Family Insider

If you’ve always wanted to take your kids fishing, now is a great time to go. Summer is here, the fish are biting and it’s most definitely an adventure to remember.

 

Since Destin is known as the “World's Luckiest Fishing Village,” my family and I (along with a video crew from VISIT FLORIDA) headed up to the Emerald Coast to try some fishing luck of our own. (I don’t want to spoil the ending, but Destin definitely lived up to its motto!)

 

Emerald Grande was our resort of choice. We love their spacious units with full kitchens, washers/dryers, separate bedrooms and lots of on-site amenities. And, their location is central to everything. They’re on the pass (waterway) offering great views, and you can hop on a private ferry for a two-second ride across the channel to the beach. Plus, the resort is attached to HarborWalk Village, a multimillion dollar complex which has restaurants, shops and a large fishing fleet. Emerald Grande is the only location in Destin where you can walk from your room to your waiting charter boat just steps away. Fantastic!

 

Charter boats normally range in size from 34 to 60 feet so be sure to get what you need. The concierge at your hotel can arrange everything for you (as did ours), or you can call the marina and make the arrangements yourself. You also don’t have to worry about a fishing license if you’re on a charter boat.

 

For food and drinks, think easy. Sandwiches, chips and pieces of fruit are good choices – although never bring bananas; they are considered bad luck! Some charter boats provide cooler space but be sure to ask. The Emerald Grande gave us the option of purchasing boxed lunches – this was a super easy (and tasty) option.

 

In my opinion, the best part about chartering a fishing boat is that you don’t have to think about anything - and you don’t even have to know how to fish. The captain’s job is to put you on the fish, and the mate takes care of everything else: baiting, hooking, unhooking ... all we had to do was reel them in – and they show you how to do that too. At the end of your day, the mate will even clean your fish and hand you the fillets in Ziploc bags.

 

Now, even though we had a full kitchen in our unit, we opted for Hook & Cook – a tradition of bringing your fresh fillets to a local restaurant. For a per person charge, they will cook your fish (usually several different ways) and serve up all the side dishes, too. We took our cooler of fish right downstairs at Emerald Grande and the chef prepared it three different ways: blackened, grilled and fried. It was so rewarding to dine on fish that we reeled in ourselves. And boy was it delicious!

 

Our Fishing In Destin video should be premiering in a few more weeks. Be sure and check it out – you won’t believe what we caught – and what we saw!

 

 

- Hats, lip balm, sunglasses

- Sunscreen (avoid the spray kind as it makes the deck slippery)

- Boat shoes (slip-resistant, preferably with white soles as black can leave marks on the deck)

- Comfortable, light colored clothing and/or cover-ups

- Camera and/or video camera

- Cash for tipping your mate (15%-20% of the cost of the charter)

-  A cooler for your fillets unless you can refrigerate them right away (inexpensive, folding coolers can be purchased at most neighborhood pharmacy chain stores)

 

Do I need to bring my own food/drinks/cooler?

Do you have life jackets in kid sizes?

How many people are included for the cost?

Do you have a particular charter boat that’s better suited for families?

 

I hope that you'll try and take your family fishing this summer. It was a great time.