Northwest Florida is home to some awesome fishing vacation destinations. In some of these areas, the water is absolutely beautiful. Combine that with the beaches, plenty of lodging, restaurants, shops and attractions, you have a lot to choose from in the Florida Panhandle. Anglers can fish from the beaches, bridges, piers, inshore, nearshore and offshore.
Featured Destinations – Quick Links
Apalachicola, FL | Mexico Beach, FL |
Cape San Blas / Port St. Joe, FL | Panama City Beach, FL |
Destin, FL | Pensacola, FL |
Lake Seminole | Tallahassee, FL |
Learn more about our featured fishing destinations below.
Apalachicola, FL
The Apalachicola area is a nice beach vacation destination without the crowds. You won’t find all of the amenities that you will find in many of Florida’s popular beach destinations, but you will find enough places to eat, some nice lodging accommodations, beautiful beaches and excellent fishing.
Cape San Blas / Port St. Joe, FL
Cape San Blas is located between St. Joseph Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. You won’t find tons of fancy resorts and hotels here, but you will find plenty of vacation rental homes and condos on or near the beach. This area does draw many tourists because of the vacation home rentals on the beaches, the miles of white sand beaches, and of course, the pet-friendly beaches. The fishing is also really good here.
Destin, FL
Florida’s Emerald Coast is home to Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island. This area is known as an unbelievable fishing vacation destination for a variety of inshore and offshore fish. This area also has some great beaches, plenty of accommodations, restaurants, attractions, shopping and outdoor recreation.
Whether you plan to fish inshore, offshore, in the surf or from the pier, there is something here for all anglers. The Choctawhatchee Bay is very popular and the fishing is good for redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and many other fish. Offshore, grouper and snapper get the most attention when they are in season, however, cobia, amberjack, wahoo, blackfin tuna, kingfish, dolphin, sailfish, marlin and many other fish are available depending on the season.
Lake Seminole
Lake Seminole is a large reservoir that is located in the southwest corner of Georgia along its border with Florida and it is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Chattahoochee and Flint rivers join in the lake and then they eventually flow through the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam, which then starts the Apalachicola River. This is a popular fishing lake for people living in Georgia and Florida. Lake Seminole is stocked regularly with striped bass and sunshine bass, so many anglers come here to fish for the stripers. Anglers can also fish for crappie, largemouth bass, sunfish and more.
Mexico Beach, FL
Mexico Beach is a small beach community located in the Florida Panhandle. Situated between Panama City Beach and Port St. Joe, there isn’t anything real close to this small town. You won’t see high rises, crowded beaches, rush hour traffic or even traffic lights through this small town, but you will see a variety of small hotels, vacation home rentals, rv parks, white sand beaches and the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.
Panama City Beach, FL
Panama City is a very popular vacation destination. While most people think of Panama City as a wild spring break destination, there is plenty to do here for the whole family and it calms down tremendously after the college students’ spring break. Panama City, covered with 27 miles of beaches, is absolutely beautiful. There are many attractions and outdoor activities available. Snorkeling, diving, boating and fishing are just a few of the popular water sports.
As far as the fishing goes, there are many options in Panama City, Florida. There are plenty of fishing charters available for some outstanding inshore and offshore fishing. Surf fishing is available as well as pier fishing. In this area, anglers target redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and many other species of fish inshore. Offshore, grouper and snapper are most popular when they are in season. Cobia, amberjack, wahoo, blackfin tuna, kingfish, dolphin, sailfish, marlin and many other fish are available offshore depending on the season.
Pensacola, FL
Pensacola is a beautiful city that is located along the Florida panhandle. This is an excellent beach vacation destination and visitors enjoy shopping, dining, fishing, boating and much more in the area waters.
Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee is the capital city of Florida. It is a good-sized city and it is home to Florida State University and Florida A&M University. People come to the Tallahassee, Florida area for a variety of entertainment inside and outside. For people who enjoy outdoor recreation, there is plenty to do here as well. Anglers have a variety of lakes and rivers to fish for largemouth bass, striped bass, catfish, sunfish and more. The saltwater anglers have access to the Gulf of Mexico about 25 miles away.