St. Joseph Bay is a rare thing: a clear, enclosed, grass-bottom bay with no river input. Sight-fishing for reds, a trout factory, bay scallops in summer — and the cape’s surf out the back door.
Region: Florida Gulf · FL. Coordinates 29.8119, -85.3027.
This zone reads from NOAA CO-OPS tide station 8728912 — Port St. Joe, St. Joseph Bay, FL — for tide predictions and observed water level, with wind, gusts, air temperature and marine warnings from Open-Meteo and the National Weather Service. Station 8728912 carries no water-temperature sensor, so water temp comes from the nearest station that does: Apalachicola, FL (8728690), about 20 miles away.
Every reading is fetched when you open the page, so nothing here is a published forecast: the tide timeline covers the next 48 hours with highs, lows and moon phase, and the bite outlook scores the current tide stage, water temperature, wind and pressure for the species you pick. Open the console to watch this water on one screen, or see it in context on the coastal map.
For recreation only — not for navigation. In an emergency call 911 or hail the Coast Guard on VHF 16.
Catalog species that hold in this zone: Speckled Trout, Redfish (Red Drum), Southern Flounder, Sheepshead, Black Drum, Snook, Tarpon, Gag Grouper, Florida Pompano, Cobia.
| Season | Species present |
|---|---|
| spring | Speckled Trout, Redfish (Red Drum), Florida Pompano, Cobia, Sheepshead |
| summer | Speckled Trout, Redfish (Red Drum), Gag Grouper, Snook, Tarpon |
| fall | Redfish (Red Drum), Speckled Trout, Southern Flounder, Gag Grouper |
| winter | Speckled Trout, Redfish (Red Drum), Sheepshead, Black Drum |
Regional targets beyond the catalog: Bay scallops (snorkeling, summer season).
What to tie on: 30 lures and baits in the lure & bait database are proven for the species that hold in Port St. Joe & Cape San Blas, and the smart lure tool narrows them to today's conditions on this water.
Winter offers the Gulf’s best shot at a giant "gator" trout in skinny water — go slow, throw big. Spring pompano run the cape surf while cobia round the point. Summer is grass-flat trout, scallops and northern-edge snook. Fall brings keeper gags shallow and redfish schools on the flats.
Base camps and launch areas inside this zone:
Running these waters? Pull the official NOAA chart before you go — it opens centered on this zone. Check the regulations for Port St. Joe & Cape San Blas for current size and bag limits, and run the launch-prep checklist before you leave the ramp.
Rather fish Port St. Joe & Cape San Blas with someone who runs it every week? These local businesses call this zone home port:
Browse every listing in the charters & guides directory, or — if you run trips here yourself — list your business.
The what's-biting report and the angler reports on this page are sample content, clearly labeled as a demo in the app — posting and replies activate with the community account system. Live tide, water temperature, wind and warning data are real and pull from NOAA and Open-Meteo on every visit.