We had to deal with dirty water along with rough water most of the past 7 days. At least we started with good water Thursday and some good size Squid were caught. The water temperature has slowly climbed and almost got to 65 degrees by this afternoon. We have rain and wind coming Friday and Saturday, so I don’t expect the water to clear anytime soon. We are still waiting for bait fish to arrive. Our catches were slow but we did deck the following species: Red Drum, Pompano, Flounder, Atlantic Kingfish (Whiting), Bluefish, Sharks, Catfish and Squid.
Wednesday night and Thursday the Squid were thick and big. Anglers filled their buckets with Squid up to 20 inches. George and Hector were jigging under their lights and found the Craken. Check the size if these Squid:
“Bull” Red Drum were our entertainment for the week. It was all blind fishing since the water was so dirty, you couldn’t see the bottom even in the skinny water. Fresh Squid was the first choice for the Reds, but Ghost Shrimp worked too. Terry, Jim and I decked and released “Bulls” but the best fight of the week was had by Max. He and his family were visiting PCB from Maine. Max was fishing beside me in the skinny water when suddenly the line began to peel off one of my reels. I asked Max if he wanted to fight the fish and the battle was on. This Red headed for deep water and towed Max from the shallows and almost out to the outer sand bar. Max and the Red were about evenly matched, but Max closed the deal and got his catch into the drop net. The picture doesn’t do the fish justice, but it was almost 38 inches long. He and his family were to head home the next day. What a great memory for this young angler.
Daily activity:
Thursday: water temp 60.6 – 62.4 Squid. No fish.
Friday: water temp 61.7 – 63.0 Two Flounder, Two Red Drum hooked-one decked, and lots of Catfish. The water was dirty and rough.
Saturday: water temp 60.4 – 62.0 Dirty water. Catfish
Sunday: water temp 60.4 63.0 Dirty water. Catfish.
Monday: water temp 61.7 – 63.3 Water still dirty. One Bull Red Drum, one small Flounder, one Bluefish, 2 Bonnethead Shark, one small Atlantic Kingfish(whiting) and a Stingray. A few Squid.
Tuesday: water temp 63.0 – 64.6 Two Red Drum, 3 Pompano, 2 Whiting, Squid, an Atlantic Sharp-nosed Shark and Catfish.
Wednesday: water temp 63.7 – 64.9 Red Drum, 2 Flounder, 2 small Atlantic Kingfish(whiting), a bluefish and catfish
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 Sunday Mar. 25, 2024 Full Moon Monday Mar. 25, 2024
Tides for the upcoming week:
Sunrise: 6:28am Sunset: 5:25pm
Thursday 29th. 6:40am Low -1.0 8:41pm High 1.4
Friday 7:24am Low -0.9 9:44pm High 1.3
Saturday 8:02am Low -0.7 10:50pm High 1.1
Sunday 8:26am Low -0.7 11:58pm High 0.8
Monday 8:13am Low -0.1 1.56pm High 0.2
5:08pm Low 0.1
Tuesday 7:16am Low 0.1 1:13am High 0.5
8:26pm Low 0.0 1:40pm High 0.4
Wednesday 06th. 5:02am Low 0.2 3:01am High 0.2
1:28pm High 0.7
Sunrise: 6:23am Sunset: 5:30pm CST
The Marine forecast for the next several days is:
THURSDAY
Northeast winds 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots, becoming east 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters rough.
THURSDAY NIGHT
East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A slight chance of showers after midnight.
FRIDAY
Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots, diminishing to 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters choppy. A chance of showers. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms.
SATURDAY
Southeast winds around 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters a light chop. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms.
SATURDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds around 10 knots. Seas around 2 feet with a dominant period of 6 seconds. Protected waters a light chop. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight.
SUNDAY
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet with a dominant period of 4 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms. A slight chance of showers in the morning, then a chance of showers in the afternoon.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas around 2 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening. A chance of showers.
MONDAY
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period of 5 seconds. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers.
MONDAY NIGHT
Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Protected waters a moderate chop. A chance of showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
(local forecast).
THURSDAY (65/58 rain 15% wind NE-15)
FRIDAY (68/63 rain 89% wind SE-12)
SATURDAY (70/60 rain 59% wind SSW-07)
SUNDAY (71/63 rain 24% wind SE-09)
MONDAY (71/63 rain 45% wind SE-12)
TUESDAY (70/62 rain 58% wind SE-13)
WEDNESDAY(71/59 rain 44% wind S-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
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Sam
