New to fishing in panacea area, please help!

[antoni]

I'm going to enter the rock the docks kayak tournament at rock landing marina may 22. it's my first tourney and it's in panacea. i do drive through panacea when going to sgi but i never fished there. How is the fishing there for trout, reds and flounder? i'm a complete noob to panacea.

I love to fish extensive oyster reefs/sand bars/spoil bars and good lush flats. Are there some good large oyster reef/sand bars and spoil islands around panacea? Are there any cuts/inlets to speak of? how about seawalls and private docks?

How is the Bald point, aligator point, st teresa and mashes sands? not sure how far they are from panacea though? I have fished bald point a couple times but didn't do that well. the area is beautiful though. looks perfect for reds but never saw any around.

just trying to find an area that has clear water with oyster/sand/spoil bars and good lush grass flats within range of kayak.

I would appreciate any advice or tips for fishing panacea from kayak
I'm a catch and release guy. I plan on bringing a mesh dive bag to keep my fish alive and release them after weigh in.
thanks, antoni

[caseycook]

Simple solution: fish the area you know and drive to the weigh-in. Just because the weigh-in's in Panacea doesn't mean you have to fish there. Go where you know and your chances of being successful are far greater. Or you could just look for FlounderPounder and follow his entourage.

[Jhults11]

Their may be no tourney. There will be a mandated closure to recreational and commercial gulf fisherman by mid month. This oil spill is going to "F" everything up big time. Mabey this will help change their mind about offshore drilling off the coast of FLa.

[antoni]

that's awsome news. becasue i don't know panacea well. i know of bald point but that's about it. I know shell point pretty well. fairly easy to get a slam if it's still the same. miles very healthy grass flats and a huge oyster barrier reefs out on the open flats. but fishing there is a full day in a kayak. it it s a two day tournament so i could also hit another area the next day but i do want to stick to the panacea/carrebelle area.

Have you fished around carrebelle? you know the bay road that goes along the bay in carrebelle. i think it's hwy 98 but not sure. driving along the road you can see waves flapping against the bars and shoreline stumps. every time i drive that road i wonder how the fishing is out there. is the traffic a problem? do the fish get spooked from the road traffic? looks like pretty good shallows.

[Jumptrout51]

Their may be no tourney. There will be a mandated closure to recreational and commercial gulf fisherman by mid month.

And you know this how?

[BullHound]

Just read that the closure is to the Pensacola Bay. The FWC website is posting updates constantly. One article said that it will eventually spread throughout the gulf but no one can be sure of the damage. In the meantime it's going to take 7-10 days for the "cap" to be ready to stop the leak. That seems like a LONG time.

[Jumptrout51]

I just found this on FWC site.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhor ... osures.htm

As of 2 minutes ago there are no closures.

[Jhults11]

Here it is Jt. http://www.abc26.com/news/local/wgno-ne ... ?track=rss
Its all over the news as well. 10 day minimum to assess the situation.

[flounderpounder]

Or you could just look for FlounderPounder and follow his entourage.

Easy there bud.

[Jumptrout51]

Yes,there was a minor reference to Federal waters on the FWC site up to Pensacola.

[Jhults11]

Its only going to get closer, thus a closure for our water is sure to follow !

[antoni]

Hey flounderpounder, work with me man... i really have a new appreciation for flounder. founderpounder your my new best friend are you into kayak fishing too?

shell point is a good goto beach for big trout and a few reds but it's not a place where the reds are everywhere. you may get a couple morning tails and a few oyster dwellers but it's not a place i have really gotten into reds. but shell point can become blown out really quick and the water sports crowd show up by lunch time. I could fish both days at shell point but i will need a backup spot for sure. all suggestions are very welcome.

I'm looking for a area that i can launch a kayak and get into fish without a long tiring, time eating paddle out and get into some slot reds. I've been searching for spots on the web.
carrabelle beach, lanark village, marsh point and green point etc.. are there good flats/oyster bars along hwy98? looks like a good shore flats along that stretch if i remember right.

[Talltails]

Dude! There are bars and flats with all three species of fish on them along our entire coast from Keaton Beach to Panama City. I have kayak fished and explored a good majority of these areas. Highway 98 is littered with assorted public launches and boat ramps. Get out on the water, spend some time with it and you'll find the fish

[antoni]

OK, talltails that is actually good advice. hwy98 flats sound pretty good. I think i have a solid plan together. i gotta stock up on gold spoons and sebile plugs. one thing is for sure....power pro has to go!! had nothing but probs with it in sgi a couple weeks ago. i did have a spare spool of mono for backup, thankfully. Can you recommend a good "reliable" braid that works well with spinning reels and is low on guides contact noise?

[fishinfool]

Don't ask Tall tails for advise on something to replace Power Pro. That is all he uses. I switched to Power Pro this year from mono and I like it. If you are using it on spinning gear and having problems with wind knots, then you might be putting too much on. Also when you close your bail do it manually, NOT by turning the handle. Doing it by turning the handle will put a 1/2 twist in the line each time you do it. After 50 casts that is 25 twists in the line and it does not take long for that to cause problems. By paying out 75 to 100 yards of line behind the boat and reeling it in under moderate tension, will remove the twists and should greatly reduce your knotting problems.
If you insist on using mono then I would suggest Suffix Seige. Great cast-ability and low memory. Good knot strength and abrasion resistance.
Good luck in finding some new places to fish. There is no better teacher than experience. Also this is a good place to get some tips, but I would not expect people to give you the coordinates to their honey holes.
FF