Same bridge line, same pass, same October tradition. Almost everything else changed.
By What's Good Local · Photos: State Archives of Florida, Destin History & Fishing Museum, Timberview Helicopters
East Pass from both sides of the bridge. Left: today, looking south over Crab Island to the Gulf (photo courtesy of Timberview Helicopters). Right: 1959, looking north over Norriego Point and the harbor, with the original two-lane bridge that opened in 1936 (State Archives of Florida, C030870). Composite image.
In 1959, Destin was a fishing village. Look at the right side of that photo: a sand spit, a quiet harbor, a few docks, and a two-lane bridge carrying traffic across East Pass.
Now look left. It's the same water, with condos on the shoreline, boats running out of the pass, and a crowd anchored up at Crab Island.
Same pass. Same bridge line. A different world.
The Rodeo, Then and Now
The sign said it plainly: "Entire month of October." That was the sixth Rodeo. The tournament started in 1948, and October has belonged to it ever since.
Then. Sixth Annual Destin Gulf Coast Fishing Rodeo, 1953. Image courtesy of the Destin History & Fishing Museum.Now. The leaderboard and grandstand behind AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar. Image courtesy of AJ's.
The prizes got bigger and the leaderboard went up on the docks, but the idea hasn't changed: bring your catch to the scales and see where it lands.
Weigh-ins run every day in October on the docks behind AJ's. They're free, and still the best show on the harbor.
October has belonged to the Rodeo since 1948.
Want to see more of the village Destin used to be? The Destin History & Fishing Museum keeps the photos, the stories and the record catches.
East Pass, 1959: State Archives of Florida (C030870), public domain. Today: courtesy of Timberview Helicopters. Rodeo sign, 1953: courtesy of the Destin History & Fishing Museum. Leaderboard photo: courtesy of AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar.
