After the Rodeo Scale Goes Quiet, Destin's First Week of November Belongs to the Kids on AJ's Dock
The first fish weighed at the 78th Annual Destin Fishing Rodeo didn't come off a charter boat. On Oct. 1, Derrick Dover paddled up in a 14-foot kayak with a 2.6-pound redfish, The Destin Log reported. That same first day, the same scale took a 318.6-pound bull shark that Rodney Robertson of Ringo, Georgia, caught aboard the Bow'd Up with Capt. Brady Bowman, about 45 miles offshore.
Both fish crossed the dock behind AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar at 116 Harbor Boulevard. For a full month that dock has belonged to registered boats, many of them from out of town. Then, one week after the Rodeo closes, the City of Destin gives it to anglers 14 and under, who bring their own poles and fish for pinfish. The Rodeo's largest fish open the season on that dock, and the smallest fish of the year close it.
The Rodeo runs Oct. 1 through 31, with weigh-ins every day behind AJ's from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to the Destin Fishing Rodeo's event schedule. On opening day, Rodeo Director Amber Helton counted 81 charter boats and 77 private boats, 16 of them from out of state, plus eight entries in the kayak and paddleboard division.
That breaks down to 158 boats against eight paddle craft. Nearly all of the month's weight comes in under power from offshore. Day 1 also brought a 76.8-pound amberjack caught by Joe Scalise of Miramar Beach aboard Capt. Allen Staples' 100 Proof, and a 23.4-pound red snapper caught by Luis Martinez of Alabama aboard the Windwalker II with Capt. Bernie Lefebvre.
Standings update daily at destinrodeo.info, the official leaderboard linked from the Rodeo's own site. The board shows daily leaders across 26 category brackets. Overall winners for the month aren't settled until the awards night.
The month's last day lands on Halloween this year. The Rodeo calls Halloween on the Harbor, on Saturday, Oct. 31, the largest Halloween party on the Destin Harbor. Costumed guests join Rodeo captains, anglers, judges, Miss Destin and volunteers at the weigh-in. It's the last night the scale runs on Rodeo hours.
The 78th Annual Destin Fishing Rodeo Awards take place Thursday, Nov. 5, at 5:30 p.m. in the downstairs restaurant at AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar. Anglers, captains and mates collect their awards and prizes at what the Rodeo calls a festive, casual gathering. It's the first time the month's results become final, and it's the same building the whole season has run through.
Two days later, the dock outside hosts something much smaller on purpose.
The City of Destin's 28th Annual Pinfish Classic runs from 7 to 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, with the weigh-in on the dock behind AJ's at 116 Harbor Boulevard. City of Destin Parks & Recreation hosts it, and the details are simple:
Pre-registration is the item most likely to catch a family out, since a 7 a.m. start leaves no time to sort it out on the dock. The 8:45 award time also means the morning wraps before most of the harbor opens for business.
The prize for the smallest fish sets this morning apart from the Rodeo. October rewards weight. Nov. 7 rewards the tiniest pinfish as much as the biggest. A 2012 Destin Log account of the Classic described young anglers fishing for an hour while volunteers weighed and recorded each catch and then released it, with AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar sponsoring the event. The format has barely changed since. A 2024 Get The Coast report listed the same free, catch-and-release rules and the same three award categories.
Florida's wildlife agency lists youth under 16 among those exempt from needing a recreational fishing license, according to the FWC's license requirements page. That's general information, so check the FWC page for any situation outside a supervised kids' event.
The Pinfish Classic carries more weight than a kids' fishing derby usually would, because harbor dock space for young anglers has been a topic at Destin City Hall. At the Oct. 21, 2024 council meeting, Councilman Dewey Destin said he'd received multiple calls about teenage anglers, including members of the Destin High School fishing club, getting no-trespass warnings at docks along the harbor, Get The Coast reported. He framed it as a problem with two sides:
"I understand the property owners' dilemma. People are doing things that are associated with vandalism down there, and it's a risk they don't want to take."
He added that the city still allows fishing from public docks, but that those areas are "getting smaller and smaller." Councilman Johnny King remembered growing up riding a bike around Destin "with a five gallon bucket with a cast in it, a tackle box in your backpack and a fishing pole in the other hand." He also said he'd seen an influx of kids on bicycles carrying fishing poles again, and credited part of it to urban fishing videos on YouTube.
At that meeting, Councilman Destin floated the idea of a city registration system for young anglers to ease vandalism concerns, and city staff planned to meet with the Harbor & Waterways Board. That was a 2024 discussion, and for current dock rules the city's Parks & Recreation office is the place to ask. What hasn't changed since then is the Pinfish Classic, an annual morning when the city itself hands kids a spot on the harbor's best-known dock, bait included.
Nov. 7 doesn't end at 9 a.m. Pirate Brew Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day at Fudpucker's in Destin. Admission is free for all ages, and CORE GIVES is the charitable partner. Each guest 21 and older gets three drink tickets, with more available for a nominal donation at the CORE GIVES tent.
The following weekend, the City of Destin's 20th Annual Holiday Craft Show fills the Destin Community Center at 101 Stahlman Avenue. Hours are Friday, Nov. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. By Nov. 20, the town's attention moves off the water altogether. Destin Commons holds Santa's Arrival & Holiday Tree Lighting from 5 to 9 p.m., with the parade and tree lighting at 7 p.m. The next day, Nov. 21, its monthly market of local farmers, makers and artisans sets up on South Street from 2 to 6 p.m.
That puts the hand-off on a tight schedule. The Rodeo's scale closes Oct. 31, the prizes go out Nov. 5, and the kids take the dock on Nov. 7 from 7 a.m. until the 8:45 a.m. awards.
If you own on the harbor or are thinking about a home within walking distance of AJ's dock, Emerald Coast Properties can talk you through how that stretch of Destin works across the seasons. Schedule Your Complimentary Consultation.
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