Weekly Fishing Report 07/04/2013

PANAMA CITY BEACH OFFSHORE  
The offshore bite has really improved lately. Some bait has begun to show up again and most days you can count on catching your own live cigar minnows or Herring around one of the channel markers. Even better try the whistle or weather buoy, they usually hold more bait than the channel markers do. There were plenty of big Red snapper and Red grouper hitting the docks. Dead bait was working for most however it seemed live bait landed bigger fish. Some groups who have gathered the necessary additional equipment and fortitude to stay out overnight and report a healthy Black snapper bite. They say there is something about the night bite for Black snapper. Just the lights from the boat has some attraction but add a light in the water and you will be amazed at all the action it will generate. As to the pelagic bite, you can pretty much count on hooking some Kings flat lining live bait or slow trolling down deep. If you are able to get offshore a little further and find some “blue” water you are in Wahoo and Dolphin territory. A few nice sized fish have come in off the head boats that specialize in blue water trolling.

Brett Davenport sent in this picture of a nice Smoker!  Great job guys!

SURF AND PIER
The surf fishing crowd is still reporting a lot of Ladyfish and hard tails, some Blues and very few Spanish. There are plenty of small sharks around too so if you get your rig cut off a few times you may have to switch over to a wire leader. Early morning (even pre dawn) has produced some Pompano and a few Whiting. The same can be said for dusk.

At the piers the morning bite has been King (literally) several are caught just about every morning. Your resident Bull reds are there too but are hard to coax into biting and even harder to land as they have mastered the art of weaving your line through the pilings. But hey, if it were not a challenge most of us would not be out there. The live bait situation is fair, you should be able to count on catching your own with a Sabiki rig. Take a couple though as there are still plenty of Ladys and Hard tails around and they can ruin one in short order.

ST ANDREWS BAY SYSTEM
With our high tide peaking in the morning lately, pursuing Reds and Trout was a little more predictable. Having good tidal flow, access up into skinny waters and the change of light bite combined is a good thing. Not to mention all of the Pilchards around, artificial baits will work but I don’t think anyone can deny that a live Pilchard is like candy to just about anything that swims. We are also seeing some decent size Mangrove snapper working their way up into the grass. They will also eat Pilchards, but they have to take smaller bites so if you think you might have stumbled into a bunch of them, you may have to cut your Pilchard into smaller pieces and size down on your hook. There are still plenty of Ladyfish around but there are not many Spanish mackerel. And yes Flounder are still on the menu, so if you have worked the grass flats for what they are worth and the bite seems to be dwindling, switch gears and try your luck around some dock pilings or along someone’s seawall.

NAVARRE
Happy 4^th of July everyone! I said last week that we were in for a little rain, this week it looks like we are in for a lot of rain! It’s looking if there is going to be any fishing accomplished it will be in the rain or between storms as they pass through, because as my 6 year old nephew once observed “The fish don’t know if it’s raining because they are already wet!”

The lack of live shrimp has forced most to brush the cobwebs off their cast nets in order to catch finger mullet, tiger minnows and pilchards for bait. They are all great bait and are fished in the same locations and same methods as live shrimp. Fished around the pilings with just a split shot or short Carolina rig is a great presentation for redfish, speckled trout, flounder and black snapper. Free lined under a popping cork on the flats will get you trout, reds, bluefish, and the occasional flounder. Jigs tipped with a Gulp or Trigger X shrimp is a great presentation for those of who don’t want to mess with live bait. At night the trout and redfish have been feasting on the small baitfish and shrimp that are attracted to the lights. Pilchards and finger mullet fished without any weight and allowed to drift through the light has been an outstanding presentation. Fly fishermen are probably having the most fun fishing size 4 or 2 solid white or black clouser minnows though as they more closely match the forage the trout and reds are feeding on.

On the pier the king and Spanish bite remained steady all week even with the rain, with most of the kings in the 20 to 30 pound range and the Spanish anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds.  The shark bite is still good along with the occasional redfish and pompano. The only reliable catches right now seem to be ladyfish, hardtails and blue fish. The bite in the surf pretty much mirrors what is going on pier, but the June grass pretty much everywhere it is making it almost impossible to fish the surf.

Nearshore the snapper bite is still going strong with the hottest action happening first thing in the morning on reefs and wrecks within state waters. Gag grouper has finally opened and there are plenty to be had both inshore and off with most fish topping the 15 pound mark. Amberjacks and triggerfish are still off the menu until August 1, 2013 and as of the first red snapper caught in federal waters will have to be released. Cobias are also being caught in pretty good numbers by fishermen targeting bottom species. The king bite is still going strong well especially near the passes during an incoming tide. Most fish are being caught by slow trolling live baits or Yo-Zuri and Mann’s Stretch deep diving plugs around structure or free lining live baits in the current when anchored up on near shore reefs. If you can get off shore the wahoo bite remains strong out near the edge as well as out around the Nipple with deep diving plugs, such as Mann’s stretch 25’s and 30’s as well as the new YoZuri Bonita the top producing baits. Out around the rigs the blackfin tuna, yellowfin, mahi, and wahoo bite is in full swing. The same areas are seeing a few white marlin catches as well.

Until next week tight lines and get out there!