What an exciting seven days on the M. B. Miller Pier. We began the period with good water quality, bait available and water temps in the mid-70s. The big surprise, Blackfin Tuna came in and were around for part of four days. Kings also came in numbers and size which resulted in a tournament leader board change for second place. Other species caught were: Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Ladyfish, Bonita, Hardtails, Goggle Eyes, Cigar minnows, Alewives and Spanish Sardine. With that said, let’s get to the Tournament update.
We are at the end of day 32 for the 2023 BCO King Tournament with just 11 days to the finish line. We have 104 participants as of today. We had an active week of catching which resulted in a change in the second-place angler. Tuesday morning saw a flurry of activity and over 20 King Mackerel decked. Shortly after 8:00 am, Jake P., Ernie C. and George M., all hooked-up simultaneously and all three were big fish. You can imagine the dance they had to do to keep from tangling lines and cutting off their fish. All three anglers were successful in getting their “smokers” back to the pier but only one would make it over the rail. Ernie’s fish fought hard and finally shot the pier and cut-off. George’s fish got a second chance as the hook pulled just before the gaff could do its job. Jake’s fish fell to the gaff and hit the deck. The fish would register 29.15 pounds and move Jake into the second place slot. The Tournament standing is: Hachid N. with his 33.48# in first place and Jake P. with his 29.15 pound in second place.
This didn’t deter the other anglers from trying to overcome the high bar set by these two anglers. Here is a sample of other fish caught during this report period by: Hector, Dylan, Jake, George, Sam, Kyle, Hachid, and Mickel.
There is still time to join the participant list as registration will remain open until the last day.
We seldom catch Blackfin Tuna (BFT) but when we do it is a special event. Typically, we deck one per year and none for some years. However, there were five decked, and at least seven others lost over this report period. Billy, from Arkansas got it started Friday morning with a big BFT. Then Dan decked a nice one Sunday morning. Monday morning was epic as at lease seven BFTs were hooked but only two would meet the gaff. Khalil and Jake would be the lucky anglers. Then Monday afternoon, Jesus fought a nice BFT for a while before getting it to the gaff. All five Tunas ranged between 24.6 pounds and 30 pounds. Most were hooked on a Sniper 170 jerk bait but a couple were on natural bait.
With all this action, there were some nice Spanish Mackerel caught as well. The numbers were not many per day but there were a few big ones like this one Allan decked.
Red Drum were here and feeding too. Mark and his son Garrett put a few on the deck. Here are three of the ones they caught:
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 73.8 – 75.7 Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Cigar minnows, Goggle Eyes, Hardtails and a few Alewives.
Friday: water temp 74.7 – 75.9 One Black Fin Tuna in am, (28# Billy from Arkansas), two very small Kings in am, Spanish Mackerel, two Kings in pm (Sam-14#, Allan-10#), Red Drum, Hardtails, Cigar minnows, Goggle Eyes and a few Spanish Sardine.
Saturday: water temp 74.8 – 76.5 Spanish.
Sunday: water temp 75.4 – 76.8 One Black Fin Tina (Dan N. got one in am), a King, Spanish, Red Drum, Cigar minnows, small Hardtails.
Monday: water temp 75.6 – 77.4 Seven Blackfin Tuna hooked in am with two decked (Jake and Khalil) one Blackfin Tuna in pm (Jesus), eight King Mackerel, a few Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Cigar minnows, Goggle Eyes, Alewives and Hardtails.
Tuesday: water temp 75.1 – 76.1 New second place fish in tournament- Jake with 29.15#, over 20 Kings, a few Bonita and Spanish, Cigar minnows, Goggle Eyes, Hardtails.
Wednesday: water temp 74.8 – 71.6 A few Bonita, a couple of Spanish and a small King in the am, Cigar minnows, Goggle Eyes and Alewives.
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 Monday Nov. 13, 2023 Full Moon Monday Nov. 27, 2023
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:57am Sunset: 5:54pm
Thursday 02nd. 12:04pm Low 0:0
Friday 12:58pm Low 0:0 12:43am High 1.8
Saturday 1:45pm Low 0.1 1:31am High 1.7
Sunday 1:16pm Low 0.2 1:19am High 1.6 End daylight savings time
Monday 1:22pm Low 0.4 2:07am High 1.4
Tuesday 1:17pm Low 0.5 3:00am High 1.2
1:12pm Low 0.6 8:09pm High 1.0
Wednesday 08th. 12:46am Low 0.9 6:19am High 1.0
1:12pm Low 0.6 8:09pm High 1.0
Sunrise: 6:02am Sunset: 4:50pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY
Northeast winds 20 to 25 knots, diminishing to 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon. Seas 4 to 6 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters rough.
THURSDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 20 to 25 knots, diminishing to 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Seas 4 to 6 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters rough.
FRIDAY
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
SATURDAY
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SUNDAY
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet with a dominant period of 4 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (69/50 rain 00% wind NE-12)
FRIDAY (75/55 rain 02% wind NE-11)
SATURDAY (77/55 rain 04% wind NE-10)
SUNDAY (77/56 rain 03% wind N-07)
MONDAY (76/62 rain 08% wind SSE-06)
TUESDAY (77/66 rain 10% wind SW-08)
WEDNESDAY(78/64 rain 11% wind WSW-09)
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
