A Rootin’ Tootin, blustery day

October 17th, 2009, 6:11 pm · Post a Comment · posted by williamh

Kaleb Blackburn, 8, of Destin landed a 6.2-pound king mackerel during the Rootin Tootin Rodeo Round-Up Saturday at the Okaloosa Island Pier.

<b>EmmaLee Johnson, 5, of Fort Walton Beach shows off one of the many fish she caught during the Rootin Tootin. Also pictured is Miss Destin Kelsie Jacobs.</b>

EmmaLee Johnson, 5, of Fort Walton Beach shows off one of the many fish she caught during the Rootin Tootin. Also pictured is Miss Destin Kelsie Jacobs.

A windy and chilly day meant slow-going at the Destin Fishing Rodeo docks behind AJ’s on Saturday.

Still, the third Shark Saturday, sponsored by the Inn on Destin Harbor, saw two shark come in — a tiger and a mako.
The mako, caught by Scott D’Agostino of the Scotty D., weighed in at at 65 lbs. The tiger shark was smaller than that.

An hour before the scales closed for the night, Weighmaster Bruce Cheves had weighed in 14 fish as gusty winds buffeted the boats on the harbor and spectators in the stands.

“It’s just thumpin’ out there (on the water),” said Rodeo Executive Director Helen Donaldson. “It’s been a pretty slow day.”

Earlier, more than a hundred families braved the chilly air to hit the Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo Round-up on the Okaloosa Island Pier. The day is set aside for the littlest anglers and everybody’s a winner.

“We had 142 kids fishing on a cold windy pier,” Donaldson said.

— William Hatfield

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