Update: This deep-sea fishing adventure was originally published in November of 2016. At some point it disappeared from the blog, and all the text just vanished. The photos remained in the media folder so all I had to do was recreate the text. Here it is in its entirety, thanks to my having procrastinated instituting a “read more” link that would direct RSS readers back to the blog itself, thus not having the text all available in my RSS feed.
BEGINNING OF ORIGINAL POST
My family lives in a rural area and it suits us well. We enjoy outside activities that put us in fresh air and challenge our bodies. Particularly, boys need adventure in their lives and it can be difficult to find time to provide that for them. Our guys are teenagers and they love the outdoors. They do pretty much everything that can be done outdoors. They have been wanting for some time to go on a deep-sea fishing trip, and we promised them we’d make it happen.
Ready for fishing! Rigs lined up on the deck of the Destiny.
This promised was initialized back in the summer, while Red Snapper was still available. Due to various other commitments and the two weekend trips to Louisiana, we just couldn’t pull it off before mid-November. Looking at the calendar, the only other free weekend we were seeing was the weekend of Veterans Day. That was to be THE weekend for our fishing trip. Early in the week, I searched and found some wonderful information on a party boat. We would be able to hop onto it Friday morning, and leave out by about 8 a.m. for an eight-hour trip of fishing.
False Start
The family got up at 4 a.m., packed sandwiches, drinks, and snacks, and took off for Destin, FL. We found the waterfront, but we weren’t able to find the boat I had researched earlier in the week. We walked down the docks till we found a booking center for a different pair of boats, the Destin Princess and the Destiny. Both were fully booked for Friday, but we booked a trip for Saturday on the Destiny, an 8-hour fishing excursion, and headed back home. It’s not all that far for us, about a two-hour drive each way, and it was a holiday, so we weren’t crushed.
Fishing!
Booking center and check-in point
Getting ready to board
The Destiny, captained by Captain Kendrick, crewed by some of the best deckhands on the Gulf
Relaxing on deck as we got underway
The view from the deck as we were heading out of the protected waters
Of course the captain has no control over the weather, but his crew made sure the rest of the fishing trip enjoyable and memorable.
We couldn’t have asked for prettier weather. The seagulls here followed us for only a short time before giving up on their hope of an easy meal.
Barely ripples on the water, and as the day moved on, it got even more still.
The crew had our rods rigged with two hooks. Part of the trip included instruction on how to bait the hooks for best results.
looking from the top deck
baited pole
lining the deck, waiting to fish
There’s nothing really significant in this image, just to show that on a day like this, even wake of the boat is pretty.
The upper deck of the Destiny can seat 14 passengers
We were provided with a basket to hold the catch, which we periodically transferred to our numbered stringer, and a bucket with squid and another bait fish
Dad’s got it down
Opportunistic pelican waits for the return of each vessel
My older boy with the family’s catch
my younger son with the family’s catch
One of the deckhands expertly fillets the catch for each customer who wants it done.
My Family’s Takeaway
Neither my husband nor I had been offshore fishing for more than 20 years, and the boys had never gone offshore. We all took one Dramamine about an hour before departure. I don’t know if we would have needed it, because the water was calm all day, but we didn’t want to have anything interfering with the trip.
I cannot say enough good about the captain and crew of the Destiny. We knew exactly what to expect, and they delivered. They showed us how to fish, how to have fun doing it, how to stay safe, they helped us land the fish, and untangle our tangles. At the end of the trip, they filleted them for us–four cuts with a sharp knife, and we had two fillets per fish.
I can highly recommend this company if you decide you want to go deep-sea fishing. The Destiny Princess will take you on a shorter trip, closer to shore, but either boat will provide you with a fun family adventure.