Tough guys
October 25th, 2007, 9:05 am · Post a Comment · posted by patrickdonohue
If there’s one thing I’ve learned covering the Destin Fishing Rodeo and Destin’s charter fishing industry it’s that the bunch of guys and gals that live and breathe to fish Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico are worlds tougher than I’ve ever dreamed of being.
A fact that was brought into stark reality earlier this morning when I wandered down to the docks to do some reporting on a Rodeo story for this Saturday’s Log.
“Did you guys have any fish yesterday?” I asked Rodeo executive director Helen Donaldson, fully expecting a swift and prompt negative response to my inquiry.
“Yeah, we had a few. The binder’s right there,” she said, pointing to the Library of Congress-size three-ring binder that holds the contents of all the Rodeo entries in 10-day volumes.
On a day when the waters off Destin closely resembled the waters off Nova Scotia with its deep, menacing dark blue hue and equally daunting wave action promising a nasty ride to anyone daring enough to venture out of the harbor, the Rodeo had eight entries.
A trio of triggerfish from the Finest Kind and the Destin Princess were weighed along with a gaggle of fish from the Daybreak.
The Daybreak’s Capt. Eric Thrasher (which I still think is the coolest name ever for a charter boat captain) and his anglers brought in a flounder, a red snapper, a grouper and an 18.8-pound amberjack.
The forecast for tonight looks good. Capt. Bud Miller of the Melanie Dawn called in from off Pensacola on an overnight trip to say that the water is smooth, lots of boats are out and they’re pulling in some nice fish. Could be a good night.
-Patrick Donohue
