Serving as Miss Destin is not just about pageantry and wearing the crown and sash.
Miss Destin serves as the ambassador for the city, but her main duty is to serve at the Destin Fishing Rodeo, a month-long fishing tournament that takes place every October.
She talks to people about the Rodeo. She poses for photos with anglers as they bring in their catch. And she makes youngsters feel like super stars when bringing in their pinfish to weigh.
Miss Destin 2025 Bella Riggs had a good idea what being Miss Destin entailed, but it is not the same as walking it out for 31 days straight.
The Log did a sit-down with Riggs on Day 30 of the Rodeo, here is some of what she had to say about her time as Miss Destin:
Was it everything you thought it would be?
“Yes, it definitely has been,” Riggs said with a big smile on her face.
What has been the highlight of your month?
“Meeting all the people and hearing so many stories,” Riggs said. “And seeing how involved everyone is … and how this Rodeo means so much to the whole community.”
The bleachers behind AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar, the home of the Rodeo, were packed most afternoons with folks waiting for another boat to come in or just to hear a fish tale from weighmaster Bruce Cheves.
Plus, the Rodeo has more than 200 people from the community that volunteer their time each year to serve in various capacities at the Rodeo.
What did you like best about the Rodeo?
“My favorite part has been learning all the different kinds of fish,” Riggs said. “Now it’s one of my new cool skills. I can tell you what kind of fish that is … it’s my hidden talent.”
Early on, Miss Destin was asked to go and check what a nearby boat had hung on the racks. She came back with a report of “mingo, triggerfish and a long one.”
The long one turned out to be a king mackerel, which she learned to identify quickly and has since strung up many on the scales.
The Rodeo had 174 king mackerel to make it onto the boards throughout the month.
What has been the most exciting thing you’ve got to do?
Her most exciting thing was getting to experience the billfish tradition.
“When people catch their first billfish, you could push them in the water. I didn’t know that was a thing before this,” Riggs said.
“They say, ‘You’re pushing someone in,’ I say, ‘yes, I am,’” Riggs said.
She got to push at least one or two off the Rodeo barge into the harbor, the last being on Oct. 21.
Any surprises you did not know you would be asked to do?
“Yes, I get Bruce (Cheves) coffee,” she said.
“I think I get it for him five times a day, even if it is 6 p.m. at night,” she said.
Riggs said he likes his coffee black with one sugar.
What was it like to gut a fish?
“It was actually very cool,” Riggs said.
The first fish she gutted was a 170-pound yellowfin tuna.
“I opened it up and there are all these bones … I’d watched people gut fish before and I’d never seen so many bones,” she said.
Riggs turned around and asked the deckhand what was in the tuna.
“I pulled a whole bonito out of the tuna, and I didn’t expect to do that. But that was pretty cool,” she said.
“If you watch someone else do it, it’s gross. But if you’re doing it yourself, it’s like cool,” she said, noting she didn’t mind getting blood and guts on her hands.
How did you get the blood out of the white sash?
“Mom got it out,” she said.
“We have some fancy stain remover that she sprays on it before throwing it into the washer. But we’ve got a system down,” Riggs said.
What will you miss about the Rodeo?
First of all, I’m going to miss being busy. I love having something to do all day, every day,” she said.
“And I’m going to miss all the people. I’ve grown so close to these people, and I’ve seen them literally every day for a whole month … for hours and hours,” she said.
Riggs made the drive from Fort Walton Beach High to AJ’s for the Rodeo and got there most everyday around 12:30 or 1 p.m. and stayed until close. The scales were scheduled to stay open until 7 p.m., but if boats are in line by 7 p.m., they could still weigh in, which made for some late nights.
On the last day of the Rodeo, the last fish was weighed at 7:41 p.m.
What is next?
Riggs said she will be participating in a few Christmas parades and then the pageant.
“I’m super excited to be on the other end of that,” she said about the pageant slated for the spring of 2026.
“It feels so crazy because I had been looking forward to everything and honestly it has gone by so fast,” she said.
“I’m not going to know what to do,” she said.
When her reign is over, Riggs already has a spot on a bookshelf in her room for the crown and sash along with other Miss Destin memorabilia.
This article originally appeared on The Destin Log: From gutting fish to pushing anglers in, Miss Destin Bella Riggs had a blast at the Rodeo
Reporting by Tina Harbuck, The Destin Log / The Destin Log
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
