The water clarity has been good. The water temperature got up to 74 before dropping down to 68 as a cold front moved through. The pier was very crowded through the Easter weekend but is back to normal now. Only one King was hooked and none decked for the week until today. Spanish numbers were down significantly from the previous weeks. Lots of Pompano were caught in the shallows. Bonita came in thick Sunday morning and a few Red Drum were caught during the week. One Sheepshead was decked yesterday. Bait numbers increased with schools of Ballyhoo swimming through. A few Threadfin Herring were caught. Cigar minnows were around and were thick around the first Tee yesterday. Cobia hit the deck and we have a new leader in the BCO Tournament presented by Howell Tackle.
Sunday morning was exciting as the Bonita moved in thick. Reports of around 40 hit the deck. It got more exciting as Blacktip and Spinners were hungry too. Jose was fighting a Bonita when it was eaten by one of the shark. That began another fight longer than the first one. Some good gaff work and the shark was on the deck.

We are half way into the BCO Cobia Tournament. The leader board has a new name as of Saturday. Jason G., after a 10 year dry spell, got his shot on a Cobia. It would edge out Tyler’s fish by a couple of pounds to take the lead. Jason’s fish was 15.17 pounds. This was not the only Cobia Saturday. Will D. caught and released a just under size fish. Another Cobia was decked Monday by a visiting angler from either Gulf Breeze or Gulf Shores. His fish was 37 pounds however, he was not registered in the tournament.

Tuesday was dead and Wednesday started the same until just before 3:00pm. Then a couple of Kings and lots of “axe-handle” Spanish came in. We were pulling several Spanish over the rail when Cindy L. hooked the first King of the week. Then a short while later, Hachid got a “scoolie” King. Spanish up to 5 pounds were caught.

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 4-20-22 at 8:00pm we had 88 anglers registered.
GOOD LUCK!
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Saturday Apr. 30, 2022 Full Moon Sunday May 15, 2022
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:08am Sunset: 7:14pm
Thursday 21st. 12:16am Low -0.4 1:18pm High 1.7
Friday 1:28am Low -0.4 2:17pm High 1.7
Saturday 2:34am Low -0.4 3:21pm High 1.6
Sunday 3:29am Low -0.3 4:44pm High 1.4
Monday 4:10am Low -0.1 6:55pm High 1.2
Tuesday 4:29am Low 0.2 8:30pm High 1.0
Wednesday 27th. 3:59am Low 0.4 3:35pm High 0.5
10:12am Low 0.8 10:05pm High 0.8
Sunrise:6:02am Sunset: 7:18pm CDST
Water temp 69 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 | 20 | 6:54 am | E | 8.0 | 12.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.23 | - | 57.2 | 69.1 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 20 | 6:48 am | E | 8.0 | 14.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.23 | - | 57.4 | 69.1 | - | - | - | - |
04 | 20 | 6:42 am | E | 8.0 | 15.0 | - | - | - | - | 30.23 | - | 57.4 | 69.1 |
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The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6
feet with occasional seas up to 8 feet. Dominant period 6
seconds. Protected waters choppy.
FRIDAY NIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with
occasional seas up to 6 feet. Dominant period 6 seconds.
Protected waters choppy.
SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT
East 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
Southeast 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 NIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with
occasional seas up to 6 feet. Dominant period 6 seconds.
Protected waters a moderate chop.
MONDAY
Southeast winds 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with
occasional seas up to 6 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (77/62 rain 05% wind SE-10)
FRIDAY (78/63 rain 06% wind SE-11)
SATURDAY (79/65 rain 06% wind SE-15)
SUNDAY (79/65 rain 06% wind SE-14)
MONDAY (78/65 rain 06% wind SSE-12)
TUESDAY (81/60 rain 24% wind NW-08)
WEDNESDAY(80/60 rain 03% wind NNE-10)
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