BlueWater Outriggers Fishing Report 9-4-2025
Well folks, things certainly seem to be a little “fishy” here in our little town of Port Saint Joe, Florida. Now, you may be asking yourself, “What does that mean, exactly?” I could be referring to the fact that not only has offshore fishing been great, but inshore fishing is good as well. I could be referring to just a few days ago when my friend Tom told me his 90-year-old Dad, fishing from the beach, fought a fish for over an hour that turned out to be a Goliath Grouper. I thought that was mighty “fishy,” until I saw the pictures that proved it. “Fishy” could refer to the fact that it is that rare special moment when you can go offshore and almost anything is fair game. Amberjack, Red Grouper, Gag Grouper, Vermillion Snapper, Red Snapper even Triggerfish, they’re all legal. But I guarantee you, the “fishiest” thing of all is going to be this Friday when this cold I have (cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze) gets so bad I can’t come into work. The employees will do a lot of talking, I’m sure. They’ll say it’s very “fishy” that Jeremiah just bought 400 yards of new fishing line, a new Goofish rod, 7/0 hooks and just happened to get sick on the day that Jake “The Legend,” Doug and his uncle are going offshore fishing. And you know what folks, I’d have to agree, it’s very “fishy” indeed.
This past week was very spotty in terms of good weather to go offshore. Those that did find a good window to head out found that the good fish were chewing. I’ve seen some hauls coming in with King Mackerel, Beeliners, Big Red Grouper, Lane Snapper and Red Snapper. On Tuesday afternoon, “Uncle” David Payne sent in a picture (above) of a monster Red Snapper he managed to chum up and take his flat line. Poor David looks like he’s struggling a bit to hold that thing up. It makes David look so small, I like to imagine he's standing on a yellow brick road. What a beast. Congratulations on the nice catch!
This last week I’ve been having fun fishing the Marina wall in the evenings. There seems to be an abundance of small LY minnows and with a cast net I can make short work of getting live bait. Fishing these little minnows near structure keeps things interesting as almost everything will go after them. I’ve caught a good bit of flounder and mangroves doing this. Toward the back of the bay there’s still a good trout bite. There have been some trophy sized trout being pulled up along with slot sized redfish. Whether fishing offshore or inshore it’s a good time to be an angler here in Port Saint Joe. I’d love to see y’all out there this week, but I fear I may be coming down with something.
-Jeremiah Beasley