The Weekly Fishing Report:
Report for 06/29/2007 Salt Water
DESTIN - Well let’s just start with the big game fishing! What a weekend we had with the Emerald Coast Classic going on here in Destin. There were 15 blue marlin tagged and releases and 3 brought to the scales. The largest blue marlin was 627lb caught on the Dreamin On with captain Randy Hodgekiss. They also had several dolphin awards and their total winnings for the weekend were $318,585.83. The Uptoit and captain Jemery Miles had the largest tuna at 179.0lb and thier total winnings were $126,623.34. The Sea Spray and captain Dill Staff had the largest dolphin and it was 52.7lb and tallied $76,943.34 in winnings. The Borderline Crazy and captain Scott Templeton had the largest wahoo which was 87.8lbs and totaled $50,078.33 in winnings. All in all the total payout was for the tournament was $1,307,357.00, a very fantastic tournament indeed. On other fronts the kings have been awesome near shore. Snapper are goon in 60-135ft water. Grouper and jacks are good at the edge. On the pier they are hooking some tarpon and getting plenty of kings along with some ladyfish and hardtails. In the surf there are plenty of hardtails and ladyfish during the day and at dusk lots of blues and sharks. In the bay around the Destin Bridge the bull reds have been very hot and a few trout east of the 331 bridge. Tim Broom
MEXICO BEACH/PORT ST JOE OFFSHORE - Summer is here, so expect lots of sun and the occasional afternoon shower/thunderstorm. Water conditions are expected to remain calm throughout the forth of July week. Red Snapper are going strong on near and offshore structures. The Grouper bite is been steady this past week, and that pattern should remain constant throughout the week. Reports have the best numbers at 25-40 miles out. Live bait is plentiful and will continue to be easy to catch at the buoys and over wrecks and reefs close in. The mahi-mahi bite reports are sketchy, but reports have put them 40 to 50 miles out with a few intermittent catches of peanut Mahi in close, look for the weed lines. King Mackerel are biting well and the only way you will not catch one is by not going. Look for bait schools around the bottom structure and along the buoy line. Your best bet is trolling dusters and flat lining over structure where bait is holding. Half Hitch Tackle
ST JOSEPH BAY - Do not forget! Scallop season opens Sunday July 1. The trout bite remains steady throughout the bay with the best sizes coming from the head of the bay. Your best bet for trout this week will be along the St. Joe side of the bay from the Port St. Joe Marina to Black’s island. Redfish numbers have been good this past week and live shrimp are working well are producing more fish than artificial, however if artificial baits are your favorite; use topwater plugs early (daylight to mid-morning) and Berkley Gulp baits the rest of the day. The hot colors are as follows; new penny, root beer, molting, and glow. Half Hitch Tackle
Fresh Water - Now the water has warmed the bass have moved out into deep holes and around the mouth of channels. Your best beat is deep diving crank baits. Shell cracker and Bluegill bite is going strong this summer. Bottom fishing in 3-4 ft. with a wiggler is producing good numbers. Half Hitch Tackle
PANAMA CITY OFFSHORE AND BAYS - The Tarpon migration is in full swing! Several fish are being seen every day and plenty of hook ups. These fish are extremely spooky, do not run up on them with your motor. They simply will not eat. Anchor on the sandbar and wait for the fish to come to you. Use live mullet, pin fish, pogies, cigar minnows or menhaden on a 7 to 12/0 circle hook with 60 to 100# fluorocarbon leaders and 20 to 30# main line. The Wahoo bite is really picking up. A few have been caught only 1 mile off the beach. High speed trollers like the Panhandler and Yo Zuri Bonita in black and purple colors are working best. Also, try slow trolling rigged ballyhoo or live hard tails. Mahi Mahi are showing up in greater numbers. Lots of chicken dolphin are being caught around many of the offshore wrecks and bigger dolphin are being caught from 25 miles out. King Mackerel fishing is starting to become more consistent. A lot of kings are being caught trolling Dusters and free-lining live or dead bait. Larger Kings are being caught slow trolling live bait at a depth of 30-40 feet. Use downriggers or heavy egg sinkers with long leaders to attain the depth range needed. The Grouper bite has been very good lately. Best catches have been in the 100 to 200 foot areas on mainly hard bottom. Live bait, whole boston mackerel and jigs(Shimano Butterfly or Williamson) are working well. Jigs with a glow color to them are a sure bet. Amberjack are on many of the inshore wrecks and reefs in good numbers. Try the Bridge Spans for lots of action. The larger fish will be well offshore over hard bottom. Live cigar minnows or pinfish will entice the larger fish, while jigs (Williamson Jig or AJ Jig) will trigger the most bites. Snapper action is still going strong. Squid, cigar minnows and chunks of northern mackerel are working well also. The bag limit for state waters remains four snapper per person and 16” length, however in federal waters only two snapper per person and 16” length. Federal waters start basically nine miles from land, and is noted on your maps as the Natural resources boundary. Ladyfish, Bluefish and Bar Jacks are everywhere up and down the beaches right now. Throw Pompano Jigs, Gotcha’s and Spoons on light tackle for a lot of fun. Half Hitch Tackle
ST ANDREWS BAY SYSTEM - Flounder are starting to move into the bay in greater numbers. Use a Carolina rig with live bull minnows for the best results. For artificial bait fishermen, use an 1/8 oz. jig with Gulp Curl Tail Minnows in a variety of colors. The Trout bite is picking up some. They are on the flats and roaming the grassy areas. Big trout can be caught early in the day on topwater plugs. An excellent technique is to rig a Berkley Gulp 4” Shrimp weedless with a standard wide gap worm hook and no weight. The bait will sink slow and with each twitch will dart erratically. The trout will nail it on the fall! The redfish action is still going strong. Gulp, Gold Spoons and Soft Jerk Baits are working well. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon, try throwing topwater baits (Top Dog Jr in Bone) for some explosive action. Half Hitch Tackle
DAN RUSSEL PIER - Spanish mackerel and a few Kings are being caught every day at the pier right now. Pompano, Whiting, Blue Fish, and Lady Fish are also being caught. Call 850-233-5080 for the latest pier fishing information.
Fishing Report prepared by Half Hitch Tackle Staff.
The Captains Corner Fishing Report is provided by local charter captains and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Half Hitch Tackle.
This report is dedicated to the memory of Al Hubbard. Al Hubbard was a field editor for Florida Sportsman magazine, an outdoor writer for the News Herald and a board member of the Florida Outdoor Writer's Association. Mr. Hubbard was also the owner of Al's Outdoors Outfitting Services.
For more information contact;
Half Hitch Tackle
850-234-2621
2206 Thomas Dr
Panama City, FL 32408
www.halfhitch.com/
