Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 86.9 NNE 4-6mph in the a.m. / 87.7 NNE 6-8mph in the p.m. The water was clean. Several Sailfish spotted this morning, but none were hooked. A few small King Mackerel were caught and a couple of decent sized were missed early afternoon. There was a good Spanish Mackerel bite in the morning and a few more caught in the afternoon. Big ladyfish came in in the afternoon. Red Drum were active in the shallow water.
Friday: water temp 87.1 NE 5-9mph in the a.m. / 88.5 NNE 2-5mph in the p.m. The water was clean but flat. There was a good Spanish Mackerel bite all morning and early afternoon between the first tee and the outer sandbar. Red Drum and 2–4-pound Bluefish were active in the skinny water. Ryan and Guy caught and released two Bulls. Hachid hooked a Tarpon on a Sniper lure midafternoon. A tiny Sailfish, maybe 18-inches, popped up at the end of the pier feeding on free bait. Large Ladyfish came in off the end Tee midafternoon. Alewives and small Hardtails were available for live bait.
Saturday: water temp 87.4 ENE 4-8mph then switched to the WSW at 10-12mph and dropped to 87.1 in the a.m. / 87.8 W 5-10mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There were a few Spanish Mackerel and Hardtails. A couple of Sailfish were spotted. Alewives and small Hardtails were available for live bait.
Sunday: water temp 87.1 N 3-7mph in the a.m. / 88.3 SSW 5-10mph in the p.m. The water was clean. Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish and Hardtails were caught. There were several very small Cobia, and a Sailfish spotted. Alewives and small Hardtails were available for live bait,
Monday: water temp 86.7 NNE 5-8mph in the a.m. / 88.7 WSW 8-12mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There were Bluefish very early morning. Midafternoon, for about an hour, big Bluefish, Ladyfish, and a few Spanish Mackerel. Rob is holding one of the Blues caught today. There were no baitfish.
Tuesday: water temp 87.4 NE 7-13mph in the a.m. / 87.3 WSW 2-8mph in the p.m. The water was clean. There were Bluefish very early morning and Paul D. decked a 24” Red Drum. The afternoon was slow with just a couple of Spanish Mackerel caught. A school of Tarpon came through but no bites. Bait was hard to catch.
Wednesday: water temp 86.4 NNE 7-13mph in the morning / 86.0 5-8mph in the p.m. The water was clean. I had a report of one Tarpon bite in the morning. There were a few Red Drum and a large school of small Ladyfish in the shallow water. The end of the pier was slow with only a few Hardtails caught. There were small Hardtails and Cigar minnows around but were hard to catch.
2025 Bay County Outdoors King Mackerel Tournament
BAY COUNTY OUTDOORS (BCO) in cooperation with Bay County Recreation is promoting a King Mackerel Pier Tournament on the M. B. Miller Pier. Registration is FREE! It is simple to register and only requires your Name, contact Phone Number and Email. The Six Week Tournament will begin at 06:00 a.m. Sunday, September 28, 2025, and end Sunday, November 09, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
Registration is FREE. You can enter by sending your Name, contact E-mail and your Phone Number to Sam by Texting, Messenger or E-mail here: Text-770-265-2879 or E-mail- SLP053@BELLSOUTH.net
The tournament prizes will be fishing tackle, provided by the following sponsors: Rapala and 3rd Coast Lures, NO CASH. There will be two places:
1st: $500.00 equivalent of tackle plus a bonus prize provided by Bay County Recreation Department.
2nd: $350.00 equivalent of tackle
Sam Patrick will be the Tournament Official to weigh and record all entries. He will weigh fish Sundays through Fridays between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm and on Saturdays between 1:00pm and 7:00pm. If he is not on the pier, you can call him at: 770-265-2879 during the listed weigh in hours. If you weigh in the top two fish by weight, you can win both places. In case of a tie, the first fish weighed will take the lead in that category. The fish must be caught from the M.B. Miller Pier. The fish must be hooked and caught by a single angler using a lure or natural bait. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) laws and regulations, all Bay County Pier regulations, and Tournament Rules must be followed, or the angler will be disqualified. Tournament Rules
1: Tournament begins 06:00 a.m. September 28, 2025, and ends November 09, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. and will be awarded a 1st and 2nd place winner.
2: Fish must be caught from the M. B. Miller (County) Pier.
3: Fish must be hooked and caught by a single angler using a lure or natural bait. No assistance landing the fish other than by a net or gaff.
4: Anglers must be registered with Bay County Outdoors - King Mackerel Tournament prior to entering a catch. Registration is free and only requires your name, email, and contact phone number.
5: Sam Patrick is the designated Tournament Official and will register and certify all entries.
6: Rapala and 3rd Coast Lures are the prize sponsors. One bonus prize, donated by Bay County Recreation, will be awarded to the 1st place winner.
7: Official weigh-in will be between 10:00am and 6:00pm Sundays through Fridays and between 1:00pm and 7:00pm on Saturdays. Sam can be contacted at 770-265-2879 during the official weigh-in times to enter a catch.
8: In the event of a tying weight fish, the first caught will take priority. A single angler may win both 1st and 2nd place with two qualifying fish.
9: All Tournament rules, FWC laws, Bay County Recreation and Pier rules must be followed, or the angler will be disqualified.
Red Tide status: In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background and very low concentrations in Gulf County and background concentrations in and offshore of Dixie County.
Tides Link
https://tides4fishing.com/us/florida-west-coast/panama-cityngin g
Full Moon Sunday Sept. 07, 2025 - New Moon Sunday Sept. 21, 2025
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:17am Sunset: 7:08pm
Friday 12:33pm Low 0.6 1:15am High 1.6
Saturday 2:39pm Low 0.5 1:54am High 1.7
Sunday 3:41pm Low 0.3 2:43am High 1.8
Monday 4:30pm Low 0.3 3:46am High 1.8
Tuesday 5:12pm Low 0.2 5:07am High 1.8
Wednesday 03rd. 5:49pm Low 0.2 6:39am High 1.9
Sunrise: 6:20am Sunset: 7:01pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
FRIDAY
Northeast winds around 5 knots, becoming east in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters smooth. A slight chance of showers in the morning, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds around 5 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters smooth. A chance of showers. A chance of thunderstorms, mainly in the evening.
SATURDAY
Southeast winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming southwest in the afternoon. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. Showers. A chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then thunderstorms likely in the afternoon.
SATURDAY NIGHT
East winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. Showers with thunderstorms likely in the evening, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight.
SUNDAY
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. Showers likely. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening, then a chance of showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms after midnight.
MONDAY
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of showers. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
MONDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Waves 1 foot or less. Protected waters a light chop. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the evening.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (79/71 rain 57% wind S-11)
FRIDAY (77/68 rain 59% wind SSW-10)
SATURDAY (78/68 rain 87% wind SE-12)
SUNDAY (77/69 rain 64% wind SE-13)
MONDAY (78/71 rain 45% wind SSW-12)
TUESDAY (78/71 rain 13% wind SW-13)
WEDNESDAY(82/72 rain 06% wind SW-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
