The 2025 BCO King Mackerel Tournament (09-28 to 11-09, 2025) began Sunday morning at 06:00. We only have 11 days left until the event ends. Seven fish have been submitted. The current leader is 1st. place Danny N. 24.38# 10-17-25 4:30pm and 2nd. Place Doug S. 23.63# 10-29-25 08:15am. We have 142 registered participants as of today, 10-29-25
You can still register (free) by text, messenger or email to Sam at SLP053@BELLSOUTH.NET or 770-265-2879 You can see the full announcement with all the information including the current leader standings and the latest participation list at:
www.facebook.com/sam.patrick.315
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 77.2 NNE 6-12mph in the a.m. / 77.7 NE 6-10mph in the p.m. The water was clean. Fishing was mostly dead. Chuck led the pier today with three Red Drum. Of course, as you can tell from the pictures, he was the early bird, and it paid off with a 35 in., 24 in. slot, and a 31.5 in. fish. There were a few Whiting caught as well. The end Tee produced nothing but Remoras and a turtle. Cigar Minnows were available for live bait.
Friday: water temp 77.5 NE 5-8mph in the a.m. / 77.2 ESE 4-12 mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There were a few Red Drum, and several Whiting caught in the skinny water. The end Tee was slow again. There were a couple of Spanish Mackerel during the afternoon. After 5:00, there were three King Mackerel bites. Dom got two of the bites and decked one snake King. There were Cigar Minnows available for live bait, but you had to snatch them.
Saturday: water temp 74.8 ENE 8-12mph in the a.m. / 77.4 SE 9-14mph in the p.m. The water was clean. The morning started well with Bonita, Spanish Mackerel and one small King Mackerel caught. The afternoon saw a few more Spanish and another small King caught. There were some Cigar Minnows available for live bait.
Sunday: water temp 74.7 ESE 5-12mph in the a.m. / 75.7 between 1:00 to 2:00 then fell to 74.7 by 5:00p.m. The water was clean. Mark F. caught a “slot” Red Drum in the shallows. There was one small King Mackerel hooked and lost due to getting tangled with other anglers. A few Spanish Mackerel and a Bonita was decked. There were more Spanish in the afternoon. Cigar Minnows were available for live bait.
Monday: water temp 75.2 ESE 5-12mph in the a.m. / 77.0 W 9-13mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There was one small King Mackerel, and a few Spanish Mackerel caught in the morning. The afternoon saw more Spanish Mackerel and a few small Kings caught.
Tuesday: water temp 75.9 N 7-11mph in the a.m. – 75.4 by 10:35 with NNE 8-12mph / 75.6 N 8-12 in the p.m. The water was clean. It was a slow day. There were a few Spanish Mackerel and Ladyfish caught. There were a few Red Drum prowling the shallows and an under sizes Flounder was caught. There were a few Cigar Minnows and Spanish Sardine available for live bait. However, they were hard to catch.
Wednesday: water temp 74.8 E 9-13mph in the a.m. / 73.4 W 22-32mph in the p.m. The water was clean but rough with a strong west wind. The morning was very active with a great Spanish Mackerel bite and several King Mackerel. Many of the Spanish were “axe handles” with several weighing 5-pounds. Jake and Marisela show a few of the ones they caught below. See: There were also a few Bonita. Steve L. got a 17.6-pound King, Danny N. got two that were in the low 20-pound range and Doug S. decked a 23.63-pound King. Doug’s fish moved him into second place in the BCO King tournament. There were a few other small Kings. The afternoon presented the same great conditions, but the bite was mostly cold. There were a couple more Bonita caught and a few Spanish Mackerel but no Kings. There were lots of Cigar Minnows available for live bait.
FYI: After the epic catch of a Yellowfin Tuna from the Navarre Pier, I learned there are Federal requirements when targeting and/or catching them. According to the FWC Website, a Federal HMS (Highly Migratory Species) Permit is required when fishing in State and Federal waters.
“In state waters: Anglers targeting bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna are required to have a federal HMS Angling Permit.”
How to obtain federal hms permit in florida
To obtain a federal HMS permit in Florida, anglers must follow these steps:
- Create an account: Visit the HMS Permits website and create an account associated with your permit. This allows you to manage your permits and report catches online.
- Apply for a permit: You can apply for a federal HMS Angling Permit online at the NOAA Fisheries website or by calling 888-872-8862.
- Follow federal regulations: If you are fishing in state waters on a vessel that has an HMS permit, you must follow federal HMS regulations unless state regulations are more restrictive.
- Report landings: Any HMS fish caught in state and federal waters that are landed must be reported to NOAA Fisheries within 24 hours.
Red Tide status: In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at medium to high concentrations in Gulf County.
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
Full Moon Wednesday Nov. 05, 2025 - New Moon Thursday Nov. 20, 2025
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:55am Sunset: 5:570pm
Thursday 30th. 2:28pm Low 0.3 3:19am High 1.6
Friday 2:45pm Low 0.4 4:28am High 1.4
Saturday 2:49pm Low 0.6 7:01am High 1.2
8:25pm High 1.0
Sunday 2:15am Low 0.7 8:26am High 1.0
1:11pm Low 0.8 8:03pm High 1.2
Monday 3:39am Low 0.5 7:34pm High 1.5
Tuesday 4:53am Low 0.2 7:40pm High 1.7
Wednesday 05th. 6:09am Low -0.1 8:13pm High 1.9
Sunrise: 6:00am Sunset: 4:52pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY NIGHT
North winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 5 to 7 feet, occasionally to 9 feet, subsiding to 3 to 5 feet, occasionally to 6 feet after midnight. Wave Detail: West 7 feet at 7 seconds, becoming west 5 feet at 7 seconds and northwest 3 feet at 4 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
FRIDAY
North winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Wave Detail: Northwest 3 feet at 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming north after midnight. Waves 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: West 1 foot at 6 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
SATURDAY
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: North 1 foot at 3 seconds and southwest 1 foot at 6 seconds. Protected waters a light chop.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of rain. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas around 3 feet. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of rain and thunderstorms.
MONDAY
North winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of rain and thunderstorms.
MONDAY NIGHT
North winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet in the evening. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of rain and thunderstorms in the evening.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (65/48 rain 04% wind NW 10-20 am NNW 5-10 pm)
FRIDAY (68/50 rain 06% wind NW 05-10 am Light and variable pm)
SATURDAY (71/55 rain 04% wind ESE 05-10 am NE 5-10 pm)
SUNDAY (68/55 rain 43% wind NE 10/-15 am NNE 5-10 pm)
MONDAY (70/57 rain 24% wind N 10-15 am N 5-10 pm)
TUESDAY (72/56 rain 17% wind N 5-10 am NNE 5-10 pm)
WEDNESDAY(74/56 rain 07% wind NNE 5-10 am NE 5-10 pm)
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
