Panhandle Fishing Report 4-18-08

Report for 04/18/2008

Salt Water

MEXICO BEACH/PORT ST JOE OFFSHORE
The Grouper bite is steady and reports say the best catches are in the 100’ to 150’ foot range. Black & Red Grouper and Scamp are being caught over hard bottom areas. Live bait and butter flied Spanish Mackerel are the best bet.

Whether you are using Spanish mackerel for grouper bait or catching your limit for the frying pan you will have no problem. The Spanish mackerel bite is hot along our beaches near Cape San Blas. Trolling mackerel trees or throwing Gotcha plugs and/or any number of styles of small spoons will do the trick.

Sight fishing for Cobia is maddening this week with poor water clarity and heavy surf. The cobias are there but seeing these fish has been difficult at best.

ST JOSEPH BAY
Spanish mackerel, Flounder, and Pompano are the hot fishes this week. For Spanish, The best catches reported were along Butler’s curve and the tip of Cape San Blas. The flounder are prolific throughout the bay, but the flats beneath the Tapper Bridge are very productive. Pompano catches are picking up and weather permitting, try the surf side of Cape San Blas.

PANAMA CITY OFFSHORE AND BAYS
Snapper season opened in state waters on the 15th with a bang! There seems to be no shortage of Red Snapper in our waters. Boats are catching their limits in short order. Best baits include chunked cigar minnows, squid, live shrimp and small pinfish. The boundary line for State Waters is out to 9 miles. Be sure to go outside of 9 miles for your Grouper and AJ’s before catching your Snapper limit! FWC will be watching. The Federal Snapper season opens June 1st. At that time all boats fishing for reef fish will be required to use a Venting Tool, De-hooker and Non-Stainless Steel Circle Hooks.

The Grouper bite is still going strong! Excellent reports coming out of the 15-20 mile mark. Several Black and Red Grouper and Scamp are being caught within state waters over hard bottom areas also. Live bait and butterflied Spanish Mackerel are the best bet.

Amberjack remain plentiful over several of the Bridge Spans with larger fish being caught farther offshore. Live bait, Williamson Jigs, and Butterfly Jigs will bring savage strikes!

Spanish Mackerel are being caught in large numbers. Try the jetties, inside St. Andrews Bay and along the sand bars off the beach.

The Cobia bite is definitely picking up. There are still plenty of fish out there if the conditions will allow for good sight fishing. Live Eels and Jigs are all you need.

ST. ANDREWS BAY SYSTEM
Sheepsheads are still all over the jetties. They will take live shrimp and fiddler crabs readily. Use a Carolina rig with a #4 hook, 15-20# fluorocarbon leader and light lead for best results.

Trout have just started to move back onto the flats. Target the deeper grass flats with live shrimp under a popping cork for best results.

Redfish are still working the pass in good numbers. Live Shrimp and Pinfish are the baits of choice. The water clarity in East and West Bays is much clearer now. Lots of schools can be found. These schooling fish can be very spooky, so a quite approach with long casts will work the best. Throw a live Shrimp on a light lead head or weightless for best results.

Pompano are being caught along the beaches in greater numbers. Throw a jig tipped with shrimp, sand fleas, or gulp. They are also being caught using frozen sand fleas and shrimp, rigged on a 2 hook leader and pyramid sinker.

DESTIN
Since the last report things have gone form wild to nothing to wide open again. Last Thursday the pier caught their first King of the year early that morning. Later in the day they had a great King run catching about 30 Kings all over 15lbs and several close to 40lbs. I caught 3 all over 20lbs. On Friday they caught a few and no more to date but the warm temps this weekend should turn them on again.

As for the Cobia, they were great last Friday then the cold air blew in and shut them off until Wednesday when there was a bunch caught. This weekend looks to be great.

On Tuesday, the Annie Girl caught a 686lb Mako shark while Cobia fishing. They saw the shark eating a Tarpon and ended up getting a bite using a whole Snapper. The whole story is very similar to the Snapper Trapper several years ago except they actually caught the Mako on the Annie Girl.

On the Snapper front opening day was terrible weather, cold and windy but most anglers did manager nice catches. On Wednesday the weather was much better and so were the catches.

The Pompano bite has been off the hook on the beaches and the jetties. The beach fisherman are doing good on sand fleas and shrimp. On the jetties and the pier they are getting them best on Chartreuse jigs tipped with a Berkley Gulp sand flea or with Berkley Gulp spray.

The Trout bite has also been very good in the Sandestin area around Hogtown and Mack’s Bayou.

Fresh Water

Bass fishing is excellent, so say reports from our freshwater anglers. So go hiyt you favorite haunts and have fun.

Half Hitch Tackle
850-234-2621
2206 Thomas Dr
Panama City, Fl 32408
www.halfhitch.com/

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.