The water was beautiful until the Sunday after Christmas when we had strong thunderstorms. It didn’t take long for it to clear again. Water temperature fell to the low 60’s, most of this report period. The pier was crowded, and good catches of fish were common. The species caught were Sheepshead, Flounder, Red Drum, Black Drum Mullett, Bluefish and lots of Whiting.
A few Flounder continue to be caught. The larger fish seem to be inside whereas the smaller fish are being caught off the end Tee. Slow dragging jigs or live bait has been productive.
Both Red and Black Drum are moving around the middle section of the pier. Sight casting has worked best. Ghost Shrimp or large Sand Fleas caught fish.
Sheepshead are here but not in big numbers, and they are finicky. A few are being caught but bring a bucket full of patience if you want to put one in your cooler.
Whiting have been thick. Schools have stretched from skinny water out to the outer sandbar. The past several days the majority were caught on the west side of the pier between the first Tee to the outer sandbar. Fresh Shrimp has worked best but they were caught on Squid, Fish Bites and even Sand Fleas.
Hear is a collection of various anglers and their catches over the past thirteen days:
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 65.5 – 66.4 Two Sheepshead (Casey & Harley), four Black Drum (2 Steve W, & 2 Harley) a few Spanish Mackerel, lots of small Whiting and a few Cigar minnows.
Friday: water temp 64.0 – 64.6 Black Drum (sam-4; Steve-1), Red Drum (Sam-2), Whiting, a few Pompano, Bluefish and a few Cigar minnows.
Saturday: water temp 62.1 - 64.2 Flounder, small Whiting and one small Sheepshead.
Sunday: water temp 61.7 – 64.4 Small Whiting, Mullett, Red Drum, Black Drum, a Sheepshead, and a few Cigar minnows.
Monday: water temp 62.4 - 63.5 A Sheepshead, a Black Drum and small Whiting.
Tuesday: water temp.61.5 – 63.3 good catches of both keeper and short Flounder. Jigs and live bait worked.
Wednesday: water temp 61.2 – 63.3 Flounder early, a few small Spanish Mackerel. Flounder and Pompano in the afternoon.
Thursday: water temp 61.3 – 62.5
Friday: water temp 61.7 – 61.9 Flounder
Saturday: water temp 61.2 – 61.7 Flounder
Sunday: water temp 61.9 – 62.8 Red Drum, Whiting
Monday: water temp 61.7 – 63.1 Two Red Drum, 2 Black Drum, a few Flounder and lots of Whiting. Whiting were on west side between the outer sandbar and the 1st Tee.
Tuesday: water temp 62.4 – 64.2 A couple of Black Drum, Flounder and lots of Whiting.
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
Full Moon Monday Jan. 13, 2025 New Moon Wednesday Jan. 29, 2025 -
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:38am Sunset: 4:53pm
Thursday 02nd. 9:13am Low -0.8 11:05pm High 1.2
Friday 9:31am Low -0.6 11:44pm High 1.0
Saturday 9:38am Low -0.4
Sunday 9:24am Low -0.1 12:16am High 0.7
9:36pm Low 0.3 4:56pm High 0.4
Monday 8:05am Low 0.0 12:26am High 0.3
4:34pm High 0.6
Tuesday 3:23am Low -0.1 4:31pm High 0.8
Wednesday 08th. 3:40am Low -0.4 4:48pm High 1.1
Sunrise: 6:39am Sunset: 5:00pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
WEDNESDAY
North winds 15 to 20 knots, diminishing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Wave Detail: Northwest 3 feet at 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Wave Detail: North 2 feet at 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
THURSDAY
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Wave Detail: Northeast 2 feet at 4 seconds and west 1 foot at 6 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop.
THURSDAY NIGHT
East winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming northeast after midnight. Seas around 2 feet in the evening, then 1 foot or less. Wave Detail: East 2 feet at 4 seconds and northwest 1 foot at 5 seconds, becoming east 1 foot at 4 seconds. Protected waters a light chop. Scattered showers after midnight.
FRIDAY
North winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Wave Detail: Northwest 2 feet at 4 seconds and east 1 foot at 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Isolated showers in the morning.
FRIDAY NIGHT
North winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Protected waters choppy.
SATURDAY
North winds 15 to 20 knots, diminishing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Protected waters choppy.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds around 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Protected waters a light chop.
SUNDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots, becoming south 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Protected waters choppy. Scattered sprinkles in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight.
(local forecast).
Wednesday (62/41 rain 04% wind N-10)
THURSDAY (62/46 rain 04% wind NNE-08)
FRIDAY (63/39 rain 04% wind NNW-12)
SATURDAY (57/46 rain 01% wind NNE-09)
SUNDAY (63/61 rain 10% wind SE-13)
MONDAY (64/37 rain 74% wind W-15)
TUESDAY (52/34 rain 13% wind NNW-12)
WEDNESDAY(52/36 rain 19% wind NNW-10)
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
