Thursday began with a cold front moving through resulting in the water temp cooling on Friday. We dropped from 67 to almost 61. Fortunately, the wind that came with it didn’t completely trash the water quality. By today, Wednesday, the water was clean and the temp made it back to 64. We did loose the bait fish that had been here. The catch variety was still good, but the quantity of each species was fewer than last week. We had the following species caught: Bonita, Flounder, Red Drum, Black Drum, Pompano, Sheepshead, Bluefish and Stargazer.
Bonita were around most of the week but only fed a couple of days. Bubble rigs with a small jerk bait, fly or spoon got their attention. Here are a few that Steve L., Steve W., and Robert B. caught.
A few Pompano were caught but you had to be patient and persistent. Brenda got one early week and Steve M. put several in his cooler. Sand Fleas tipped with Fish Bite was the best producer.
Sheepshead were chewing on the pilings but only ate bait we offered a few times. Brenda and Geovani were two of the lucky anglers. Brenda’s fish was 7 pounds.
Red and Black Drum were on the prowl and willing to eat. Ghost shrimp, Sand Fleas and even a diamond jig caught fish. Sam and Terry got over-slot Reds. Hachid, Brenda and Mario from San Diego got Blacks.
Flounder were more elusive this week but Scott fished non-stop all week and put a few in his cooler. Bull Minnows and Tiger Minnows got Scott his fish. I got lucky and got a 17” flattie on a Sand Flea I had dropped hoping for a Red.
Daily activity:
Thursday: - Bonita (several coolers full), Flounder, Bluefish, and a couple Pompano - water temp 66.6 – 67.5
Friday: One Pompano - water temp 66.9 – 61.7
Saturday: Bonita, Flounder - water temp 61.3-60.3 – 62.6
Sunday: Sheepshead, Black Drum, Flounder - water temp 62.4 – 62.6
Monday: Black Drum, Red Drum, Flounder, Sheepshead, one Stargazer - water temp 62.6 – 62.1
Tuesday: water temp Bonita, Pompano, Bluefish, Flounder - 62.1 – 63.7
Wednesday: 4 Pompano, 1 over-slot Red Drum, 1 short Flounder - water temp 63.3 – 64.2
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Saturday Jan. 21, 2023 Full Moon Saturday Feb. 05, 2022
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:38am Sunset: 5:08pm
Thursday 19th. 5:47am Low -1.0 7:12pm High 1.5
Friday 6:40am Low -1.1 8:16pm High 1.5
Saturday 7:32am Low -1.2 9:21pm High 1.5
Sunday 8:21am Low -1.1 10:24pm High 1.4
Monday 9:03am Low -0.9 11:24pm High 1.2
Tuesday 9:31am Low -0.6
Wednesday 25th. 9:25am Low -0.3 12:18am High 0.9
Sunrise: 6:36am Sunset: 5:13pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with
a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
A slight chance of thunderstorms. A slight chance of showers in
the morning, then a chance of showers in the afternoon.
THURSDAY NIGHT
West winds around 10 knots, becoming northwest
after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 feet with a dominant period of
6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers
with a slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening.
FRIDAY
North winds 10 to 15 knots, diminishing to 5 to
10 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet with a dominant
period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
FRIDAY NIGHT
North winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with
a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SATURDAY
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots, becoming east 10 to
15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet with a dominant
period of 4 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of
thunderstorms. A slight chance of showers in the morning, then a
chance of showers in the afternoon.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to
5 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters
choppy. A slight chance of thunderstorms. Showers.
SUNDAY
Southwest winds around 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet with
a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters choppy. Showers
with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
SUNDAY NIGHT
West winds 15 to 20 knots, becoming northwest
after midnight. Seas 4 to 6 feet with a dominant period of
7 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of
thunderstorms. Showers likely, mainly in the evening.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (74/50 rain 39% wind WSW-15)
FRIDAY (68/50 rain 02% wind N-09)
SATURDAY (63/54 rain 62% wind ENE-11)
SUNDAY (70/48 rain 98% wind WSW-15)
MONDAY (60/50 rain 50% wind NNE-11)
TUESDAY (66/52 rain 76% wind ESE-13)
WEDNESDAY(62/41 rain 33% wind NNW-15)
PIER MANAGEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Bay County Parks and Recreation – 5304 Majetti Tower Road Panama City, FL 32404
850-248-8730
Vacant – Bay Co. Parks Division Manager –850-381-8155
Vince Martin – Bay Co. Beach Operations Manager - vmartin@baycountyfl.gov - 850-896-6580
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
