By noon on Saturday, Oct. 10, Capt. Mike King had the Hiliner back at the Destin docks and his crew was grilling triggerfish. That morning he had run home through the Intracoastal, the stretch the fleet calls "the ditch," and dodged lumber the storm had pulled off the banks. Hurricane Isaias had come through as a Category 2 less than a day earlier. The Destin Log reported that the water got easier once the boats reached the west side of the Mid-Bay Bridge, and King summed up the trip home as "just lots of stuff in the water to dodge."
Isaias cost the 78th Destin Fishing Rodeo three days of weigh-ins in its own month. Those were the only days it took. When the scales behind AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar came back on Monday, Oct. 12, the boats that had evacuated to Panama City and Bay Point started bringing in fish right away. Within two days, fish weighed after the storm held first place in the amberjack standings and first place in the Junior Division.
Where the Fleet Rode It Out
Some captains took their boats east before landfall. The Destin Log reported that some charter boats sheltered at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, some went to Bay Point, and others anchored in the Intracoastal or in the bays and bayous. Many captains handled two jobs. Capt. Cliff Atwell of the Reel Grace ran to St. Andrews, then came back to Destin to ride out the night with his family. "We rode it out through the night," he told the paper. Capt. Taylor Waterfield took his boat, the Twilight, to Panama City on Thursday, came home to get his house ready, then went back to stay with the boat and brought it into Destin on Saturday morning.
Captains didn't all take the same way home. King came in through the ditch on Saturday. Atwell held off a day. "When you have something like this, all the debris and logs wash off the banks. It's kind of dangerous to drive in it," he said, and he planned to join a caravan of boats coming back along the Gulf early Sunday morning.
By the end of the weekend, the boats behind most of October's leaderboard fish were back in their slips.
Ready to Weigh at 10 a.m. Monday
On land, Okaloosa County caught the brunt of the storm. WKRG reported winds over 100 miles per hour, with signs piled up and tree limbs down near the boardwalk entrance at HarborWalk Village on the morning of Oct. 10.
Right on the harbor, the damage was lighter. Missy and Chris Schofield and their crew at Boathouse Oyster Bar spent Saturday morning taking down tarps and boards. "It's not bad at all. We boarded up ... it is completely dry in there," Missy told the Destin Log. By Sunday, Boathouse was open again. She described the storm in terms anyone who has sat through a Gulf hurricane will know: "The eye gets all eerie and calm, and then you get another three or four hours. But we didn't get it." Her shorthand for why the harbor came through was "The Destin Dome held."
On Sunday, businesses around town were reopening and churches held services outdoors. The Rodeo board asked for help getting the event running again, and people came. By Monday morning the scales were back up, the merchandise trailer was restocked, and the Rodeo was ready to weigh fish at 10 a.m. In a photo gallery from Oct. 12, the Destin Log called it the barge's first day back in business after three days shut down because of Isaias.
The schedule shows what those three days were worth. The Rodeo runs Oct. 1 through 31, with weigh-ins every day behind AJ's from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Losing Oct. 9, 10 and 11 left 28 days of weigh-ins out of 31. The volunteer turnaround held the loss to that.
The Board That Came Back
Monday was busy. On Oct. 12 the Un Reel, with Capt. Justin Destin, brought several fish to the scales. Jason Wommack of Kentucky weighed a 64.8-pound amberjack from that boat, and the Destin Log's caption noted it came "just days after Hurricane Isaias roared through Destin." The Sexton's Pride, with Capt. William Sexton, weighed in three good fish that day, including a 13-pound red snapper.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the lead changed hands. Adrian Moon of Texas weighed a 71-pound amberjack caught aboard the 100 Proof with Capt. Allen Staples, and the Destin Log's Day 13 gallery reported it took over first place on the leaderboard. The same day, Miller Krech, 13, of Georgia brought in a 63-pound amberjack aboard the Kull Pile and took first place in the Junior Division.
Here are the post-storm weigh-ins the Destin Log photographed on the first two days back:
| Date | Angler | Fish | Weight | Boat and captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 12 | Jason Wommack | Amberjack | 64.8 lb | Un Reel, Capt. Justin Destin |
| Oct. 12 | Maxwell Case | Amberjack, Junior Division | 60.6 lb | 100 Proof, Capt. Allen Staples |
| Oct. 12 | Brady Irving | Amberjack | 56.4 lb | Sexton's Pride, Capt. William Sexton |
| Oct. 12 | Madden Grisoff | Amberjack | 54.6 lb | Sexton's Pride, Capt. William Sexton |
| Oct. 12 | David Wommack | Barracuda | 20 lb | Un Reel, Capt. Justin Destin |
| Oct. 13 | Adrian Moon | Amberjack, took first place | 71 lb | 100 Proof, Capt. Allen Staples |
| Oct. 13 | Miller Krech | Amberjack, Junior Division first place | 63 lb | Kull Pile |
| Oct. 13 | James Marks | Red snapper | 17.6 lb | 100 Proof, Capt. Allen Staples |
| Oct. 13 | Kevin Abercrombie | Red grouper | 13.2 lb | 100 Proof, Capt. Allen Staples |
The 100 Proof shows up again and again. Case's 60.6-pound fish put him on the Junior Division board on Monday. On Tuesday the same boat came back with Moon's leading amberjack, Marks's 17.6-pound red snapper and Abercrombie's 13.2-pound red grouper. The Day 13 gallery also noted it was the first Rodeo for 10-month-old Marisol, who was aboard that day. Miss Destin 2026 Kaylynn Hayles appears in photo after photo on both days, greeting anglers at the scales.
The standings above are as of Oct. 13. By the time you read this, more than a week of weigh-ins will have gone by since then, so check the Rodeo's own updates for the current board. What the record shows so far is that both amberjack leads belong to fish weighed after Isaias, by boats that spent the storm away from Destin.
What's Still on the Rodeo Calendar
With nearly a third of the month left, the docks behind AJ's still have weigh-ins every day and a few dates circled. The Rodeo's event schedule went up on Sept. 24, before the storm, and lists the following from here to the finish:
- Daily weigh-ins through Saturday, Oct. 31, behind AJ's from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- 4th Annual Miss Destin Mingle, Saturday, Oct. 24. Past Miss Destins come back to welcome the newest one with an afternoon harbor cruise and photos at the weigh-in.
- Halloween on the Harbor, Saturday, Oct. 31. The last day of the Rodeo is also what the schedule calls the largest Halloween party on the Destin Harbor. Come in costume to join the captains, anglers, judges, Miss Destin and the volunteers.
- 78th Annual Destin Fishing Rodeo Awards, Thursday, Nov. 5, at 5:30 p.m., a casual gathering in the downstairs restaurant at AJ's where anglers, captains and mates receive their awards and prizes.
The same schedule had two dates for the weekend of Oct. 16 and 17. Friday, Oct. 16, was set aside as Bruce Cheves Day, honoring the Rodeo's late weighmaster of 41 years, with the Ringing of the Bell at 5 p.m. to remember those lost this year. Saturday, Oct. 17, was Larry Hatchett Fishing Foundation Day, when the foundation brings children from foster situations to fish and learn about marine habitats.
Because the schedule was posted before Isaias, check destinfishingrodeo.org before you head down to the harbor for a specific event. The visitor bureau is giving similar advice. On Oct. 14 it said power and essential services had been widely restored but some service disruptions remained, and it encouraged people to check directly with local businesses.
Here is what was confirmed as of mid-October. The fleet is home, Boathouse is pouring, and the scales behind AJ's open at 10 a.m. every day until the month runs out. The leading amberjack as of Oct. 13 weighed 71 pounds. Anyone who wants that spot has until 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 to beat it.
The Rodeo's quick restart came from captains, crews and volunteers who handled their own storm prep and then turned up to rebuild the scales. At Emerald Dunes Realty, that kind of harbor-side local knowledge is how we approach Destin. If a home where October runs on Rodeo time sounds right for you, we'd be glad to show you around this stretch of the Emerald Coast. Start Your Coastal Home Search.
