# Cape San Blas/ Port St.Joe



## Jrob4989 (Jul 28, 2014)

I was curious what the surf bite was like this time of the year down there. My buddy just got back home from Oman so we have planned to head to his parents beach house and just have a guys week to do nothing but fish. Any help is appreciated.


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## Ramblin Wreck Red Neck (Jul 29, 2014)

I went down earlier this month and could sum it up like this - shark and catfish.  Throw in a few whiting.  But I've never had much luck in the surf outside of these fish.   This is typical of my results surf fishing here for 10 years.  

I think spring and fall may give you a chance at some better game fish in the surf, such as Spanish mackerel.  There have been reds caught, and pompano, but I'm not sure on how large of a scale that happens.

St. Joe Bay gives you the opportunity to bag some great eating redfish, trout and flounder.  But I think the summer time bite is tough even there.

If anybody has any tips please let us know, but I have about given up on surf fishing.  

So this year I decided to do something different.  I decided to just target the shark.  I figured it would give the kids some excitement.  We did well and caught 5-6 shark in the 3-4' range.  I let the kids and other fishers reel them in and they had a blast.  It also stirred quite a commotion among the beachgoers.  I have to say I enjoyed seeing everyone have a good time.

Anyway, good luck and let us know if you have any luck.


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## Jrob4989 (Jul 30, 2014)

Thank you for the information. I went down earlier this year and only caught were catfish and the occasional whiting. What's the best way to target shark and what rig do you prefer to use?


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## nickel back (Jul 30, 2014)

Jrob4989 said:


> Thank you for the information. I went down earlier this year and only caught were catfish and the occasional whiting. What's the best way to target shark and what rig do you prefer to use?



stay away from using shrimp for bait(expect for catching  bait), use live pin fish and big chunks of cut bait like whiting/lady fish. I like using the head of a whiting/lady fish.

power pro and a good  fluorocarbon leader does well for me, unless you hang into a real nice one(have caught them up to 5 feet with this rig)some folks use a wire leader when shark fishing.

good luck!


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## Jrob4989 (Jul 30, 2014)

Awesome! I have orange fish bites that we plan to use as bait, but as far as catching baitfish what is the best method of catching bait in the surf? Would a sabiki rig work?


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## Ramblin Wreck Red Neck (Jul 30, 2014)

Jrob4989 said:


> Thank you for the information. I went down earlier this year and only caught were catfish and the occasional whiting. What's the best way to target shark and what rig do you prefer to use?



For me targeting shark at Cape San Blas meant:

1. Fishing in the summer

2. Fishing at Dusk - the last hour or so of daylight.  The action can get hot right when it is becoming dark.

3. Using a large bait with a large 6 -8 /0 hook.  Live pinfish have always worked well for shark, but this year I bought some bonita at the bait shop and cut it up for bait.  I used large chunks, and it seemed the bigger the chunk, the bigger the fish.   Ask around at the bait shops for Bonita.

4. Cast the bait out as far as possible from shore.  I have tall 9-10' surf rods which make this possible.  Some guys paddle a yak or canoe out and drop the line, and then head back to shore.

5. I just used a typical rig with triangle weight on the bottom, nothing special.   

Thats about it really.  It's not a big deal to catch sharks this time of year.

The biggest challenge is keeping the bait on the hooks while casting.   Anybody have any tips?


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## Jrob4989 (Jul 30, 2014)

That sounds easy enough. Thanks for all of the help.


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## lampern (Jul 30, 2014)

Yeah see if you catch a ladyfish.

Excellent shark bait in Florida


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## redneck_billcollector (Jul 30, 2014)

If y'all get bored surf fishing I guess you could run over to Port St. Joe and jump on the Fish'n X'press. Can't tell you how it is, never fished it, but it is an option.


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## MudDucker (Jul 31, 2014)

Two words ... Stump Hole.


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