It’s sale time down at the Rodeo’s merchandise trailer.

Starting today, long and short sleeved “Pirate” t-shirts, the trash can slam t-shirt, youth windshirts and the Rodeo’s camouflage caps are all 50%.

The sale will likely be running through the end of the Rodeo, Oct. 31, according to Rodeo executive director Helen Donaldson.

People have be known to wait until the t-shirts go on sale and then descend on them like wasps, so those still shirt-less would be wise to head down to the docks while the gettin’s good.

-Patrick Donohue

The leaders in the private boat division for red snapper were 21.4 and 15 pounds. Note the past tense.

As soon as Rodeo weighmaster Bruce Cheves took a look at the two red snapper the Legal Dose hauled to the scales, he said “bye-bye” to the ones that were on the board.

Capt. Andy Lindsey and the crew aboard the Legal Dose backed in at the scales a little after 6 p.m. with two whopper red snapper. Jimbo Holloway reeled in a 29-pounder and Greg Hughes pulled in a 26.6-pounder — kissing the two leaders on the board goodbye.

Once the fish started coming in Thursday afternoon — it got busy on the docks.

A couple of junior anglers fishing on the Daybreak with Capt. Eric Thrasher got on the board for dailies. Jack Koetter, 12, pulled in a 23.2-pound grouper and 11-year-old Austin Happel reeled in a 25.2-pound amberjack.

Austin’s brother Elliott Happel, 13, took first place in the Teen Division with a 36.8-pound amberjack and a 7.8-pound red snapper.

Around 6:30 p.m., Capt. Robert Hill on the Twilight came in with two or three tubs of fish. Dennis Gravitt of Georgia got on the leaderboard with a 39.6-pound cobia. Capt. Hill said they caught five cobia — and had three on at one time.

The last fish of the evening was a 30.4-pound king mackerel caught by Joseph Waybright of Georgia on the private boat Ole Miss. His catch took first place in the private boat category for king mackerel and third overall in the King Mackerel Jackpot.

This is just a sampling of some of the fish brought in Thursday. For more on the Rodeo, see Saturday’s Fish Flash in The Log.

- Tina Harbuck

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

The sun is finally peeking through the clouds but the thermometer in my car is registering a nippy 55 degrees.

Down on the docks, there are a few people wandering around but the slips at Destin Fishing Fleet Marina and HarborWalk Marina look disappointingly full.

The whitecaps in the Gulf of Mexico are visible from the docks behind AJ’s as waves crest over the jetties. It’s going to be another slow day at the Rodeo.

“You could fish today but why?” says Rodeo weighmaster Bruce Cheves.

Rough weather has saddled the Rodeo for the past week. The slow days have even made the Rodeo office’s crew grow tired of their much-beloved, slow day past time — cribbage. The games lately have been described as “hours long” and everyone appears to be exhibiting cribbage fatigue. Everyone except Rodeo chairman Tim Broom who has become an avid cribbage convert.

“He’s not burnt out yet,” said Rodeo assistant director Marion Palmgren.

-Patrick Donohue

It’s windy and wet down on the docks and the Destin Fishing Rodeo has once again, been thwarted by Mother Nature.

Marion Palmgren, the Rodeo’s assistant director, said this is the nastiest continuous stretch of weather the Rodeo has had in “a long, long time.”

The current conditions down on the docks?

“It’s windy and if it’s not raining now, it’s looking like it’s going to soon,” she said.

Capt. Robert Hill of the Twilight stopped by The Log office this morning and if the weather kept the Twilight in its slip, you can be sure there aren’t many boats that ventured out to hook some fish today.

The chance of rain today is a grim 70 percent but only a 30 percent chance tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

-Patrick Donohue

Capt. Greg Marler and the crew aboard the Gentle Winds came in just before 4 p.m. today from an overnight trip.

They had tubs and tubs of red snapper, bull mingo, amberjack, blackfin tuna and some of the biggest white snapper I’ve seen. They also had an unusual catch - a trumpet fish.

The trumpet fish is very slender and long. Rodeo Executive Director Helen Donaldson said it reminded her of a very large shrimp.

This one was a little over a yard in length and had the coloring of a shrimp.

Weighmaster Bruce Cheves said, “it’s just an odd ball … part of the reef community.”

The trumpet fish has an extended jaw that allows the fish to get down into very tight spaces.

Come on down and check it out, Capt. Marler left the trumpet at the docks for others to see.

The scales are open today until 7 p.m.

-Tina Harbuck

Rodeo first-timer Ryan Fisher, an angler out of Nashville, Tenn., lived up to his name Sunday night.

Fisher caught an 8.4-pound red snapper for the top spot on the daily leaderboard.

When Rodeo volunteer Richard Laedeke went to gut the prize-winning catch, he got a surprise. He cut his finger on a 6-aught hook in the fish’s belly and immediately stuck his hand in a bucket of half bleach and half water to cleanse the wound. It’s part of the perils of the job, he said.

The hook wasn’t the strangest thing Richard has found in a fish’s gullet.

“I’ve found beer cans in big groupers,” he said. “You just never know. When something flashes at ’em, they just inhale it.

“They usually regurgitate that stuff,” he added.

About a half-hour later, Fisher was bumped by Don Barry, a fisherman from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who angled himself a 16.6-pounder.

Gary Walters, a tourist from Denver, Colo., was one of about 50 people huddled under the covered bleachers at AJ’s. For the past three weeks, he and a buddy have been quasi-professional rodeo spectators — and bettors. He was spot on with the 16.6-pound snapper, his second guess on the nose for the evening. So far he has won $18 from his friends.

“I got real lucky on that one.”

Earlier, John Funk hit the top spot on the leaderboard for shark fishing by tagging and releasing 11 of the fish so far. Funk, who says he has won the category about 12 years in a row, caught six of the fish Sunday.
Funk and his boat the Shark Hunter are gunning for the guys that hauled in the rodeo-record breaking 844.4-pound mako shark. He says he has fought big sharks like that monster for hours and that they were “lucky as hell” to land it.

“Lucky is better than good any day, eh?” he said.

Who’s in first place? Well the answer to that question changes often when it comes to holding on to a spot on the Destin Fishing Rodeo leaderboard.

Saturday evening, the daily amberjack leader changed hands five times in the last 90 minutes. The one who finished on top was Scott Mensor of Georgia with a 41.8-pounder. He was fishing aboard the Phoenix with Capt. Scott Robson.

We had two other first place fish come in late.

Kenny Burton, sporting his UT orange shirt, was a bit more lucky than his football team. He landed a 35.2-pound cobia for first place in the cobia division. He was fishing with Capt. Kirk Reynolds on the SS Enterprise.

The last leader to get on the board and the last fish weighed Saturday was a 40.8-pound grouper pulled in by Donna Rice of Alabama. She took over first place in the lady division for the largest grouper on a charter boat. She was fishing with Capt. Kelly Windes on the Sunrise.

The count on fished weighed in at the 59th annual Destin Fishing Rodeo is up to 572.

So “who’s in first” could change just any day.

See you at the docks.

-Tina Harbuck

Just when you think no one is going to beat your catch — another boat backs in with a whopper of a fish.

Such was the case Saturday afternoon.

Capt. Eric Thrasher on the Daybreak backed in with two fish that took top honors on the leaderboard.

Don Barry of Canada, weighed in a 10.2-pound triggerfish (which is the biggest triggerfish I’ve ever seen). Prior to today, the leading triggerfish was 8.6 pounds.

He also weighed in a 3.8-pound Kitty Mitchell (a spotted looking grouper). Now I know that’s not that big, but it is the only one and biggest one so far. The neat thing about the two fish, is they were caught by a first time fisherman - at least a first time Gulf of Mexico fisherman.

Prior to today,  the only fishing Barry has done is river fishing.

But he had such a great time today, he said, “I’m going again tomorrow.”

-Tina Harbuck

Dillon Martinez was angling for the big one on Saturday.
“I want to catch a shark,” the 8-year-old Crestview boy said during the third annual Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round-Up at the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier.
As for if he hooked a fish like the giant 844.4-pound mako shark that was hauled in last Saturday at the docks?
“I’d scream,” said his mother, Flossie.
“I’d get it up on the pier and jump off,” Dillon said.
Dillon was one of about 50 kids ages 1 through 12 to turn out for the event, a part of Destin’s 59th annualFishing Rodeo. For $10, kids got a rod and reel, bait, a shirt and lunch.

Butterflies flitted around the children and their families on a beautiful clear day with no sign of storm clouds or red tide. Those two plagues have made life on the Emerald Coast pretty uncomfortable over the last few days.

While the fish weren’t biting just then for Dillon, Cody Howard, a 9-year-old from Navarre, pulled up what looked like a 1-pound pompano. Like all the little anglers, he posed for a picture with his catch

“Hold him out, son,” coached Dave Urie, who operates the pier. “The farther out you hold him, the bigger he looks.”

Even Miss Destin Emily Kaltz was on hand, fishing with Riley Santos of Mary Esther.
She helped Santos unhook her little catch, something Miss Destin has become a near expert at in the three weeks since the Rodeo began.

“I’ve gotten better at it. I’ll say that,” Kaltz admitted.

Chairman of the Rodeo Tim Broom aims to expand the event next year. In an age of Nintendo Wiis and PSPs, it is all the more critical to get kids outside and fishing, said the vice president of Half Hitch Tackle.

“We have to keep exposing them to the industry because these kids are our future.” Broom said.

— William Hatfield