Mid April I'm going to be going on a two week trip to Eglin AFB for work, for those not familiar with the base it's in the Destin area. If anyone could offer some advice on places to do some fishing that would be much appreciated I did a little research online and obviously up in the panhandle region salt water seems to be the way to go, but if there somewhere close I would like the opportunity to maybe target some bass while I'm there.

Not a lot of bass spots in the Ft Walton Bch area. There is a lake by the college in Nicevile that has a little public spot where u can park. Never tried it but I'm sure there is some fish in it.

depending on how far you are willing to travel lake taliquin in tallahassee is known for producing some monsters. awesome fishery fished it about 5 or 6 years ago and did well. One trip on a boat and about 2 days from the bank at the campground i was staying at.

 

That time of year the fish will probably be all done spawning and getting ready for some summer haunts. Im from central florida and that is me using some guessing. Im sure there are people on here that regularly fish that lake.

Fish the salt

Thanks for the replies I was checking out lake talquin online thinking I may be able to head up that way on the weekend and do a little bank fishing guess we will have to wait and see how things work out. As to the salt response I keep hearing people on line say fish the jetty's for redfish and after checking out some videos it looks like a blast, the only problem is the salt game is an animal I know nothing about, does anyone have any advise as to what kind of gear I would need, I know the average bass spining gear would work for the reds, as far as a med-hvy rod goes, would my 2500 stradic ci4 with some braid work ok for the reds? what about lures? I have lots of different things so I could easly bring some of my own stuff and maybe pick up a few things there but like I said I dont really know what all I would need. Any help or advise?

No one has fished for reds in that area? All im really looking for is a rod and lure suggestions, as I have never done any salt water fishing. I would like the rod to be used for bass after the trip, I was thinking about getting another *** for the job.   

My freshwater vote would go to Lake Seminole on the Florida/Georgia border.

On a low note though, Seminole is a looong drive, and I'm not sure about its bank fishing opportunity.

 

Far more convenient would be 318-acre Hurricane Lake, about 35 fly miles north of Eglin Air Force Base.

Earthen fingers provide bank fishing, while gas motors are forbidden which is an asset for shore anglers.

 

Roger

All along Destin/Santa Rosa Beach/Sea Side coast there are small dune ponds/lakes that from what I've heard have great LMB, speckled trout, and redfish fishing in them.  A few of them rent kayaks and there's a lot of bank fishing opportunities at many of them too...Probably a 45 minute drive east of Elgin.

Sweet I'm excited for some new fishing adventures, thanks for the all the replies, looks like I've got some more homework to do in the next couple of months

Fish the salt

I hope it's better up there than it is down here, I'm pretty much bass fishing until the spring bait runs.

 

My own personal take is like to target a species I don't normally catch at home, redfish would be a nice change of pace.  From the gear you described you're fine..  Your average redfish I'm guessing is 4-8#, a 15-20# shouldn't pose a problem either.  Keep your lures simple you don't need too much, most bass lures are going ok.  If you choose to pick up a few items I would suggest jerk shad on a jig head (Zoom fluke will work just as well), gold spoons, Mirrorlure twitch bait, topwater and maybe some bucktails.

I hope it's better up there than it is down here, I'm pretty much bass fishing until the spring bait runs.

 

My own personal take is like to target a species I don't normally catch at home, redfish would be a nice change of pace.  From the gear you described you're fine..  Your average redfish I'm guessing is 4-8#, a 15-20# shouldn't pose a problem either.  Keep your lures simple you don't need too much, most bass lures are going ok.  If you choose to pick up a few items I would suggest jerk shad on a jig head (Zoom fluke will work just as well), gold spoons, Mirrorlure twitch bait, topwater and maybe some bucktails.

Thank you sirsnookalot that's really helpful I wanted to make sure that the gear I was looking towards using would work, I am no where near an ocean so buying ocean specific gear doesn't really benefit me much, but I am always looking for an excuse to buy more bass gear lmao dang bait monkey

^ as usual, I agree with what snook said. I haven't fished much in destin proper, but have fished extensively in the salt west of there from port St joe/cape San blas to the ecofina river.

Your tackle will do fine. I will say this though. ... most of the redfish being caught off jetties tend to be on the big/out of slot/ bull type. You will NOT be OK in that case. Lol. You should be OK though with reds up to the upper slot (27").

Find a flat. ...espicially if you can find one with grass still on it ( unlikely) ...or a creek that has a dark bottom and wait for the sun to warm up the shallows/mud. The fish will be up in that shallow warm water.

Gold spoons, gulp shrimp in white or new penny on a jig head or under a popping cork, and a bone zara spook Jr should catch anything in the area.

Like mentioned above, lots of freshwater in the area. ... just look around when you get there.

Fwiw- the bite is pretty slow here on lake talquin right now. ...and not any better on Seminole. A few weeks of warm weather though. ........