Panhandle - Panama City, West Bay & Port St. Joe
Capt. Rob Womble
January 14, 2008
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
Panama City, Florida Fishing Report 14 Jan 2008
The weather has still been up and down here lately. Just when you think it’s going to get cold and stay that way it heats up again. Unfortunately this makes finding those schools of trout a little tougher. Not impossible just tougher. Dave Callaway a good friend of Capt. Todd and I reports good trout fishing in some of the creeks and deeper bayous in East Bay. Some days he only catches a couple and other days like Thursday he catches 30 to 40 trout. Now not all of those trout are keepers of course but he did manage a nice limit on that day. Last Monday I fished Crooked Creek with a customer and we landed 21 trout with a total of 7 keepers. We used both sinking and suspending mirror lures in a natural bait color. During times like now when the temp is up and down keep moving up and down those creeks. Normally when you find one there are more. Moving water is the key Incoming and out-going tides, time your trip accordingly.
The redfish have been the same as they always are during the winter. They are still in schools (some bigger than others) and they are still a bit spooky. We have been catching anywhere from 2 to 7 fish a morning and these have all been really nice reds (see the pictures). We have been having better luck using the gold spoons over the last week or so than we have the soft plastic baits. That is more due to the wind than anything else. The spoons let use throw a little bit further than the soft plastics. If you have a flats boat, get it up as shallow as you can and start looking in front and deeper. If you don’t have a flats boat…..slowly pull up on the flats in whatever boat you have and get out and walk. The reds are there. The flats outside Crooked Creek have been real good as well as the flats just outside Warren Bayou.
One of our warmer days in January.
Duck Hunting has been on fire. We have had a couple of really good trips lately. Several of our trips have ended early with limits of Buffle heads, Bluebills and Redheads. This week Capt. Todd and I ran a cast and blast for a long time customer Mike Gann and his friend Martin from Atlanta Georgia. Martin wanted some redfish and a mountable Redhead duck. Well he got just that. Take a look at these photos.
Martin got what he wanted. Some nice Redfish & Redhead ducks!
Just about anywhere in North or West Bay is a good spot to set up. Look for a point of land such as Shell Point, West Bay Point, and Breakfast Point or back in Harrison Bayou. Get there early and set up your decoys and get ready to call them in. They have been flying pretty well lately.
Hiding out in the layout boat with a couple of Buffle Heads.
A couple of Deer on the edge of the bay as we are coming in to set up our decoys.
As always be safe on the water and try to watch out for the other guys. For those fishermen out there, keep in mind this is duck hunting season also so look around you when you are drifting the flats and be sure you are not drifting up on someone’s spread. Good luck out there.
Capt. Rob Womble & Capt. Todd Jones
Back Bay Adventures
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