We enjoyed another beautiful week with clean and warm water. The water temperature ranged from 74.7 to 79,9 degrees. The fish were biting, and we had some bait around the pier. The angler population was more than usual and was crowded at times. There was a variety of fish caught during the report period including Pompano, King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Bonita, Ladyfish, Sheepshead, Spade fish, Hardtails, Mahi-mahi, Alewives, Spanish Sardine, Threadfin Herring, Speedos and Cigar Minnows.
It was a great seven days for King Mackerel with Saturday and Wednesday being the best days with over a dozen fish caught each day. The top weight fish for the year to date was decked Wednesday morning. Alex, and a group of his friends from Ohio, were here on their annual fishing trip. Alex had never decked a King but that was not to be the case for long, Not only did he break the ice with his first King, but he set the year-to-date record for 2025 with a massive “Smoker” King that weighed 44 pounds. Nothing like setting this fish as your beginner and personal best. How do you top that. Alex’s fish would not be the only nice King landed. There were quite a few fish over 20 pounds caught during the week. Just to name a few anglers who decked nice fish were John, Alex, Jeffrey, Brad, Jake, Hachid, Hobie, Bret, Anthony, Alex (local), Hunter and others. There were at least as many fish lost as caught. Here is a collection of pictures including some of the fish caught with the big 44 pounder listed first.
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Spanish Mackerel were thick most of the week. Catches of angler limits were common. The size of the fish caught ranged from barely legal to over 23-inch “Axe-Handles”. They were caught on all of the common lures and natural baits. How about these two lady anglers, Marisela and Debbie holding their own with big Spanish. I’ll let these pictures tell the rest of the story. This is only a small sample of the anglers with their catches.
Rod was working the Sheepshead hard with some success. Fiddler crabs seemed to break the will of the finicky Sheeps. Rod got two nice ones for dinner.
The Pompano season has been phenomenal with hundreds of fish caught, we are getting towards the end of the run, but fish are still coming through. Anglers are still able to catch their limit but they must be persistent. Chuck managed to do just that.
This afternoon there was Sargassum grass floating through and I was rewarded with my first Mahi of the year. It ate a Cigar Minnow free lined on my King rig.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 75.0 – 77.0 Pompano, Sheepshead, Spanish Mackerel, Hardtails and Alewives
Friday: water temp 76.5 – 77.7 Three Kings were decked and several others missed or lost, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, one Bonita (Kyle), Alewives, Speedos and a few Cigar Minnows
Saturday: water temp 76.3 – 78.4 Good King bite- over a dozen caught and at least 6 lost, (several in mid-20’s by Hachid, Jeffery, Hunter and Anthony) Pompano, big Spanish Mackerel, Hardtails
Sunday: water temp 76.8 – 79.5 Big Spanish Mackerel, Pompano, Flounder, a Spade fish
Monday: water temp 74.7 – 78.8 Spanish Mackerel (some axe handles), one King (Hachid 22#) a few Pompano and Bonita, a Sheepshead, Ladyfish late day, and a few small Alewives
Tuesday: water temp 74.8 – 79.7 Lots of Spanish Mackerel, Hardtails, a few Pompano, Ladyfish late afternoon, one King Mackerel (Jake), a Flounder, two Bonita, and a few Threadfin Herring
Wednesday: water temp 77.7 – 79.9 Over a dozen King Mackerel decked and at least that many lost (Alex from OH his 1st King 44#, several 20+ pound fish-John, Brad, Alex, Jeffery), Spanish Mackerel, Pompano, Bonita, Ladyfish, Hardtails, a Mahi (Sam P), Threadfin Herring, Alewives and a few Cigar Minnows.
Red Tide status: In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low concentrations in one sample collected offshore of Levy County. Karenia brevis was not observed in samples collected from Santa Rosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, or Wakulla counties.
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Sunday Apr. 27, 2025 - Full Moon Monday May 12, 2025
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Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:05am Sunset: 7:16pm
Thursday 01st. 3:50am Low 0.3 10:08am High 0.7
2:56pm Low 0.5 9:44pm High 0.9
Friday 3:33am Low 0.6 9:42am High 0.9
4:42pm Low 0.3
Saturday 6:06pm Low 0.0 9:08am High 1.1
Sunday 7:31pm Low -0.2 9:06am High 1.4
Monday 8:57pm Low -0.4 9:42am High 1.7
Tuesday 10:15pm Low -0.5 10:33am High 1.8
Wednesday 07th. 11:25pm Low -0.5 11:31am High 1.9
Sunrise: 5:59am Sunset: 7:20pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY NIGHT
South winds 5 to 10 knots, diminishing to around 5 knots after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
FRIDAY
Southeast winds around 5 knots, becoming south in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. Patchy fog in the morning.
FRIDAY NIGHT
South winds 5 to 10 knots, diminishing to around 5 knots after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
SATURDAY
South winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of showers and thunderstorms.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming north after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. Showers and thunderstorms likely.
SUNDAY
Northeast winds around 5 knots, becoming south in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of showers and thunderstorms.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming northeast after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of thunderstorms in the evening. A chance of showers.
MONDAY
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of showers, mainly in the morning.
MONDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (82/71 rain 05% wind S-13)
FRIDAY (82/71 rain 24% wind S-13)
SATURDAY (77/65 rain 58% wind SSW-13)
SUNDAY (81/60 rain 16% wind NW-11)
MONDAY (80/62 rain 04% wind WNW-10)
TUESDAY (82/55 rain 03% wind S-10)
WEDNESDAY(82/67 rain 17% wind S-09)
PIER MANAGEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Bay County Parks and Recreation – 5304 Majetti Tower Road Panama City, FL 32404
850-248-8730
Vince Martin – Bay Co. Parks Division Manager - vmartin@baycountyfl.gov - 850-896-6580
Timothy Pentice- Bay Co. Asst. Div. Mgr. – tprentice@baycountyfl.gov – 448-217-4219
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
SLP053@BELLSOUTH.NET
770-265-2879
