# Panama City surf fishing



## FishermanJoe5700 (Jun 12, 2003)

i have been going to Panama City for 5 years for Spring break and go fishing at St. Andrews State Park. catch Spanish with Gotcha's. but i want to know what the laws are about fishing in the surf outside the hotle. and what can be used to catch anything


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## paulyseggs (Feb 24, 2004)

was down in panama city last fall during the week of fishstock, never fished down there before, so i basically grabbed a med action spin rod with 10lb test a pockfull of egg sinkers and some hooks and went at it with bait, used 99percent shrimp and i;ve never personally caught that much of a diversity on one bait before in my life! i;m talkin from pompano to a 4ft shark, here;s the mental check list if your intrested
various sharks from 1 ft to 4ft
pompano
ladyfish 
tarpon all under 10lbs roughly
redfish
specks
sea cats << i didn;t even know catfish lived in the ocean!!
flounders
albacore also a first for me
various snappers
and a bunch of others i don;t even know mind you i;m from the northeast so i sat there with a sport fish of the gulf book in one hand and a fish in the other starin in wonder what i just got..

just my 2 cents 
pauly


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## Kozlow (Oct 25, 2002)

http://www.dto.com/swfishing/article.jsp?articleid=353

http://www.dto.com/swfishing/methods/method.jsp?Articleid=295&Articletypeid=125

Live Bait From the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.floridasaltwater.com/baitfish/index.htm

Bait Fish Identification
http://www.shrimpin.com/bait_fish_identification.htm

Salt Water Species Guide
http://www.totalfishingadventures.com/fishindex.html

FISHING LICENSES
http://floridaconservation.org/fishing/license.html

http://www.floridatoday.com/sections/recreation/fishinfo.htm

Saltwater Limits 

http://home.cfl.rr.com/floridafishing/guide.htm

Temperature range by species
http://home.cfl.rr.com/floridafishing/temp.htm

Live Bait Wrap-up

There are many other small fish that can be used as live bait in salt water -- several varieties of pinfish, killifish, mutton minnows, chubs and any other fish that fits the size of the bait that you want. Also, remember this: if you try a new bait alive and nothing seems to want to eat it, you can be very successful by filleting it and using it as a cut chunk or strip bait. 

Baitfish are seasonal; therefore I’ll often cast net baits like mullet and menhaden when they’re abundant, then freeze them for use during the winter. Most of the baitfish are gone then, and your fresh-frozen bait will be of better quality than most of the frozen stuff you buy in the tackle stores. To maintain the quality of your soon-to-be frozen bait, do it like this: Soak it overnight in a brine solution of two pounds of salt to a five gallon bucket of sea water, well iced down. Freeze it the next day in Ziplock bags (2-3 pounds of bait per bag), to make it easy to use on future trips. If you don’t care to go to this much trouble, then freeze the bait immediately - it will still be superior to most store-bought frozen bait. Most of the pre-rigged frozen baits are very costly for what you’re getting - we see very few of them around this area.


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## FirstShot (Feb 22, 2002)

You'll need a non-resident license to fish the surf. As you know, the beaches will be crowded during spring break. Try fishing early mornings. Pompano are the most fished in the spring surf. Try fresh caught sand fleas on dropper rigs. If you cant get fleas, fresh(not frozen) peeled shrimp will sometimes do. When the surf lays down you can walk the beach and sight cast with pompano jigs. Tipping your jig with a small sand flea or tiny piece of shrimp helps. If the pompano dont cooperate the whiting and skipjacks may keep you busy. Good luck!


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## FishermanJoe5700 (Jun 12, 2003)

thnaks for all the input it is going to really help! how do i know there will be bait fish when using cast net?


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