79-day red snapper season gets off to promising start in Destin
DESTIN — Red snapper season kicked off at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday and it seemed to be off to a strong start.
By noon, several charter fishing trips were returning to the docks in Destin with red snapper catches. Among those was Capt. Ken Bolden’s Just-B-Cause charter boat, carrying three adults and four children from Wichita Falls, Texas.
“We did pretty good,” Bolden said. “We had six red snappers; a couple of them over 15 pounds.”
Bolden’s guests also reeled in a cobia of about 15 pounds.
Around the docks, crews from the charter boats Au Sum, Tradewinds and Backdown2 also were unloading red snapper while their guests took photos with their catches.
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This year’s red snapper season for federal for-hire boats, which represents the majority of Destin’s charter boat fleet, will run for 79 days and will close at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 19.
That’s up from last year’s 63-day season.
The number of days for recreational anglers fishing in state waters, which is from shore out 9 nautical miles, has also been increased to 57 days. That season begins June 17 and runs to July 31.
There will also be a 12-day fall season that will allow snapper fishing on the following dates: Oct. 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 as well as Nov. 11-13 (Veteran’s Day weekend), and Nov. 25-27 (Thanksgiving Day weekend).
Those dates were announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis during a visit to Destin Harbor in April.
Bolden said the season looks promising so far.
“I actually only have two half-day (charters) available for the whole month right now, and they’ll probably get booked soon,” he said. “Business looks good for the whole summer; I hope it looks that way for everyone else.”
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Red snapper fishing season begins in Destin
