Catching what we can — Captains get creative to keep the racks full

While many are hoping that regulators will reopen red snapper season or federal waters, Destin’s charter boats are catching what they can and doing it quite well.

Capt. Steve Land on the Sportsman II took a group from St. Louis, Mo., out Monday, and they brought in a nice king mackerel along with a Spanish.

Tim Brown was the angler on the big king.

Minutes later, Capt. Craig Mann on the Gulf Winds backed in with a good catch. His group of anglers from Tennessee reeled in a cobia, two mahi mahi and a couple of king mackerel on a four-hour trip.

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Capt. Mann said they were trolling about four miles off the sea buoy. “It was really nice out today, about a 2-foot swell, absolutely gorgeous,” Mann said. “We ran into some grass out there, but that’s where we pulled those mahi mahi.”

Capt. Tommy Carter on the Blue Runner II backed in just after lunch with a nice rack of fish. They had a king mackerel, mingo and white snapper.

“It doesn’t do it justice, with all the fish we had to throw back,” one of the Georgia anglers said, looking at their rack.

Capt. Carter said they threw back several 3 and 5-pound red snapper and two or three amberjack that weren’t quite big enough.

Word is they also reeled in a 5-foot spinner shark that they let go.

Capt. Mike Graef and his group from Ohio and Arizona pulled in big catch on the Huntress. They had three king mackerel on the boards, along with a mahi mahi, four triggerfish and a bonito.

“With the 12 snapper we’re not allowed to catch, it would have been a heck of a catch,” Capt. Graef said.

That’s the sentiment of most of the captains along the docks. However, don’t let that stop you from coming and booking a trip. Destin’s captains are creative and there are still plenty of other fish in the sea to catch.

See you at the docks.