Supercool. You're gonna love it. My in-laws used to live in Navarre, and I have several fishing buddies that live in Navarre, Navarre Beach, and Fort Walton Beach.
I've got a sound-side house and dock near Portofino, and right now, there are countless packs of Red Drum and Speckled Trout hunting the "teenage" Croakers that have moved outta the bays into Santa Rosa Sound (before they head offshore in the fall). There are also squadrons of Mullet gliding along the shorelines. Most are around 6–8'' long, which is the size that Gator Trout and Bull Reds tend to hunt. One of my Navarre Beach fishing buddies is seeing the same thing on his condo's sound-side dock. Near Ft Walton Beach, Ladyfish are stacked up along the spoil islands off Mary Esther right now, and Reds are there hunting.
Seriously, all you have to do is look for a Heron standing tall on the shore near bottom structure (natural or artificial) or on a dock/lift, and you'll find a gaggle of Croakers grazing the sand & grass flats, or formations of mullet cruising the shoreline, or schools of Ladyfish chasing white bait... and big Reds & Specks cruising alongside. On incoming tide, the Reds & Specks will push into the flats to hunt the Croakers, Mullet, & Ladies. (Dolphins will be corralling their prey into the shallows too.) On outgoing tide, the Reds and Specks will hold at dropoffs and points waiting to ambush their prey.
Check the tide charts, because your best chances will be when tidal/wind-driven flow is greatest:
Tide Predictions - NOAA Tides & Currents - Santa Rosa Sound - Mary Esther
Tide Predictions - NOAA Tides & Currents - Destin Pass
As I mentioned earlier, I fish mostly with artificial lures. Right now, casting big-profile soft and hard plastic is producing the best for me (SLAM Shady Bomber, Power Prawn USA, PowerBait Swim Shad, Yo-Zuri 3DB Vibe, Strike King KVD). Meanwhile, my son prefers to soak live or fresh-cut bait (Menhaden, Croaker, Grunt, Mullet, and Pinfish — all of which he catches himself). If you decide to catch your own live bait, use a cast net or get yourself a "Key West"–style Pinfish trap. I fill our Pinfish trap (smallest size) with fried-chicken scraps, and I typically pick up two dozen or more Pinfish and Croaker in 30 minutes.
My favorite tackle stores in the area are:
Half Hitch Tackle Navarre
Emerald Coast Bait and Tackle
Half Hitch has two locations. The Navarre location is far less crowded than the Destin one. Emerald Coast is kinda outta the way up in Cinco Bayou, but they're a great store.
On other topics, much of which you probably already know, but I'll post here just in case others might find these notes beneficial —
When you see dolphins cruising along in open water (a case of
when, not
if), slow down to about 15 knots and get everyone to the back of the boat so you can throw the biggest wake possible. There's a good chance that the dolphins will play in your wake.
It's thunderstorm season here. Don't let the storms stop you from enjoying the sun in-between storms. Make sure you've got a good radar app on your phone so you can maximize your "in-between storms" time. I use MyRadar Pro (in conjunction with the actual radar on my boat). MyRadar Pro will also warn you of small-craft advisories, waterspouts, etc. — the stuff you want to avoid.
NOAA marine zone forecast is available here, and if you click on the map, you get the specific forecast for that point:
National Weather Service - Marine Zone Forecast - Western Choctawhatchee Bay
I also have the Windy.app app installed on my phone. When I'm inshore, the wind forecast is especially useful for gauging how rough the water will be:
Windy.app - Adventure Marina wind and marine forecast
Navionics SonarChart (the crowd-sourced layer that comes with Navionics+) is the most accurate and detailed for this area. But shoals here are very dynamic, so I usually post a lookout at the bow when I enter shallow water. Most of the time, the water will be clear enough to see bottom when it's less than 5 ft of depth. But be prepared to hit (or "slide") your keel on sand. Obviously, if you're anchoring, drop your anchor on sand, not on seagrass.
If you get tired of the crowds in Destin & Fort Walton Beach, you can always head west down Santa Rosa Sound. Between Navarre Beach and Portofino, there are countless spots where you can beach or anchor your boat and have the shoreline to yourself. (There are also a couple spots with public huts and bathrooms, if you've got someone on your boat that would rather not pee in the water.) Farther west in Pensacola Beach, if you're hungry/thirsty, Red Fish Blue Fish, Water Pig, Flounders, Whiskey Joe's, Cafe Nola, and Paradise Bar & Grill are all easily accessible by boat. Although the public pier there is being rebuilt right now, Flounders and Paradise have private piers, if you don't want to wade through knee-deep water to get to shore. When you want to head back to Navarre or Fort Walton Beach, the ICW is well marked, and the water is almost always calm enough to do 40+ knots, on plane, pretty much the whole way — even after sunset.
Anyway, I hope all this info is helpful to you (and to others who land here).
