Panama City fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. The beach has been the place to be this week. Spanish mackerel are tearing through bait along the shoreline every morning, the bull reds have settled into St. Andrews Pass, and the first flounder of the fall are showing along the jetties. It is a busy, productive week on the Panhandle.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot is Spanish mackerel. Schools of 2 to 4-pound fish are blitzing glass minnows along Panama City Beach and around the Russell-Fields Pier and the M.B. Miller Pier at first light, with bluefish and ladyfish mixed in. Bull redfish are in St. Andrews Pass and along the jetties on the moving tide. Kingfish are on the bait schools and the nearshore wrecks in 50 to 90 feet, and flounder are beginning to stack up on the sandy edges of the jetty rocks and the pass. Inside St. Andrew Bay, trout and slot reds are steady on the grass flats and around the docks and bridges. Red snapper are still steady on the nearshore reefs for those fishing the state-waters fall season.
Where to Find Them
Spanish are wherever the birds are along the beach, and around both piers in the first two hours of light. Bull reds are on the channel edges and jetty rocks of St. Andrews Pass, best on the falling tide. Kings are on the bait schools off the beach and the nearshore reefs and wrecks; look for slicks and diving birds. Flounder are on the sandy bottom right against the jetty rocks and along the pass edges. Trout and reds are on the grass flats of West Bay and North Bay early and around the Hathaway Bridge lights at night.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides this week between the moons, with a single main daily swing on the Gulf and the morning outgoing setting up the pass bite. Gulf water is in the low to mid-80s and clear, seas have been 1 to 2 feet most mornings with a light north wind, and the afternoon storm risk has eased. Bay water is clearing after the summer rains.
Tackle & Tactics
For Spanish, a Gotcha plug, a small silver spoon, or a straw rig on a long-shank hook with a fast retrieve; 20-pound fluorocarbon or a light wire leader saves plugs. Bull reds want a live or cut menhaden, mullet, or crab on a 7/0 circle hook with a fish-finder rig and 3 to 4 ounces of weight. Kings want slow-trolled live cigar minnows or hardtails on a wire stinger rig, or spoons behind planers. For flounder, a live bull minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig or a bucktail bounced slowly along the bottom.
Local Intel This Week
The St. Andrews State Park ramp is the closest launch to the pass and jetties, with the Carl Gray Park ramp and the Earl Gilbert Park ramp serving St. Andrew Bay. Shore anglers are doing well from the St. Andrews jetty for reds and flounder and from the Russell-Fields and M.B. Miller piers for Spanish and kings. Fish are concentrating along the beach around the bait and at the pass on the outgoing tide. Bull reds over the slot must be released; check current FWC and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish, including red snapper.
This Week’s Tip
When the Spanish are blitzing, retrieve faster than feels reasonable. Mackerel key on speed, and a plug that is barely moving gets ignored while one skipping across the surface gets slammed. If you are getting cut off, go to a longer plug or add a short trace of wire.
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