PANAMA CITY BEACH

[littlejohn]

I will be in PCB 25 Oct. Have not fished this area for over 50 years. Looking for information on what I can expect to catch in the surf at this time of the year. What baits/lures to use? Should I fish deep or in the surf? Any info that will help me catch fish will be appreciated.

[wevans]

Chalk will be along eventually and give ya some words of wisdom welll, some words anyhow

[Juan]

The flounder are picking up, you should pick up a few of them using just about anything dragged across the bottom.

[leonreno]

I would skip the surf and hit the new city pier, the spanish and king mackerel should be running good along with ladyfish, bluefish, redfish, and maybe flounder. For spanish, bluefish, and ladyfish I would use a "bubble rig" or "straw rig". Its the go to rig there. Its a clear casting bubble with a two to three foot leader behind it (50lb mono) and a straw or Clark spoon, (sizes 00 - 1/0) I prefer the clark spoon. The straw is just that a three inch section of drinking straw with a #4 or #6 treble hook behind it. You cast it out and reel it in as fast as you can, a high speed spinning reel is a must. Check with half hitch tackle and they can set you up. For King Mackerel you need a wire leader (single strand) with a 4x #2 treble hook (hook size maybe wrong) and either use live bait (LYs, cigar minnows) or frozen bait (cigar minnows) and cast out and if live let the bait do its thing, if frozen let it sink for a little while and then give it a slight jerk now and again. You will need a larger spinning reel setup for kings 5000 - 7000 size. The spanish need a 3500 -4000 size spinning reel. You can use the bubble rig on the beach also when the ladyfish and bluefish get in close, usually early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Also, the surf should have a good number of Pompano I believe this time of year, but I don't know the ins and outs of pompano fishing, usually live or dead shirmp/sand fleas on a two hook rig with weight will work as I have read, you can buy "Pompano rigs" at Half Hitch tackle. You can also buy the King Mackerel rig there also I believe.

[littlejohn]

Thanks for the reply. That sounds a lot like it was when I last fished there, around 58. Iknow the fishimg would be better off of the pier, but my time will be limited and i'm hoping to do some fishing off the beach in front of the motel.

Thanks again.