Bluewater Outriggers Fishing Report 9-19-2026
It's in the American psyche that a boy loves to go fishing with his dad. Turn on your television and you're bound to see a commercial that includes a young boy with his father reeling in a fish on a new bass boat. Perhaps it's a Lifetime movie where a mother is disappointed in the father because he reneged on a promise to take his son fishing, and now the boy is heartbroken, sitting alone on the front porch steps and staring forlorn into space. Or perhaps you're a fan of the Andy Griffith show, where Opie and Andy happily walked their way to Myer's Lake to throw in a line together. Opie would look at his father and say something like, "Gee Paw, I hope we catch a big one."
I mean, could you imagine if Opie were to say, " Gee whiz, Paw, fishing is boring; I hope we never have to come to this boring ol' lake again"? Not only would that be some sort of sacrilege and Un-American, but it would also be just like my boy, Rory, who has recently become very vocal with his negative opinions about fishing with ol' dad. Folks, I love that boy to pieces, but the only fishing rod he's interested in now would be a level III enchanted rod in the ever-so-popular game of Minecraft. I'll own my responsibility for this revolting development. I took him fishing way too often from way too young. The dads in the songs and commercials and tv shows probably took their kids fishing every once in a while. They probably didn't have an unhealthy "obsession" with the sport, like I do. Or perhaps it stems back to the time he was 2 years old, and I had him in the freezing cold fishing for trout along the marina wall. His little red nose dripping snot in the frigid air with nothing on his hands except some old socks I found in the truck. I had a feeling at the time that that move may come back to haunt me. I gave it my best shot, but I think it's safe to say I won't have the next Roland Martin on my hands here.
Speaking of famous fishermen, I checked in with Gary Dunn this week to see how he's doing down in Carabelle. The man is catching red grouper like they're going out of style. You can see Gary and his brother Alan with a limit in the photo above. And just for good measure, Mr. Dunn also added a 24" red snapper to the mix that he caught fishing in a mere 50' of water. This photo is also included (above). Congratulations to Gary for making it happen over there in Carabelle!
The big news here in Port St. Joe is that the previously elusive flounder are starting to show back up, in numbers. Here at shallower spots anglers are taking home close to limits in a short amount of time by throwing out live bull minnows. When I heard the rumors, I decided to check it out for myself. While my son passed on the fishing excursion, I had another friend come along and it didn't take long before we were reeling in the flounder. We never found the monsters, but we caught a bunch of smaller ones. Now's the time to strike if you want to take home some of these delicious fish. Remember, you only have about one month left before the season closes for 45 days.
My little boy, the love of my life, turned five years old last week. He can be seen in the photos above. He was over the moon as he unwrapped a new tablet with his beloved Minecraft game and ate the Minecraft themed brownies (complete with green frosting) that I baked and decorated just for him. He does not love fishing like his daddy does, but you know what? That's ok. I'll learn to love the things he does and hope someday he is as passionate about something as I am about fishing.
-Jeremiah Beasley