Port St Joe????

[ALflygirl]

Hey guys....looking for somewhere new for the husband and I to go in June.  Several options discussed including East TN, N GA etc.  Then we started looking at Florida.  Anybody know anything about the Port St Joe area???  Guides etc etc etc??  Thanks!

[TimM]

I have fished the PSJ/Mexico Beach area several times over the years....the last time was March 06.  The best bets on hooking up with current local info is to get in touch with someone at Half Hitch Tackle in MB. I don't know the # but they have (or least they did) a decent website. You'll do better at info harvesting person to person than what they offer online.

 I have fished with Capt. Chip Blackburn (offshore) out of MB and do know a few spots  inshore to check at various times of the year.  It's not nearly as undeveloped as it was when I started going there but comparatively speaking it still isn't the tourist trap that so much of the FL panhandle coast has become.  You might also want to check in on the Florida Sportsman forum in the North West section for some local info too.

If you're taking your own vessel, beware! Much of what is shown on the charts as water is really just damp sand!!!    I think the average depth of the bay is really something like 2-3 feet.

What time of year are you planning to visit and what are the preferred species to target?


If fishing is the primary activity don't overlook the Appalachicola Bay which of course is just around the corner, so to speak, from PSJ.  There's some great red, shark and even some tarpon fishing to be had at various spots around St George Island in particular.  For some reason the tarpon seem to be much less accessible at PSJ even though it's not far away at all. 

HTH. I'll try to answer any specific questions about the area if I can.

Tim

[ALflygirl]

Tim...
Thanks so much for the info.  We are planning to go in June and don't have a boat so we would be wading. We both have 6 wt outfits.  Would those be to light for saltwater fishing??
We will probably fish with a guide at least one day while we are there so I will check out your suggestions.
Thanks
Rachel

[Racer X]

We both have 6 wt outfits.  Would those be to light for saltwater fishing??
Rachel

Rachel, if you guys are good casters then 6wt's should be fine.  Some type of shooting head (or over line) should help in the wind.  IMO, a 6wt is ideal for Redfish and such.  If you go after anything bigger with a guide, he/she should have you set up with what you need.  Be sure to ask your guide to advise you on some good fishing locations after your trip.   Something you may want to look into is a Kayak rental.  You'll most likely want a boat of some sort.

[Mike Hill]

Rachel,

One thing about fishing the salt - you NEVER know what (or what size) is going to bite that thing on the end of your line!  I've seen big sharks in very shallow water.  Asking if a 6 wt is heavy enough is like asking if I am rich enough - you never know!  When we had our cabin at Corpus,  there were, for some reason, very few gamefish at our island.  But I'd still have fun catching hardhead cats with an ultralite spinning outfit off the end our our dock.  My dad understood my need to catch SOMETHING - but nobody else did - hardheads were considered the bait-stealing, scum-sucking, bottom dwellers they were - but they sure were fun to catch on that untralite.  I did not know whether to hope or to dread that one of those trashy red drums (redfish - but this was pre-Paul Prudhome and nobody fished for them) that would occasionally be in our area would decide to have a go with my ultralite!  I'd been spooled in a moment, but boy would I have a story!!  Those 6wt ought to be fun, especially if the wind isn't blowing in your face.  I have a friend go down to Islamorada to go after sailfish with his regular bass gear.  Why - just so he could say he did - plus he said it was a blast!  I second Racer's advice on the kayaks - they can be a blast!

[icthus]

By June, the tarpon I believe should be around Port St. Joe and the red fish will be there as well.  If you have yacks you can fish the bays in the morning and around the docks at night in the intercostal region.  Fishing the lights you will find some reds and trout there.  If you head a bit further south down to tampa, fort desota, Apollo beach area you will find snook on the beaches that you can site cast to, snook at the dock lights, tarpon on the beaches, reds on the beaches, and all ove the above in the bays.  I personaly like fishing for snook around the lights, it challenges your casting and makes your heart pound harder then your first time.  IMO drive three or four more hours and get into Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, area the better opportunities to score fish without having to hire a guide every day to figure out the tarpon/ reds/ snook.


Hope this helps

Icthus

[Curtis Martin]

it challenges your casting and makes your heart pound harder then your first time. 
Icthus

Where do I sign up at?

[Luke Warmwater]

ALflygirl, I've fished that area for the past 15 yers on vacations. There are some cool little places to stay on Mexico Beach and St Joe beach, however I would suggest staying on Cape San Blas. The Cape has several rental companies and I would recommend www.paradise-coast.com for a rental. There is also a store out on the Cape (a BP) that has guides, rents canoes and kayaks. They will help you with the fishing. Last (or first) there are some good places to eat in St Joe, but I wouldn't go down there without visiting www.indianpassrawbar.com it is Old Florida at its finest and the freshest sea food around!

[ALflygirl]

Thanks so much guys.  Great info....now we just need the tax man to give us a refund to fund this little adventure!! 

[TimM]

Rachel,

I don't know how I missed all of this since I responded the other night....still dazed from 3 days of wind and rain on the water I guess. 

I definitely concur with the suggestion that Cape San Blas is the prettier side of the bay and the access to wading opportunities is definitely a lot better on that side as well. The state park towards the end of the island is very nice and give you access to both beach and bay side. The cabins are very popular but book WAY in advance...many of the flats accessible through there are good wade fishing candidates for trout in particular but you'll surely run into a few jacks and reds along the way.   You may want to plan on stopping in at Presnell's  Fish Camp/Marina on the PSJ/MB side too.  If you're not taking a vessel they rent them and usually will offer some catching suggestions.  If you have access to a vessel there is a small island back to the left as you exit Presnells, I forget how far it is but not too far, anyway it's called Black's Island. There are a lot of potholes and such all around the shore side of that island though all sides will hold fish at times.  Definitely worth checking out.

As for your tackle, for the most part I would think 6 wts should be fine. You may well hook into something that you're under gunned for but for the most part I think you'll be fine.

Well...after typing all that I realized I should just show you where I'm talking about via Google Earth images....

Presnell's - Black's Island




Park side, rear of bay...arrows indicate areas I've personally caught fish in.... that one little cut towards the very back of the bay where the grass line sticks out and forms a point on one side was very productive the last trip we made...it was kinda nutty.... for three days in a row that area gave up 100+ trout/day for my son & I...the weird thing though was that each day there was a specific time when they'd turn on...you could pound it before then and not even get a whiff...hit after that and the same but during about a 2.5-3 hour period each day (happened to be afternoon) it was pretty much a fish every cast.  I'm sure it must've been related to tide stage but I don't remember what it was and the tide range in the bay is pretty small anyway. Nothing huge...mostly trout in the 14-15 inch range with a few bigger ones up to around 20 inches. Supposedly at times the area holds large reds but we didn't see them.  In June you're liable to see a lot of other stuff in there.




And the state park....again arrows indicate spots you might want to check out.  I'm sure there are many more.  As you're wading watch for potholes. At various times in the past the air force has used the bay for bombing training which produced these potholes. Definitely want to fish 'em if you see them.

[ALflygirl]

Tim....now that is some cool fishing info.   Thank you so much!!! Here's a +1 on the ol karma meter for you!!!

Rachel

[TimM]

 

Hope it helps.

You know as I've thought about that area that gave up all the fish last trip and the timing of the bite.... more neurons, that had previously surrendered to silence, decided to fire...and it seems the timing of the bite was probably related to the outgoing tide....there's a very large, very shallow (1 foot +/-) flat behind that little cut and the hits all came when our lures moved across the edge/ledge going from shallow to deep (4 ft +/-)...almost like the fish moved in at that restriction as the tide started moving out and sat there off the edge waiting for food to get washed to 'em.


Catch 'em up where-ever you get to wet a line.


Tim

[Steve H]

A woman I work with owns a condo on the Cape and I believe she rents it out. If you want me to check shoot me a PM.

Thanks
Steve

ALflygirl, I've fished that area for the past 15 yers on vacations. There are some cool little places to stay on Mexico Beach and St Joe beach, however I would suggest staying on Cape San Blas. The Cape has several rental companies and I would recommend www.paradise-coast.com for a rental. There is also a store out on the Cape (a BP) that has guides, rents canoes and kayaks. They will help you with the fishing. Last (or first) there are some good places to eat in St Joe, but I wouldn't go down there without visiting www.indianpassrawbar.com it is Old Florida at its finest and the freshest sea food around!