A good week with clean water and bait around. The water temperature warmed to 70 by Sunday and remained warm the rest of the week. The first King Mackerel of the year spotted and a big surprise came Monday morning as the first Blackfin Tuna was caught. Other species this week were: Spanish Mackerel, Black Drum, Bluefish, Flounder, Pompano, Red Drum, Squid and Cigar minnows.
Monday morning the water temp had hit 70 degrees, we had wind, chop and things were feeling fishy. Several anglers were casting lures when Jose had a big King sky on his “Current Sniper” lure. No hook-up but his sniper did get teeth marks. A short time later, Casey had a big King to swipe at his lure. Tommy was blind casting an injured Mackerel sniper lure when out of nowhere he got hammered. His drag began screaming as line peeled of his reel. Things were getting tense as over half spool of line was gone. Finally, he began gaining his line back, still not sure what he had hooked. As the fish came in close enough to see, the excitement exploded. Jemel manned the gaff and Tommy put a 23.1 pound Blackfin Tuna on the deck.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday the Red Drum were active and feeding on fresh Squid. Thursday saw the most action as there were at least 6 Reds decked. Steve W. got three of those and decked another one on Friday. Casey decked his fish Thursday as well. Phillip had made a long weekend trip from Alabama and was rewarded with two Reds Saturday. He was the only one to catch a slot fish.
 CaseyW 02-23-23 27.5in.jpg)
Both Tuesday and Wednesday morning saw a big Black Drum caught. Steve M. got his Tuesday morning and Joe C. on Wednesday morning. Both fish were on a Pompano set rig. I had a report of a couple of Pompano being caught too. My only fish for the week came Thursday when I got an 18- inch Flounder on a whole Squid.
Daily activity:
Friday: water temp 67.5 – 68.9 One Red Drum, 1 Pompano
Saturday: water temp 68.7 – 69.3 Two Red Drum, Squid
Sunday: water temp 69.3 – 70.9 Squid
Monday: water temp 70.3 – 70.9 A Blackfin Tuna, 1 small Spanish Mackerel, Cigar minnows and Squid. Two King Mackerel strikes on lures but none hooked.
Tuesday: water temp 70.5 – 71.8 One Black Drum, a Bluefish, Squid and a few Cigar minnows
Wednesday: water temp 71.4 – 72.7 One Black Drum, several Spanish Mackerel, 1 Pompano and Cigar Minnows
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
Full Moon Tuesday Mar. 07, 2023 New Moon Tuesday Mar. 21, 2023
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:14am Sunset: 5:35pm
Thursday 02nd. 4:45am Low -0.5 6:33pm High 1.1
Friday 5:21am Low -0:5 7:31pm High 1.1
Saturday 5:52am Low -0.4 8:20pm High 1.1
Sunday 6:11am Low -0.3 9:06pm High 1.0
Monday 6:08am Low -0.2 9:55pm High 0.9
Tuesday 6:00am Low -0.1 10:51pm High 0.7
Wednesday 08th. 5:56am Low 0.1 12:14pm High 0.4
4:30pm Low 0.2 11:55pm High 0.6
Sunrise: 6:00am Sunset: 5:46pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
FRIDAY
South winds 25 to 30 knots, with frequent gusts up to
35 knots. Seas 7 to 10 feet with a dominant period of 8 seconds,
building to 9 to 10 feet with a dominant period of 8 seconds in
the afternoon. Protected waters rough. A chance of showers with a
slight chance of thunderstorms.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to
30 knots, becoming west 10 to 15 knots after midnight. Seas 7 to
10 feet with a dominant period of 9 seconds, subsiding to 6 to
8 feet with a dominant period of 9 seconds after midnight.
Protected waters rough. A chance of showers with a slight chance
of thunderstorms.
SATURDAY
North winds 10 to 15 knots, becoming northwest 5 to
10 knots in the afternoon. Seas 4 to 6 feet with a dominant
period of 8 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight
chance of showers and thunderstorms.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming north
10 to 15 knots after midnight. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant
period of 8 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SUNDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a
dominant period of 7 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
East winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a
dominant period of 7 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
MONDAY
East winds around 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a
dominant period of 7 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
MONDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around
2 feet. Protected waters a light chop.
(local forecast).
FRIDAY (77/59 rain 57% wind SSW-23)
SATURDAY (75/56 rain 08% wind NW-08)
SUNDAY (77/61 rain 10% wind E-10)
MONDAY (77/64 rain 21% wind SE-10)
TUESDAY (77/68 rain 24% wind SW-10)
WEDNESDAY(77/67 rain 24% wind WSW-11)
PIER MANAGEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Bay County Parks and Recreation – 5304 Majetti Tower Road Panama City, FL 32404
850-248-8730
Joy Saddler – Bay Co. Parks Division Manager –850-248-8730
Vince Martin – Bay Co. Asst. Parks Division Manager - vmartin@baycountyfl.gov - 850-896-6580
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
