We began the month with dirty water and cooler water temps that hovered around 66 degrees. By today, we were just over 75 degrees. Kings were shut down all week but began to bite this afternoon. Spanish and Pompano have been on fire. A few Red Drum were hooked but Cobia have been missing from the mix. A few schools of big Jack Crevelle have moved by with a few striking angler’s Cobia jigs. The past couple of days, Cigar minnows and Spanish Sardines have begun to gather around the pier. Also, a decent number of large Squid have been caught.
The big attraction all week was in the Pompano hole. Pier staff did a good job monitoring social distancing and THANKFULLY, so far, our pier remains open. Rail space was a premium to take advantage of the hot Pompano bite. Numerous anglers caught their limit several of the days. Charles C. got a shot of his catch, Marvin got his first pier Pomp and Hobie decked a stud that was an even 4 pounds. Jigs tipped with Sand Fleas or “FishBites” worked well.
The Spanish Mackerel bite was almost s hot as the Pompano. Limit catches were common using Gotchas and Jigs. Larger Spanish were hitting natural bait. Mornings and late afternoon was the best opportunity to fill your cooler. Fish over 3 pounds were in the mix but most catches were average size. Charles C not only got his Pomp limit one afternoon but got a pile of nice Spanish too. I managed to deck a nice “Axe Handle” on a Cigar minnow that was 3 lb 6 oz.
King Mackerel seemed to have left the area as none were around all week until yesterday. One lonely fish was hooked but lost before the gaff could connect. Today, a few fish returned as we had a good West wind, warmer water and a few bait schools gathered near the pier. Four Kings were hooked before I left the pier at 6:00 pm. Two were lost and two decked. One was reported to be about 25 pounds and Mikel caught the other fish that was around 20 pounds.
Red Drum were around but not in big numbers. Several Bulls were hooked and released Only a couple of slot fish were decked like this one Paul is holding.
We seldom get Trippletails from the pier and almost never get one big enough to keep. However, Casey B. not only got a keeper but it was 8 pounds. Congrats Casey on a trophy from the pier!
Water temperature: 66 – 75
MM | DD | TIME
(EDT) | WDIR | WSPD
kts | GST
kts | WVHT
ft | DPD
sec | APD
sec | MWD | PRES
in | PTDY
in | ATMP
°F | WTMP
°F | DEWP
°F | SAL
psu | VIS
nmi | TIDE
ft |
04 | 08 | 8:48 pm | WSW | 8.0 | 9.9 | - | - | - | - | 29.89 | - | 73.9 | 75.7 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 08 | 8:42 pm | WSW | 8.9 | 11.1 | - | - | - | - | 29.89 | - | 73.9 | 75.7 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 08 | 8:36 pm | WSW | 8.9 | 12.0 | - | - | - | - | 29.89 | - | 73.9 | 75.7 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 08 | 8:30 pm | WSW | 11.1 | 13.0 | - | - | - | - | 29.89 | - | 74.1 | 75.9 | - | - | - | - |
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-city
Tides for the week: New Moon Wednesday Apr. 22, 2020–Full Moon Thursday May 07, 2020
Sunrise: 6:21am Sunset: 7:08pm
Thursday 09th. 8:38pm Low -0.1 10:52am High 1.1
Friday 10:16pm Low -0.2 11:21am High 1.3
Saturday 11:43pm Low -0.3 12:05pm High 1.5
Sunday 12:52pm High 1.5
Monday 1:02am Low -0.3 1:42pm High 1.5
Tuesday 2:13am Low -0.3 2:34pm High 1.4
Wednesday 15th. 3:13am Low -0.2 3:32pm High 1.3
Sunrise:6:14am Sunset: 7:11pm
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY
West winds 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period
4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
THURSDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 10 to 15 knots becoming north early
in the morning. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period 4 seconds.
Protected waters a light chop. Slight chance of showers.
FRIDAY
North winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant
period 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Chance of
showers.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 1 to 2 feet.
Dominant period 3 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
SATURDAY
Southeast winds 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet.
Protected waters a moderate chop. Chance of showers and slight
chance of thunderstorms.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to
3 feet building to 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas up to 6 feet
after midnight. Protected waters a moderate chop. Slight chance
of showers and thunderstorms.
SUNDAY
South winds 20 knots. Gusts to 35 knots in the
afternoon. Seas 5 to 7 feet with occasional seas up to 9 feet
building to 6 to 9 feet with occasional seas up to 11 feet in the
afternoon. Protected waters choppy. Chance of showers and
thunderstorms.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Southwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 6 to 9 feet
with occasional seas up to 11 feet. Protected waters choppy.
Showers and thunderstorms likely.
MONDAY
Southwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet with
occasional seas up to 8 feet. Protected waters a light chop.
Chance of showers and thunderstorms.
(local forecast)
THURSDAY (79/62 rain 20% wind W-15)
FRIRDAY (69/53 rain 30% wind N-14)
SATURDAY (74/64 rain 10% wind ESE-12)
SUNDAY (78/69 rain 60% wind SSE-23)
MONDAY (80/63 rain 20% wind W-08)
TUESDAY (79/61 rain 40% wind SE-09)
WEDNESDAY(74/61 rain 50% wind N-12)
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
