The 2025 BCO King Mackerel Tournament (09-28 to 11-09, 2025) ended Sunday the 9th. at 5:00p.m. Ten fish were submitted. The winner is 1st. place Danny N. with a 24.38-pound King he caught on 10-17-25 at 4:30pm. The Second Place was cancelled due to rule violations on the last day of the tournament. The bite was insane and over 50 Kings were caught. Several anglers failed to adhere to the required limit of three fish. After discussions with the sponsors, the owner of Bay County Outdoors and my recommendation, the only fair way to handle this was to cancel this year’s second place. This is disappointing but the integrity of the event is more important. Sponsors made the decision to raffle the tackle that would have been awarded to the second place angler. You do not have to be present to win but I will not ship the item. I will hold it until you are back in PCB to pick it up. I will announce the date, time and location soon. As some of you know, I had total shoulder joint replacement surgery on my left (dominant hand) side Wednesday the 12th, so I am out of commission for a while.
Thanks to the 145 registered participants. A special THANKS to our sponsors Repala Companies, 3rd Coast Lures and Bay County Recreation Department for their support.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 71.8 NE 5-8mph in the a.m. / 73.0 S 8-9mph in the p.m. The water was clean. It was a tough fishing day. A few Flounder were caught but since recreational harvest is closed, they had to be released. There were Cigar Minnows and Alewives available for live bait. Other than that, only Lizard fish and Remoras were caught.
Friday: water temp 81.8 ENE 9-12mph in the a.m. / 73.2 SE 9-13mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There were about a dozen King Mackerel hooked in the morning with around 8 decked. One big King was spotted as it did a drive by on a bait but didn’t eat. The afternoon started and ended slowly with 6 King bites midafternoon. Jose was the only one to deck a “schoolie” King. Another large King was hooked and brought back pier side only to be lost in the pilings. A few Spanish Mackerel were caught. Several Flounder were caught and released. One small Bonita was decked by Quang.
Saturday: water temp 73.0 NW 12-15mph in the a.m. / 73.8 SW 8-11 in the p.m. The water was clean. There were over a dozen King Mackerel bites with about nine fish decked this morning. The weight ranged from 6 to just under 18 pounds. Early afternoon there was another run with over five more hitting the deck – all about like the morning. More fish came in later in the day with a couple of anglers reaching their limit. Here are a few shots with Jeff, Jim, Brenda and James holding their Kings.
Sunday: water temp 73.6 W 7-9mph in the a.m. / 75.2 W 14-20mph in the p.m. The water was clean. Conditions were almost perfect for the final day of the Tournament and what a day it turned out to be! All total, at least 50 King Mackerel were decked and many more lost. There were several fish over 20 pounds caught. The rail was crowded, and anglers were giving it their all to compete. The leader board changed one final time in the morning with a 24.12-pound King. I weighed three additional fish that were close but just shy of moving onto the leader board. At 5:00 p.m., the Kings were still biting. There was almost a constant stream of fish skying on bait. It was impressive. Here is a limited sample of fish that were caught today. Gemel 24.12#; Carlos 23.72#; James 23.06#; Nilfa 18.87#
Monday: water temp 70.5 NW 9-15mph in the a.m. / midafternoon NW 18-28mph / 67.8 NW 15-25mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There were more Kings in the morning. Brenda reached her limit early.
Tuesday: water temp 67.6 NNE 14-20mph in the a.m. / 70.3 W 5-9mph in the p.m. The water was clean, but the air was cold. The angler population was slim. There were a couple of small Bonita in the morning.
Wednesday: water temp 69.6 NE 7-10mph in the a.m. / 69.1 W 5mph @ noon / 71.1 WSW 10-16 in the p.m. The water was clean. The morning and early afternoon were very slow. Between 4:30-5:00 p.m. the Kings turned on. Ten fish were decked. Allan put this nice one on the gaff.
Red Tide status: In Northwest Florida over the past week: Red tide concentrations have significantly increased in Northwest Florida over the past week, with bloom-level concentrations of the organism Karenia brevis detected in samples from Bay and Gulf counties, according to the latest status report.
The red tide organism was observed in 23 samples collected along Florida’s coasts, with bloom concentrations present in eight samples—all originating from Bay and Gulf counties in the Northwest region.
Focus on the Northwest Coast
The Northwest Florida coast is currently experiencing the most severe impacts.
- Bay and Gulf Counties saw K. brevis at concentrations ranging from background to high (Bay County) and medium to high (Gulf County).
- Confirmed fish kills, suspected to be related to the red tide, were reported to the FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline or other partners in both Bay and Gulf counties.
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Thursday Nov. 20, 2025 - Full Moon Thursday Dec. 04, 2025
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:06am Sunset: 4:47pm
Friday 12:18pm Low 0.6 5:40am High 0.9
7:31pm High 1.0
Saturday 4:21am Low 0.6 7:45pm High 0.7
10:42pm Low 0.7 7:21pm High 1.2
Sunday 4:50am Low 0.4 7:19pm High 1.3
Monday 5:20am Low 0.2 7:16pm high 1.5
Tuesday 5:52am Low 0.0 7:26pm High 1.6
Wednesday 19th. 6:28am Low -0.1 7:51pm High 1.6
Sunrise: 6:11am Sunset: 4:44pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
FRIDAY
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: Northeast 1 foot at 2 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds around 5 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: Northeast 1 foot at 2 seconds. Protected waters smooth.
SATURDAY
East winds around 5 knots, becoming south in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters smooth.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: Southwest 1 foot at 2 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY
West winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
West winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
MONDAY
West winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming south in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
MONDAY NIGHT
South winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (74/53 rain 03% wind WNW 5-10 am / light & variable pm)
FRIDAY (75/52 rain 04% wind light & variable am & pm
SATURDAY (74/63 rain 03% wind SSW 5-10 am / WSW 5-10 PM)
SUNDAY (76/60 rain 05% wind W-10-15 an / WNW 5-10 pm)
MONDAY (75/60 rain 05% wind SW-05-10 am / light & variable pm)
TUESDAY (77/63 rain 05% wind SSE-05-10 am / light & variable pm)
WEDNESDAY(78/63 rain 07% wind SSE-05-10 am / SE 5-10 PM)
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
