Not sure which was bigger on the docks Monday — the fish or the good times had by spring breakers and others on the charter boats.
"It was a super good, awesome day," said Stevana Williams of Mississippi State. "It's my first time to Destin and first time deep sea fishing. It was definitely a good day."
Williams was one of nine from the Mississippi State who were fishing aboard the party boat Destin Princess with Capt. Reid Phillips Monday.
"It was absolutely gorgeous out today," Phillips said. "The fish bit and there was no current."
The State spring breakers made up just a few of the 38 passengers aboard the Destin Princess, but they had a big time.
As the deckhands pulled out stringers and stringers loaded with red snapper, mingo and triggerfish, the spring breakers insisted their catch was much bigger.
When asked what the biggest thing they caught all day was, an older gentleman piped up in the crowd and said "a buzz," then chuckled.
The breakers didn't disagree, but they did go on and on about their big fish.
"We caught a lot of fish, some big ones," said Makon Cline of Mississippi State. "Every time you throw in you get a fish, you can't do much better."
And it wasn't all just talk.
When the deckhand pulled out the breakers stringer it was huge. It weighed in at 91 pounds.
Immediately Williams picked out her huge triggerfish and then Reid Hargrove spotted his big red snapper.
"My fish kicked your fish's butt," Hargrove told Williams.
The breakers were eager to pose for photos with their catch. To see more photos of spring breakers in the area, click here.
Not long after, the bet was on that Hargrove wouldn't eat some of the guts from his snapper.
After a little convincing from this reporter that it would not be a good idea, he gave up the idea momentarily.
However, a few minutes later as he was showing off a filet from his snapper, he took a bite out of it.
"It's pretty good … really fresh," Hargrove said.
They were not the only ones excited about their catch and ready to pose for photographs.
A group from Texas had a huge catch aboard the Destin Princess, as well as folks from Canada.
The Realin' Script with Capt. B.J. Teems at the helm came in from a six-hour trip with a nice little catch. The group from Texas pulled in triggerfish, amberine and a red grouper.
"It was my first trip of the year, a nice little six hour," Teems said, noting they were fishing about 10 miles out.
Capt. Greg Marler of the Gentle Winds backed in with a pile of fish. They had triggerfish, mingo and amberine everywhere.
"The fishing was really good today. We had some nice triggers," Capt. Marler said. He and his group of 30 were fishing about 20 miles out.
The Dawn Patrol with Capt. John Tenore came in from a short trip with sheepshead, flounder and triggerfish, and Capt. Allen Staples on the Al-Lin came in from a four-hour trip with a few mingo, triggerfish, white snapper and scamp.
"The water is still a little cold right now," Staples said.
The party boat Destiny with Capt. Chris McConnell at the helm came in with 51 anglers and a pile of fish. They had red snapper, triggerfish, amberine, mingo, white snapper and lane snapper.
The fishing is just going to get better as the temperatures warm up, so get ready for more big fish and big times.
See you on the docks.