Fishing Panama City in July is best described as, Beat the Heat. The soaring temps can make fishing tough during this month; however you can still be productive on the water. In St. Joe Bay, focus on the deeper grass flats and pot holes scattered throughout the bay when fishing for trout, flounder, and redfish. South of Blacks Island and north of Eagle Harbor, towards the state park, is a great place to start. Usually in depths of 6-8 feet of water is where you will find the majority of your bites. Live bite works best because fish are looking to be less active and feed on larger baits that will fill them up quicker. Live alewives and/or pinfish are the baits of choice. These can be fished free-lined under a popping cork using a longer mono leader, about 18-20 inches, and 2/0 circle hook. Baits can also be soaked on the bottom using a Carolina rig with a 1/2 ounce egg sinker. Your first 2 hours of daylight and the last hour of light in the evening is usually the best bet using your favorite artificial baits, because fish will be a bit more active as the temperatures cool down. As the sun gets up and temps rise, the fish will move into those deeper holes. For East Bay in Panama City use the same style of fishing during July. Focus on depths around 5-8 feet over those last few grass beds. Also, the trout will tend to congregate over some of the deeper oyster bars dotting the bay. Most of them are in depths 8-15 feet, so add a little more weight to get down to those fish and stay away from the ladyfish lurking about. Remember to apply sun block as often as possible and drink plenty of fluids during those scorching dog days of summer.
Tight lines and Good luck!
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