A little redfish magic and some spanish voodoo.

Capt. James Pic
July 16, 2009
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report

Brent and Brad wanted to catch a redfish. We headed to West Bay to one of the spots that we have been seeing a lot of fish over the last month or so. The numbers have diminished with the hot weather but there are still a few fish there.
We put a nice fish in the boat as the sun was coming up, another a little later on a different spot.
Later we went out to the big bay catching one nice 21" trout but the picture didn't turn out for some reason. Along with the trout we had some great spanish action. Good job guys.

Let's talk a little about reds. I got an email from a self professed expert stating that you couldn't catch redfish that you didn't see. Yes, there are tailing redfish around here and during certain conditions you can find them tailing. Many times when a large group of reds is together you will see thier bellies as they roll over a little while swimming. Just because you don't see a redfish in a spot that looks good doesn't mean there isn't a fish waiting for dinner. We didn't see either of the fish we caught today until they rolled up on the bait. Many times you will find reds trailing or swimming in and out of big mullet schools. Two weeks ago we caught three on Zara Spook Jr.'s and never saw a roll, a tail, or anything that indicated a redfish was there. Although reds are not the easiest to catch on topwater it can be done. I have eight or ten clients over the last couple of months that will tell you there is nothing more exciting than watching a big red roll up on a topwater bait.
This time of the year you can catch giant reds in the pass late in the day with an outgoing tide on a topwater.....now that is a lot of fun.
Over the years there have been hundreds upon hundreds of redfish caught on my boat. 90% of these fish were never seen prior to hooking.
So....don't believe what you hear from self professed expert just because he fished a redfish tourney every now and then....trust your gut and if you think there is a red in a spot..throw your favorite redfish bait onto the spot. Worse thing that could happen is you don't get a fish. Just keep fishing hard and the rewards and experience will come!

Panama City Fishing Forecast:

Trout and reds on the flats.
Spanish and blues in the big bay.
Kings offshore.
Some big sharks in the bay.

Target Species:

Anything that swims

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