08/25/2026
๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฒ'๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐
๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ โ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
The pier had a little bit of everything show up this week. ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ฆ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ, ๐๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐, ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก, ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ, ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก were all reported, along with plenty of cigar minnows and other bait. Remember, like we said earlier this week, whether its 1 or 100 caught, we're going to let you know.
Unfortunately, the jellyfish have pretty much taken over around the Octagon and have made fishing that area extremely difficult. The hot, calm water hasn't helped either. Okaloosa saw a similar slowdown at the pier this week, so this isn't just a Navarre problem.
There's plenty of bait around, though, and that can change things quickly. Keep an eye on the water and what the bait is doing before writing the pier off completely.
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The ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค.
As the water cleaned up, the pompano bite started improving, and by the end of the week we were hearing about ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก coming from the beach. Destin is seeing pompano and whiting in the surf as well, so that bite isn't isolated to one little stretch of beach.
That's pretty encouraging for late August. Usually we're fighting June grass this time of year, but we just haven't had much of it this summer. We're getting a chance to see what August can really produce when the beaches stay fishable.
I'd concentrate on the early mornings before the heat gets cranked up. ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ and artificials like FISHGUM and FISHBITES have been producing, so they're definitely worth putting in the bait bucket.
๐๐๐๐๐/๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
Things are starting to get interesting in the bay.
Locally, ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ, and if the wind will cooperate, we should be getting into prime time for flounder gigging. The shallow grass flats are also loaded with ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ right now, so grab a net if you want to switch things up after dark.
We're also hearing about ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ซ farther east in the bay, with plenty of trout still available. If you're targeting the trout, take the time to catch some finger mullet or menhaden and fish them live.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐/๐๐
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๐๐๐๐๐
Heading out the Pensacola Pass, ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ค๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฉ. I'd go old school and troll cedar plugs along with ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐-๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐, or even X-Rap Magnum in size 12 or 20.
๐๐๐: Run a cedar plug and an X-Rap or X-Rap Magnum together to help figure out what depth the kings are running. Once you start getting bites, adjust the spread to keep your baits in that strike zone.
It's still August and it's still brutally hot. Fish early when you can, take more water than you think you'll need, use plenty of sunscreen, and pay attention to what your body is telling you.
Good luck this weekend. If you get into a good bite, stop by the shop or send us a pictureโwe'd love to feature your catch in our reports.
