Bluewater Outriggers Fishing Report 10-31-2026

     I'll be honest with all of you; I have not picked up a rod to go fishing in the last seven days. On some level, it makes me feel "less than," but I find it hard to get motivated when on my daily drives past the shoreline or through the marina I see dead fish either washed up on the bank or floating out in the bay.  Adding to my frustration is the fact that the FWC's latest samples show an increasing amount of the harmful algae bloom (red tide) in and around St. Joseph Bay.  There are now positive samples showing up from the Mexico Beach canal to the Gulf County canal, through the entirety of St. Joseph Bay, and all along the beaches of Cape San Blas. 

     Despite the current conditions, there are some die-hards out there trying to make it happen.  Port St. Joe resident, Michael Smith, headed out to the Cape and managed to land a nice pompano seen in the photo, above right.  Colt Redmon, from Commerce, Georgia, landed a nice Bull shark.  He was fishing out on Cape San Blas as well, and his photo can be seen above, left. 

     I spent some time talking with Captain Chris Lantz of Gettin' Reel Sportfishing.  Captain Chris is one of the best when it comes to fishing around the Port St. Joe Area.  He, as well as other charter captains will restrain from fishing our local bay and canal in an effort to protect our precious resource as we go through this difficult time.  Captain Chris could find fish in a mud puddle though, and he is having no problems when it comes to putting his clients on good fish.  Chris Lantz can be seen in the center photograph above with a nice, speckled trout. While he and the other captains who make their living from fishing are disappointed in the recurrence of red tide, he says it is important to note that there is still plenty of good fishing all around us.  He is currently fishing the Indian Pass area as well as Apalachicola.  So, while clients may have to spend an extra fifteen minutes in their car, they're still bound to catch some great fish.  For any angler that wants to get in on some excellent inshore fishing, I would personally recommend Captain Chris Lantz; he's got it going on! 

     While our current situation is certainly not ideal, you can still get out there and make it happen.  Our near-shore and offshore reefs are still excellent places to fish if the wind will ever die down.  If you're jonesing for some inshore fishing, take this time to try something new and check out the fishing around Apalachicola, St. George Island or Carrabelle.  All these spots are excellent fisheries, and a change of scenery just may do you good. 

-Jeremiah Beasley