Wow, what a great week on the pier. We had good water clarity, bait hanging around the pier and the fish were biting. The water temperature was cool Thursday and Friday mornings, but the rest of the seven days were above 70 degrees. We finished today at 76.1 degrees. We caught a variety of fish including Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, King Mackerel, Red Drum, Sheepshead, Bonita, Whiting, Flounder, a small Cobia, Hardtails and Squid.
The insane Pompano bite continued all week. Upwards of 200 fish were caught a couple of days. If you didn’t catch your limit, it was your fault. They were eating jigs and set rigs baited with Sand Fleas. Some were even caught on Gotchas. The bite was from the very skinny water all the way out the length of the pier, almost to the end Tee. Here are some that Brenda and Sonny put into their coolers.
Skinny water also produced Red Drum. Rod worked the shallows hard all week and was rewarded for his efforts. The Reds were chewing big Sand Fleas and small bait fish. Here are a couple of the several that he decked. Nory couldn’t be out fished and put a Bull onto the deck too.
Rod wasn’t satisfied with only Reds. He also worked on the Sheepshead in the shallows. He decked several during the week and three today alone. Live Fiddler Crabs and a lot of patience was the ticket to catching them.
Spanish Mackerel schools have been flooding through, and some axe handles have been hungry. The bite was not constant but if you were patient, you could put some nice ones into your cooler. Fish over 23 inches were common. They were striking natural bait, and bubble rigs with most any combination of spoons, flies, straws and even small jerk bait. Of course, Gotchas were a hot lure as well. Sonny, Mahmoud and Brenda posed for a quick picture with some of the fish they caught.
If you weren’t fishing the pier Friday, your King Mackerel catches were slim to none. The total catches for every day of the week except Friday could be counted on one hand. However, Friday was insane. The bite was primarily on the west side of the end Tee. All the fish were “schoolies” ranging from about 8 to 12 pounds. The fish came in schools. Several times there were three or more hooked simultaneously and anglers struggled to avoid tangles. Quite a few were lost to tangled lines and pulled hooks. The anglers were shoulder to shoulder on the rail. When the me leigh was over, there were over 30 Kings landed. It was epic to say the least. I only took a couple of pictures since all the fish were about the same size. Here are the shots with Donny, Jeffrey and Tyler in one and Joe in the other with his first pier King.
Cobia season seems to have slowed with only a few fish spotted all week. There were no legal-size fish caught this week but today, Tyler C. put a small one on the pier using a net. After a quick picture, it was lowered back into the water in the net. It swam off healthy to fight another day.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 67.3 – 69.6 Lots of Pompano, buckets of big Squid, a few Spanish Mackerel, a slot Red Drum, a Bull Red, a Sheepshead and two Whiting.
Friday: water temp 68.0 – 72.0 Lots of Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, over 30 small King Mackerel (8-12#), a couple of Flounder, slot Red Drum, Speedos, Alewives and Cigar Minnows
Saturday: water temp 70.3 – 73.2 Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, small King Mackerel, a couple of Red Drum
Sunday: water temp 71.1 – 74.1 Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, small King Mackerel, one Bonita and a Bull Red Drum
Monday: water temp 72.1 – 74.7 Pompano, a few Spanish Mackerel and a Red Drum. Alewives.
Tuesday: water temp 73.8 – 75.2 Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, one King Mackerel (Jose), a Sheepshead, a few Squid and small Alewives
Wednesday: water temp 73.9 – 76.1 Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, three Sheepshead, Hardtails, one small King (Sam), Big Squid in am, and Alewives
Notice: There will be a memorial service and bench dedication for our friend Von Haynes on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., on the M. B. Miller Pier.
Red Tide status: In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in one sample from Okaloosa County.
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 24th. 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 30th. 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
Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming east after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
FRIDAY
East winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming south in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming northwest after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
SATURDAY
Northeast winds around 5 knots, becoming south in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming northwest after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY
North winds around 5 knots, becoming west in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
SUNDAY NIGHT
West winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming northeast after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening.
MONDAY
East winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming southeast in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
MONDAY NIGHT
South winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming east after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (80/67 rain 10% wind SSE-11)
FRIDAY (80/67 rain 13% wind SSE-12)
SATURDAY (81/68 rain 08% wind S-10)
SUNDAY (83/69 rain 20% wind WSW-12)
MONDAY (82/69 rain 17% wind SSE-11)
TUESDAY (82/70 rain 08% wind SSE-12)
WEDNESDAY(83/70 rain 08% wind SSE-12)
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
