Florida Fishing Report for Panama City & Destin

The south winds and warm temperatures have moved the cobia in early this year. Many were caught by mid-March and this trend should continue up through May. The spanish have moved in with limits being caught daily. Bubble rigs are best with "Neckz" rubber tubing instead of straw. Another good bait is the small "Gotchas!" and the new "Tsunami's" now carried in our store. If you don't know how to rig these or need to learn the most efficient way, stop by the store and let our experienced staff show you. Pompano have been caught since January to the west in the deeper holes using shrimp and the run is underway for jigging along the beach. All the reports point to much bigger fish than in past years. The trout are moving back onto the flats along with the reds. We pulled up to a pier in the middle of the bay a couple of days ago expecting to catch reds but ended up catching about 30 trout. Free lining shrimp is your best bet through mid-May although as it warms up top water plugs such as the Yozuri "Banana Boat" are great. Soft plastics are also good from now until the end of the summer with the Exude "Baby Bass" being the number one bait last year. Basically everything is happening now. If you go out and don't catch fish one of two things needs to happen; either come by the store and get some expert advice or give your equipment away and take up golf. Don't forget to pray for the men and women serving our country. As we all get to go fishing some of our brothers and sisters are putting their lives on the line so we can live with the freedom to go fishing when we want. God Bless AmericaJP