Old Florida Outfitters

Old Florida Outfitters is an outdoor apparel and tackle shop in WaterColor Resort Town Square, carrying a full line of men’s and women’s outdoor clothing along with fly and conventional fishing gear. The shop also arranges guided fishing charters, making it as much a launching point for a day on the water as it is a place to stock up on clothes for the trip.

The business opened in May 2006 in a small space on the south side of WaterColor Resort. By 2010 it had outgrown that spot and moved to its current location on the north side of the resort, where it has kept serving the local and visiting community ever since. That timeline puts Old Florida Outfitters on the edge of its twentieth year in business in 2026, a rare run for an independent shop on 30A.

As an official Orvis retail partner, the shop carries gear vetted for serious anglers alongside everyday resort wear, and the brand list reads like a who’s who of outdoor labels: Patagonia, Costa, Yeti, Sage, Shimano, Maui Jim, and Kuhl are just a handful of the more than thirty brands stocked on its racks and shelves. Clothing runs across men’s, women’s, and youth sizes, and the accessory wall covers hats, sunglasses, and the small essentials that tend to get forgotten until you are already standing on a dock.

Where the shop really distinguishes itself is out on the water. Old Florida Outfitters arranges guided trips with captains who know the stretch of Gulf Coast between Destin and Panama City intimately. Captain David Mangum, a native Floridian, has fly fished from Alaska to the Bahamas and specializes in light tackle and offshore trips, while Captain Gjuro Bruer, a Gulf Coast native who learned the water in Louisiana marshes and Mississippi redfish country, is also an accomplished fly tier and photographer. Together they run shallow-water sight-fishing trips built for beginners and lifelong anglers alike.

For a combination unique to WaterColor, ask the staff about fly fishing from a paddleboard on nearby Western Lake, a quiet, low-key way to sight-cast for redfish without ever losing sight of the dunes. The shop sits at 30 Watercolor Blvd N, an easy walk from the Boathouse Paddle Club dock, which makes it a natural first or last stop on any day built around the water: swing in beforehand to rig up, buy a hat, or rent tackle, or stop back in afterward to compare notes on what bit that afternoon.

Because it has operated continuously in the same corner of WaterColor for two decades, Old Florida Outfitters has become something of an institution for both full-time locals and returning vacationers, the kind of shop where staff remember regulars by name and can point newcomers toward whichever stretch of the coast is fishing best that week. It is a worthwhile stop even for visitors who never plan to wet a line, simply for the quality of the outdoor apparel and the easy, unhurried feel of a shop that has clearly earned its longevity.

Traveling with kids or a partner who is not into fishing gear? The youth and women’s lines mean there is still plenty worth browsing, from sun hats to everyday resort apparel, and the accessory wall of Yeti drinkware and Maui Jim sunglasses covers the kind of practical gear that tends to get left at home. Pair a visit with a trip down to Western Lake itself, since half the fun of shopping here is walking out the door already dressed for whatever is next on the day’s agenda.