Bluewater Outriggers Fishing Report 7-31-2026
Have you ever heard someone say, "That's why they call it fishing, not catching?" Of course you have. It's one of the most overused phrases in the fishing community. Generally, the person that says that to you thinks they're a real Jerry Seinfeld or something, and they laugh way too loudly at their banal quip. They have no idea that on the inside you want to take a treble hook and stick it right through their unimaginative lips. Because, let's face it, if someone says that to you, you probably didn't have a great day out on the water. This familiar phrase came to mind as I am tasked with reporting the results of the 2026 MBARA Kingfish Tournament. Most tournament anglers had a rough go of it in this year's event. My sympathies are with them too, because I know it makes for a long hot day out there when you're pulling lines, and there's not a thing going on. While there were many that fished in this year's contest, there wasn't one king put on the board for the recreational division. That is almost unheard of. Congratulations are in order for Hot Pursuit, the boat that won in the open division with a 35.36 LB King. I know there were many disappointed anglers that fished in the recreational division of this tournament, but there's always next year. So, keep your chins up and remember this little piece of sage wisdom that my grand dad told my father who passed it on to me...That's why they call it "fishing" and not "catching."
Have you ever heard this one? "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." I talked to several anglers that were having no luck catching Kings for the tournament, so they dropped to the bottom to at least try and put some red meat in the boat. Daryl and Shelly Franks (above left) got a good mix of red snapper, beeliners and mangroves. David Payne (above center) got a limit of red snapper, and of course Captain Jake had to send me the picture of the giant in his cooler (above right). So, while the Kings made themselves scarce, there were still plenty of fish in the sea.
I did very little inshore fishing this last week. We had record heat and after noticing that the six pack of Coke Zero bottles in the back of my truck exploded from being too hot, I wasn't exactly thrilled to go stand out there and suffer a similar fate. I did, however, give it about 45 minutes the other evening when we had a good breeze and the sun was going down. The boy and I fished the Marina and caught the usual small mangroves and some decent sized croakers. Several fishermen were throwing nets and catching schools of mullet that were off guard.
Fortunately, the forecast shows a good bit of rain and overcast skies this upcoming week. Temperatures will be a shade below 90 degrees which will make it a bit more tolerable for anglers to get out there and try their luck. I'm hoping to take advantage of this cloud-cover and bring home a slot redfish for the boy and I to have for dinner. There's still plenty of good small bait fish that can easily be netted and used to entice the big boys to bite. Let's get out there and make it happen!
-Jeremiah Beasley