Welcome to our Destin, FL Fishing Home Page
Florida’s Emerald Coast is home to Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island. This area is known as an unbelievable fishing vacation destination for a variety of inshore and offshore fish. This area also has some great beaches, plenty of accommodations, restaurants, attractions, shopping and outdoor recreation.
Whether you plan to fish inshore, offshore, in the surf or from the pier, there is something here for all anglers. The Choctawhatchee Bay is very popular and the fishing is good for redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and many other fish. Offshore, grouper and snapper get the most attention when they are in season, however, cobia, amberjack, wahoo, blackfin tuna, kingfish, dolphin, sailfish, marlin and many other fish are available depending on the season.
The Fish of Destin
Learn more about the different fish and how to catch them on our Fish of Destin page.
Destin Fishing Calendar
Take a look at our Destin fishing calendar to see the average temperatures by month and what species are throughout the different fishing seasons.
Destin Boat Launches
Take a look at our Destin Boat Launches page to find a place to get your boat on the water.
Destin Inshore Fishing
The Emerald Coast area offers some excellent inshore fishing near Destin and Fort Walton Beach. The Choctawhatchee Bay gives anglers plenty of opportunities to catch fish in the smaller bays, around the bridges, docks, up the creeks and along the flats. Most anglers will target redfish and sea trout inshore, but you may also catch sheepshead, ladyfish, pompano, jack crevalle, black drum and many others. The tides play a huge role in whether or not you will catch fish inshore. Moving water is key for most species of fish and the slack tide usually provides the worst fishing conditions for most fish.
Learn more on our Destin Inshore Fishing page.
Destin Nearshore Fishing
Nearshore, anglers can target a variety of fish along the beaches of the Emerald Coast. The inshore and offshore fishing may get a lot more attention that the nearshore fishing here, but tarpon and cobia do generate plenty of interest when they are in the area. Fishing from spring through fall will give you the best chance to catch fish nearshore because there are more species of fish in this area during these months. Some of the other fish that you can catch nearshore are grouper, snapper, kingfish, Spanich mackerel and more.
Destin Deep Sea / Offshore Fishing
The Emerald Coast area is known for its outstanding offshore fishing. There are a fleet of fishing charters that call Destin home, so you should be able to find a fishing charter that can put you on some fish. Anglers will fish the offshore structures that will hold many different species of fish. The target species will vary depending on the seasons, but some of the popular fish that are caught offshore are grouper, snapper, cobia, amberjack, king mackerel, barracuda, sharks and others.
Learn more on our Destin Deep Sea Fishing page.
Destin Shore Fishing
Pier Fishing
The Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier is very popular among anglers. With access to deeper water from the pier, this is probably your best chance to catch something big if you are fishing without a boat in this area. From the pier, anglers catch many different species of fish. Some of the fish that are caught here are tarpon, tuna, king mackerel, cobia, mahi mahi, redfish, bonito, jack Crevalle, Spanish mackerel, whiting, bluefish and pompano.
Surf Fishing
Surf anglers have miles of beaches to fish in the Destin, Florida area. This is a popular tourist destination, so it may be difficult to fish on some of the public beaches during the middle of the day in the peak season, but you should be able to find plenty of places to fish in the mornings and evenings. From the surf, anglers usually target whiting, pompano and redfish, but depending on the season, you may also be able to catch Spanish mackerel, black drum, flounder, sheepshead, sharks and other species of fish.
Learn about the best spots to fish the Destin area from shore.
