Panama City is squeezing the last juice out of red snapper season while the bay settles into its high-summer routine: trout at first light, Spanish at the pass, and a flounder here and there for the patient jetty crowd.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot this week: red snapper on the closer wrecks and bridge rubble in 60 to 120 feet, with limits still routine on morning runs before the season closes. Spanish mackerel are schooled at the mouth of St. Andrew Pass and along the beach on the glass-minnow schools. Speckled trout are steady over the grass in West Bay and around the airport flats at dawn, and redfish are trading along the jetty rocks and bay docks.
Where to Find Them
Snapper: the Stage wrecks and bridge spans get hit hard — the fish are there, but fresh numbers a few miles off produce the better grade. Spanish: the pass on the incoming, birds working. Trout: grass flats in 3 to 6 feet, topwater window ends by 8 a.m. Flounder are picking up on the channel edges near the jetties.
Tides & Conditions
Tides strengthen through the week toward the full moon — the pass will rip on the outgoing, which is when the jetty reds feed best. Gulf mornings have been slick early; afternoon storms are near-daily. Bay water is hot and clear.
Tackle & Tactics
Snapper: standard 60-pound bottom rigs, live cigar minnows outproducing frozen. Spanish: small silver spoons behind a short trace of wire, cast to the schools or trolled at speed. Trout: One Knocker-style topwaters at gray light, switching to a popping cork and shrimp when the sun gets up.
Local Intel This Week
The Carl Gray Park ramp and St. Andrews State Park ramp are the go-to launches, with the state park putting you two minutes from the pass and jetties. The jetty walk at St. Andrews is producing Spanish, reds, and the occasional flounder for shore anglers. Fish are concentrating around the pass and the bait schools. Check current FWC and NOAA regulations and season dates before keeping fish — snapper season rules change quickly.
The grass beds of the Grand Lagoon area are also giving up redfish and a few flounder for kayak anglers working the edges early — a shorter, protected option on days the Gulf looks questionable, and a good fallback once the snapper box is closed for the season.
This Week’s Tip
For jetty Spanish, retrieve that spoon faster than feels reasonable — then faster still. A mackerel will run down anything fleeing at full speed, but a slow spoon in clear water gets inspected and refused.