Updated: Thursday, August 13, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, August 20, 2026
This Panama City fishing report covers mid-August, the back half of summer on the bay. The Gulf lays down most mornings before the sea breeze fills in, and the bay runs near 90 by afternoon. Spanish mackerel blowing through bait on St. Andrew Pass are the lead target and the easiest fish in the region. Fish sit where the current is, at the pass, the jetties and the nearshore structure, and the new moon at the end of the week makes that current considerably stronger.
What’s Hitting
Spanish mackerel blow through the bait on the pass and along the beaches at first light. Bottom fishing on the nearshore reefs turns up vermilion snapper, triggerfish and gag grouper, with season status varying by species. Flounder sit on the jetty rocks and the sandy edges around the pass.
Inshore, speckled trout use the deeper grass at dawn and redfish work the bars in West Bay and North Bay. A few kingfish hang on the nearshore towers on the calmer days, and ladyfish mix with the Spanish along the beach.
Where to Find Them
St. Andrew Pass and both jetties are the highest-percentage water this week. The grass flats in West Bay and the shoreline around Shell Island hold trout and reds early, before the sun drives them to deeper grass.
Nearshore, the public artificial reefs in 60 to 100 feet are the bottom fishing structure. Beach anglers should look for Spanish and ladyfish in the first trough at sunrise, where bait pushes tight to the sand.
Tides & Conditions
Expect bay water from 87 to 90 degrees and the Gulf in the mid-80s. New-moon tides bring the biggest exchange of the month through the pass, which concentrates bait and predators along the jetty rocks. Morning seas run 1 to 2 feet and build past noon with daily thunderstorms. Water clarity in the pass is good on the incoming and stained on a hard outgoing after rain, so save your lure fishing for the incoming.
Tackle & Tactics
- Spanish: small silver spoons and casting jigs on 20-pound braid with a short 30-pound fluorocarbon leader. Skip wire unless you are losing too many fish, since wire cuts the bite in clear water.
- Flounder: a live bull minnow or a finger mullet fished slowly along the rocks on a quarter-ounce jighead.
- Bottom fish: 60- to 80-pound leader and fresh cut bait on a knocker rig offshore.
- Trout: soft plastics on a light jighead, or live shrimp under a cork.
Local Intel This Week
The Carl Gray Park and Massalina Bayou ramps are the practical launches for the pass and the bay. The St. Andrews State Park jetty gives excellent shore access to the pass, so walk-in anglers can fish the same rocks as the boats. Concentrate along the jetty rocks and the pass edges rather than spreading through the open bay.
Federal Gulf seasons for snapper, grouper and triggerfish shift through the summer, and state inshore rules change too. Check current FWC and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On the jetty rocks, work your flounder bait with the current rather than against it. Cast up-tide, keep just enough contact to feel the bottom, and let the bait roll along the sand at the base of the rock. Flounder are ambush feeders and they will not chase a bait dragged uphill.
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