BACKCOUNTRY / BAY / INSHORE: April is a great time of year to be out on our area bays and coastal waters, fishing in Panama City Beach. The water and air temps are up and all the little critters are busy doing their spring thing. As for the anglers in the area, they have been doing their “spring thing” for a month. Cobia fishing has been good and all the usual bait suspects are producing well. Eels, pin fish, white baits, crabs, and mullet are getting the job done, but if you are an artificial fan, there are plenty of hand tied jigs to be purchased at your local tackle shop. Lots of oranges and reds have been getting plenty of attention from those cobia. April is a great month for almost all the popular inshore species. The sheepshead are covering all the rock/ trash piles and jetties. All that is needed is a small hook with a piece of shrimp, a short leader, and a small weight to get them in the boat. It’s a great time for the beginner angler because they are plentiful and they pull hard. The Speckled trout are out on the grass flats and eating well, smashing top water lures at daylight and dusk, and chasing soft plastics and spoons the rest of the time. Of course you can’t go wrong with live bait either! The redfish action has also been hot with plenty of large schools working the shallow flats as well as the deeper holes and in the pass. Like trout, redfish will take most of the same baits and presentations with gusto. The Spanish mackerel and blue fish have been plentiful and are also very easy to catch for the beginner. Just troll a “Christmas tree rig” or spoon and it will be all you need. Some good King mackerel are also being caught. The whiting are showing up in good numbers in the surf, and the piers are reporting some good catches of both whiting and cobia as well as some big redfish cruising the beach.
OFFSHORE: There are plenty of fish to be caught offshore, but everyone seems to be waiting on Red snapper season to open. That being said, get out in the gulf and get to work, there have been great catches of Red grouper, amberjack, scamp, beeliners, and cobia on the wrecks as well as many other popular species. Be sure to check the ever changing regulations!
Spring is in the air again, so load up your family and friends and get them out on the water. These are the memories they won’t forget, and it will be all your fault if you don’t get out there!
You’re welcome!