Destin Florida A Great Location To Fish
Fishing Guide & Fishing Charters: Pensacola, Destin & Navarre Beach - Full Net Fishing Charters

Destin is located on the Emerald Coast of Florida, in Okaloosa County. The city styles itself "The World's Luckiest Fishing Village" and claims to have the largest fishing vessel fleet in the state of Florida. So be sure to do your research before you get there, hiring the right fishing guide for your vacation can be time consuming and can also turn your vacation into a disaster if you hire the wrong one.

Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald-colored waters. Originating as a small fishing village, it is now a popular tourist destination - according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, over 80 percent of the Emerald Coast's 4.5 million visitors each year visit Destin.

Destin is named after Captain Leonard Destin, a New London (Conn.) fishing master, who settled in the area c. 1845 or 1850. He built a New England colonial home at the location of the Monroe Point military reservation. Captain Destin and his descendants fished the area for decades. The first condominiums were built in the 1970s, although Destin was not incorporated as a municipality until 1984. The city has experienced rapid growth since the 1980s. Destin is a principal city of the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city is located on a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico from Choctawhatchee Bay. The peninsula was originally an island; hurricanes and sea level changes gradually connected the island to the mainland.

Destin is near several other cities in the region. The city of Fort Walton Beach, Navarre and Pensacola is located to the west. North of Destin across the bay is Niceville and Valparaiso; by the way this is where one of my favorite restaurants is located; The Boathouse Landing located at 124 John Sims Parkway. With the Mid-Bay Bridge linking the two by road it's just a short drive there from Destin. Panama City, Port St. Joe and Apalachicola are located to the east.

At the western end of Destin is East Pass (also known as Destin Pass), separating it from Santa Rosa Island to the west. East Pass is the only outlet of Choctawhatchee Bay into the Gulf of Mexico; many sources claim that the pass was dug by hand with an inrush of water widening it within hours. The pass appears in early maps and surveys from Spanish, French, and English surveyors, such as Thomas Jeffrey's 1775 map; The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana. East Pass can be very difficult to navigate by boat at times with a south wind and a strong outgoing tide the swells in the pass can easily reach six feet.

"Crab Island," a significant sandbar located northwest of East Pass is a popular anchorage area. On any given weekend there will be several hundred boats of all sizes anchored up on Crab Island enjoying the Emerald Green waters the Gulf of Mexico has to offer.

The Gulfarium of Fort Walton Beach, FL offers 3 live marine shows (Sea Life, Dolphin, Sea Lion) that you can see any day of the week, rain or shine. Feed, pet or learn about our dolphins at the Dolphin Meet & Greet. It's inspiring for people of all ages to learn more about the marine world around them. It's located at 1010 Miracle Strip Pkwy, Ft. Walton Beach.

One the biggest attraction to Destin is the shopping. Hundreds of boutiques and gift stores are within a short drive in any direction. The most popular and favorite shopping destination is Silver Sands Factory Stores; Silver Sands is conveniently located eight miles east of Destin on Emerald Coast Parkway. Factory direct stores and over 465,000 square feet of retail space filled with designer merchandise at up to 75 percent off retail price. The seven million plus visitors a year can shop such distinguished designer stores as Coach Factory, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Sony, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Bose, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Reebok - just to name a few. This impressive collection of true designer names makes Silver Sands must to see.

If it's Golf you're after, then you're in the right area. With over a dozen courses with more than 1,100 holes of golf this has become a major family Golf destination and a true Golfers paradise.

For some family fun and recreation, it's all about The Track Center and Big Kahuna's Water Park that's located at 1007 Highway 98 East Destin. With Go Karts, Miniature Golf, Bumper Boats, Bumper Cars, Kids Country, Bungee, Sky Flyer and all kinds of games there's fun for everyone here! And that's just at the Track Center, how about Big Kahuna's; a fantastic water ride park. With more than 40 water attractions and an Adventure Park, Big Kahuna's offers something for every member of the family and you'll need more than one day there you can't do it all in just one day.

Then of course - Full Net Fishing Charters, for your inshore near shore light tackle fishing adventure! It's for the whole family; by fishing in Choctawhatchee Bay or the Sound to the west we can always find calm waters somewhere. If it's a Gulf adventure you're after then you're in the right place, by fishing the inshore and near shore waters of the Gulf of Mexico we can always find a wide variety of big fish to catch. There are several boat ramps in the area where we can meet or in some cases I can pick guests up on private docks. The most common place is Joe's Bayou Boat Ramp at 800 Beach Drive, Destin, and Liza Jackson Park at 318 Miracle Strip Parkway Ft. Walton.