Panama City, Florida Redfish, Trout and Flounder!
Capt. Rob Womble
September 8, 2008
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
Ok, I have taken allot of heat from some of our readers for not posting a report over the last couple of weeks. I do have a pretty good excuse, I've been out of the country and my partner is not very much of a report writing type of guy so……here it is.
I've been back for about a week now and I've only had a chance to go out once, but it was a good trip. Capt. Todd on the other hand has been picking up my slack and running allot of trips and crushing the redfish and trout. The redfish bite is still very good right now. We have not been hitting as many on top-water plugs as we did early in the season but a 4 inch Gulp shrimp has been making up the difference for us. We have been drifting with the currents and wind and throwing the a Gulp into sand spots, pot holes and prop scares. More often than not we end up seeing the reds swimming along the shallows and that gives us a good target. The Gulp baits are scented so if you throw the bait a little in front of the reds and let them swim up to it they usually pick up the scent and easily take the bait. We have also noticed that the reds are starting to school up a bit more. Whenever we see these small schools we like to keep our distance and throw a small gold spoon along the edge of the school. This technique usually works well and allows you to pull more than one fish from the school without breaking them up.
Bobby and Danielle Weir with a nice Destin redfish.
The trout bite is still on fire. Capt. Todd has reported multiple limits on just about every one of his charters over the last couple of weeks. They are still more than willing to hit top-water plugs and we are also catching them with the Gulp shrimp while trying to catch redfish. The schools of baitfish are still hanging around the Lynn Haven and Hathaway bridges. If you find these schools of bait a DOA shrimp or a top-water plug will usually lead to a couple of nice trout, blues, lady fish and even Spanish here and there. The pattern for the trout (for us anyway) has been top-water plugs early, and switch up to a sinking or suspending bait as day goes on. We are still targeting the 2 to 4 foot range. Be ready for that occasional flounder. Last week Ronnie and I landed 4 flounder while jigging for trout. They are all over the place right now.
Some of the best places to hit right now are the flats around redfish point, across from the Tyndall golf course, around Goose Island and around the shrimp farm. Head out early and be ready to slow down and fish the area you pick slowly. You will see way more fish that way.
As always, good luck on the water and watch out for the other guy.
Capt. Rob Womble & Capt. Todd Jones
Back Bay Advetures.
Panama City Fishing Forecast:
As long as we don't have a tropical storm come sit on us the fishing will remain extremely good. The water temperatures are staying about the same and the bait is still in so the fishing should saty strong for the next couple weeks.
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