Panhandle Fishing Report 6-10-2010

Report for 06/10/2010

Salt Water


MEXICO BEACH/PORT ST JOE OFFSHORE
Another banner week of fishing here in Port St Joe; Even with the oil spill looming there are still hundreds of square miles open to fishing and anglers are taking full advantage. Grouper and Red Snapper catches have been off the chart in our southwestern waters. King mackerel, Wahoo, Amberjack are all biting and biting well. Those anglers not intimidated by the contingents of oil spill workers and boats will find the fishing is excellent here.

ST. JOE BAY
Top water fishing is as good as it gets this week with anglers report excellent trout catches using top-water lures. The best times are often from sunrise until middle morning. After lunch, anglers are returning the bay for redfish and additional trout. Mid-day fishing may not be as exciting as top water action but can be equally rewarding with large trout hitting shrimp under a popping cork rig and the redfish cannot resist a gold spoon.


PANAMA CITY OFFSHORE AND INSHORE
Red Snapper season is finally here and there are some huge ones being caught! All you have to do is get over some structure and drop down your favorite bait and game on! Once you have your limit of Snapper, drop a big live (or frozen) bait down and you might get some Grouper. It has to be big though to avoid the Snapper. The Amberjack are still biting well on any of your larger wrecks and bridge spans, the deeper the better. The King mackerel bite has been very good, use deep diving plugs or dusters to troll for the Kings or free line a live bait while drifting. Beeliners, Triggerfish and White Snapper (Porgy) can still help you to fill the box, try in the 120 ft range and use frozen squid. Keep your eyes open for some Mahi Mahi on any weed lines or floating debris, they can be a nice addition to your day out on the water. There have been some large Threadfin Herring as well as Cigar minnows in and around the pass (great offshore baits), Sabikis will catch all you need. It is a short Snapper season unfortunately so don’t miss out, get out there and get ‘em up!



Picture sent in by Capt. Marc Sport Fishing Guide Service (850) 896-1201 June 8th, 2010 of a nice catch of Red Snapper, Black Snapper, & Amberjacks


ST. ANDREWS BAY SYSTEM
Spanish mackerel and Bluefish are still here, find some clean water on an incoming tide and or look for birds diving. Troll Clark Spoons or cast Gotcha Plugs and Spec rigs for them. Of course you will probably get “bycatch” of some Ladyfish but hey they make a good cut bait. Some good size Pompano are being caught along the beach. Daybreak and dusk are your better bites, you can sight cast pompano jigs tipped with your favorite bait, or use a surf rig to cast out and wait for them to find you. The Bull Reds and Black Drum are still being caught with live shrimp and pinfish around the jetties and bridges, even better baits would be LY’s or Pilchards. Lots of Speckled Trout and younger Redfish are moving onto the flats especially at daybreak. Use shrimp under a popping cork or free line a live minnow. Good numbers of Flounder are being caught, look for a mottled bottom (a mix of grass and sand). Shrimp and bull minnows make good baits as well as a Gulp! bait on a jig head. A good way to fish for Flounder is to retrieve them real slow on the bottom.

PANAMA CITY BEACH SURF & PIER
The King mackerel bite is very good, so long as you have bait schooling around the pier you will find Kings feeding. The windy days seem to be better than the calm days as far as action. Keep an eye on the game and fish forecast for your best times to fish, but don’t forget that the best time to fish could be, when you can go!!! Spanish mackerel, Sheepshead, Ladyfish, and Pompano are still a pretty good bet at the pier. Have not had any reports of Cobia being caught but some small ones have been seen cruising with schools of Tarpon. Surf fishing has been pretty good, you should find some Pompano, Whiting, Ladyfish, Spanish and you may hook into a Jack Crevalle or the occasional Redfish cruising the beach. There have been a lot of small Sharks getting caught too, so don’t forget the pliers!


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.