Panama City Fishing Report — May 2025
Full spring season underway in Panama City.
Inshore & Nearshore Fishing
Seatrout and redfish excellent on the flats. Spanish mackerel nearshore. Flounder in the passes and bay channels.
Offshore Fishing
King mackerel excellent. Red snapper season June 1. Mahi possible.
Top Techniques This Month
Flounder: Drift the East Pass with a bucktail-Gulp combination at 0.5–1 mph.
Fishing Outlook
Excellent.
Regulations
Flounder: 12″ minimum. Verify current regulations at state fishing regulations.
Plan Your Trip
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Inshore: Full Spring Peak
May in Panama City is when the inshore fishery hits its absolute spring peak. Water temps have climbed into the mid-70s and every inshore species is feeding hard. Speckled trout are crushing topwaters on the grass flats of St. Andrews Bay at first light — Spook Jr in bone or black-back, MirrOlure Top Dog, or any walk-the-dog plug. After the topwater window closes, soft plastics on a 1/8 oz jighead. Live shrimp under a popping cork is the foolproof option for steady slot-trout action. Trophy gator trout over 25 inches are getting caught daily — the West Bay area is particularly known for big fish this month.
Redfish, Flounder Building
Redfish are spread across the flats from the Hathaway Bridge area through the back of West Bay. Tailing fish on calm mornings at low tide near the oyster bars and grass edges — sight-casting with gold spoons or weedless soft plastics is the move. Cut mullet on a fishfinder rig near the rocks at the pass is the easy bull-redfish approach. Flounder are building in the channels and back of the bridges — live bull minnows or finger mullet bounced on a 3/8 oz jighead near structure. Numbers will build through summer and peak in fall, but May is when the first quality fish show up.
Snapper Countdown, Pompano on Beach
Two-plus weeks to the June 1 federal red snapper opener. The reefs and wrecks in 80–120 feet are loaded with fish — boats are running scouting trips to mark productive structure now so they’re ready on opener day. Vermilion snapper (open year-round) are an excellent backup target. Pompano are running on the beach — sand fleas and FishBites on a pompano rig at the last hour of incoming tide. Spanish mackerel are blitzing on bait pods along the beach all day.
Conditions, Regulations, Hotspots
Water temps 73–76°F. Florida saltwater license required. Federal red snapper opens June 1 — get your free reef fish endorsement now. Spotted seatrout slot 15–19 inches with 5-fish bag, one over 19 allowed. Redfish slot 18–27 inches with 1-fish bag. Flounder 14-inch minimum, 5-fish bag (Gulf). Pompano 11-inch minimum, 6-fish bag. Hotspots: St. Andrews Bay grass flats at dawn, West Bay for trophy trout, the Hathaway Bridge pilings for redfish and the first flounder, the inshore reefs at 80–120 ft for snapper scouting, the pier for Spanish all day. Tight lines.