February Bay Fishing in Destin, Florida 2022:
Fishing the Choctawhatchee bay in the colder months can be a challenge for some, and a field day for others. During these months there’s one thing that’s missing that makes the fishing more difficult at times. That very important thing is bait. In the warmer months of the year you will see schools of baitfish on almost every flat getting chased around by drum and trout. This bait could be small pinfish or greenies that help keep the bay fishery very healthy in the summer, but in the colder months this bait is not in the shallow waters of our bay. This means that the fish are hungry and constantly moving around looking for food. The most common areas fished in the winter are deep water docks, bridges, and the jetties.
Sheepshead:
February is one of the best months for sheepshead fishing in Destin, Florida, if not the best. In some places sheepshead is not considered good table fare, but that’s a different story when fishing the bays that are connected to the Gulf of Mexico. That is due to their diet. Sheepshead enjoy feeding on oysters, small crabs, such as fiddler crabs or hermit crabs, sand fleas, and shrimp. This healthy diet proves the saying you are what you eat and with one bite of sheepshead you’ll understand! When locating sheepshead in the bay, you want to find structure that can allow the growth of barnacles on it such as bridges, some docks, and of course the jetties. These are all great places to catch sheepshead since you can find the sheepshead eating the barnacles off of them, and searching for crabs that also live in this small ecosystem. In the bay especially close to the Destin pass the tide can have a detrimental effect on the sheepshead fishing. With the right bait, location, and tide sheepshead fishing can lead to a trip full of lots of action, and a cooler full of fish.
Redfish:
Fishing for redfish, also known as red drum, in the winter can be difficult at times. Most of the redfish caught during February are caught off of deep water docks, bridges or jetties. The flats fishing for redfish is not as productive this time of year compared to others. Many of the redfish caught this time of year tend to be out of slot size, 18 to 27 inches. Due to this fact it is important to see the fish swim away healthy. If the fight is long and hard on the fish it is best not to take it out of the water as to not put any more stress on the fish than necessary. This is important so these fish can swim to see another day and keep spawning so that our fishery remains healthy! Fishing for redfish in February the most common baits are pinfish, shrimp, and pigfish. Redfish can also be caught on lures, but live bait fishing can be more productive for those not familiar with fishing for redfish.
Black Drum:
Black drum are often seen cruising through the harbor, looking for something to eat. They are also caught around bridges, docks, and jetties this time of year. Black drum aren’t always the most aggressive, but when you hook into a big ugly you better hold on tight and be ready for a nice long fight. Black drum are a very good eating fish, they, similar to redfish, have a slot size, 14 to 24 inches, and allowed one over that slot size. Typically it is best to let the big ones go to continue to spawn and get caught another day, as some black drum live up 50 years of age. Most black drum this time of year are caught on shrimp, pinfish, or crabs.
Speckled Trout:
Trout are not as common during the cold months in Destin as the other bay species. Most trout are found near deep water docks, and near deep channels. Trout can be best located at first tossing lures around docks and deep channels and once you have located them, switching to live shrimp. Trout tend to school up and can be quite aggressive on live shrimp freelined behind a boat. Trout also have a slot size, 15 to 19 inches, and allowing one over per vessel.
