Anyone been surf fishing on their own (no guide) in Destin or that area? Looking to take some tackle this summer, but trying to figure out what would work bait wise. I think I could easily do sand fleas and obviously artificial, just not sure what type of artificial.

Thanks in advance!

Dead shrimp, pryamid weight, circle hook.

You'll catching whiting out the whaazoo, small sharks, potential for trout and drum.

Ive used Sand Fleas as well. Caught a couple of pompano in the past, mostly whiting/small sharks. Can be fun, though.

Be prepared to catch your share of sailcats and stingrays also. Lived there in the mid 70s and nothing more disappointing than thinking you'd just hooked into a big redfish only to find you were actually dragging in a stingray. Boy I hated getting them off your hook!

Crow Valley said:

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Be prepared to catch your share of sailcats and stingrays also. Lived there in the mid 70s and nothing more disappointing than thinking you'd just hooked into a big redfish only to find you were actually dragging in a stingray. Boy I hated getting them off your hook!

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Gig the tail down and cut the barb off.

I was only in 8th grade at the time believe me they never swam again. Just thought I'd be a little more tactful in sharing my experience with the OP.

Be ready with a large silver spoon if you see surface action. I had a lot of fun catching ladyfish in the surf there once. They make excellent cut bait too.

What about snook, are they an option?

OnlyForNow said:

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Dead shrimp, pryamid weight, circle hook.

You'll catching whiting out the whaazoo, small sharks, potential for trout and drum.

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take a medium action freshwater rod and fish the first trough right off the beach for whiting - surf tackle kills the fight of the little fish

SanAntoneAg said:

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What about snook, are they an option?

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No snook that far up. Maybe a rouge one but I think it would be rare.

I've seen a lot of videos of snook at the Destin bridge I think

bigfoot10s said:

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I've seen a lot of videos of snook at the Destin bridge I think

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Unless they've really pushed north since I lived in Florida which was 23 years ago then I would not think them to be common catches there. Kind of like catching one at Port O'Connor. We didn't catch them at Cedar Key or Waccasassa when I was there but I think those areas would be more likely.

My dad let me bring a bait caster with us every summer we went and I'd just look for birds first thing in the morning and evening from our condo balcony and take off. Used to hammer the lady fish and bluefish on a spoon. Make sure you have a decent leader, the bluefish will cut your line in a jiffy. Their lady fish aren't like Texas lady fish they're massive and will pull drag. Also, caught sting rays, small sharks, and lady fish during the day while I was just hanging out in the water on live bait I'd catch in the cast net.

We do it every year.

Use a pompano rig with a pyramid weight on the bottom (Google pompano rig if you want to see what that looks like).

Wade out as far as you are comfortable. Chunk it. Leave the spool open and walk back until you are in a good spot where the waves aren't hitting you. Then pull the line tight. The waves crashing on the line will make a rhythmic pull on rod and you can watch the rod tip bend slightly with the waves.

We just go out in front of the hose we are staying in, so just catch whatever swims by. Sharks, catfish, pompano, jacks, trout, reds, stingray, etc.... Caught a Ramora last year which was weird and kind of fun.

Don't use frozen shrimp. It's mealy and just falls off the hook. Fresh shrimp is ok. Those frozen boxes of squid are my favorite. They are like rubber and never fall off the hook. Sometimes we cut little strips of Fishbites and put them on the hook with the bait. Some years that seems to work well. Some, it doesn't seem to matter.