Thursday 11/21/24, we began this report period with dirty water. It took until Sunday for the water to clear. The water temp has been ranging from 69.1 to 73.0 degrees. We have a strong cold front arriving tomorrow evening with temps falling dramatically. This will probably close our King Mackerel season unless we get some unusually warm temps to follow this front.
The past seven days have been tough for King Mackerel. There was one small King caught Monday morning. Tuesday, we had wind and rain very early morning, and the Kings turned on. There were at least 15 to hit the deck. Most were small but Wayne W. got a 20-pound fish and Billy L. got the biggest weighing 26.16-pounds. This would be our only day of the week to have a bite. Kim and Billy show the fish they landed. (see: Kim-467148159a; Billy-462652647)
The Spanish Mackerel bite was good all week. Quite a few small and average size fish were caught with only a few larger fish in the mix. Free lined small live Alewives or Cigar minnows, Bubble rigs, Spoons fished deep and small jerk baits were productive.
There were a variety of other species caught including Bonita, Red Drum, Black Drum, Flounder and Octopus. Here are a few pictures of some of the catches. Here is Billy with a Red Drum, Gary with a Black Drum, Mohmoud with a nice Flounder and Rowel with a big Octopus. The Flounder was returned as the season is closed for harvest until 12/01-24.
Thursday 11/28/24, we had clean water but with cooler temperatures. Our morning air temps were in the upper 30’s a few mornings. Our water temp began at a high of 70.7 and dropped as low as 65.5 this morning. Recreational Flounder season opened Sunday. The fish gods gave us two more days of good King Mackerel catches on Thursday and Friday. Flounder were plentiful. The following species were caught, King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Red Drum, Black Drum, Sheepshead, Whiting, Cigar minnows, small Hardtails and Alewives.
Thursday and Friday mornings were exciting as the King Mackerel bite was on. Friday morning saw over 20 Kings hit the deck with more than double that lost or missed. Several were 19 – 22 pounds. Friday gave us another chance at Kings if you were willing to endure the wind, rain and 48 degrees.Ten fish would be caught before the bite stopped. Apparently, our season ended Saturday morning with only one King caught. That was the last one through Wednesday. Here is a sample of Kings caught by Tremaine, Chandler, Brenda, Carlos, and David.
Flounder were the main target from opening day, Sunday through today. Lots of Flounder hit the deck and many made the 14-inch cut to go into coolers. A few anglers managed to get their 5-fish limit. There were tons of Alewives and Cigar minnows around the pier so catching bait was easy. Fish were caught on Carolina rigs with bull minnows or any small live bait. They were also caught on tipped jig heads. There was a 23.5-inch, and an 18.75-inch Flounder caught. However, most of the keeper fish were 14-15-inches. Many shorts were caught as well. I had a very unusual catch Monday morning with the 18.75-incher I caught. I had never previously seen a Flounder that was Brown on both sides. Also, both sides were thick unlike most fish that are flat and thin on the underside.
Other action included Red Drum, Black Drum, and Whiting. Alyssa caught her first ever Red. I managed to deck a 27-inch Red and Casey landed a nice Black Drum. Whiting were caught the last two evenings from sunset until the anglers got too old to fish.
Daily activity:11/21 to 11/27
Friday: water temp 67.8 – 69.8 The water is still dirty but better than yesterday. Sharks, small Spanish Mackerel, small Alewives and a few Threadfin Herring
Saturday: water temp 69.1 – 71.6
Sunday: water temp 69.3 – 71.1 A few Red Drum, a Black Drum, small Spanish Mackerel, a few Bonita and some Whiting
Monday: water temp 70.2 – 71.8 One small King Mackerel, lots of average Spanish Mackerel, several Flounder, a couple of Bonita early a.m., Alewives, an Octopus, and a few Cigar Minnows.
Tuesday: water temp.70.9 – 72.5 At least 15 King Mackerel (20# -Wayne; 26#=Billy), several Bonita, Lots of Spanish Mackerel, a few Flounder, Alewives and a few Threadfin Herring.
Wednesday: water temp 72.1 – 73.0 Small Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum, Flounder, a few small Bonita, Alewives and a few Cigar minnows.
Daily activity: 11/28 to 12/04
Thursday: water temp 72.5 – 73.6 Over 20 King Mackerel caught early morning with more than double that lost or missed. Several were 19 – 22 pounds. Only a couple of Spanish Mackerel and surprisingly no Bonita
Friday: water temp 69.1 –70.2 Cold front hit with rain, wind and 48 degrees. Ten Kings very early morning.
Saturday: water temp 68.4 – 71.1 A King on a pink jerk bait, a few Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Sheepshead, Cigar minnows and Alewives.
Sunday: water temp 68.2 – 70.7 Flounder (several anglers got their limit of 5), Alewives and Cigar minnows.
Monday: water temp 68.7 – 68.0 Flounder, Red Drum, a few small Spanish Mackerel, Whiting, Cigar minnows and Alewives.
Tuesday: water temp 65.8 – 67.5 Flounder, Spanish Mackerel, a few Whiting, Alewives and lots of Cigar minnows.
Wednesday: water temp 65.5 – 66.7 Flounder, a few Spanish Mackerel, a Black Drum, a few Whiting, Cigar minnows and Alewives.
Red Tide status: Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 49 samples collected from Northwest and Southwest Florida. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 6 samples: one offshore of Citrus County, one from Pinellas County, two from Sarasota County, and two from Charlotte County (StatewideTable1204). We are continuing to use satellite chlorophyll imagery (USF, NOAA NCCOS) to track this patchy bloom. Imagery from December 2 reveals that small offshore chlorophyll patches persist between the Panhandle and Collier County, but intensity appears to be less than observed last week, and remains at moderate levels.
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
New Moon Sunday Dec. 01, 2024 - Full Moon Sunday Dec. 15, 2024
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:24am Sunset: 4:42pm
Friday 10:51am Low -0.4
Saturday 11:11am Low -0.2 12:30am High 1.3
Sunday 11:18am Low 0.0 1:07am High 1.0
Monday 10:54am Low 0.2 1:31am High 0.7
6:40pm High 0.8
Tuesday 4:134am Low 0.3 6:28pm High 1.0
Wednesday 11th. 4:175am Low-0.1 6:24pm High 1.2
Sunrise: 6:29am Sunset: 4:43pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
FRIDAY
North winds 15 to 20 knots, diminishing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Wave Detail: North 3 feet at 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Wave Detail: North 3 feet at 5 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SATURDAY
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Wave Detail: Northeast 3 feet at 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SATURDAY NIGHT
East winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop.
MONDAY
South winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet, occasionally to 6 feet. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of showers in the morning, then a chance of showers in the afternoon.
MONDAY NIGHT
South winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet, occasionally to 6 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers. A slight chance of thunderstorms after midnight.
(local forecast).
FRIDAY (56/39 rain 00% wind NNE-12)
SATURDAY (61/48 rain 00% wind NE-09)
SUNDAY (69/60 rain 09% wind ESE-11)
MONDAY (74/67 rain 66% wind S-15)
TUESDAY (77/60 rain 74% wind S-11)
WEDNESDAY(63/45 rain 69% wind NNW-15)
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
Timothy Pentice- Bay Co. Asst. Div. Mgr. – tprentice@baycountyfl.gov – 448-217-4219
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
SLP053@BELLSOUTH.NET
770-265-2879
