BlueWater Outriggers Fishing Report 11-28-2025
Well, it’s the day after Thanksgiving here in our little fishing town of Port St. Joe, Florida. Aside from a few last-minute shoppers hurrying into the Piggly Wiggly for those forgotten items, the town was relatively quiet as friends and loved ones gathered in their cozy homes on what was a pretty cold day by Florida standards. I couldn’t help but notice the bite in the air as I hurried to my truck to make it to the Pig on time; they do, after all, close early on Thanksgiving, and I noticed that I was going to need at least one more can of chicken broth to make my cornbread sage dressing the best it's ever been. I had been invited to fish that morning but had to decline as I was in charge of cooking, well...almost everything. I tried not to let it bother me too bad, after all, if I were to prioritize fishing above my 4-year-old's enjoyment of Turkey Day, you might say, “I have a fishing problem.” Besides that, I had delayed his dinner for about three hours the night before because I had lucked out and found a good local trout bite in an unassuming canal. I owed it to the little guy to have his meal done in a timely manner that day. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. By the time my two casseroles were prepared and ready for the oven, I heard back from the party who had invited me to fish, and they had much to brag about, to my slight annoyance. Who knew you could still find a good bite fishing Rapalas up the intracoastal a little ways? Despite my sulking because I could not make that trip, it was good to know that there is a good bite to be had amidst this red tide that’s been looming over our bay for quite some time now.
I really don’t want to jump the gun folks, but my daily check-up on red tide numbers was positive for once. The map that the FWC puts out showed a decrease in red tide for Saint Joseph Bay. What this means exactly, I don’t know. Perhaps this thing could be coming to an end, but I’m not going to hold my breath on it yet. We will just have to wait and see. I do know that the damage has been done and we will probably have a long road to recovery. I’m certainly not going to quit fishing, but the “lunkers” I’ve pulled in over the last week were released with my blessing, and the message to go forth and multiply!
If you head offshore from our little town or Mexico Beach, you are sure to get on some good fish. Offshore fishing here has been phenomenal. It seems that most weekend warriors who come into Bluewater Outriggers to buy their live and frozen bait keep telling me how wonderful it is out there. They’re getting their big triggers and a lot of red grouper. The red snapper seems to be a given, and the funny thing is, I know a lot of these people aren’t heading that far offshore and they’re fishing public numbers. Captain Jake Harpe, of Bluewater Outriggers, got the monsters you can see (above left). He’s no wahoo wrangler just yet, but that boy is a snapper slayer! And I love this story. Jaxson Floyed, a friend of the family and one heck of a nice young man, came into the store to buy some last-minute gear for his first solo run in the boat. I’m not going to lie Jaxson; I was nervous about you doing this! But you pulled it off like a pro, got your crew on the fish and made it back without incident. Jaxson (above middle) with mom and sister Shanna and Addie (above right) can be seen with their nice catch! Congratulations guys and gals, here’s hoping there’s more where that came from.
That’s going to wrap things up for this week folks. On behalf of myself and Bluewater Outriggers, we wish you a wonderful and happy holiday season!
-Jeremiah Beasley