Fall fishing around Panama City Florida

Capt. James Pic
August 15, 2009
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report

During the next few weeks the summer will be coming to an end. With storms brewing in the tropics each big swell will bring some good grouper fishing into the the bay. At the end of the report will be some shots of what we did last fall including (first photo) a red that was close or more than 50lbs.
The bigger change will be what happens as the days get shorter and the temps start to drop. Fish are much like many other species of animal. They will eat as the fall approaches getting ready for less availability of food. Although some species, like spanish, will move out of our bay almost completely many will stay.
Considering the amount of bait in local waters right now I would guess the spanish will stay long into the fall. One of the best spanish trips I ever had was on Thanksgiving about ten years ago. All the fish were really big, eating whatever you threw at them.
Another fish that will be in full swing with the weather change are the flounder. Each fall they migrate to the gulf to spawn. We usually start catching big numbers of flounder from mid September thru mid/late November. Nothing like coming in from a quick duck hunt then go flounder fishing in late November. Anyone that likes to eat and catch flat fish should be here at that time.
As the water cools down there will be less and less fish in the pass leaving all the big reds eating whatever they can get hold of. We had one last fall that was well over 50lbs. I can put you on 20 and 30 pound fish all during the fall. Even though we have to release them they are a lot of fun to catch.
We also find a lot of smaller reds up in the bays on the flats for sightfishing. Anyone that follows my reports or fishes with me knows that redfish and trout are my specialty. Sightfishing reds during the fall is a lot of fun. We throw soft baits, topwater and spinnerbaits like the Booyah Samurai.
As the fall rolls on, the hot water canal will be another place to fish. I will talk about that later.
There's always a lot of action in and around Panama City for fishing throughout the winter. Come fish with me and let me show you what almost 40 years of fishing this area can produce.
Here's some photos of what we did last fall:

Panama City Fishing Forecast:

Everything is happaning.

Target Species:

All species are here and hungry.

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