Kid-Friendly Fishing in Destin: 3-Hour Adventure

Black Drum

## Black Drum (Pogonias Cromis) ## Black Drum Description The Black Drum is a fish in the Sciaenidae family. The Black Drum is also the largest fish of that family, including almost 300 species, including their popular cousin, the Redfish. They are known as drums or croakers due to the repetitive drumming or croaking sounds they make. They are black and or grey and have powerful jaws with strong teeth capable of crushing prey like shellfish and oysters. ## Black Drum Size The Black Drum's typical weight range varies considerably from 5 to 30 pounds but can reach a weight of up to 90 pounds. If you intend to eat your catch, you may want to release Black Drum over 15 pounds. As they grow larger, the meat is tough and more comparable to chicken than a flaky texture. Also, the flavor of the older fish is not as tasty as the smaller-sized fish. ## Black Drum Spawning Black Drum have mating calls that they use to seek out others during the spawning season, capable of producing tones that reach 100 to 500 Hz. Black Drum grow rapidly and reach maturity within the first 2 years of their lives and live to 50 years. The females can lay eggs every three days during the spawning season. Their spawning seasons vary due to location, spawning occurring in February and March in southern areas like Texas, and April to June farther north. ## Black Drum Habitat Black Drum typically prefers brackish waters and estuaries. The adults live closer to the saltier areas near the ocean. They can be found around an oyster bed and other areas with plentiful food sources. The juveniles prefer the less salty areas of the same estuaries with sandy bottoms. Black drum are extremely adaptable when it comes to temperatures and salinity and can be attracted to freshwater creek openings and extremely shallow water, but are also found in depths of up to 100 feet. ## Black Drum Fishing You will find the best Drum fishing is on shallow water, muddy flats, and oyster beds, but they can also be found near inlets, pier pilings, creeks and estuaries that make way inward. Most anglers also fish for the Black Drum in the spring around the spawning season. At this time, the fish school up and are easier to target. After the spawning season, the fish disperse and become much harder to target. ## ## Black Drum Bait and Lures The best bait an angler can use for Drum fishing is live bait because they are bottom-feeders. Live bait such as fresh soft crabs, mollusk, peelers crabs, sea clam, or crushed mussels are the preferred bait. Anglers like to use crab because it does not tend to get eaten by catfish and other bait stealers. If you are not using live bait, then choose very slow-moving jigs like bucktail jigs. It is also vital to use the correct weighting for the conditions to ensure that your bait is on the bottom. When fly fishing, most anglers prefer to use a 7- or 9-weight fly rod, leaning towards a 9-weight for throwing heavier flies and a little extra strength when pulling on fish that may be more than 20 pounds. You will want to present your fly on the bottom, and weighted black flies that get to the bottom quickly are best such as the Redfish Worm, Merkin, and Clouser Minnow. ## Distribution and Range The Black Drum has a wide range and extends as far north as Nova Scotia, down the whole Atlantic coast of the United States, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. ## Black Drum Regulations Check the state you are fishing in as they each have their own regulations, but you will find most at 5 fish per day between 14 and 24 inches long, with one allowed over 24 inches.

Bluefish

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) Fish Description

Bluefish is a common game fish that is known for its delicious taste. Bluefish is a warm-water migratory species living in the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to Argentina and Spain to southern Africa. In South Africa, the Bluefish is known as Shad or Elf; in New Zealand and Australia, it is called Tailor. Bluefish are seasonal visitors to Cape Cod waters, arriving in mid-June and remaining until mid-October. They spend the winter in warmer waters from North Carolina to Florida's tip.

The Bluefish has a moderately proportioned body; one of its distinctive features is its broad and corked tail and its spiny first dorsal and pectoral fins that are usually folded back in a grove. The Bluefish is generally grayish to blue-green in its dorsal area, whereas its belly and lower sides fade to white.

It is a voracious predator with a large mouth and flat, triangular teeth that are strong, sharp, and prominent teeth.

Bluefish Diet

As aggressively strong feeders, the Bluefish have a complex menu of prey. They can chase after schools of forage fish owing to their fast swimming speed. They usually go on a feeding frenzy by attacking these schools of fish even after having satisfied their stomachs. They especially like sardine-like fish, Menhaden, Weakfish, Grunt, Anchovy, Squid, and Shrimp. In return, the Bluefish serve as food for bigger fish like Dolphin, Billfish, Sharks, and Tuna, among others.

Bluefish Size

Commonly, the Bluefish can grow up to 7 inches; they weigh up to 40 lbs. However, most of the Bluefish population reaches only up to 20 lbs.

Interesting Facts About the Bluefish 

• The Bluefish is the only remaining living species from the Pomatomidae family. It used to be grouped with Gnomefish, but the latter were separated.
• Lophar miocaenus from Southern California is an extinct relative of the Bluefish from the Late Miocene Period.
• Bluefish are reported to live up to 9 years.
• The Bluefish are cannibalistic, and they sometimes eat their own young.
• The Bluefish are known for churning water like a washing machine, attacking schools in shallow depths. This is called “Bluefish Blitz.”
• Bluefish is a common host to many parasites; in particular, it is often inhabited by the parasite named Philometra saltatrix, which is found in the ovaries of the fish.
• Despite being high in omega-3, children and adult women are warned against consuming Bluefish due to its significant mercury content.
• When properly prepared, bluefish is extremely good to eat, with mild, flaky meat, though larger fish (those weighing more than 10 pounds) have a stronger flavor than their smaller brethren.

Bluefish — Fishing Techniques

To reel in lots of Bluefish, you can use the following harvesting methods: trawls, hook and line, and gillnet. Note that you can only use a circle hook and nothing else; recreational anglers can only capture up to three pieces of Bluefish per day (no minimum size). As for artificial lures or flies, you can use only up to a maximum of two treble hooks. Be careful when handling Bluefish since they can bite you, leading to some serious wounds. Oily fish, such as eels, make excellent bait for bluefish. However, almost any type of baitfish can be used. When learning how to catch bluefish, another option is to use cut bait. Try chunks shaped like a small lure.

You can best fish for Bluefish from tidal rivers, bays, and sandy harbors during summer. In late summer, small, juvenile bluefish known as "baby blues" or "snappers" can be caught in sandy harbors, bays, and tidal rivers. This is an excellent fish for young and inexperienced anglers to catch. Bluefish are frequently caught using gillnets in the commercial bluefish fishery, but they can also be nabbed using a hook, line, or trawl gear.

A permit must be secured to catch Bluefish in commercial fisheries. Some states also impose a specific catch limit for commercial and recreational fishing.

Bluefish Habitat and Distribution

As a marine pelagic fish species, the Bluefish generally inhabit subtropical and temperate waters all around the globe. Most thrive along the continental shelves of America (except in northern South America and south Florida), Australia, and Southeast Asia. Interestingly, the Bluefish is also not found on the north side of the Pacific Ocean.

Typically, anglers find school of Bluefish in various habitats, including brackish waters, estuaries, rock headlands, surf beaches, or above the continental shelf. From time to time, the Bluefish migrate to open waters in schools.

Bluefish fishery management employs a bag limit for recreational fishing and an annual quota distributed to states for commercial fisheries to avoid overfishing.

Crevalle Jack

## Crevalle Jack Fish Description The Crevalle Jack (Caranx Hippos) is a large fish that is part of the Jack family. The colorations can vary from brassy green to blue on the back, golden scales on the sides, and a white belly and bright yellow/gold on the tail and fins. It is an extremely popular game fish for anglers as well as important for the commercial fishing industry. ## Fish Habitat and Distribution The Jack Crevalle inhabits both inshore and offshore water.  In the shallow water, they prefer seagrass beds, flats, sand-bottomed bays, or shallow-water reef. The larger adults prefer deeper water compared to the juveniles. They can also inhabit brackish waters and freshwater tributaries, although these are rare occurrences. While they do not often leave the continental shelf, they will inhabit waters as deep as 1100 feet. They also inhabit man-made structures like oil rigs as well as floating vegetation mats. They use these structures to hunt prey. Crevalle Jack are found in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Florida (especially the Keys), Gulf of Mexico, and Texas are hotbeds for these fish. The broader range includes the eastern coastal waters of the U.S. and the eastern South American coast as far south as Argentina, not to forget the Caribbean Sea and the eastern coast of Central America. ## Crevalle Jack Size The Crevalle Jack can reach up to 4 feet and 60 pounds, but the average size range for this Jack species is 12-24 inches in length and 3-5 pounds in weight with females being larger than males. The current world record was caught off the coast of Angola in Africa and weighed in at 66 pounds. ## Crevalle Jack Fun Facts The Crevalle Jack is a powerful fish and should be handled with care. They reach maturity at 5 to 6 years of age and can live up to 17 years or more. Anglers chasing Jack Crevalle sometimes report the smell of something similar to watermelon when approaching schools when they are feeding. The dorsal fin is split into two, the first consisting of eight spines and the second consisting of one spine following 19 to 21 soft rays. While most fish species are cautious around divers, schools of the friendly Crevalle Jack will actually approach and swirl around divers, possibly due to the bubbles given off by divers, or simply out of curiosity. ## Fishing Methods and Lures One of the biggest indicators to the angler when looking for these fish is to watch for schools of birds. The Crevalle Jack schools push baitfish to the surface and the birds attack from above. Unlike other schooling fish that jump you will rarely see this fish jump while on the surface. Some great lure choices consist of silver spoons, hard and soft plastic baits that imitate their prey of mullet, sardines, and herring. Crankbaits and swimbaits are great options as well as live bait (mullet, herring, or sardines) . For fly fishermen, streamer flies and topwater popper flies are popular. Use flies larger than an inch to really help them stand out, along with baitfish patterns. They are the bullies of the ocean and enjoy the chase. The fast and continuous movement of the bait will attract them. Cast the bait over and away from the school, and then retrieve it rapidly. If you are fishing in deeper water, quick and aggressive jigs will be effective. If they are closer to the surface, sight casting with topwater plugs is the way to go.

Ladyfish

Ladyfish (Elops saurus) Fish Description

Also known as poor man’s tarpon, tenpounder, river fish, fiddler, silverfish, and john, the Ladyfish has a long, slender, rounded pike-like body covered with fine silvery scales. The juvenile Ladyfish appears eel-like and transparent. The Ladyfish belongs to the Elopidae family along with its cousins, the tarpon, bonefish, and skipjack.

The tail of the Ladyfish is extremely forked, while its mouth is terminal. The Ladyship is a predatory species of fish; it has a bony throat plate between its mandibles and small, sharp teeth. Though generally silvery, the Ladyfish has a bluish or greenish hue on its upper body. It has no dorsal spines, only dorsal soft rays numbering 25 to 29. It also has no anal spines but has 16 - 19 anal soft rays. Its dorsal and caudal fins are silvery or dusky yellowish; its pelvic and pectoral fins are pale and speckled. The Ladyfish have small scales, with more than 100 on the lateral line.

Ladyfish Diet and Size

The Ladyfish larvae simply absorb nutrients directly from the water. Later on, they switch to insects, small fishes, and primarily on zooplankton. As young Ladyfish, they feast on crustaceans. The adult Ladyfish are strictly carnivorous and prefer small bony fishes (including their relative's menhaden and silversides) and crustaceans.

The Ladyfish can measure up to 35 inches and weigh up to 30 pounds.

Interesting Facts About the Ladyfish 

• The Ladyfish can tolerate a wide range and levels of salinity. 
• It is a thermophilic (it cannot tolerate low temperatures for too long) fish; because of this, some Ladyfish numbers have been reported to have died from the cold in Florida.
• Taxonomist Carl Linnaeus himself named and classified the Ladyfish in 1766.
• They are considered by many, even anglers, as “trash fish.”
• When using cut bait to catch snook, most anglers probably prefer mullet and Ladyfish.

Ladyfish — Fishing Techniques

According to the IUCN, the Ladyfish’s status is (of) Least Concern. This fish population is plentiful. The Ladyfish is marketed as fresh but is still considered only a second-rate fish. 

The Ladyfish, when hooked, is considered a good sport for light-tackle anglers. However, the Ladyfish may be annoying since they jump and skip along the water's surface after being hooked. They tend to be aggressive and usually bite the line.

Anglers can catch Ladyfish off piers, in canals, bays, and along beaches. They are inshore species that can be found in estuaries, coastal lagoons, hypersaline bays, along shorelines, and even up coastal streams. Anglers fly fishing for Ladyfish can catch them without the use of a boat. They can be caught all year round at any kind of tide and time of day. Anglers can use bait such as hair jigs, live shrimp, bubble rigs, flies, crabs, squid, and jerk baits to lure a school of Ladyfish. Since the Ladyfish usually thrash around trying to free themselves, anglers must use a heavy mono leader. Experts suggest using the fluorocarbon line as the leader; a spinning reel or spinning rod will also do. Anglers need to take caution since the Ladyfish have sharp, albeit small, teeth.

Ladyfish Habitat and Distribution

The Ladyfish is a pelagic species of fish; that live in tropical and subtropical coastal areas. They like brackish, reef-abundant areas as well as mangroves. They spawn in the open sea. The juvenile fish like low-salinity estuaries or hypersaline lagoons.  Once these smaller fish mature, they move to offshore marine habitats. They live in areas as deep as 160 feet several miles offshore.

The Ladyfish can be found in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the western North Atlantic Ocean from New England to Florida. It shares a common habitat with its cousin, the malacho (Elops smithi), in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern US waters. They also thrive in Bermuda, the Western Atlantic, and the south of Brazil. Some records show that they are also found in Asian countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, and China.

Summer Flounder

Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) Fish Description 

Summer Flounder are a flatfish species. This fish is one of several “sand flounders”, with both eyes on the left side of the head; this means that Summer Flounder live on the seafloor, lying on the blind side of their bodies, facing the open water column. 

Summer Flounder are grayish-brown with lighter spots, helping them blend in with the areas surrounding the seabed. When they hatch from their eggs, the Summer Flounder resemble normal fish, with an eye on each side of the head. As they mature, the bones on the right side of the skull grow significantly faster, so the right eye and nostril slowly migrate to the left side. Their jaws do not change significantly, so they bite sideways, from left to right.

Diet and Size

Summer Flounder are active ambush predators, which mean that they utilize their camouflage to blend in with their surroundings to catch unsuspecting prey. They also chase them down using their excellent swimming ability when dealing with prey that move faster. Their diet consists of a variety of bony fish including the sand lance, menhaden, atlantic silverside, mummichog killifish, small bluefish, porgies and a wide range of invertebrates like crabs, shrimps, and squids.

The average Summer Flounder is typically 15-20 inches in length, though they have the capability to grow as large as 26 pounds and live up to 20 years. The females make up the largest and oldest specimens having a maximum observed age of 17 years, while male Flounder have a maximum observed age of 15 years.

Interesting Facts about Summer Flounder

• Summer Flounder are nicknamed “chameleons of the sea” since they are capable of changing their coloring to blend in with the texture and color of the bottom where they live.
• Most of the Summer Flounder spawn in the peak months of October and November when water temperatures change and plankton is at its most abundant period. Combining these elements improves the chance of survival for the larval Summer Flounder.
• Larval and juvenile Summer Flounder are preyed upon by species like spiny dogfish, monkfish, cod, hakes, sea raven, longhorn sculpin, and fourspot flounder until they grow large enough to fend for themselves. Adult Summer Flounders are preyed by large sharks, rays, and monkfish.
• Female Flounder have between 460,000 to more than 4 million eggs, hatching in waters of the continental shelf.
• A permit is required for the sale and purchase of the summer flounder

Summer Flounder Fishing Techniques 

Summer Flounder can be fished all year round, but they're easier to catch between September and November. Summer Flounder have a great response to live fish such as minnow, mullet and croakers. Sea worms and clams are also effective baits that Summer Flounder love. It is recommended that you use a circle hook, because it is easier for Flounders to bite. 

An effective angling technique would be hooking smaller baitfish through the eye and larger baitfish through the lips. Using a casting rod which is 7 ft long is the standard method of anglers for catching Flounder. It is advised that you use a line that's sturdy enough to handle larger fish that might take the bait. You may need a sinker to make sure the hook is within reach of the Flounder down below

Summer Flounder Habitat & Distribution 

Summer Flounder are mainly found in the East Coast of the United States and Canada. They are very abundant in the waters stretching from North Carolina to Massachusetts. Summer Flounder also thrive best from Nova Scotia to the eastern part of Florida.

This fish is usually located offshore and inshore, especially in estuaries. They are demersal; thus, Summer Flounder are usually captured using bottom otter trawls or by gillnets and pound nets.