Back in 2010, a friend told us he had just come back from Destin, FL and the Kings and Reds were running in Destin and we should go... Thanksgiving was coming and I took a few days on either side to tie in with the holiday, and we drove down to see my Parents in Pensacola, and fish Destin.
It was going to be a GREAT trip. See Dad and Stepmom, catch monster fish and get away from the grind. BUT... our vacation curse kicked in. When we drove across the Georgia Line, a cold snap hit and all the fish stopped biting.
Two days before, you couldn't buy parking a half mile on either side of the Bridge in Destin. We got there and the town was empty.
Was like someone had turned OFF the switch marked bite.
Hey, we rented a house at the beach for a week, we were going to fish. (I call it practicing my casting over water, but, we were going to fish.)
The next morning we headed out, and it was a Beautiful Day, the sun was shining and the water was crystal clear....
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I actually saw two monster red fish swim under the yak and head towards the blue water, and threw a couple nice casts with the 7wt fly rod, nearly hitting one of them in the head. He ignored the lure, like an Ugly Girl on a Miami Beach...
Tina moved in to fish around the pilings with her Gulp Shrimp and see if she could hook a flounder or two.
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We had brought our Hobie Adventures, the kayaks were 16 feet long, narrow and rockets on the water. Powered by pedals, ours had the optional "turbo" fins, longer and wider, they could throw a wake. All the sudden Tina was headed to shore and leaving one!
"What's the Problem?"
"Shark!" she said, "I saw a shark and I'm done."
Probably a Dolphin, I told her, I have seen a couple swim under the kayak already.
"I KNOW a shark fin when I see one."
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About that time two fins bust the water ahead of her yak.. and she yells, "There! I told you I saw a shark"
Whoosh! The dolphins blow and dive again. I bust out laughing.
I won't quote what SHE said.
The dolphin pops up and says, "Take My Picture!"
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They seemed fascinated with the kayaks and especially the Mirage Drive System on the Hobies, they would swim under the kayaks and roll over and stare at the fins, then pop up on the other side. They played with us for more than an hour.
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They even seemed to thrill with performing for us...
A tail wave...
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A flip...
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Backflip
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There were two distinct pods and the larger pod was led by a pale albino dophin, huge and scarred who communicated to the rest and was obviously in charge. This pod was the group of older more mature dolphins. The smaller pod was the younger, smaller dolphins and they stayed near, but out of the way of, the older pod. The dolphins would swim at us, dive under the kayaks and pop up on the other side and clear the water. They'd jet away at high speed and we'd follow. Once, when I thought we'd lost them, one swam back, popped out of the water, and looked over his shoulder as if to say, "What? Tired out?"
After about 90 minutes or so, I had shot about 300 pictures and was dying. The large male suddenly squealed and clicked and both pods turned as one and shot off toward the bridge... in seconds they were GONE!
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All the while we were playing with the group, folks were watching from shore and from the bridge. It was a great afternoon... another proof that when the fishing sucks, it's a great day of kayaking.
