule

Capt. Larry Pentel
August 5, 2009
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report




Whew! Been back to Fishin' off Grayton for a week now. Runnin' hard, two trips a day most days and cleaning lottsa fish. The Red Snappers appear to everywhere. We caught a Fine one about 14# while trolling for kings in 40' of water on a surface bait !!

The King Mackerel have also been pretty darn thick with a lot of bigger fish thrown in the mix. Kind of unusual for this time of year but I'm sure not complainin'



Here's a 32# King on a short afternoon trip.

There are a few Grouper around but not hot by any means. I have been pretty much concentrating on the Red Sanpps while we can. I have found several reefs that have a bunch of Black Snapper on 'em- saving those till after Aug 14th-



These Folks asked to be put in the fishin' report. Said a Grouper like that on a half day trip need to be shown off-

There are also quite a few Dolphin (Mahi) around if you are fortunate enough to find a log or a tide line. Most of these came off a telephone pole that was about 7 miles offshore. Another beach boat found it, caught 2 nice ones and then put the...

Back To the Land Of Snappers

Capt. Larry Pentel
July 28, 2009
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report




Got Back to Seagrove yesterday afternoon after some fantastic Tarpon fishin' at Indian Pass. I spent the day today working on tackle and swapping everything around so I can get back to Red Snappers and Kings off Grayton for the next few weeks. I called a couple of the other captains that fish here and got the same report from all of 'em-- "lots of fish, pretty easy catchin". I figure my spots have had a break for a month so they all should be packin' pretty good!

I hated to leave the "Pass". The Tarpons are there in force this year. They showed up a little later than usual but are in as thick as they get right now. The usual population of fish in the 100 t0 130# range showed but also a lot of small (for there) 50 to 75#'s and a bunch of HUGE ones over 200# as well.



This fellow had just finished fighting a big fish before I took his picture, He fought it for 4 hours and 55 minutes on a Penn 706 spinning reel packed with 40# mono. He never handed the rod off or put it in the holder but put forth an effort rarely seen. He may be a kindergarten teacher in real life but he's my new hero- The fish was no longer than a lot of the big ones (around 8')...

Hot, Hot, Hot ! The Fishin' Aint Bad Either !

Capt. Larry Pentel
June 26, 2009
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report




Whew ! The summer temps have hit ! The Mackerel bite has been as hot as the air and there are still LOTS of Red Snappers around. I'm a little behind writing a report but with this pretty weather I have been fishin' every day, runnin 2 trips most days. The King bite has been good most mornings and off the charts most afternoons. I'm short timing it here in the Grayton/Seagrove area- 3 more days and I'm off to chase Tarpon and 'Tails at Indian Pass. Only be gone 4 weeks this year since the Feds have cut our snapper season back to August 14th--- got to come back and get at least the last couple weeks in. "fishery management" now ranks right up there with "military intelligence" in the list of greatest oxymorons----
No photos while I'm at the "Pass" but I'll post a bunch the end of July when I get back. In the meantime here area few pic's from the past 10 days or so-----



Kids always catch Fish!



Just to prove a point- the gal at the far right caught the cobia!

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Fishin' Every Day

Capt. Larry Pentel
June 14, 2009
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report




The weather is wonderful, the seas calm and the fish are chewin'. I have been able to run every day the past week and have just missed one short PM trip due to the breeze blowin' up. The fishing is fantastic-Lottsa Red Snappers and quite a few big Black ones as well- The Kings are doing their usual on/off thing but have been on a lot more than off. We have been throwing back bunches of what we used to call a "good" snapper, just keeping the gut hooked ones or the "great" ones. Even the short PM trips have had full boards.
Rather than ramble on I'll just post a few pics from the past week to prove the point !



This was today- we bottom fished for 4 hours, trolled for 1- that fish in the middle is a King- not a 'Hoo !



Even the little anglers are bailin' 'em in-



These folks fish with me every year and are great fun. Quite a board for just a couple on an AM trip


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Snappers and More Snappers!

Capt. Larry Pentel
June 5, 2009
Destin - Saltwater Fishing Report




The long awaited opening day of Red Snapper season finally came and I don't think anyone was disappointed. The fish are still everywhere and anyone who went out had a nice limit in the box pretty quick.



Opening Morning and Yes the Gal Caught the Big ones!

The great news is that the fish actually seem to be biting better as the season progresses. We are throwing lots and lots back, trying to just keep the bigger or seriously hooked ones. I have run a couple of short 2 hour trips in the afternoon this past week and we have had no problem catching fish steady even in that short a time.



These folks got their Snappers quick so we went and looked for Kings for 1/2 the trip with great success. A nice Dolphin is always a great bonus on a spinning rod!



I have always said that kids and gals are the best fisherfolks- These young ladies just prove my point. They caught a pile on a 4 hour

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