This week out of Panama City, the offshore boats are still coming home with red snapper, the bay is producing trout and redfish in the cool early hours, and the jetties at St. Andrews are covering everything in between. It’s peak summer fishing — just get it done before the storms build.
What’s Hitting
Red snapper remain the main offshore draw, with limits still coming off the wrecks and reefs in 90 to 140 feet, though the fish are getting choosier by the week. Kingfish are around the buoys and the nearshore bait, mangrove snapper have stacked up on the St. Andrews jetties, and inside the bay the speckled trout are feeding early over the grass with redfish pushing the shorelines. A few tarpon are sliding down the beach for the boats looking for them.
Where to Find Them
The better snapper have moved to the deeper, less-pressured numbers — if the spot has a crowd, the fish are educated. Trout want the grass flats in West Bay and North Bay in 3 to 6 feet at dawn. The jetty snapper feed best on the middle of the tide.
Tides & Conditions
Strong mid-July tides are pushing clean Gulf water through the pass on the incoming, which is when the jetties fish best. Seas have been kind most mornings — 2 feet or less until the sea breeze arrives.
Tackle & Tactics
Take both a knocker rig and a light carolina rig to the snapper grounds — when the standard drop goes quiet, the long fluorocarbon leader keeps producing. Bay trout are eating topwaters early, then popping-cork shrimp once the sun gets up. For jetty snapper, a live shrimp bounced along the rocks on a light jighead is the play.
Local Intel This Week
The St. Andrews State Park ramp, Carl Gray Park by the university, and the Panama City Marina ramp are the main public launches this week. Fish are concentrating on the deeper offshore structure, the jetties on the incoming tide, and the bay grass at dawn. Red snapper season dates and bag rules differ between state and federal waters — check current FWC and NOAA regulations before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
When the snapper get finicky on a pressured wreck, kill the chum and go smaller and stealthier: one small, lively bait on the lightest lead you can hold bottom with. A single natural-looking presentation beats a chum slick full of suspicious fish.