David Strong and his 80.4-pound cobia caught on the Hey Baby is still leading in the overall division of the 2008 HarborWalk Destin Cobia Tournament.

Ronnie Houge is in second with a 72.2-pounder caught on Hog Wild, and Josh Goodson with a 62.4-pounder is holding down third. Goodson was fishing on the Mother Lode.

The 30-feet and under division is coming on strong. Mike Dates on the Dawn Patrol reeled in a 66.5-pounder to step into the lead. In second is Howell Phelps with a 58.8-pounder caught on the James Gang. Third place is a 38.6-pounder caught by Curt Gwin on the Only Way.

The ladies are getting the job done. Pam Dana pulled in a 61.2-pounder while fishing on the Sure Lure to take the lead in the Ladies Division. Cathi Wagner on Full Pull is in second with a 57.6-pounder and Jenni Brunson aboard the Long Weekend is in third with a 51.4-pounder.

The 8th annual Hog’s Breath Cobia Shootout Tournament is set to go this weekend.

The captain’s meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, with fish days scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Weighins are 5-8 p.m. each day.

The Destin Cobia Tournament at HarborWalk Marina is well underway and the elusive ling are starting to come in.

So far, five cobia weighing more than 50 pounds have been weighed in.

The five are:

80.4-pounder caught by Davis Strong on the Hey Baby.
72.19-pounder pulled in by Ronnie Hogue on the Hog Wild.
57.6-pounder caught by Cathi Wagner on the Full Pull.
56.4-pounder caught by Jon Wilson on the Outta Line.
51.4-pounder caught by Jenni Brunson on the Long Weekend.

Talked with Capt. Cathi Wagner Thursday morning and no cobia have been spotted as of yet.
She and the crew aboard the Full Pull have been out three times looking toward Pensacola and haven’t seen one yet.
“Everything is perfect,” she said — just no cobia.
However, she said the drop in temperature the last couple of days, could slow things up.
“A couple of degrees in water temperature can make all the difference in the world,” she said.
The water temperature Thursday was 63 degrees. Cobia like it 65 or better.

I just love going to the high school sports banquets.
Last night was the South Walton girls basketball banquet at Santa Rosa Golf and Beach Club — not only was the food great — but the accolades for the coaches and team were wonderful.
You could tell there is a true mutual admiration between the two.

Way to go South Walton for finishing up 19-7.
And way to go Coach Craig in making the evening special for the girls who worked so hard this past season.

I heard it first hand.

The red snapper are thick and biting good.

Monday afternoon, Capt. Dennis Kendrick and his crew of anglers from Wisconsin, came in with a huge catch of amberjack — but all they could talk about were all the red snapper they had to throw back.

Captain said they threw back 50 to 60 red snapper — and they weren’t small ones either. Capt. Kendrick said they weighed between 10 and 15 pounds each.

“I couldn’t get away from them,” he said.

Even the anglers were talking about all the snapper they had to throw back. One guy even said, there were times they had two snapper on at the time.

Needless to say, I find it amusing that just a few days ago the Florida Wildlife and Conservation Commission voted to cut the limits back on red snapper for the upcoming season to just two snapper per person instead of four — the reason being — we supposedly have a shortage.

I don’t think so.

Word has come down from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission —  we get to keep our red snapper season from April 15 to Oct. 31 — that’s a good thing.

The compromise is — instead of keeping four per person per day, anglers can now keep only two per person. Although I hate to see the limits cut in half, it’s better than none.

The fact is the commission was going to cut the season down to June 1 to  Sept. 30. — which would cut red snapper out of the October Destin Fishing Rodeo.

I simply can’t imagine a Rodeo without a red snapper.

But now I don’t have to.

The South Walton Seahawks had a big win Thursday evening over the Ponce de Leon Pirates. The Seahawks won 54-37 and outscored the Pirates three out of four quarters.

Junior players Jake Wright (18 points) and Jordan Colson (15 points) did a phenominal job of hitting the inside shot. But then again, the Seahawks did a great job at getting the ball to the open man inside.

Not only was it a big win on the court, but in the stands as well. The student body got behind their team and cheered them on, as they have on several ocassions this year.

And way to go Coach John Davies — as the students were waiting for the team to come back out from the locker room following Thursday’s win — Coach Davies walked over to the students and thanked them for coming and told them to be sure and come back.

There’s nothing like playing with your friends and family cheering you. And don’t ever sell your support of the team short.

Way to go South Walton!

Destin Middle School has a new baseball coach - Scott Hemond.

And man is he pumped!

Hemond coached at Pryor Middle School last year and his Pirates finished third in the county.

But before moving to the  Emerald Coast four years ago, he played 11 years in the major leagues. Hemond has played against players like Manny Ramirez, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to name a few.

He was as a catcher and a utility player at the major league level for the Oakland Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals and the  Chicago White Sox.

Destin’s getting a great guy with a tremendous wealth of knowledge.

And the thing that excites him the most is the chance to  TEACH the kids.

After trailing the majority of the game, the Freeport Bulldogs came back in the last quarter for a 74-68 win over the Baker Gators Friday night in Freeport.

Jamey Goddin led the Bulldogs with 27 points, 17 coming in the second half. Alex Newkirk hit for 17 points and Johnny McCormick tossed in 16.

Watching Freeport is always exciting - those players run up and down the court like someone is chasing them. But the only one chasing them Friday night in the fourth quarter was the Baker Gators.

Way to go Bulldogs.