Fishing

Since its founding six years ago, Gopher Tortoise Day has been celebrated annually to raise awareness for Florida’s only native tortoise. April 10 is approaching quickly, and now is the time to begin prepping festivities for this yearly event. Ways to prepare for and celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day 2022! Urge your...

Introducing Tailfins Island Adventure. Departures 7 Days a week aboard “Always Workin,” Tailfins’ brand new 45-foot long cruiser. Enjoy the Destin Harbor & Crab Island like never before; Choose between The World Famous 3-Hour Tour, Sunset Cruise or Thursday night’s Spectacular Fireworks Cruise. Book online at tailfinsislandadventure.com

It’s almost spring and that means it’s peak mating season for horseshoe crabs. Help biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) gather valuable information about these ancient creatures by reporting sightings on the online survey at https://survey123.arcgis.com. Horseshoe crabs have blue blood which is very expensive, but...

A donation, by a private party, to Coastal Conservation Association Florida (CCA Florida) leads to the first redfish restocking initiative in Choctawhatchee Bay. Because of a $25,000 donation to CCA Florida, the Coastal Resource Team of the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism will assist with the...

For those who dive, the wait is over for the county’s most recent expansion of its artificial reef program. Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department (TDD) Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism expanded fishing and diving opportunities with the deployment of a decommissioned tugboat— MISS JOANN). The 64-foot vessel is an addition...

The Emerald Coast is home to some of the most diverse and dynamic ecosystems in the world, so abundant with marine life that it is no surprise that it attracts anglers from all over. Our waters, stretching from rivers to the Gulf, host some of the best fishing on...

By Cali Hlavac, To Do In Destin If you’ve wandered around any dock inside the Destin Harbor, you might have looked down to see some very large fish swimming below and wondering what kind they were. Often referred to as the “Big Ugly” by fishermen around the area, these monster...

The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA) in partnership with the South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) join two of South Walton’s most cherished resources, the arts and the Gulf of Mexico, with the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA). Named by TIME Magazine as one of 100 of...

This is the time of year for migrating manatees! So, slow down and look out for them. As water temperatures cool, manatees naturally migrate to warmer waters, generally warmer than 68 degrees to survive the winter. So, in the fall they travel to Florida springs, power plant discharges and...

By Lori Leath Smith Each year for the past 35 years, Destin boat owners have made the holidays a little bit bigger and brighter by adorning their vessels, large and small, with as many lights and decorations as possible; then cruising in, all in a gleaming row, through the historic...