Fish Flash: Charter boats back fishing after rough tropical weekend

After missing three to four days of fishing because of rough seas caused by Tropical Storm Claudette, the charter boats were back on the water Wednesday and reeling in the catches. 

“Coming off the blow, it was nice out today,” said Capt. Brantley Galloway of the Full Draw. 

“The seas have calmed down … it was just like this out there but with a little swell,” Galloway said as he pointed to the calm Destin harbor. 

Galloway and his anglers from Texas and Mississippi pulled in a good catch of red snapper and mackerel Wednesday. 

Capt. Joe Quaranto of the Silver Lining backed in just before noon with a rack full of fish. His anglers from Arkansas pulled in their limit of red snapper, a king mackerel and several Spanish mackerel. 

The limit on red snapper is two per angler and must measure at least 16 inches to keep. 

South Carolina anglers on the Fish-N-Fool with Capt. Casey Weldon had no problem reeling in their limit. They had some big snapper on the racks as well as a lane snapper, a couple of scamp and a cobia. 

Capt. Justin Destin on the Un Reel was in by noon with a limit of red snapper. His clients also had a king mackerel and grouper on the board.  

“It was nice out today,” Destin said as he waited for his customers for round two on the Gulf. 

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This time of year, it’s nothing for the charter boats to take two trips a day. They’ll book two six-hour trips, or a five-hour and an eight-hour. For the most part, they try not to do more than 12 to 14 hours a day on the water. However, some charters do take overnight trips. 

Nashville anglers aboard the Game Over with Capt. Taylor Waterfield came in from a six-hour trip with a limit of red snapper, mingo and a gag grouper on the boards. 

Anglers on the Rewind with Capt. Reid Phillips got their red snapper, as did the group on the Windwalker II with Capt. Bernie LeFebvre. 

Missouri anglers on the Just Reel with Capt. Josh Glidden pulled in a limit of red snapper and a grouper. 

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“It was a lot better than it has been,” Glidden said of the Gulf. Glidden runs a 26-foot center-console charter boat. 

Capt. Bobby Marek III on the OSeaD and his group from Missouri hauled in some fat red snapper weighing about 10 pounds. 

West Virginia anglers on the Maximilian with Capt. Chris Fulford landed some big snapper of more than 10 pounds. 

Texas anglers on the Wahoo with Capt. Steve Regan got their red snapper and a grouper. 

For the anglers on the Just-B-Cause with Capt. Ken Bolden it's all about the red snapper. 

This time of year, that’s what a lot of folks want to see and catch. But there’s still plenty of other fish to hook up, like grouper, mackerel and more. 

See you at the docks.