Panhandle - Panama City, West Bay & Port St. Joe
Capt. Rob Womble
November 30, 2007
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
PANAMA CITY FLORIDA WINTER TROUT, REDFISH & DUCKS!!!
So far the temperatures have remained somewhat cool so the trout have stayed up in their cold water haunts like the Hot Water Canal up in West Bay and also a couple of the creeks that feed into West Bay as well as the intra-coastal waterway. There are a couple things you will want to keep in mind when fishing some of these areas. The Hot Water Canal is catch and release only during this time of year. That also means you are not supposed to capture bait up in that area as well. The creeks that feed into the bay are very tidal and can get shallow real quick. If you run up stream in a bay type boat, you may be spending the night up there. When the tide drops in places like Burnt Mill Creek if you don’t have a shallow draft boat I recommend you start working your way back down stream.
A majority of the fish you are going to hook during the winter months up in the creeks are going to be short so please handle them with care when un-hooking and releasing them because they are the ones we will catch and eat next year. Of course not all of them are short. We ran several trips up in the creeks over the last week or so and all our clients have managed to catch their limit every time with a couple of the trout measuring in at 19 to 20 inches. The flats around the Hot Water Canal are still holding some nice trout and if you are outside the “no keep” area you can throw a couple into the box. So far I have found that the best bait to use in all the locations is a ¼ to 1/8oz jig rigged with your favorite Gulp or grub. The suspending lures such as the Catch 2000 from Mirror Lure have been working very well too.
Cade and Russ from right here in Panama City ended up catching two nice limits of trout.
Here are a couple nice trout out of Arch Trimble's limit. Nice catch!
The redfish are still up on the flats are starting to group up into schools more and more. I ran one trip last week where we had several double hook-ups on some really nice quality redfish. If the school is packed together really tight you can still get away with using the top water plugs as long as you place it well in front of the school and let them come to it. If they are working in one area and not moving try using a smaller Johnson’s gold spoon or a Gulp Sinking Minnow.
These nice redfish came out of a school of about 20. We had a double hook-up!!
Duck hunting. This season is really starting to shape up as a great duck season. We have acquired access to several more private lakes to hunt so the possibility of nailing some nice puddle ducks is looking good. Already we are seeing large amounts of Teal, Wood Ducks, Pin tails and Gadwall as well as some diving ducks (Red Heads and Ring Necks). Hunting on these private lakes and ponds is an extremely easy hunt. So if you have any children or maybe if you just don’t want the some times physically demanding boat hunt in the bay we can accommodate you. This is also good for those larger parties because we can hunt up to 6 people on these ponds without being right on top of each other. As for the bay hunting the Red Heads, Blue Bills and Buffle Heads are showing up in good numbers.
This year the demand for duck hunting trips has been so great we have two additional local duck hunting guides working with us so we will have plenty of room for additional clients. These guys have been hunting this area for the last 15 years and can put you on the ducks. Also for the sportsman that loves to do it all, remember we offer Cast and Blast. We will take you out on a morning hunt and later in the afternoon we will guide you on an inshore fishing trip.
This time of year we get a little busy. Make sure you take the extra time and book early because we are already booked until the first of the year. You may also want to check out your potential hunting guide (including ourselves) with the local Fish and Wildlife management office to ensure he hasn’t had any complaints and or violations.
Here are a couple pictures from last years outstanding duck season.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks report and as always no matter if you are hunting or fishing out on the water have a good time and please be safe out there. Have great Christmas holiday.
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