Panama City Beach, FL Fishing

Welcome to our Panama City Beach, FL Fishing Home Page

Panama City is a very popular vacation destination.  While most people think of Panama City as a wild spring break destination, there is plenty to do here for the whole family and it calms down tremendously after the college students’ spring break.  Panama City, covered with 27 miles of beaches, is absolutely beautiful.  There are many attractions and outdoor activities available.  Snorkeling, diving, boating and fishing are just a few of the popular water sports.

As far as the fishing goes, there are many options in Panama City, Florida.  There are plenty of fishing charters available for some outstanding inshore and offshore fishing.  Surf fishing is available as well as pier fishing.  In this area, anglers target redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and many other species of fish inshore. Offshore, grouper and snapper are most popular when they are in season.  Cobia, amberjack, wahoo, blackfin tuna, kingfish, dolphin, sailfish, marlin and many other fish are available offshore depending on the season.

Fishing Reports

Inshore Fishing

The Panama City area offers some excellent inshore fishing. There are several bays, some bridges, passes, creeks, docks and numerous flats to fish for many different species of fish. Most anglers will target redfish and sea trout inshore, but you may also catch sheepshead, ladyfish, pompano, jack crevalle, black drum and many others. The tides play a huge role in whether or not you will catch fish inshore. Moving water is key for most species of fish and the slack tide usually provides the worst fishing conditions for most fish.

Learn more on our Panama City Beach Inshore Fishing page.

Nearshore Fishing

Anglers can find several species of fish in the nearshore waters of the Panama City Beach area. Tarpon and cobia get a lot of attention here when they are in the area. Fishing from spring through fall will give you the best chance to catch fish nearshore because there are more species of fish in this area during these months. Some of the other fish that you can catch nearshore are grouper, snapper, kingfish, Spanich mackerel and more.

Deep Sea / Offshore Fishing

The Panama City Beach area offers some very good fishing offshore. This is a popular destination for fishing offshore, so you should be able to find plenty of fishing charters to choose from to plan your fishing trip. There are plenty of offshore structures that will hold many different species of fish. The target species will vary depending on the seasons, but some of the popular fish that are caught offshore are grouper, snapper, cobia, amberjack, king mackerel, barracuda, sharks and others.

Learn more on our Panama City Beach Deep Sea Fishing page.

Shore Fishing

Pier Fishing

The Panama City Beach area gives anglers tons of options if they don’t have access to a boat. The Russell-Fields Pier and M.B. Miller Pier, often referred to as the City Pier and the County Pier, are very popular piers to fish. Both of these piers extend out into the Gulf of Mexico and they give anglers an opportunity to fish for a variety of fish including some very big fish. Some of the fish that you can catch off these piers are tarpon, tuna, king mackerel, cobia, mahi mahi, redfish, bonito, jack cravelle, Spanish mackerel, whiting, bluefish and pompano. St. Andrews State Park also offers 2 fishing piers. The Tiller Pier is on the Gulf side and the other fishing pier gives anglers access to the calmer waters of Grand Lagoon.

Surf Fishing

Fishing from the surf is very popular along the beaches here, however, the beaches can definitely get crowded here during the peak season. In the popular areas, when the beaches are crowded, you may have to get out early in the morning if you want to fish the surf. From the surf, anglers usually target whiting, pompano and redfish, but depending on the season, you may also be able to catch spanish mackerel, black drum, flounder, sheepshead, sharks and other species of fish.

Learn about the best spots to fish Panama City Beach, Florida from shore.

Bait & Tackle

Boat Launches