Fishing
Red snapper, grouper, mackerel, tuna, and billfish are abundant off the Panhandle. The easiest way to drop a line into the Gulf is off the new Pensacola Beach Gulf Fishing Pier, on Fort Pickens Road in Pensacola Beach (tel. 850/934-7200; www.fishpensacolabeachpier.com). At 1,471 feet, it's the longest fishing pier on the Gulf Coast. The pier is open 24 hours a day, year-round. Fees for fishing are $6.50 per day for adults, $5.50 for seniors, and $3.50 for children 6 to 12. Bait and equipment cost extra. Observers can watch for $1 per person.
Fishing-charter services are offered at Pensacola by the Beach Marina Fishing Fleet (tel. 877/650-3474 or 850/932-0304), and at Pensacola Beach by Reel Eazy Charters (tel. 877/733-5329 or 850/932-8824; www.reeleazy.com). Expect to pay between $400 and $1,300 for 1 to 10 passengers, depending on the length of your trip. You may be able to save by driving to Destin, where party boats charge less per person. Sightseeing and evening cruises here go for $50 to $200 per person.
Watersports
Visibility in the waters around Pensacola can range from 30 to 50 feet deep inshore, to 100 feet deep 25 miles offshore. Although the bottom is sandy and the area is too far north for coral, the battleship USS Massachusetts, submerged in 30 feet of water 3 miles offshore, is one of some 35 artificial reefs where you can spot loggerhead turtles and other creatures. There are also good snorkeling sites just off the beach; get a map from the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Scuba Shack, 711 S. Palafox St. (tel. 850/433-4319), offers sales, rentals, classes, and diving and fishing charters on the Wet Dream, moored behind the office. Divers Den, 512 N. 9th Ave. (tel. 850/438-0650), also provides trips, equipment rental, and PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) training instruction. MBT Divers (tel. 850/455-7702; www.mbtdivers.com) has rentals, instruction, and trips to several sites, including the habitats of sea turtles, manta rays, and nurse sharks.
Key Sailing Center, 500 Quietwater Beach Rd., on the Quietwater Beach Boardwalk (tel. 877/932-7272 or 850/932-5520; www.keysailing.com); and Radical Rides, 444 Pensacola Beach Blvd., near the Bob Sikes Bridge (tel. 850/934-9743), rent Hobie Cats, pontoon boats, WaveRunners, jet skis, and windsurfing boards.
