After driving rain and rough seas made the docks behind AJ’s a ghost town and sent Rodeo officials into the office for a rousing, and no-doubt cut-throat, cribbage tournament, the Rodeo could use a win this weekend.

Everyone down on the docks is hoping the favorable weather predicted for this weekend and Destin finally gets a little sunshine and maybe a few fish down on the docks.

Tomorrow morning, the Rodeo will holds its annual Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round-Up at the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier from 9 a.m. to noon.

The event, for anglers 12 years of age and younger, is the result of a lot of teamwork between the Rodeo and local businesses.

Anglers and their family’s will get free hot dogs from Anglers Restaurant, free Pepsi courtesy of Buffalo Rock, free rods and reels from Half Hitch Tackle, tackle from Bass Pro Shops and bait and a free t-shirt courtesy of the Destin Fishing Rodeo.

The cost of admission is $10 and Rodeo executive director Helen Donaldson said the Rootin’ Tootin’ is one of the highlights of the month of October for her.

“I can’t wait. It’s so great to see the kids out there, having a great time. For a lot of them, this is their first exposure to fishing and to see them out there with their folks, it’s really great fun,” she said.

The National Weather Service is predicting sunny skies for tomorrow with a 10 percent chance of precipitation.

Thursday wasn’t a total wash at the Destin Fishing Rodeo.

Anglers aboard the Sweet Jody with Capt. Cliff Cox came in around 4:30 p.m. and weighed in three fish - a 5.6-pound grouper,  a 5.4-pound red snapper and a 1.8-pound triggerfish.

All three fish took daily spots on the leaderboard. Word is it only took about five minutes to weigh all three.

Weighmaster Bruce Cheves didn’t know if anyone else would show - however it didn’t matter, he said.

“I’ll be here until close and walk the walk at 7  - if the wind doesn’t blow me off the docks,” he said.

-Tina Harbuck

Weather is threatening — but the Rodeo is still on.

Thursday morning around 11 o’clock Weighmaster Bruce Cheves said he had seen the party boat Sweet Jody head out, but he wasn’t sure if anyone else was out fishing.

Nevetheless he said, “We’re here to do what we do. Sure we have to make preparations to get through the bad weather … but we don’t leave.”
The scales will be open today until 7 p.m..
“We’re going to hang out and do what we have to do.” Cheves said.

On Wednesday, Cheves weighed in eight fish including a red snapper, grouper and amberjack.

Nothing so far today.

-Tina Harbuck

Looking out onto the water of Destin Harbor, the wind blowing through your hair, it’d be tough not to think that today would be a perfect day to be out on a boat, with an adult beverage (only if you’re of age, of course), trying to hook a big fish for the Destin Fishing Rodeo. But apparently, you’d be tragically mistaken.

“Come here,” says Rodeo weighmaster Bruce Cheves, motioning me over to look out toward Destin’s East Pass. “You see those rocks? You see how high those waves are coming up on those rocks? Yeah, when you’re out there and you get past those rocks, the fun-meter drops to zero.”

The wind is the story again today down on the docks. Yesterday a combination of driving rain, occasional lightning, and gale force winds kept the docks quiet. But the day wasn’t a total wash.

The biggest catch of the day yesterday was this 16.2-pound wooden plank complete with barnacles, an angler retrieved from the harbor and Cheves weighed.

“We tried to gut it but we didn’t have a Skil saw,” Cheves riffed.

Today’s count is up to five fish as two lady anglers aboard the Perfect Shot weighed in a 12.2-pound grouper and a 2.6-pound triggerfish, to compliment the trio of red snapper that came in moments earlier on the Lucky Lina.

Destin City Manager Greg Kisela, Destin Fire Control District Commissioner Jimmy Neilson and Lt. Col. Hank Casteline from Eglin Air Force Base are the Rodeo’s volunteer judges for the rest of the night and if this afternoon is any indication they might be in need of some company, so stop down and pay them a visit.

Rodeo officials are hoping for a calm, quiet, gorgeous weekend with the Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round-Up happening Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon at the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier.

-Patrick Donohue

Zero, zip, nilch, cero, the big squadoosh.

That’s the number of fish weighed in yesterday during a blustery, stormy Day 16 of the Destin Fishing Rodeo.

Things haven’t picked up dramatically down on the docks thus far. But we do have an entry, which is more than we can say for yesterday’s washout.

Jackson Hamblen’s 2.6-pound red snapper — weighed in earlier today — was the first entry in the Destin Fishing Rodeo in the past two days.

The junior angler from Dunlap, Tenn., was fishing aboard the Lucky Lina when he caught his snapper.

It’s a deceptively nice day in Destin with blue skies, sunshine and 15 mph wind out of the southeast that could make the Gulf of Mexico and Choctawhatchee Bay a little bumpy for anglers today.

-Patrick Donohue

Coming Saturday is the Rodeo’s Annual “Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round-Up.”

For $10, From 9:00 a.m. - noon, anglers, 12 years old and younger, can go to the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier and try to catch the big one.

Participating anglers will receive a free rod and reel, bait, a Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round-Up T-shirt and lunch.

For more information, contact the Rodeo office at (850)837-6734.

-Patrick Donohue

One would be hard-pressed not to feel like The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore walking down to the docks behind AJ’s earlier this afternoon. Simply put, the weather is nasty today. The rain has finally let up but the wind is still blowing to the tune of 24 to 41 mph and has kicked up whitecaps in the harbor.

If you manage to make it to the Rodeo tonight, you may be in exclusive company.

Rodeo executive director Helen Donaldson said the judges for this morning and tonight have been called off and Miss Destin, Emily Kaltz, will be getting a call soon to inform her that she will have the night off as well.

Longtime Rodeo weighmaster Bruce Cheves isn’t going anywhere though. The weighmaster’s scales have been moved under an overhang to protect Cheves and any potential, and perhaps fearless, anglers and their catch from the elements.

With 5 to 7-foot seas and 20-knot winds in the forecast for the rest of the day, the docks could be a pretty desolate place tonight.

Tomorrow isn’t look any better. The National Data Buoy Center is calling for 10 to 20 knot winds out of the Southeast with widespread thunderstorms.

-Patrick Donohue

We now have a new leader in the Trash Can Slam Division.

Josh Nelson, of Shalimar, fishing on the Inshore Angler pulled in the lucky three - the Jack Crevalle, sailcat and ladyfish. 

Nelson said they landed the 10.4-pound Jack Crevalle early this morning around 9 o’clock, but it took until about 2 p.m . to come up with the ladyfish. The sailcat weighed 2 pounds and the ladyfish, 1.2 pounds.

-Tina Harbuck

After about an hour-and-a-half without a fish, Capt. John Funk on the Shark Hunter came in with five blackfin tuna and a mahi mahi.

He weighed in all five tuna, but none made it on the leaderboard. They had to break 26.2 pounds to get on the board. The largest he had was a 24.6-pounds.

Funk also had five tag and release cards to turn in for the shark division. All five sharks were under 40 pounds.

Still plenty of days left to try and get on the board. Don’t forget the scales are open daily from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.

-Tina Harbuck

Weather wise, Sunday afternoon was great down at the docks behind AJ’s for the 59th Annual Destin Fishing Rodeo.

The fish, however, were a little slow coming in. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of the people that packed the bleachers.

As a matter of fact, there were a couple of times when they started chanting — “FISH, FISH, FISH.”

At one point, they started doing the wave. One thing about the Rodeo; there is never a dull moment.

Most of the talk on the docks today was still about the huge Mako that was hauled in last night.

Weighmaster Bruce Cheves said all they want to know is “will they bring in anything big tonight?”

Last night proved it.  You just never know.

“That’s the biggest thing I’ve ever weighed in the Rodeo,” Cheves said about the 844-pound mako. Cheves has served as Rodeo weighmaster for the past 17 years.

Once the shark was gutted it lost about 200 pounds. Cheves said about 70 to 80 of the lost pounds was the shark’s liver.

“It had a red snapper in it that could have been a daily,” Cheves said. In addition to the 10-to 12-pound red snapper it had a 5-pound white snapper in its belly.

“It also had the remnants of a lot of other fish,” Cheves said.

-Tina Harbuck