Panhandle - Panama City, West Bay & Port St. Joe
Capt. Rob Womble
July 13, 2007
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
Panama City, Florida Tarpon Redfish & Trout
To all those web surfers and anglers out there I just want to say thanks for visiting our web site and reading our fishing reports. We have been getting a great deal of positive feedback from our readers. If there are any types of fish or techniques you would like more information on please feel free to drop us an e-mail and we will do our best to help out.
The weather has been pretty darn hot and the water temp is still climbing. That is actually a good thing. The warmer water has continued to bring the Tarpon down the beach in good numbers. Over the last two weeks we have had a lot of hook-ups with some really nice Silver King jumpers and we have even managed to get a couple to the boat. The rest of July and all of August will continue to be good Tarpon fishing. We still have several openings and if we can’t take you than we can recommend some really good guides such as Capt. Kyle Pitts who has been catching a good amount of Tarpon.
The bay and near shore fishing is still on fire. Capt. Gregg Burnett with Osprey Charters has been hammering the Spanish, Kings, Grouper, Blues, Trout, Redfish and a variety of other species. Capt. Burnett is without a doubt one of the most friendly and knowledgeable inshore guides around. If you’re going to visit Panama City, Florida and you want to fish in our beautiful Saint Andrew’s bay than you need to give him a call because he will put you on the fish. By the way I would like to thank Capt. Burnett for all the referrals we have received from him over the last couple months.
Up on the flats we have still been catching big Trout and Redfish. Last Tuesday I had a charter that landed a nice trout over 6lbs. Our average catch on trout for morning charters has been 7 keepers with at least one of them weighing in around 3 to 5lbs. Last weeks redfish catch was great too. Capt. Todd had a 14 redfish day and my best was 11. Folks this red-fishing is different than what you may get in the open bay. Up on the flats we will be pushing along in about 7 to 9 inches of water and casting even shallower.
The redfish and Trout will cruise the flats looking to trap bait in the shallow waters. This affords us the opportunity to spot them. Usually you will see their backs or tail fins sticking out of the water as they feed. Light weight spoons and soft baits work the best in that situation. For you hard core fly fisherman out there the mid afternoon bite is still a good time to target the reds in the grass. Of course it’s going to be hotter but at least you know the redfish will be holding up in the tall grass. Try using a weed-less spoon fly. I have had a great deal of success with them over the last two weeks.
I know the season is getting busy now and we are fielding calls just about every day but there are still openings with some really good guides out there. If you don’t get booked in with your favorite guide than do yourself a favor and contact one of our two local tackle shops, Half Hitch Tackle 850-234-2621 on Thomas Drive out on the beach or Howell Tackle 850-785-8548 on HWY 98 in Panama City and request a good inshore guide. If you want to get up on the flats and cast to tailing redfish or large trout swimming the shallows make sure you tell the tackle shop just that. If not you may get booked on a bay trip, not that bay trips are a bad thing but they are different than flats trips. Any guide taking you on a flats trip should have a boat equipped to float in 7 inches of water or less and be outfitted with a polling platform. If you find a guide on-line go ahead and call the tackle shops anyway and ensure they are reliable and or recommended. If you go solely by what their website says than you are only getting what they want you to hear.
Capt. Todd and I would like to say thanks to a lot of our fellow guides in the area who in the spirit of cooperation continue to share information and trips. I guess you do catch more Bees’ with honey after all. As always good luck on the water and remember…..no one owns any spot on the bay. Give your fellow anglers some room to fish.
Capt. Rob Womble & Capt. Todd Jones
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