What a week with the first King caught. The Pompano and Spanish bite was on fire. Red Drum were chewing and even a few Flounder were decked. Water was clean and warm. To top that, Ballyhoo schools were plentiful and today, Wednesday, the first Cigar minnows were caught. There were even a few Squid still around. All this just in time for another cold front bringing us four nights in the 40’s and two days with highs in the low 60’s. Hopefully it will not cool the water much.
The Pompano hole has been very popular with rail space a premium. The bite was on fire with Fishbite/Sand Flea combo the go to bait. Jigs tipped with Sand Fleas got fish too. The east side was the prime spot. Many caught their limits and one of the commercial fishermen loaded his cooler so full he could not get the lid closed.
Spanish Mackerel have been hot as well. If you didn’t limit out either you were not fishing or were not trying. Gotchas, spoons and straw rigs were a good choice to get bit. Most of the fish were in the 12 to 15 inch range but a few large fish came in too. Casey B. got the large fish that was 5 pounds.
We have been waiting for the water to get warm enough and bait to show. We hoped to be the angler to deck the first King and Saturday it happened. Daniel L. was drifting a Cigar minnow when the first fish for 2021 hit the deck. I didn’t get an official weight but it was in the 15-17 pound range. Congrats Daniel!
Red Drum did not get left out of the picture. They were here and many were hungry. Big Sand Fleas or fresh Squid got their attention and then they got our attention. Most of the fish were over slot and returned to the water but a couple were keepers. Casey W. got three one morning with only one making the slot and barely squeaking in at exactly 27 inches. Paul B. holds one that barely squeeked in at the bottom of the slot at 18 inches. I wonder what Paul had for dinner that night?
We haven’t seen much Flounder action but there were a few caught this week. Casey B. got a couple and I got one on a whole squid while fishing for Reds. We were lucky that they were over 14 inches as the new regs took effect March 01. Our new rules are 14 inch minimum and a limit of 5 per day.
Last Tuesday the Cobia anglers had a flurry of activity with Rabbit fish (Smooth Puffers). Four were hooked and decked. No Cobia action happened until this morning when Tyler had a shot on a nice fish only to have his jig rejected by the Cobia. We did get a report that four fish were caught near the jetties.
Water temperature: 67-72.7
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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 |
03 | 31 | 8:12 pm | SSW | 7.0 | 8.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.08 | - | 71.8 | 72.7 | - | - | - | - |
03 | 31 | 8:06 pm | SSW | 6.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.08 | - | 71.8 | 72.7 | - | - | - | - |
03 | 31 | 8:00 pm | S | 6.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.08 | +0.01 | 71.8 | 72.7 | - | - | - | - |
03 | 31 | 7:54 pm | S | 7.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.08 | - | 71.8 | 72.7 | - | - | - | - |
03 | 31 | 7:48 pm | S | 6.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.08 | - | 71.8 | 72.7 |
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https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-citynging
New Moon Thursday Apr. 11, 2021 Full Moon Monday Apr. 26, 2021
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:31am Sunset: 7:02pm
Thursday 01st. 12:29pm High 1.4
Friday 12:04am Low -0.3 1:18pm High 1.5
Saturday 1:34am Low -0.4 2:13pm High 1.5
Sunday 2:49am Low -0.4 3:17pm High 1.4
Monday 3:49am Low -0.4 4:45pm High 1.3
Tuesday 4:37am Low -0.3 6:48pm High 1.3
Wednesday 07th. 5:16am Low -0.1 8:09pm High 1.1
Sunrise:6:23am Sunset: 7:06pm CDST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM CDT THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
AFTERNOON...
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
FRIDAY MORNING...
REST OF TONIGHT
Southwest winds 15 knots becoming
northwest 20 knots with gusts to around 35 knots late in
the evening, then becoming north 25 to 30 knots after midnight.
Seas 2 to 4 feet building to 5 to 7 feet with occasional seas up
to 9 feet. Dominant period 5 seconds after midnight. Protected
waters choppy. Chance of showers in the evening. Slight
chance of thunderstorms through the night. Slight chance of rain
showers after midnight.
THURSDAY
North winds 25 to 30 knots. Seas 6 to 9 feet with
occasional seas up to 11 feet. Dominant period 6 seconds.
Protected waters rough.
THURSDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 25 to 30 knots. Seas 5 to
7 feet with occasional seas up to 9 feet. Dominant period
5 seconds. Protected waters rough.
FRIDAY
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet with
occasional seas up to 8 feet. Dominant period 5 seconds.
Protected waters choppy.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet.
Dominant period 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SATURDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Protected
waters a moderate chop.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to
3 feet. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY
East winds 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Protected
waters a light chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet.
Protected waters a light chop.
MONDAY
East winds 10 knots becoming south 5 to 10 knots
late in the afternoon. Seas 1 to 2 feet. Protected waters a light
chop.
local forecast)
THURSDAY (61/41 rain 0% wind N-22)
FRIDAY (62/42 rain 0% wind NNE-14)
SATURDAY (65/47 rain 1% wind ESE-10)
SUNDAY (70/51 rain 2% wind SE-08)
MONDAY (73/56 rain 4% wind S-09)
TUESDAY (75/60 rain 5% wind S-10)
WEDNESDAY(77/65 rain 6% wind SW-12)
PIER MANAGEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Bay County Parks and Recreation – 5304 Majetti Tower Road Panama City, FL 32404
850-248-8730
Travis Barbee – Bay County Parks Division Manager – tbarbee@baycountyfl.gov – 850-381-8155
Tabitha Kimball – Bay County Beach Operations Manager - tkimball@baycountyfl.gov - 850-896-6078
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
