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Panhandle - Panama City, West Bay & Port St. Joe
Capt. Rob Womble
August 14, 2007
Panama City - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing & Hunting Report For The Week of 6 to 13 August
Well you have more than likely heard enough about how hot it is so I won’t cover that again. The good news is that the hot weather hasn't affected the fish as much as it has the fishermen. Of course the fishing will slow a good bit as the sun gets up and the temperatures climb but for those hard core never say die fishermen you can still dig some really good size redfish out of the grass all day long. Just make sure you bring along plenty of sun screen and lots of cold water....and don't forget the gold spoon.
When the water gets warm and you get those hot, no wind, dead calm water days you will need the gold spoon. I personally like to toss the Capt. Mikes gold spoon but the Johnsons gold spoon will work just as well. On calm days like we have been having recently you will definitely get a chance to see tailing redfish or redfish that are just lying up and being lazy..... as long as you are up close to the shore in the shallow waters. Keeping your distance and making long cast will be the key. When making your cast to these fish try not to pitch the lure directly over the fish allowing the line to land across them. This will sometimes spook the fish. Place the lure on the side he is facing just a couple feet past and maybe a foot or so away. You will want to work it as slow as possible. Even redfish get hot and lazy and they won’t want to give chase if the lure is moving to fast. This technique will also work well with a soft bait but you may not get the same distance as a gold spoon. Also make sure you are as quite as possible. Drift if you can or if you have a push pole use that. For those anglers without a boat....wade fish. You will be surprised how many nice size redfish and trout we have caught this year by getting out of the boat. Just be sure to watch your step.
Right now anywhere up on the flats is good during the day. The fish are going to spread out so slow steady sight fishing is the key. In the early morning and evening creek mouths and bayous are where you will want to be. Top water as always will be the bait of choice. North Bay on the Bay side of the airport island has had some pretty good numbers of redfish. Further up into North Bay there are a series of marsh islands and creeks that have been holding nice size trout and redfish all day. It does get extremely shallow in places so be careful.
Out in the Bay Capt. Gregg Burnett with Osprey Charters has been catching some really nice bait and turning it into some really nice fish. He reports good catches of large Spanish, Kings, some really nice trout, redfish, bay grouper and just yesterday busted a 30lb cobia. If your into live bait fishing for big fish and having lots of fun doing it give Capt. Burnett a call. 850-814-8016
OK let’s talk Duck Hunting. Now is the time to get your license, rig the boat, gather up those decoys, clean the gun and most importantly read up on the regulations. The early season is right around the corner (proposed dates 22-26 Sept) and unfortunately we are booked every day as well as the first part of the regular season. We will have openings after January. We will also be conducting a limited amount of hunts along the Mississippi coast after January for diving ducks mostly Redheads and Canvass Backs. During these hunts you can also expect shots at Gadwall, Teal, Mottled Ducks and Widgeon. Last year we shot lots of Wood ducks and Teal during the early season along with Widgeon and Gadwall later in the regular season. For those do it yourselfers there are some really awesome spots that will be holding lots of ducks. We aren't worried about giving up the spots this year seeing how we will be doing a majority of our hunting on a private 80 acre flooded timber lake and besides there is plenty of open water out there for everyone. Dear Point Lake around the Cedar Creek area is excellent. Capt. Todd lives on the lake near this area and has reported a good hatch this year. He has seen 6 pair of Wood Ducks nesting in his back yard this year. Cherokee landing is a good public ramp with easy access in close proximity to Cedar Creek. Dear Point Lake was loaded with Wood Ducks last year and should be again this year. Another great early season hot spot is Lake Wimico. This lake really holds a lot of Teal during the early season. You can easily access this lake by putting in on the intercoastal waterway in White City or you could stay at the Bay City Lodge which has boat ramps, fuel and a host of other necessities. Wherever you hunt we recommend you get to your spot and get completely set up well before the sun comes up so you may want to do some scouting runs now. It’s also not too late to get out there and set up some make shift boat blinds. Bring along your hand held GPS and track your trip so you can make it back to your spot in the darkness on opening day. One thing you want to remember is both these lakes hold large populations of Big Gators so you may want to hold off on bringing the dog along during the early season.
This report was a little long so we didn’t post any pictures with it. You can log onto our website and check all of this weeks and last weeks pic’s. As always good luck on the water.
Capt. Rob Womble & Capt. Todd Jones
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