Forgotten Coast Fishing Report
Well folks, if you’ve got your sea legs, you can definitely get out there and get it done but it would be in your best interest to leave behind anyone prone to getting queasy easily. On second thought, you could bring your green friends with you and rig up some extra top lines. I got out there last week and we were able to chum up some nice mangroves and red snapper in the Gatewood vicinity. A little further out around a depth of 86 feet, we picked up some nice red snapper, as shown, but they were few and far between all the gags. It seemed like you couldn’t keep the grouper off the line, and they were big too (as shown).
I found that switching bait from a live pinfish to the “trusty” ol’ cigar minnow seemed to help put a little more red meat in the cooler. Speaking of Bluewater employees getting it done, Jake Harpe got out this last week and made it happen. His cleaning table picture can be seen here, and it runs the gamut. He came in with a nice haul of beeliners, scamp, dolphin and even a wahoo. Offshore fishing is wide open right now; so get out there and make it happen!
If you’re looking to keep it a little closer to home, you can get out there in the bay and target some speckled trout. I’ve seen some guys bringing in some nice hauls to the cleaning tables. We’ve had some good high tides in the morning making it easy to get over the seagrass and pick up some specs. While I can’t tell you exactly where to go to catch them, I can tell you where not to go to catch them. I’ve waded out in the intracoastal water under the Tapper bridge for the last four afternoons, and it has been lackluster. The conditions seem right with a fast-moving tide, I’ve caught the perfect size bait, my 3-year-old has been well-behaved and busying himself with catching hermit crabs, but the good fish just aren’t biting. That leads me to believe that heading towards the back of the bay and fishing the grass is probably the best bet for the moment. If you don’t like getting wet or don’t have access to a boat, you could try your hand at getting a few mangroves off the rocks at the marina wall. I’ve seen some nice 12-inch plus snapper getting caught there. Make sure to use live bait and toss it as close to the rocks as you dare.
There’s a lot going on here in Port St. Joe and the weather has been beautiful. Now’s the time to make it happen. Have a great week, catch some good fish, and as always, I hope to see you out there.
Jeremiah Beasley writes for Bluewater Outriggers.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.