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Weathered out in Panama City Florida
Capt. James Pic
April 24, 2010
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
Florida weather can be brutal. Can't really say I'm getting rained out today, more like "weathered out". With tornado warnings around, severe thunderstorms within fifty miles and a small craft advisory starting at noon I decided to cancell today.
We actually got blown off the gulf yesterday morning trying to put a cobia in the boat. The last ten days of cobia have been pretty awsome according to my sources. The best day's were the first of last week with a really big day for all that were out on Wednesday. My clients all week didn't want to cobia fish so I was in the bay.
By all accounts the fishing slowed down Thursday and Friday. We were out Thursday most of the day. There were boats all around, with us only seeing two fish landed behind the island. I heard it was a little better to the west but a lot of the fish had been thrown at and would not eat. We got lucky Thursday. We had a 60lb fish on for a few minutes, hooked two other fish in the 40 range but for various reasons they did not get put in the box. I'm not going to blow smoke and say we saw 100 fish and hooked 99....been reporting here for 15 years, smoke isn't what I do.
According the best cobia guys around mostly small fish were seen yesterday with the end of the run a week to ten days away. What to do when the cobia run stops?
A rhetorical question of course. I found a bunch of reds in all of the bays last week which means you and I will be heading to flats and hammering the big trout and reds on light line and the fly like every year.
There are a few big schools or jacks on the beach along with big numbers of spanish. A few spots on the gulf beach where the bigger spanish will lay up for the rest of the spring are holding fish. Look for them hitting baits and such along the beach.
Pompano are around also, sight fishing for those is the best ways. Another way to find pompano, a really old school way, is to cruise along the beach watching for them to jump in your wake. If that happens just whip your boat around and start fishing. We had a four pound fish actually jump into the boat two years ago while running the shallows.
Today is a rod repair day. I'm also going to put new line on the reels I've been using and spool up eight new reels I got in the mail earlier this week. Rainy days are not so bad if you live to fish....just make the best of the day doing repairs, inventory your terminal tackle and put some new line on the reels. Enjoy the day and you will be ready the next time you hit the water.
Panama City Fishing Forecast:
Fishing is good. We have been eyeballing a lot of reds on the flats along with big numbers of trout. Trout and reds is what I do best and there's nobody that comes close. My clients put close to thirty trout over 6lbs, with several in the 8lb class every year. It's a gift being able to locate these fish. The reds just come along with the trout fishing.
A few weeks from now the big schools of menhaden will show that means chumming for big spanish and many other species that swim into the chum line.
We saw a big shark on the flats a few days ago, shark fishing should start soon.
This is the most beautiful and productive time of the year to fish. Catching is what we do on my boat, light tackle is what we use.
Target Species:
All species are showing up.
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