BlueWater Outriggers Fishing Report 1-2-2026
It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone here in our little town of Port St. Joe, FL. I’m not quite sure if it was reaching my forties or having a son, but one or other of these events has to be responsible for how time seems to blow by in a heartbeat. It seems as if just yesterday my boy was so young, barely mobile, incapable of complaining when I drug him to the wall to cast for winter trout. I could stay almost as long as I pleased so long as I watched his little running nose and packed him out of there before it turned the bluish-white color that indicated frostbite may be setting in. Nowadays, when the boredom sets in and the lure of watching his tablet in a warm comfortable room is too much to resist, he can march right up to me with clinched fist and stomping feet and vehemently let me know it’s time to leave and even sarcastically call me out when I give him the old, “Just one more cast,” line.
Even though it may seem as if the days, weeks, months or even years are flashing by, one thing that seems to be taking its sweet time around here is this red tide situation. Luckily, the numbers indicate an overall regression in positive samples taken from our bay. That being said, I’ve yet to hear of anyone really lucking out on the trout in the usual areas around town where they can be caught without access to a boat. The best fishing reports from those fishing from shore are coming from down on the cape and the far side of Mexico Beach. Here they are catching species like whiting, red fish, bonnethead sharks and larger shark species for those that target them. Those good few days of cold weather we’ve had have pushed the trout and reds inland. Randy Danford (above center) can be seen with a nice red he caught fishing at Overstreet last week. Congrats to Randy on the nice catch!
This last week marked the last chances for recreational fishermen to harvest Red Snapper. I, along with Kenny and Lynn Mosley and “Uncle” David Payne headed out on a cool Sunday morning to take advantage of the opportunity. The fog was so thick we had to wear rain gear to keep from getting soaked to the bone. We put a lookout on the front of the boat as visibility was next to nothing and headed out at a slower pace of around 24-27 mph. We headed out of Mexico Beach to a spot around 17 miles out in the 80 ft range. Even though there was barely any tide movement, the fish were hungry, and we quickly hit our limit. Lynn Mosley got the catch of the day with the monster she’s holding (above right). She whipped that fish by floating a cigar minnow with no weight behind the boat. She was using a Saragosa 6000 spinning reel attached to the ultralight Goofish rod. We were also able to put three keeper Triggers in the boat, and I hooked up with a nice red grouper dropping one of JYG’s Wyld Jigs. We weren’t the only ones out there braving the fog. There was a good turnout of anglers that day. Captain Jake Harpe was of course out there going deep as he always does. They had an absolute banner day as he and his crew (above left) can be seen holding some monster reds and a few almaco jacks.
I sincerely hope all you anglers out there got to ring in the new year with good times, great people and fine fish, just as we did. It certainly has been an honor getting to share my experiences with you week after week. Here’s to hoping 2026 will be a great year with just as many wonderful moments and memories as this last one.
-Jeremiah Beasley