Panama City Trout & Redfish...still HOT
Capt. Mike Pankey
September 24, 2008
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
I would like to start this report by saying thank you to Grady & Bill for another great fishing trip!
I would also like to share my philosophy as a Guide with you:
Over the past twenty five years, I have spent countless numbers of days on the water trying to learn the behavior and patterns of trout and redfish. Some days... not even picking up a rod, but just spending hours on the trolling motor... looking.
As a guide, I strongly believe that my job is to give you as many opportunities to catch the two species that I primarily target, Speckled Trout and Redfish. However, some days we have the incidental catch of "trash fish" like catfish, ladyfish and bluefish. I also firmly believe you should spend as much of your trip as possible, actually fishing! Over the years, I have found many fishing places that hold large numbers of fish, and I can GUARANTEE you, I will NEVER leave fish that are biting to go look for fish that might not be as willing!!! I feel that I have been really fortunate to have a great class of fisherman this season, as well as, extremely satisfied clients. I take your fishing trip with me... personally.
September 20th I met Grady and Bill at the boat ramp at 6:00 in the morning and what a stellar morning it was, with a big orange sun coming up over the trees and the first hint of fall in the air.
We eased up the bay with around six dozen pinfish, pigfish and croakers. When we got to the first stop there was a boat sitting very close to the fishing spot, so we had to go with plan B ..." don't want to give away any secrets."
We got to the second spot and spent about 15 minutes getting into it on the trolling motor so not to spook the fish. I put a bait on each of their hooks and showed them where to throw them. Within seconds, Bill struck first with his first ever redfish measuring 25."
He was absolutely amazed at how hard they pull and how stubborn they are. Grady wasn't far behind with a nice 23" redfish.
In this particular fishing spot the redfish are moving up and down the grass line and after a couple of fish each the fish had moved on. This gave the trout an opportunity to bite. Trout are definitely more cautious to bite than redfish. Sometimes when you find a large school of redfish that are turned on, I swear you could catch them on hot dogs! Bill struck first again with a nice 23" trout which was also his first Speckled Tout ever.
But Grady came on strong catching nine trout in a row and lost one of the biggest trout I have seen in a while. But... as we all know that is why they call it fishing! After catching thirteen trout, with ten of them measuring from 16 to 23 inches and three of them being too short, here come the redfish back again!
Grady proceeded to wear Bill out, and I can only imagine how Bill was feeling to stand there and watch his friend catch six redfish in a row and not get a bite! " Some days you just can't seem to do no wrong" and today was Grady's day!!!
By the end of the day they had managed to catch thirteen trout, nine redfish and one absolutely beautiful gag grouper... to bad it wasn't big enough though.
I would also like to say what an inspiration Grady was. His leg had been cut off just below the knee in a very bad motorcycle accident. Thankfully, with modern medicine, they were able to re attach it. Grady is a very accomplished hunter and fisherman and his injury doesn't seem to slow him down a bit. When we got to the fishing spot he sat on the bow with his legs in the water and proceeded to put on a fishing clinic for his friend Bill.
Sorry I couldn't fit all of the photos from the trip, but you can visit my website to see the rest of them.
Thanks again guys for another great trip,
Capt. Mike Pankey
Target Species:
Trout & Redfish
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