Bait Report

🎣 Bait Report – Destin & Choctawhatchee Bay

Date: July 14, 2025
Region: Destin, FL – Choctawhatchee Bay

Live Bait Update

• Pilchards (Scaled Sardines):
  Good concentrations around Norriego Point, East Pass jetties, and Crab Island flats. Look for flickering schools and diving birds at daybreak. Sabiki rigs tipped with shrimp work best.

• Threadfin Herring:
  Found near Destin Bridge pylons, especially during moving tides. Bigger baits showing up — great for king mackerel and tarpon.

• Pinfish:
  Easy to find over bay grass flats, especially in Hogtown Bayou and along Santa Rosa shoreline. Use pinfish traps or small hooks with squid pieces.

• Menhaden (Pogies):
  Thick along the beachside and bay mouth early morning. Cast nets thrown from the bow can load the livewell fast. Watch for nervous water and diving birds.

• Cigar Minnows:
  Holding over nearshore wrecks, buoys, and public reefs just outside the pass (2–5 miles). Sabiki rigs dropped deep with chum can produce quickly. Excellent trolling bait for kings, mahi, and sailfish. Best action early morning or on overcast days.

• Mullet:
  Juveniles thick in the back bays and canals, especially near docks and grassy shorelines. Good option for live-lining or cut bait for bull reds, sharks, and big jacks.

Artificial Bait Tip

• Topwater lures are productive at first light, especially for trout and redfish over bay flats.

• Gold spoons, paddle tails, and soft plastic shrimp remain consistent around oyster beds and grass edges.

Pro Tip

Match your bait to your target species. Carry a mix — cigar minnows for offshore trolling, pilchards for the pass and bay edges, pinfish or cut mullet for soaking near structure.

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