2024 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 05:00 a.m. Sunday, October 06, 2024, and end Sunday, November 17th. at 6:00 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
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
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 6:00pm. 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 05:00 a.m. October 06 and ends November 17, 6:00 p.m. and will award 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 a 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.
7: Official weigh-in will be between 10:00am and 6:00pm Sundays through Fridays and between 1:00pm and 6:00pm 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
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We began our report period waiting to see exactly where hurricane Helene would make landfall and at what strength. Mother nature blessed us with a beautiful sunset as we experienced the calm before the storm. Brenda got this shot Wednesday evening before Helene made landfall Thursday evening.
Fortunately for us, landfall was over 100 miles east. We only experienced rain with enough wind to trash our water quality. The pier was closed Thursday and when it opened Friday morning, we had rough and very dirty water. The water did not completely clean for the remainder of this report period. As expected, we had Catfish, small Sharks, Ladyfish and Bluefish. Surprisingly, there were large numbers of Threadfin Herring. By Sunday, a few Red Drum came in and Tuesday we added Pompano and Spanish Mackerel to the catch list. Yesterday, Tuesday, was the best day species wise. We caught Pompano, Spanish, Red Drum, Ladyfish, Yellowtail Jacks, Hardtails, Alewives and Threadfin Herring.
It was shaping up to be a Kingless week but finally about 4:00 pm today, two small Kings were hooked. One was decked about 6-pounds and the other one pulled the hook at the pier. Spanish Mackerel started biting about the same time. Here is one of the bigger Spanish caught by John: (see: John-461270863)
A few Red Drum were caught. this period as the dirty water didn’t affect them. Scott decked and released this 35- inch Bull and Tyler invited this 24- inch Red for dinner. There were 4 other slot fish caught out of the school that Tyler’s fish was in.
Today Bob R. was working his Gotcha hoping for a few Spanish when he hooked a totally unexpected fish. He said about 4 fish came up on his Gotcha and he managed to hook one. Check this Gag Grouper Bob caught and released.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 83.8 – 84.0 Pier closed due to hurricane Helene.
Friday: water temp 82.2 – 82.9 Sail and Hardhead Catfish, Alewives and Threadfin Herring. Water rough and dirty.
Saturday: water temp 80.8 – 82.9 Catfish, Alewives and Threadfin Herring. Water dirty.
Sunday: water temp 81.5 – 83.8 Small Sharks, a few Red Drum, Bluefish, Ladyfish, Alewives and Threadfin Herring. Water still dirty
Monday: water temp 82.4 – 85.1 Ladyfish, Catfish, small Sharks, in the morning, add a few Spanish Mackerel in the afternoon. Bait was scarce…only a few Alewives and Threadfin Herring. Water clarity better but still silty.
Tuesday: water temp.84.2 – 85.3 Pompano, Spanish Mackerel, Red Drum (both slot and over) Ladyfish, Yellowtail Jacks, Hardtails, Threadfin Herring and Alewives.
Wednesday: water temp 83.8 – 84.7 A few Spanish Mackerel and Ladyfish. One Red Drum, A Grouper and Alewives Two very small King Mackerel were hooked after 4:00pm with one decked. Only King for the week.
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 Wednesday Oct. 02, 2024 - Full Moon Thursday Oct. 17, 2024
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:41am Sunset: 6:18pm
Thursday 03rd.. 6:21am Low 0.7 10:11pm High 1.6
Friday 7:23am Low 0.6 10:32pm High 1.7
Saturday 8:29am Low 0.5 11:05pm High 1.8
Sunday 9:39am Low 0.4 11:45pm High 1.9
Monday 10:55am Low 0.3
Tuesday 12:15pm Low 0.3 12:31am High 1.9
Wednesday 09th. 1:31pm Low 0.2 1:22am High 2.0
Sunrise: 6:41am Sunset: 6:18pm CDST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Wave Detail: East 2 feet at 3 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
THURSDAY NIGHT
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet. Wave Detail: East 2 feet at 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.
FRIDAY
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Wave Detail: East 3 feet at 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots, becoming east 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Wave Detail: East 3 feet at 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the evening.
SATURDAY
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Wave Detail: Southeast 4 feet at 6 seconds. Protected waters choppy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.
SATURDAY NIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet, occasionally to 6 feet. Protected waters choppy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.
SUNDAY
East winds 20 to 25 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet, occasionally to 8 feet. Protected waters rough. Scattered showers and thunderstorms.
SUNDAY NIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet, occasionally to 8 feet. Protected waters choppy. Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Scattered showers.
MONDAY
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet, occasionally to 8 feet. Protected waters choppy. Scattered showers.
MONDAY NIGHT
Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 6 feet, occasionally to 8 feet. Protected waters choppy. Scattered showers, mainly in the evening.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (76/70 rain 35% wind S-14)
FRIDAY (77/59 rain 57% wind SSW-23)
SATURDAY (75/56 rain 08% wind NW-08)
SUNDAY (77/61 rain 10% wind E-10)
MONDAY (77/64 rain 21% wind SE-10)
TUESDAY (77/68 rain 24% wind SW-10)
WEDNESDAY(77/67 rain 24% wind WSW-11)
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
