2025 Summer Fishing Report

School is out, and summer vacation is here! ☀️ The sun, sand, and waters of Florida’s Forgotten Coast are calling. This season is the perfect time to unplug from screens and reconnect with the outdoors through family fishing adventures. A day on the water isn’t just about the thrill of the catch—it’s about creating memories that last a lifetime.

Summer Fishing Tips

The summer heat impacts fish behavior, so adjusting your approach is key. As temperatures rise, the best times to fish are during low tides or the cooler parts of the day—early morning and evening. Like us, fish slow down in the heat and prefer to feed when the water is cooler.

Bay Fishing

Apalachicola Bay is full of life during the summer, offering plenty of chances for bay fishing to catch trout, redfish, sheepshead, drum, whiting, pompano, mackerel, and tripletail.

• Trout & Redfish: Try fishing from the flats, bridges, or by wade fishing. Use spoons, suspension lures like MirrOlure or Chug Bug, or try shrimp under a popping cork to hook redfish, trout, and flounder.
• Whiting, Pompano & Mackerel: Look to deeper areas of the bay for these species during the heat of the day.
• Sheepshead & Drum: Target these around bridge pilings. Use fiddler crabs and scrape barnacles to chum the water and attract bites.
• Tripletail: Found near floating structures and crab traps inshore. Drift slowly with the engine off and use a small J-style hook with shrimp, artificial shrimp, fiddler crabs, mud minnows, or baitfish.

Shore Fishing

Shore fishing along the Forgotten Coast is productive in the summer. Target pompano, mackerel, whiting, redfish, trout, and bluefish from the shoreline.

• Pompano: Use sand fleas as bait.
• Mackerel: Cast a silver spoon that mimics greenbacks.
• Whiting: Known for biting on nearly anything.
• Redfish, Trout & Bluefish: Focus on troughs between sandbars (typically every 200–300 feet along the beach). Two great locations are the East End Cut and Bob Sykes Cut (West End), which are hotspots for big redfish.

Offshore Fishing

Red snapper season opens in June and July, making this one of the most exciting times to go offshore fishing on the Forgotten Coast.

• Red Snapper & Grouper: Fish in 80–100 feet of water using squid with cigar minnows or Spanish sardines.
• Vermillion Snapper & Kingfish: Chum with sardine chum and freeline a 2/0 circle hook with a cigar minnow behind the boat.
• Trolling for Kings & Grouper: Use a Stretch 30 line or Magnum Rapala for best results.

River Fishing

When the wind picks up or conditions offshore get rough, head to the rivers. Both locals and visitors enjoy fishing the Apalachicola River and Carrabelle River during summer.

• Target brim and shellcracker using crickets or worms.
• Focus on stump holes and downed trees for the most action.

Plan Your 2025 Summer Fishing Trip

Whether you’re casting from the shore, navigating Apalachicola Bay, heading offshore, or enjoying a quiet day on the river, Florida’s Forgotten Coast offers some of the best summer fishing in Florida.

Now’s the time to plan your visit and make unforgettable memories on the water! 🎣🌊