Mexico Beach Fishing Report
Hello! This is Captain Charlene, and I am here to tell you about the fishing in St. Joe Bay and the Gulf of Mexico near Mexico Beach. You never know what is going to happen while fishing in the waters of the Forgotten Coast. Here are three examples while chartering About Fun Charters aboard the Saint Misbehavin II.
Just when you think youâve seen it all, Mother Nature will teach you a new lesson. We caught a 6½ to 7 ft Bull shark while trolling with a golden King Duster and a Cigar minnow as bait about 4 miles offshore from Mexico Beach.  Sharks chasing king fish dusters???? The shark almost spooled the 4/0 Penn reel before we could get it stopped. We chased this beast trying to gain line back on the reel, still not knowing what it was. The angler was gaining line and breaking a serious body sweat while working the shark toward the boat.  After a serious tug-of-war, this huge creature finally gave up and breached the surface. Everyone on the boat almost couldn’t believe that it was actually a shark! We were able to get photos of the beast then we released it, unharmed, but tired, back to the depths. Wow what a fishing story!
While fishing in St. Joe Bay for Speckled Trout, Larissa, 8 years old, was surprised when the drag of her reel started singing and almost didn’t stop until there was almost no line left.  We stopped the fish but then it targeted the motors. We got it out of the motors, and then it headed straight for the anchor line.  We untangled it from the anchor line and discovered that is was a King fish! After quite a fight, we got the fish on board. It weighed 25 pounds!  We caught it with only a tiny circle hook and no leader on 15 pound test line!!! Beat that fish story!!!!!
Also, while fishing near the wall in front of the Port St. Joe Marina we witnessed Tarpon feeding on baitfish. Huge explosions of baitfish leapt out of the water trying to escape the prehistoric predators. Tarpon are schooling around the Mexico Beach pier too. They are beautiful animals to watch when they are feeding.
Mexico Beach/St. Joe Beach Fishing and Scalloping Forecast
In my opinion, August and September are the best months for scalloping. You get more meat for your efforts, meaning they are bigger and yield more edible meat to take home. We are finding them in near the channels and buried in the grass beds. They are more numerous than last yearâs crop.
For trout, redfish, and flounder, I like to fish the grass flats early using popping corks with live bait like shrimp or minnows. If I donât have live bait, I use Gulp or D.O.A. shrimp underneath the popping cork. As the day heats up, I move to deeper water. I fish the Bayâs channel markers for tripletail, sheepshead, and flounder. Sometimes we catch Spanish and Kings there too. I am still finding flounder while fishing the ICW channel during moving tides.
Offshore, the Kings are hitting trolling dusters along the buoy line and the Car Body area. Troll slow to get the lure down deeper in the water column. Spanish will hit dusters too and they are big! We caught a 6.5 pound Spanish on a gold duster using a cigar minnow.
By Capt. Charlene Burke with âAbout Fun Chartersâ. She has more than 28 years experience and is a USCG licensed Captain (#2816371) with a Masterâs Degree in Marine Biology and Coastal Zone Studies. For charter information call 850-340-1035 or book online at www.aboutfuncharters.com.