As bad as it was Wednesday - anglers braved the rough waters and brought in fish, bringing the number for the 60th Rodeo to 948 - with nine fishing days left.

One of the last boats of the day was the Perfect Shot with Capt. Brady Bowman.
His anglers took four dailies.

The biggest was a 51.2-pound amberjack hauled in by Buddy Wingfiled of Tennessee.
He also had an 8.6-pound red grouper.

Bryant Davis, also of Tennesse, took the daily in the red snapper category with an 8.8-pounder. Davis also had a 2.8-pound scamp for a daily.

Although the amberjack was huge - the snapper, grouper and scamp were good fish, they were not that big — however they were biggest on Wednesday.

See you at the docks.

–Tina Harbuck

Twelve-year-old Lee Blarkmore of Tennessee just got on the board with a nice king mackerel he caught on the Gulf Winds with Capt. Mark Steelman.

The king he weighed in measured up at 8 pounds. However he said he lost a big one.
His dad, who was going right along with the story said, “it was as long as this table.”

“I could have sworn it was Jaws,” young Blackmore said.

Although we will never know, he’s got some great memories as well as fish to take home.

By the way, Capt. Steelman said the seas are 3- to 6-feet - but the Pass is getting bad — no water, only a couple of feet of water - which makes it hard to get in and out.

–Tina Harbuck

Not many boats out today — the wind is blowing pretty good and the word is that its about 2-4 foot seas and getting worse by the minute.

But we have had a few boats come in this morning. The Mindy Lou II with Capt. Bill McDonald backed in a little while ago with a king mackerel for a charter boat daily catch. Ben Bolte of Iowa was the angler who pulled in the 10.6-pound king.

Right behind him, was the 25-foot-and-under Silver King with Capt. Mike Parker. Dan Erickson weighed in a 5.3-pound red snapper for a daily.

The Lucky Lina with Capt. Steve Lathi came in with a couple of kids with a snapper and a king for certificates and rod and reels.

Although it looks slow now — you never know what might be coming around the pass.
The sun is out, there’s a little breeze - but there is plenty of room in the bleachers - so come on down.

–Tina Harbuck

The most fish ever weighed in during a Rodeo was 901 about five years ago. But the folks fishing the 60th annual Destin Fishing Rodeo has blown those numbers out of the water and then some.

The count is up to 920 — who says we have a shortage of fish?
Way to go guys and gals, keep reeling them in.

See you at the scales.

–Tina Harbuck

Slow and steady is the theme of the day at the docks. The harbor gazers were enjoying the beer on tap and the ever-flowing Jimmy Buffett at AJ’s.

Weighmaster Bruce Cheves said that he has weighed in about a dozen snapper, mackerel and triggerfish today as the American Spirit was pulling in to unload a bounty of mostly red snapper.

None of the fish were destined for the scales, but little Neakailen Leslie, 4, from Cincinnati, Ohio was so proud of his yellow snapper that he wanted to see it on the scale anyway.

Neakailen’s Destin fishing experience was completed as he handed the snapper to mate Dave Young to be cleaned and bagged to take home.

The little guy wasn’t sure if he was going to have cheese grits or hush puppies with the one pound fish, but he knew one thing, “that’s lunch tomorrow.”

-Jenni Rich

It was unbelievable - for the second night in a row, Capt. Todd Allen and the crew aboard the Big John brought in a huge grouper.

Last night they weighed in a 56.4-pound grouper at 6:20 p.m.
And tonight, when weighmaster Bruce Cheves said - “Time is” - it was exactly 6:20 p.m. - But this time the grouper weighed 51.8-pounds. This one was caught by Tony Herren of Tennessee.

Capt. Allen said it took him about 7 or 8 minutes to get the grouper onboard.
When I asked him if he’s caught all the big ones he said - “Hope not.”

Come on down and see if Capt. Allen finds another.
See you at the docks.

–Tina Harbuck

Devin Stiles, 9, of Crestview, got on the board in a big way Monday afternoon. He weighed in a 38.8-pound cobia that he caught on the Gentle Winds with Capt. Greg Marler and his grandpa deckhand Jim Rice.
His catch took over first place in the Cobia Division — right up there with the adults.

Capt. Marler said young Devin pulled in a 50-plus pound grouper about a month ago — all by himself.

Devin said he thought the cobia was a shark at first.

“It started running every second,” Devin said.

Capt. Marler said it took him about 20 minutes to get the cobia to the boat.

The youngster said it wasn’t that hard - however, Capt. Marler said “He put his hand in the ice chest afterwards.”

– Tina Harbuck

Stacey Evans of Tennessee pulled in a 56.4-pound grouper to take the top spot on the leaderboard Sunday evening.

“I was wore out,” he said as weighmaster Bruce Cheves hoisted his catch up on to the scales.
The grouper, which was caught on the Big John with Capt. Todd Allen, weighed 58.4-pounds before it was gutted.

Evans said he’s fished the Rodeo for the last three or four years, and prior to Sunday evening the biggest he’s caught was a 30-pounder.

Capt. Allen said it took Evans about 8 or 9 minutes to pull in the grouper. Allen said they were fishing in 280-feet of water.

Anglers that have fished with Capt. Allen in the last 19 days have pulled in some big grouper - they are holding down first and second on the leaderboard.

When I asked Capt. Allen if he thought there were some big ones out there in his “honey hole” … he said “I just keep trying.”

Well he’s got 11 more days to try and bring in another big one.

See you at the docks.
–Tina Harbuck

When it comes to the Destin Fishing Rodeo you never know what’s going to happen - or what’s going to show up.

Sunday afternoon we got a little entertainment from Ike Bartley who plays down at Baby J’s - located to the east of AJ’s.

Anyhow he was a real crowd pleaser … word is may be coming back for another appearance.

–Tina Harbuck

Watching the rodeo weigh in is great fun on the bleachers behind AJs, but the upper levels hold lots of fishing fans as well.