When I close my eyes, I dream of white sand beaches, deep blue skies, crystal clear water and all the fish I can catch. When I open my eyes, I’m standing on the beach in Panama City, Florida about to launch my Hobie Revolution through the surf. This is the last day of a nearly week-long fishing bender that I spent with the folks at Hobie Fishing on Florida’s Forgotten Coast, the stretch of sand, from Mexico Beach to St. Marks.

kayak angler fishing in St. Marks Florida Endless fishing opportunities in St. Marks, Florida

Kayak Fish and Rediscover Florida’s Forgotten Coast

The trip started three days earlier on St. Joseph Bay near Blacks Island. Even though the wind was blowing and rain was falling, the water was still crystal clear. Our guide, Jerry McBride, found a sheltered spot where we were able to catch sea trout and flounder by working a weighted worm hook and three-inch Aqua Dream soft plastic jig over the grass and through sandy spots.

man holds up redfish caught while kayak fishing the Forgotten Coast
Florida’s Forgotten Coast offers both inshore and offshore fishing in uncrowded waters. | Feature photo: Jeffrey Fortuna

The next day, Cheryl Little, of Bay County Outdoors, led us to a small creek mouth near Crooked Island Military Base. Once again we found acres of submerged grass and clear water, but this time big trout and reds were in the area, too. Live Target swimming plugs and Aqua Dream soft plastics drew strikes from each species.

I spent the day sight casting to reds and trout with a four-inch fluke rigged on a 1/8-ounce jighead. At one point a huge school of big drum surrounded my kayak, but when I cast into the melee, I pulled out a big bluefish!

Fishing was even good at night. Local backwater guru, Nathan Chennaux, took us to East Bay where we found 10- to 20-pound reds exploding on the surface. All we had to do was cast a big Live Target swimming plug up current and work it slowly back to the kayak. Whammo!

But the real treat came on the last day of the binge. Cheryl rounded up local anglers, Hannes Venter and John Ritchey, who agreed to take us to their honey hole off Panama Beach. A little after 9 a.m., we launched through the surf and paddled less than a mile to an artificial reef in 50 feet of water.

Brett Barley is swarmed by red drum while kayak fishing in the Outer Banks Hundreds Of Bull Red Drum Swarm Kayak (Video)

By using a fish finder to mark the structure and a GPS to track our drift, we were able to bounce vertical jigs in front of the fish hanging on the reef. The action started slowly, but when the current dropped out, the fishing picked up. Our crew first caught a few flounder and a couple triggerfish. Then someone got a small grouper. Another angler hooked into something nicer, a big red drum. Three more anglers hooked into big drum. Then I caught a big red snapper and, moments later, another big snapper. It was a blitz!

The action lasted a couple hours before the wind and current picked up again and we decided to pack it in. As I paddled through the emerald green water back to the snow white beach, I recalled the great fun, beautiful surroundings and spectacular fishing that would become my memories of the Forgotten Coast.

Tackle Tips

Rod and Reel: For inshore fishing, choose a seven-foot, six-inch medium-action spinning rod and a 4000 series reel. Cobia and tarpon require a heavier spinning set-up. To fish the offshore reefs, a medium-action jigging combo and a selection of two- to five-ounce vertical jigs will catch everything from red snapper to red drum. Troll a swimming plug with a medium action casting set-up to score kings and tuna. A Carolina rig and cigar minnow or live bait is deadly on grouper, snapper and flounder.

three flounder are laid out on a kayak after being caught on the Gulf Coast How To Catch Gulf Coast Flounder

Don’t Miss

In addition to great fishing, St. Joseph Bay offers incredible scalloping. The season is open from June 29 to September 24. To spend a day off the water, check out flora and fauna at St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve. Or join the wildlife in downtown Panama City, with shopping, eating and activities that are fun for all ages.

Home Base

Windmark Beach Cottages: Condos and cottages with good food and great shopping nearby. (850) 229-6344, windmarkbeach.com

Dixie Belle Motel: Clean, convenient and cheap—the trifecta for kayak anglers. (850) 227-1443, dixiebellemotel.com

Seasons on the Water

January to March: Trout, redfish, sheepshead, black drum, pompano and flounder

April to June: Trout, redfish, flounder, cobia, tarpon, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bluefish and jacks

July to September: Tarpon, trout, redfish, bluefish and jacks

October to December: Flounder, pompano, redfish, trout and king mackerel

Tourist Info

More lodging, dining and things to do: visitgulf.com

Fishing reports, how-to, and fishing with Nathan Chennaux: baycountyoutdoors.com

Cover of the Spring 2014 issue of Kayak Angler MagazineThis article was first published in the Spring 2014 issue of Kayak Angler Magazine. Subscribe to Kayak Angler Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

Florida’s Forgotten Coast offers both inshore and offshore fishing in uncrowded waters. | Feature photo: Jeffrey Fortuna

 

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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