September Destin Charter Fishing

Destin isnt really known for deep sea fishing unless you do an overnight trip or head West towards Louisiana.

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Destin isnt really known for deep sea fishing unless you do an overnight trip or head West towards Louisiana.

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Are you being serious?
It's one of the best places in the gulf.

"So what exactly makes Destin’s fishing waters so epically extraordinary? Well, unlike those overbuilt coastal communities where you practically need a boat just to get offshore, this Emerald Coast outpost has cornered the geographical jackpot for foolproof Gulf access. Owing to its impeccable positioning near some of the richest fisheries in the entire Gulf of Mexico basin, Destin has a major leg up over the competition when it comes to resources.

Just 70 miles offshore, the continental shelf gives way to an underwater trench called the Mississippi Canyon, which acts as an oceanic superhighway and breeding ground for many of the most sought-after commercial and game species that migrate through area waters – think riches like yellowfin tuna, wahoo, mahi, and marlin. But the advantages don’t stop there. Tracing along the mainland are some seriously impressive depths that start roughly 30 miles out yet quickly plunge to over 300 feet within just a few miles of shore. This “good close water” phenomenon creates the perfect hangout zone for massive bottom dwellers like grouper, snapper, and amberjack that thrive around the local artificial reefs and natural rock formations. "

To answer your question. It’s typically around 300/hr ish.

You’ll need to book a 10-12 hour trip to have any real good exciting trip if you’re talking about trolling.

100 proof charters is great another good option would be twilight.

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If you wanna just catch Cobia then of course you can just troll the beach

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I'd be thrilled to catch a cobia. Or several! Do they run the beaches in September? What about the mahi?

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I'd be thrilled to catch a cobia. Or several! Do they run the beaches in September? What about the mahi?

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No. Can you catch an accidental cobia trolling? Sure. It has been done. But if you ask to go “cobia trolling” be prepared for the laughing. Dolphin (mahi) is an offshore deal (except for the occasional lost fish and chicken dolphin). Don’t go ask for a “mahi mahi trip” in destin. That is a keys thing.

An 8-10 hour bottomfishing trip with a good boat should get you some good bottomfish. AJ will be open, gag will be the first half of september. Probably catch a bunch of beeliners. They may troll a little on the way out and drag a highspeed wahoo while riding.

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I didn’t say leaving out of Destin is wrong or bad, but all the boats head West Everyone knows that. And if you wanna catch nice big fish prepare for a long trip. If you wanna just catch Cobia then of course you can just troll the beach

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Are we talking about an 8 hour charter? A 36 hour overnight tuna trip? Or fishing the Emerald Coast Billfish Tournament?

I have caught just as many AJ, snapper and grouper south and southeast as I have southwest. That big plateau that the Alaska is on 50 miles southeast of Destin has always been good to me when time allowed to get there. Lots of low relief cheesebottom where you find gags and scamp.

I don’t have faith you are going to steer this guy in the right direction.

I used to fish out of Destin a lot when AJ season ran with Snapper and you could actually keep enough Snapper to make it a worthwhile trip. Now I think AJ doesn’t open back till October. Not positive in FL. That’s really the only reason I like fishing out of Destin anyway because the AJ bite is obscene with a Capt that knows where to find them. With that said, the only trip worth booking is a 10 hour or if they offer a 12. That’s trip is really the only one giving you the time to make a decent run and plus if you are AJ fishing you will need to catch live bait before heading out. A long trip offers you a chance as well to get on better Snapper spots since Capts typically have spots for long trips and ones for closer trips and since they don’t fish the long distance spots as much they hold more fish and Capts hate to burn a spot so they will bounce a lot more running from spot to spot on short trips. I doubt you will troll much on a bottom fishing trip unless you just get a Capt that is willing to do it if you come across a decent looking weed line or they spot something floating that looks promising.

I used to fish a ton with Capt Jason Mikel on the Finest Kind. Great guy and knows his stuff.

September offshore is great in Destin. I would opt for a 12 hour on a comfortable boat that goes deep. Many will pull a Nomad or Yozuri Bonita on the way out. Between 120'-300' you have a decent chance of sticking a Wahoo.
Once you get to the ledge, you can catch deepwater snapper and grouper that aren't seasonal. Look for a good mixed bag. You can contact the captain and explain it's a meat trip with a chance for pelagics.

Destin is one of the top fishing locations in the US.

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Destin isnt really known for deep sea fishing unless you do an overnight trip or head West towards Louisiana.

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A year and a half ago some guys reeled in an 888 lb bluefin and they were out of Destin Marina. Several state records and even world record fish have been caught from boats that dock in the Destin Marina. I don't know shite about deep sea fishing but even I know that.

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Destin isnt really known for deep sea fishing unless you do an overnight trip or head West towards Louisiana.

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Destin's one of the best deep sea fishing ports in the country. It's what they were known for before it became a tourist destination.