Inshore Fishing Charters
On Inshore Fishing Charters you can expect to fish with light spinning tackle in the Choctawhatchee Bay, the Intercostal Waterway, the Santa Rosa Sound and surrounding Bayous and Inlets. If you're worried about getting seasick, these trips are the perfect solution! Bay fishing trips are run throughout the calm backwaters of the bay surrounded by land and gorgeous scenery.
Most of the fishing on these types of charters will take place over grass flats, docks, bridges, jetties and oyster beds using live bait . We will fish with artificial bait occasionally. We typically use lightweight rods and light tackle spinning reels on our charters. The equipment we use is top-notch and perfect for all experience levels! If you have your own equipment and are itching to use it, please feel free to bring your own fly rod or camera equipment. Just remember, space is limited on board the fishing vessel.
Our fishery changes throughout the year. The most common year round species are Redfish, Black Drum and Speckled Trout. Other species you might fight against are Mangrove Snappers, Black Snappers, Sheepshead, Pompano, Permit, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Bluefish, Ladyfish and Jack Crevelle. These are targeted seasonally and vary month to month.
Don't think that just because you'll be using light tackle that you won't have the opportunity to hook into some real sea monsters! Bull redfish are one of the top apex species which we commonly target on light spinning tackle. These Redfish will take you for the ride of your life and put every ounce of skill you have into play!
Most of the fishing on these types of charters will take place over grass flats, docks, bridges, jetties and oyster beds using live bait . We will fish with artificial bait occasionally. We typically use lightweight rods and light tackle spinning reels on our charters. The equipment we use is top-notch and perfect for all experience levels! If you have your own equipment and are itching to use it, please feel free to bring your own fly rod or camera equipment. Just remember, space is limited on board the fishing vessel.
Our fishery changes throughout the year. The most common year round species are Redfish, Black Drum and Speckled Trout. Other species you might fight against are Mangrove Snappers, Black Snappers, Sheepshead, Pompano, Permit, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Bluefish, Ladyfish and Jack Crevelle. These are targeted seasonally and vary month to month.
Don't think that just because you'll be using light tackle that you won't have the opportunity to hook into some real sea monsters! Bull redfish are one of the top apex species which we commonly target on light spinning tackle. These Redfish will take you for the ride of your life and put every ounce of skill you have into play!
Kids Fishing Trips
At Scallywag Charters our Kid Fishing Trips are the highest rated in Destin, Florida! But don't take our word for it, come and see why for yourself. Let us help your kids fall in love with fishing! Our Kid Friendly Fishing Charters are designed to introduce fishing and boating to your children without spending the entire day out on the water.
We want your kids to enjoy what might be their first experience ever on a boat. There's nothing quite like watching your kids get amped up on fishing and that's exactly what these fishing trips are all about! We will treat your kids like they're our own. We understand the attention span of younger anglers usually does not last as long as adults and we've geared these trips around that. We'll do everything possible to ensure their time on the water is nothing short of amazing and you'll have them begging to come back for more!
Our kids trips are designed to introduce kids saltwater fishing, we take ages 2 and up. Kids fishing charters are a shorter trip and therefore are a more flexible choice for families, especially those with younger children. Our kids fishing charters take place in the calmer waters of the Destin Harbor and Choctawhatchee Bay. This helps us increase your time fishing on the water and help the kids experience fishing first hand. You can expect light tackle fishing and cruising around in beautiful scenery. We regularly encounter dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, sharks, and lots of marine birds. These fishing charters are fun for the whole family and can provide some incredible photo opportunities!
The bay, surrounding inlets, and waterways provide us an opportunity to escape light to moderate weather and still fish comfortably. We are 100% about catching fish, but sometimes you may get to a point where the kids have felt they have caught enough fish and are done fishing before the adults and that is OK. Our goal is to keep the action and excitement as fast as possible while on these fishing charters. While out on these shorter trips we aim to keep the drive time down as short as possible so we target the species that are biting best at the time of your charter and this can vary from season to season.
We catch multiple species on charters, including but not limited to Bluefish, Pinfish, Ladyfish, Redfish, Black Drum, Trout, Redfish, Mangrove Snappers, Catfish, Permit, Pompano and Spanish Mackerel.
* Kids fishing trips are catch and release trips.
We want your kids to enjoy what might be their first experience ever on a boat. There's nothing quite like watching your kids get amped up on fishing and that's exactly what these fishing trips are all about! We will treat your kids like they're our own. We understand the attention span of younger anglers usually does not last as long as adults and we've geared these trips around that. We'll do everything possible to ensure their time on the water is nothing short of amazing and you'll have them begging to come back for more!
Our kids trips are designed to introduce kids saltwater fishing, we take ages 2 and up. Kids fishing charters are a shorter trip and therefore are a more flexible choice for families, especially those with younger children. Our kids fishing charters take place in the calmer waters of the Destin Harbor and Choctawhatchee Bay. This helps us increase your time fishing on the water and help the kids experience fishing first hand. You can expect light tackle fishing and cruising around in beautiful scenery. We regularly encounter dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, sharks, and lots of marine birds. These fishing charters are fun for the whole family and can provide some incredible photo opportunities!
The bay, surrounding inlets, and waterways provide us an opportunity to escape light to moderate weather and still fish comfortably. We are 100% about catching fish, but sometimes you may get to a point where the kids have felt they have caught enough fish and are done fishing before the adults and that is OK. Our goal is to keep the action and excitement as fast as possible while on these fishing charters. While out on these shorter trips we aim to keep the drive time down as short as possible so we target the species that are biting best at the time of your charter and this can vary from season to season.
We catch multiple species on charters, including but not limited to Bluefish, Pinfish, Ladyfish, Redfish, Black Drum, Trout, Redfish, Mangrove Snappers, Catfish, Permit, Pompano and Spanish Mackerel.
* Kids fishing trips are catch and release trips.
Gulf Fishing Charters
Nearshore Gulf Fishing Trips are run within 9 miles of the shore. Offshore Gulf Fishing Trips are run up to 75 miles offshore. On Scallywag's Gulf Fishing Charters you can expect to bottom fish with conventional tackle targeting various reef fish, trolling for pelagic species, or trying your hand at some sight fishing.
When bottom fishing you can expect to fish in anywhere from 60-120ft of water for reef species such as Red Snappers, Vermillion Snappers, Pogies, Grey Triggerfish, Amberjacks and a few species of Groupers over both natural, hard bottom and artificial wrecks with live baits, dead baits and artificial baits.
Trolling is usually done over wrecks or natural bottom with natural or artificial baits on light or medium tackle for pelagic species such as King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo and Sailfish.
Sight fishing the beach is one of the most exciting ways to target Bull Redfish, Cobia, Jack Crevelle and Tarpon. As the name suggests we drive along the beach spotting the targeted species and casting at individual or schools of fish. There aren't many things more exciting than watching the fish you spotted from a distance inhale a live bait on a perfect cast! Every one of the fish we catch doing this style of fishing love to peel drag!
The bottom contour offshore Destin, FL drops off relatively quickly for the Gulf of Mexico giving us more fishing opportunities than other parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The fishing in the Gulf Offshore and Nearshore is great year round! We have seasonal species closures that prevent us from harvesting most species year round. That certainly doesn't mean we can't go catch and release them!
When bottom fishing you can expect to fish in anywhere from 60-120ft of water for reef species such as Red Snappers, Vermillion Snappers, Pogies, Grey Triggerfish, Amberjacks and a few species of Groupers over both natural, hard bottom and artificial wrecks with live baits, dead baits and artificial baits.
Trolling is usually done over wrecks or natural bottom with natural or artificial baits on light or medium tackle for pelagic species such as King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo and Sailfish.
Sight fishing the beach is one of the most exciting ways to target Bull Redfish, Cobia, Jack Crevelle and Tarpon. As the name suggests we drive along the beach spotting the targeted species and casting at individual or schools of fish. There aren't many things more exciting than watching the fish you spotted from a distance inhale a live bait on a perfect cast! Every one of the fish we catch doing this style of fishing love to peel drag!
The bottom contour offshore Destin, FL drops off relatively quickly for the Gulf of Mexico giving us more fishing opportunities than other parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The fishing in the Gulf Offshore and Nearshore is great year round! We have seasonal species closures that prevent us from harvesting most species year round. That certainly doesn't mean we can't go catch and release them!
Shark Fishing Charters
You'll be AMAZED at the sheer power of the larger Reef Sharks and Tiger Sharks and the agility and acrobatic display of Spinner Sharks and Black Tip Sharks! We catch sharks on medium to heavy spinning gear in shallow waters. Let this be the experience of your lifetime! These pelagic species never fail to disappoint on their full display of power as the apex predators of the Gulf of Mexico!
Shark fishing is generally better during the warmer months of the year around mid-April to early-September. The best months for Shark Fishing are during the summer months in May, June, July and August. In the colder winter months, pelagic species tend to move offshore into deeper waters are are tougher to find close by. We run our Shark Fishing Trips within 9 miles of the shore.
The most requested Shark Fishing Trips we get are for 5-6 hours. With a 5-6 hour fishing trip we can do what we like to call our Shark and Gulf Combination Fishing Trip or Shark and Inshore Combination Fishing Trip. On these charters we have just the right amount of time to fit in some gulf fishing or bay fishing and find a few sharks to chum in, pull on and fight too! This is a great option for those who can't decide on what kind of fishing they want to do. Both styles of shark fishing are equally impressive!
The most common method of shark fishing is on anchor while chumming and soaking large baits (usually either stingray or bonito slabs) for 200+lb sharks. Depending on the weather we typically fish 2 - 3 rods at a time dedicated to shark fishing. If conditions allow we may have the opportunity to fish for other fish while we are waiting for Jaws to arrive!
Sight fishing smaller 60-120lb sharks with pitch baits in shallow water is the other style of shark fishing that can be done, especially in the summer months. These types of Shark Trips are a good introduction for kids to get a chance at shark fishing but not for anything massive.
Shark fishing is generally better during the warmer months of the year around mid-April to early-September. The best months for Shark Fishing are during the summer months in May, June, July and August. In the colder winter months, pelagic species tend to move offshore into deeper waters are are tougher to find close by. We run our Shark Fishing Trips within 9 miles of the shore.
The most requested Shark Fishing Trips we get are for 5-6 hours. With a 5-6 hour fishing trip we can do what we like to call our Shark and Gulf Combination Fishing Trip or Shark and Inshore Combination Fishing Trip. On these charters we have just the right amount of time to fit in some gulf fishing or bay fishing and find a few sharks to chum in, pull on and fight too! This is a great option for those who can't decide on what kind of fishing they want to do. Both styles of shark fishing are equally impressive!
The most common method of shark fishing is on anchor while chumming and soaking large baits (usually either stingray or bonito slabs) for 200+lb sharks. Depending on the weather we typically fish 2 - 3 rods at a time dedicated to shark fishing. If conditions allow we may have the opportunity to fish for other fish while we are waiting for Jaws to arrive!
Sight fishing smaller 60-120lb sharks with pitch baits in shallow water is the other style of shark fishing that can be done, especially in the summer months. These types of Shark Trips are a good introduction for kids to get a chance at shark fishing but not for anything massive.
Custom Fishing Charters
Scallywag Charters offers the best fishing in one of the top vacation destinations! Whether you expect to fish off the white sand beaches in the crystal-clear emerald green gulf waters along the beautiful Emerald Coast, or you gravitate more towards the bay to do some fishing inshore in the numerous bayous and waterways of the Choctawhatchee Bay and Santa Rosa Sound, surrounding scenery is nothing short of breathtaking! Our Kids Fishing Trips are the highest rated in Destin.
Each fishing vessel has a max occupancy of 6 passengers. We can take parties of 6 or more with the use of multiple boats. If you aren't sure what type of trip you want or you just want to fish for whatever is biting best at the time of your charter, we recommend requesting a Bay/Gulf Fishing Trip. Let us know what you prefer at the time of booking and we'll do our best to accommodate you.
Scallywag Charters offers fishing trips throughout the year. The most popular times of year to visit Destin, Florida are during Spring Break, Memorial Day through Labor Day and the month of October for the Destin Fishing Rodeo! We run fishing trips multiple times each day and we are located within about a 1 hour drive or less to these surrounding areas - ( Fort Walton Beach, FL; Navarre, FL; Gulf Breeze, FL; Pensacola, FL; Destin, FL; Miramar Beach, FL; 30A and Panama City Beach, FL).
Vessels are located 3.5 miles West of the Destin Bridge and Destin, FL. We are on Okaloosa Island just South of Fort Walton Beach, Florida and Brooks Bridge. Scallywag Charters is tucked along the Choctawhatchee Bay and right around the corner from the Gulf of Mexico. We are next to Destin West Bay Resort and Destin West RV Resort right behind the restaurant Rick's on the Island. About 1 mile from Santa Rosa Blvd in Fort Walton Beach, FL, directly across the street from The Island Resort on Okaloosa Island. Our physical address is 1318 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
Call or text Marisa directly to book your trip at 850-218-6827.
Fill out the contact form on our homepage for more information or questions you might have.
Dolphin - Sunset - Fireworks Cruises
2 Hour Cruise
Are you looking to leave the fishing poles at home? Take a relaxing cruise on a private boat with your own designated driver. Adventure on a private 2-hour cruise along the beautiful Florida Coast! Perfect for all ages.
On your Dolphin Cruise, you can expect to enjoy beautiful scenery and crystal clear emerald green waters of Destin, Florida. Be on the lookout for dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, stingrays and more! Get ready to relax and enjoy your beach vacation to the fullest! Get your own up close and personal encounter with Florida sea life. Don't forget your camera, GoPro or drone for that perfect photo opportunity! Alcohol is allowed on board the vessel. NO glass containers permitted.
Experience a magical evening while you cruise the Destin Harbor, with the best seats in the house, to see the Emerald Grande and Harborwalk Village Fireworks Show on your own private fireworks cruise. Join us every Monday and Thursday in the summer for a fireworks cruise in Destin, FL
On your Dolphin Cruise, you can expect to enjoy beautiful scenery and crystal clear emerald green waters of Destin, Florida. Be on the lookout for dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, stingrays and more! Get ready to relax and enjoy your beach vacation to the fullest! Get your own up close and personal encounter with Florida sea life. Don't forget your camera, GoPro or drone for that perfect photo opportunity! Alcohol is allowed on board the vessel. NO glass containers permitted.
Experience a magical evening while you cruise the Destin Harbor, with the best seats in the house, to see the Emerald Grande and Harborwalk Village Fireworks Show on your own private fireworks cruise. Join us every Monday and Thursday in the summer for a fireworks cruise in Destin, FL