Another great week for clean and warm water. Water temperatures ranged from 71 to almost 75 degrees. We had Cigar minnows around thick all 7 days with a few Scaled Sardine and Hardtails. Schools of Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Pompano and Jack Crevalle were a regular site. We are still waiting for that first legal Cobia to hit the deck. We are now over half-way through the Tournament with no fish on the leader board. There were two fish caught but neither were the minimum size limit.
King Mackerel were few and small this period. Many anglers spent hours soaking bait and casting lures only to go home skunked. I managed a small fish Thursday. Tommy had a big fish cut him off after a long run and Hachid landed a small King late afternoon. Friday morning had a small window of fish and five hit the deck. One other King was caught that afternoon. This would be the best day of the week. Brad and Gemel are holding fish they got Friday. Jose caught a small fish Wednesday morning.
Pompano were running again but the bite was slower than last week. There were a few anglers that managed their 6 fish limit but they had to work for them. Jigs seemed to out-produce set rigs with Sand Fleas. There were a few big ones decked like this three pound one George got.
Schools of Jack Crevalle passed the pier almost daily. Many more were lost than decked. August hooked this one and wondered why it was fighting so hard. As he got it close, he saw that it was foul hooked near the tail.
Leave it to our junior anglers to show us how to catch fish. James and his son Gavin were searching the water Saturday when they got this small Cobia. Gavin had no problem posing with his fish while sporting a big smile.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 72.9 – 74.5 Tons of Bluefish, A few Pompano and Spanish Mackerel, Sam P. decked a small King, Tommy L. had a big King eat a Hardtail but was cut off after a long run, Hachid got a “scoolie” King late day, Cigar minnows everywhere
Friday: water temp 72.5 – 74.7 Six Kings before 08:30, 1 King mid-afternoon, a few Spanish and Pompano, lots of blues and Cigar minnows
Saturday: water temp 72.5 - 73.6 One small King, a tiny Cobia, a few Spanish, Pompano and Blues, Cigar minnows
Sunday: water temp 71.4 – 72.5 A few Pompano , Blues and Spanish, Small King hooked
Monday: water temp 72.1 – 72.5 Blues, Ladyfish, a few Pompano and Spanish, 1 Jack Crevalle, Cigar minnows
Tuesday: water temp 71.8 – 73.0 A few Spanish Mackerel, Pompano, Bluefish and Ladyfish, Cigar minnows
Wednesday: water temp 72.1 – 74.7 Spanish Mackerel- some axe handle, a few Pompano, Bluefish, one small King Mackerel and a Jack Crevalle, Cigar minnows
Red Tide status:
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
Full Moon Friday May 05, 2023 New Moon Friday May 19, 2023
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:03am Sunset: 7:18pm
Friday 2:58am Low 0:0 3:44pm High 1.2
Saturday 3:15am Low 0.1 4:52pm High 1.1
Sunday 3:11am Low 0.2 7:21pm High 0.9
Monday 3:08am Low 0.4 9:54am High 0.8
3:15pm Low 0.6 9:11pm High 0.8
Tuesday 2:55am Low 0.6 9:35am High 0.9
4:40pm Low 0.4 11:10pm High 0.7
Wednesday 03rd. 1:17am Low 0.6 9:18am High 1.1
5:47pm Low 0.2
Sunrise: 5:57am Sunset: 7:22pm CDST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
THURSDAY NIGHT
South winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of thunderstorms. Showers likely, mainly in the evening.
FRIDAY
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots, diminishing to 5 to 10 knots after midnight. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers and thunderstorms.
SATURDAY
South winds 5 to 10 knots, increasing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of thunderstorms. A chance of showers in the morning, then showers likely in the afternoon.
SATURDAY NIGHT
South winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms.
SUNDAY
Southwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet with a dominant period of 7 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A chance of thunderstorms. Showers likely, mainly in the morning.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 6 to 8 feet with a dominant period of 8 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening.
(local forecast).
FRIDAY (77/65 rain 72% wind SW-14)
SATURDAY (77/65 rain 96% wind SSE-14)
SUNDAY (75/59 rain 57% wind W-17)
MONDAY (75/58 rain 03% wind W-14)
TUESDAY (77/61 rain 02% wind W-12)
WEDNESDAY(79/60 rain 03% wind WNW-10)
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
