Panama City Beach Fishing Report for June 2024*
Welcome back to another summer fishing season in Panama City Beach. Summer still remains to be the busiest time of year for almost all our charter fishing captains all along the Gulf Coast. While weather conditions have been rather rough with lots of wind and heavy current the past few weeks, June typically provides more ideal conditions for being out on the water. Both inshore and offshore fishing charters are typically great this time of year, fisherman can expect a short afternoon rain storm at any point. Planning ahead and booking a trip earlier in your stay will allow for ample opportunity to get the job done.
Inshore
In the Panama City Beach area, redfish and trout remain consistent throughout the month of June. The fish are tend to hang around dock and bridge structure around the Highway 98 and North Bay bridge areas, but a lot of the action is happening out on the flats and should continue to do so. Keep in mind that, during the hot summer months, redfish and trout typically react well to top water plugs in the early morning and evening hours. Any grass flats around small islands in the bay are excellent spots to start. Catch rates have reportedly been high, but the numbers of keepers in the slots are low. Be sure to keep up to date with MyFWC to know the size and bag limits.
Nearshore and Offshore
Across the majority of the Gulf Coast and Panama City Beach included, the end of May and June has the arrival of Sargassum grass near shore and on the beaches. While this is unsightly to many beach goers, Gulf Coast Sportsmen should see this as a great opportunity for good numbers of Mahi Mahi and possibly cobia. Anglers should find the grass lines nearshore and pitch Sea Striker Spoons, or a variety of other hard retrieval lures to kick up a feeding frenzy. Mahi have been ranging from small “chicken” dolphin to others over thirty pounds. It’s also possible to find some blackfin tuna, wahoo, and tripletail lingering around the grass lines as well. Be cause this time of year does offer a variety of offshore opportunity be sure to let your captain know if you have a particular goal in mind.
Piers and Beaches
Much like years past in Panama City Beach, the last few weeks have seen some rather rough surf conditions near the beaches and piers. we do expect these conditions to clam down as the month progresses. There have been some reports of lingering cobia between Panama City Beach but the main catch has been Pompano and whiting. Using your normal pompano rigs with either cut up fish gum, shrimp, or sand fleas will continue to produce fish. Anglers must note, that the amount of Sargassum in the area can affect fishing in the surf. It is always hard to predict when this phenomena may occur. Look for more open areas from the beach with less grass to get better results. Additionally, due to the rougher surf conditions make sure you rig your pompano rigs with weight that digs in to the sand for a better anchor for the bait.
If your planning a trip to the Panama City Beach area and are trying to determine what type of trip may suit you best simply give us a call. Here at Intercoastal Safaris we work with a small group of hand selected guides that give us feedback as to what’s really going on in both the gulf as well as the inshore waterways.
