The water clarity has been clean enough for to fish but not clear. The water temperature fluctuated between 69 and 72 degrees. The pier has been very crowded. A few Kings were around but only one hit the deck. Lots of Spanish and Pompano were caught as well as a few Bonita and Jack Crevelle. Black and Red Drum were in the mix too. Live bait has been mostly limited to Ballyhoo. There were a few Threadfin Herring and Cigs.
We are six days into the BCO Cobia Tournament and the leader board remains empty. In spite of numerous eyes staring at the water, none have been caught on the County. A couple of fish were spotted but would not eat. However, Jackson Z. decked one off the Dan Russell that was just shy of 60 pounds. He finally got the 30 pound monkey off his back and has bragging rights for the first fish caught.
So far, King Mackerel seem to be slow to arrive and eat. There were several strikes and a couple hooked but only one hit the deck during the week. Last week, natural bait seemed to be the go to bait but this week, Sniper 170 jerk bait was the ticket. Tuesday morning conditions were almost ideal. Several anglers had King strikes and two fish were hooked. One fish spit the hooks beside the pier. The other one ate Dat’s jerk bait and the fight was on. After a couple of trips around the Tee, the fish hit the gaff and the deck. The scales read 31.1 pounds. Wednesday afternoon the Kings won the battle against the anglers as they were 0 for 5 hooked and lost. There were at least five others missed.
Spanish Mackerel have been thick. The bite has been hot and if you wanted them, you could easily get your limit. Rail space was not so easy. The word was out and so were the anglers. The front Tee was elbow to elbow. Gotchas, bubble rigs and spoons were flying all directions and a good helmet would have been appreciated.
The Pompano bite was the best so far. Fish were coming over the rail on a regular basis. Many anglers got their limit several days in a row. Sight casting with jigs worked best but some fish were on set rigs too. Wednesday was no different except Carlos landed one of the biggest fish so far. Just like the end Tee, rail space was a premium.
Other action included several species from Jack Crevelle to Look downs. Here are a few pictures of the catches: They include James, Tyler, Slick and Will with Jack Crevelle; Gary with his 26 inch Red Drum; Jose with his Black Drum and Mikel with a big Look down.
The 2022 Bay County Outdoors Cobia Tournament registration page is live. Registration is FREE and only requires your name, email and a contact phone number. You can enter anytime before May 13th at 6:00pm but must be pre-registered to enter a fish. Here is the link: www.baycountyoutdoors.com/22cobiatournament Once you complete the form, hit "enter now". You will see a message in RED at the bottom indicating you are entered.
The tournament began at 6:00am April 01, 2022, and ends on May 13, 2022, at 6:00pm. You can view the list of participants on my FB page by using this URL: https://www.facebook.com/sam.patrick.315/posts/10220687154753943
As of 4-06-22 at 8:00pm we had 59 anglers registered.
GOOD LUCK!
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Saturday Apr. 16, 2022 Full Moon Saturday Apr. 30, 2022
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:24am Sunset: 7:05pm
Friday 2:08am Low -0.2 2:32pm High 1.3
Saturday 3:07am Low -0.2 3:33pm High 1.3
Sunday 3:50am Low -0.2 4:47pm High 1.2
Monday 4:20am Low -0.1 6:24pm High 1.2
Tuesday 4:37am Low 0.0 7:58pm High 1.1
Wednesday 13th. 4:43am Low 0.2 9:24pm High 1.0
Sunrise:6:17am Sunset: 7:09pm CDST
Water temp 71 degrees.
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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 |
04 | 06 | 7:42 am | S | 11.1 | 13.0 | - | - | - | - | 29.80 | - | 72.0 | 70.3 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 06 | 7:36 am | S | 12.0 | 12.0 | - | - | - | - | 29.80 | - | 71.8 | 70.3 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 06 | 7:30 am | S | 9.9 | 9.9 | - | - | - | - | 29.80 | - | 71.4 | 70.2 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 06 | 7:24 am | S | 8.0 | 8.9 | - | - | - | - | 29.79 | - | 71.8 | 70.2 | - |
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|
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The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
FRIDAY
West winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet with
occasional seas up to 9 feet. Dominant period 7 seconds.
Protected waters choppy.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 6 to 8 feet
with occasional seas up to 10 feet. Dominant period 7 seconds.
Protected waters rough.
SATURDAY
Northwest winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet with
occasional seas up to 9 feet. Dominant period 7 seconds.
Protected waters choppy.
SATURDAY NIGHT
North winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet
with occasional seas up to 8 feet. Dominant period 6 seconds.
Protected waters choppy.
SUNDAY
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots becoming southeast 10 to
15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Dominant period
5 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet.
Protected waters a moderate chop.
MONDAY
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with
occasional seas up to 6 feet. Protected waters choppy.
(local forecast).
FRIDAY (68/50 rain 00% wind W-28)
SATURDAY (69/52 rain 01% wind WNW-19)
SUNDAY (72/58 rain 01% wind SSE-09)
MONDAY (74/64 rain 14% wind SE-14)
TUESDAY (76/66 rain 18% wind SE-15)
WEDNESDAY(77/68 rain 35% wind SSE-17)
PIER MANAGEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Bay County Parks and Recreation – 5304 Majetti Tower Road Panama City, FL 32404
850-248-8730
Travis Barbee – Bay Co. Parks Division Manager – tbarbee@baycountyfl.gov – 850-381-8155
Vince Martin – Bay Co. Beach Operations Manager - vmartin@baycountyfl.gov - 850-896-6580
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
