Panhandle - Panama City, West Bay & Port St. Joe

Capt. Rob Womble
May 3, 2007
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report

Last week was cold and windy for the Panhandle fishermen. We had winds upwards of 20mph and white caps all across the bay for most of the week. With conditions like that most fishermen decided not to fool with it and wait for better weather. Some of us decided to look for spots that would provided shelter from the wind and still offer a reasonable opportunity at some nice Trout and Redfish.

Capt. Todd Jones and I knew that the baitfish had arrived a couple weeks earlier and were starting to make their way into the shallower parts of the bay like the mouths of the bayous. Some of these bayous run pretty far into the pine woods and marsh and provide a great wind break. We were hoping to locate both the bait, and a wind break. North Bay, East Bay and West Bay all offer numerous bayous which can provide windbreaks depending on direction and speed. On our way to the bayous of East Bay Capt. Todd spotted a calm area next to some docks. This time of year when the weather starts to warm up the Redfish and Trout will sometimes us the docks for shade as well as a spot to ambush bait fish. The waters here are still pretty clear so we decided to site fish using Gulp jerk baits and gold spoons. Within ten minutes of arriving we spotted a small school of Redfish and I was able to land two decent Redfish and Capt. Todd boated a monster at 31 inches.

From there we made our way across the bay and into a bayou just up from West Bay point. All I can say is WOW! The Trout were smashing thru the bait schools everywhere. Some were jumping completely out of the water. Instead of trying to navigate into the bayou we decided to stay on the outside and try not to disturb the school. We picked up our top water rigs and began throwing. Capt. Todd was the first to get a hit and landed a Trout weighing in at 5 lbs. He followed that one up with another nice one coming in at around 19 inches. I too was able to land a couple 18 to 19 inch trout and before long we both had a limit. We ended up having a great day on the water despite the windy conditions.

Remember in most cases the birds will locate the baitfish for you. Try not to get too close to the school. Let the Trout, Redfish and whatever else is schooling them do their job. Stay back and use long cast. It will pay off. Top water is a good choice when the fish are busting the bait on the surface. Sinking baits in deeper water will also work well. The Redfish and Trout bite is still hot you just need to find an area out of the wind.

If you decide to try along the docks remember to slow down your approach and look for the fish lying up in the shadows during the mid day heat. Soft plastic baits usually work very well for the dock fish. As always good luck on the water.

Capt. Rob Womble

More Fishing Reports:

• All Reports by Capt. Rob Womble
• Panama City Fishing Reports
• Panhandle and Big Bend (Suwannee to Pensacola) Reports
• Florida Fishing Reports
• Browse All Fishing Reports