Spring 2025 Fishing Report – Emerald Coast Captain Jack Whaley | Grocery Gettin’ Charters, LLC The season is off to an absolutely incredible start! This spring has been one of the best in recent memory. With rising temperatures, calm seas, and warming Gulf waters, everything is aligning for a fantastic fishing season. Conditions have been ideal, and the fish are biting consistently across the board. Whether we’re staying close to shore or heading offshore, every trip has been productive and exciting for our clients. Inshore fishing has been on fire. Spanish Mackerel and King Mackerel have been cruising right along the beaches, especially during the early morning hours. These fish are hitting both artificial lures and live bait. Light tackle makes the fight even more exciting, and we've had plenty of double and even triple hook-ups. Offshore action has been just as rewarding. We’ve seen large pods of baitfish such as: cigar minnows, threadfin herring, and speedos gathering around the bayous in St. Andrews Pass and just off the beaches. These bait schools have been magnets for highly sought-after pelagic species, including Mahi, Wahoo, and Tripletail. The presence of Sargassum weed lines is growing offshore. These weed lines allow us to troll and sight-cast with great success, particularly when targeting Mahi. Clients have had a blast reeling them in, Mahi are not only beautiful with their vibrant blues and greens, but they’re known for jumping out of the water once hooked and their schooling behavior. Bottom fishing is holding strong, with hungry Triggerfish, Vermilion Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, and some impressive Grouper hanging around the reefs. Even with harvesting regulations in place, we’re seeing plenty of action and variety. Most trips see clients limiting out early, which gives us the opportunity to head farther offshore to give the clients the experience of fighting the bigger fish. Amberjack and Red Snapper always provided a memorable fight. Watching clients battle these giants is always a highlight of the season. For an exciting announcement, Red Snapper season is the longest ever recorded since regulations began with 126 days! June and July will be prime months, and we’re gearing up for non-stop action. As we roll into summer, we expect conditions to only improve. With more fishable days and the beautiful waters of the Emerald Coast as our playground, our mission remains the same: send every client home with big smiles, great memories, and a cooler full of groceries! Tight lines, Captain Jack Whaley

Well, This past week was super windy but we were able to squeeze in a few trips! The Spanish mackerel bite was very productive and is some of my favorite fishing! The nearshore bite is still very hot right now, vermilion snapper and Trigger fish bite has been exceptional, as well as a few mangrove snapper and red grouper mixed in. The wind has finally laid down for us to get out into the gulf again and we are looking forward to bringing home the grocerys with you all! Let’s go load them up!

Well, after the snow and the cold fronts. The weather looks promising, we have caught lots of Red Grouper but most have been too small, have boxed a few though! Gag grouper bite has been on fire as well but they have all been released safely because they are not in season. The vermillion snapper bite has been steady the past week. The squid have moved in close and the boys off the pier have been catching them in solid numbers, which usually means the blackfin tuna aren't too far behind. water temps have been in the low 60's offshore and the fish are active. Trips will start getting booked up pretty quickly for spring and summer, so go ahead and book a charter trip and let us take care of the rest. Sit back and enjoy your fishing trip! - Captain Jack