We had great water quality the past seven days. The water temperature has hovered from 81-5 down to 77.4. There has been live bait (Alewives, Cigar minnows, small Hardtails and a few Goggle Eyes) around and easily caught. Lots of Bonita hit the deck in the early mornings. Spanish were biting early mornings and late evenings. Kings were tiny until today. We have a new leader for the Tournament! You can see the participation list with the 1st and 2nd place anglers listed here: Sam Patrick - 2023 Bay County Outdoors King Mackerel Tournament... | Facebook
The tournament leader board remained unchanged for the past 10 days. Then, today two fish were entered, and several others were caught by anglers not registered in the tournament. Johnnie S. entered his fish at noon to take the unoccupied second place. His fish held until Rowell Z. decked a nice King at 6:00pm. The action had seen several small fish caught throughout the day by non-registered anglers. Hai’s fish would have been in second place if he had entered the tourney. Rowel’s fish hit the scale at 19.70 pounds and knocked John P’s 16.63- pound fish to second place. One other nice fish was caught right after Rowel’s by another non-registered angler.
Bonita action has been hot most of the report period. It was mostly a first light bite that lasted to mid-morning a couple of days. Bubble rigs with a fly, spoon, straw or small jerk bait was productive. More than 30 hit the deck a couple of mornings. Of course, “Flipper” had to appear and spoil the party more than once. Rail space was a premium during the bite. (see: 387417741, 387488628, 387518340)
The morning and evening Spanish bite resulted in anglers catching good numbers of fish. Most were under 18 inches but there were a few “axe handles”. Lures and natural bait produced bites. Tommy and Hose got a couple of the bigger ones.
Gary B. is back in town and targeted the Red Drum in the shallows. There were a few over-slot fish around, but he persisted and decked a pretty slot Red that measured 20 inches.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 79.3 - 81.7 Two small Kings hooked early am- one lost to Flipper” and the other lost to the piling, a few Spanish, Yellowtail Jacke, A few Hardtails and Cigar minnows.
Friday: water temp 80.8 – 81.5 Bonita in the am then Flipper spoiled the party, a few Spanish and a couple more Bonita in pm, lots of Cigar minnows, some Alewives and Goggle Eyes.
Saturday: water temp 80.2 – 81.3 Spanish
Sunday: water temp 77.9 – 79.9 Lots of Bonita and a couple of tiny Kings in am, a few Spanish, Cigar minnows.
Monday: water temp 78.3 – 79.7 Spanish, Bonita and 3 tiny Kings, Cigar minnows, Jacks and Alewives.
Tuesday: water temp 78.3 – 79.9 Bonita, Spanish, Yellowtail Jacks, Alewives and Cigar minnows.
Wednesday: water temp 79.2 – 77.4 Spanish, Kings, Alewives, Cigar minnows
Red Tide status: In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Saturday Oct. 14, 2023 Full Moon Saturday Oct. 28, 2023
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:38am Sunset: 6:23pm
Thursday 12th. 1:52pm Low 0.2 1:11am High 2.0
Friday 2:56pm Low 0:3 2:04am High 1.9
Saturday 3:46am Low 0.3 3:04am High 1.8
Sunday 4:23pm Low 0.4 4:25am High 1.7
Monday 4:44pm Low 0.4 6:38am High 1.6
Tuesday 4:36pm Low 0.7 7:57am High 1.5
Wednesday 18th. 4:22pm Low 0.8 9:04am High 1.4
10:36pm High 1.10
Sunrise: 6:42am Sunset: 6:16pm CDST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is: GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM EDT /7 AM CDT/ THURSDAYSMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM EDT /7 AM CDT/ THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
REST OF TONIGHT
East winds 20 to 25 knots, becoming southeast, then becoming south 15 to 20 knots late. Gusts up to 35 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters rough. A slight chance of thunderstorms. Showers.
THURSDAY
Southwest winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts up to 35 knots, becoming northwest 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 6 to 8 feet with a dominant period of 8 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of thunderstorms. Showers likely, mainly in the morning.
THURSDAY NIGHT
North winds around 10 knots, becoming east after midnight. Seas 4 to 6 feet with a dominant period of 7 seconds. Protected waters a light chop. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.
FRIDAY
West winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 7 seconds. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
FRIDAY NIGHT
West winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a light chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms. A chance of showers, mainly in the evening.
SATURDAY
Northwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.
SATURDAY NIGHT
West winds 10 to 15 knots, becoming northwest 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
SUNDAY
Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
MONDAY
Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
MONDAY NIGHT
North winds around 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (75/65 rain 34% wind N-13)
FRIDAY (78/66 rain 17% wind NW-08)
SATURDAY (82/62 rain 15% wind W-12)
SUNDAY (75/57 rain 02% wind NW-15)
MONDAY (70/52 rain 02% wind NNW-13)
TUESDAY (70/54 rain 03% wind NNW-09)
WEDNESDAY(72/56 rain 03% wind N-06)
PIER MANAGEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Bay County Parks and Recreation – 5304 Majetti Tower Road Panama City, FL 32404
850-248-8730
Vince Martin – Bay Co. Parks Division Manager - vmartin@baycountyfl.gov - 850-896-6580
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
