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Florida’s Forgotten Coast

The tiny town of Port St. Joe packs a big punch when it comes to fishing action
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Cape San Blas, off Port St. Joe, marks some prime fishing turf for tarpon, trout and tripletail. Nick Honachefsky
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Scores of sand trout eagerly whacked bucktails tipped with Gulp! Jerk shads. Nick Honachefsky
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Hundreds of sand trout can be caught on a morning tide, especially when bait schools are prevalent. Nick Honachefsky
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Captain Trey Landry ties up to a piling to begin tripletail fishing.
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Dead pogies fished under clacker floats accounted for many tripletail hits. Nick Honachefsky
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This particular 4-pounder was already tagged, the number taken down and submitted for tracking. Nick Honachefsky
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A monster 20-pound tripletail engulfed Managing Editor Nick Honachefsky’s dead pogy bait that was drifted by a submerged log.
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Tim Kerigan, Director of Gulf County Tourism, hoists the beastly 20 pounder – a trip of a lifetime!
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The primordial looking beastie is released back into the waters off St. Vincent Island. Nick Honachefsky
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Captain Trey fooling around with small blacktip sharks while drifting for tarpon in the pass. Nick Honachefsky
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Offshore buoys hold myriad fish species, including this small cobia that pounced on a bucktail. Nick Honachefsky
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Captain Mitch Coleman freelined a live pogy for this 15-pound king mack – one of a half dozen boated in less than a half hour. Nick Honachefsky
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Portly amberjack jumped on live pogy baits before they could hit the bottom. Nick Honachefsky
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AJ’s hammered butterfly jigs dropped over a local wreck.
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One of dozens of released amberjack caught four miles off Port St. Joe. Nick Honachefsky
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Other vessels were also fast into the AJ action. Nick Honachefsky
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The stunning waters of Port St. Joe offered up some serious inshore and offshore fishing opportunity. Nick Honachefsky
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