Fishing at St. Joseph

The day use area of the park offers the public a variety of saltwater fishing opportunities. Visitors can utilize the only public boat launch in the Cape San Blas/St. Joseph Peninsula area from the park to explore and fish the St. Joseph Bay. In St. Joseph Bay there are 73,000 acres of some of the richest fishing habitat in the Florida Panhandle, and the ramp at the park provides one of the best accesses to the bay. Species in the bay include spotted seatrout, redfish or red drum, flounder and many others. The park is very popular for boaters during scallop season in late summer and early fall.

These same fish can be caught by simply wading out in the bay and using a cast net. Most use surface lures, a popping cork rig or retrieve a baited jig head. Water shoes are highly suggested to protect feet from a variety of bottom-dwelling sea life. Also, shuffling your feet is an effective way of alerting slumbering stingrays of your approach. Snorkeling for scallop or just observing the marine environment and species is also very popular.

Surf fishing for coastal species is popular on the gulf side of the park. There is nothing like sitting under a beach umbrella watching the waves roll in and watching your pole tip for the tell-tale bobbing that signals a fish on the line. Popular species targeted in the surf include pompano, shark, whiting and redfish. There are a variety of surf fishing rigs available at any bait and tackle shop.

Grab a pole or your snorkel and net, and come try to put some dinner on the table.