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About Grand Lagoon
The year was 1964 and the place was Captain Anderson's Marina. Dr. Charles Wood, fishing aboard the Captain Joe with Joe Knowles, brought the first Blue Marlin to a Grand Lagoon dock. In the years since, there have been many other prizes weighed at our marinas, most notably the 1,046 pound Florida state record brought in by Conrad Hawkins aboard the Lucky 2 in 2001, a record almost equaled with a 998 pound catch in 2006.
Even before the records were set, the Grand Lagoon had already become the Panhandle's place to fish. A half a century ago, early rods and reels made catching giant snapper and grouper an everyday occurrence aboard the fleet fishing out of Captain Anderson's and Treasure Island. Money tournaments were soon to come, and with them a host of almost supernatural fish from giant sharks and 400 pound Warsaw grouper to sleek sailfish, white marlin, hefty yellow fin tuna, dolphin and wahoo.
But seafood isn't just the object of a sport, it's a gastronomic wonder. It should come as no surprise that the Grand Lagoon's growth as a center for recreational fishing was accompanied by a deserved reputation as the place to go for a seafood dinner. Captain Anderson's restaurant has long held sway as one of Florida's most renowned and respected eateries. The Treasure Ship has been feeding and entertaining families for years with the kind of seafood that makes fishing an indispensable part of Florida's vacation diet. To their treasures have been added the contemporary, upbeat and jazzy offerings of the Boatyard and its slick waterside bar.
Today, the Grand Lagoon remains the epicenter of fun and vacation fishing on the Florida gulf coast. Along its shore you can find over 1,300 slips and dry storage racks that are home to the core of the region's recreational fleet. Charter boats run out of every marina. Party boats ply early morning seas on their way to nearby catches of snapper and grouper. Dive boats lure the adventurous and stacks of boats rest in huge warehouses ready for the next trip to nearby St. Andrews Bay where everything from trout and redfish to flounder and grouper provide a siren call. To this fleet you can add luxurious ships that offer dinner and cruising, island hoping water taxis, tour boats, rental craft for the non boating public, gift shops, fishmongers and boat dealers.
And as for all those restaurants; well, they now offer more than 2,500 seats to hungry visitors. Hushpuppies and fried seafood are still offered, as are new dishes made with the bounty of the sea but now offered up with intriguing names, luscious sauces and extensive wine lists. This is the Grand Lagoon where no day starts too early for a good breakfast, or ends too late for a nightcap and one more dance. This is it, the place where fish are never served dry, crab cakes are always fresh, and where tea and brews are served ice cold and every fishing rod comes complete with the dream of a lifetime.
One terrific place to host America's Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
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