Did anyone order up a "mingo crush?" We're not talking Grape or Orange Crush like the soft drink, but the crew aboard the Stress Relief II with Capt. Scott Robinson had one.
The anglers from Louisiana, Texas and Alabama filled the racks behind the Stress Relief with a pile of mingo, three triggerfish and a few white snapper.
"It was slick calm today," said Capt. Robinson as he stepped off the back deck of his boat Thursday afternoon from a five-hour trip. "I even got to go down and fish some myself today."
In addition to their "mingo crush" the deckhand said they had some throw-back amberjack that came in just a few inches shy of the size limit. Amberjack have to be 30 inches to keep.
Capt. John Geisbrecht on the Starfire came in around noon Thursday with several mingo, a couple of triggerfish, white snapper and a lane snapper. The anglers were from Oklahoma and Missouri.
Arkansas anglers on the Un Reel with Capt. Phillip Blackburn hauled in their share of mingo, white snapper, triggerfish and a couple of goggle-eye snapper, which are brilliant red in color with a big bug eye. Blackburn said it was beautiful on the water today.
Not only has the fishing been good in the Gulf of Mexico but Choctawhatchee Bay as well.
Capt. John Tenore on the Dawn Patrol and his group from Texas reeled in 11 speckled trout, four redfish and several mangrove snapper. Tenore said the bay bite is good and that they caught the trout and redfish on live croakers and the mangrove on greenies.
Capt. Brandon Wright of Destin Bay Charters and his guys from Tennessee and Alabama pulled in three huge trout, a couple big redfish along with several mangrove snapper.
"Everything is in real close," Wright said. And of course they used live bait to lure in the fish.
Fishing is good on both sides. Come on down and see what kind of "crush" you can pull in.
See you at the docks.