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Panama City Beach Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Panama City Beach: a Gulf beach town with the 1,500-foot Russell-Fields City Pier and the jetties of St. Andrews State Park at the pass.

St. Andrews State Park closed. Florida State Parks shows St. Andrews State Park closed from 7 October 2026 for Tropical Storm Isaias. Source, read October 8, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 9:32 PM
Air / High
78 / 78 F
Wind
NE 8 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8729152, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Panama City Beach offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 78. Tides: high 10:19 AM and 9:32 PM, low 4:39 AM and 2:02 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

BluefishExcellent

Warming water pushes the schools north along the coast. Casting spoons and poppers into bait and chunking menhaden are the usual approaches; use a wire or heavy leader every time.

Tomorrow: Similar at 74 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Florida requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Florida licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing redfish (red drum) here? Check the size and bag limits with FWC before you keep anything. The season dates for Florida, read off the agency, are on the Florida seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8729152 (Panama City (Alligator Bayou)). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW4:39 AM0.9 ft
HIGH10:19 AM1.0 ft
LOW2:02 PM1.0 ft
HIGH9:32 PM1.3 ft
Sat
LOW5:55 AM0.6 ft
HIGH9:32 PM1.5 ft

Panama City Beach tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low78 / 55 F
WindNE 8-10 mph
Pressure1020.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:50 / 18:03
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Panama City Beach this week

The best day on Panama City Beach this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:46 PM-11:46 PM
Minor period
3:40 AM-4:40 AM
Sun
06:50 to 18:03
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Panama City Beach: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Peak harvest: May-Oct, most in Jul-Aug (NOAA)

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) are sharp-toothed schooling predators that move up and down the Atlantic coast with the seasons and feed in surface blitzes on menhaden, silversides and squid. Warming water pushes the schools north along the coast. Casting spoons and poppers into bait and chunking menhaden are the usual approaches; use a wire or heavy leader every time.

When to come: the Panama City Beach calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Bluefish
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Panama City Beach today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Florida saltwater fishing license, or the no-cost Annual Saltwater Shoreline License for Florida residents fishing from shore or from structures reached on foot (FWC rules on eRegulations, updated July 16, 2026). Anglers on a pier that holds a pier saltwater fishing license are exempt.

Access

Russell-Fields City Pier, 16201 Front Beach Road: $7 daily fishing fee in October 2026, bait shop closed per the city. St. Andrews State Park, 4607 State Park Lane: $8 per vehicle, boat ramp on Grand Lagoon; closed from Oct. 7, 2026 for Tropical Storm Isaias.

About this water

Gulf beach town in Bay County, FL, between the Gulf and St. Andrew Bay.

Fishing Panama City Beach: the full guide

Russell-Fields City Pier

The City of Panama City Beach runs the Russell-Fields City Pier across from the main entrance to Pier Park. It is over 1,500 feet long and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and the city lists cobia, king and Spanish mackerel, redfish, bluefish, pompano, flounder, sheepshead and grouper among the fish caught in season. City pier passes are also honored at the M.B. Miller County Pier.

St. Andrews State Park

Florida State Parks describes jetty and surf fishing at St. Andrews, with the fishing piers and jetty rocks fished year-round, and lists Spanish mackerel, redfish, flounder, sea trout, bonito, cobia and bluefish among the catches. A boat ramp and fishing pier are on Grand Lagoon, the beach runs more than 1.5 miles, and spearfishing is not allowed in the park.

Storm closure

Florida State Parks posted that, effective Oct. 7, 2026, St. Andrews State Park and its overnight accommodations were closed because of Tropical Storm Isaias. Check the park page before you go.

Common questions

How long is the Russell-Fields City Pier?

Over 1,500 feet, according to the City of Panama City Beach, and it is open around the clock all year.

Do I need a fishing license on the pier?

Florida exempts anglers on a pier that holds a pier saltwater fishing license. Otherwise you need a saltwater license, or the no-cost shoreline license if you are a Florida resident fishing from shore or a structure reached on foot.

Is St. Andrews State Park open?

It was closed effective Oct. 7, 2026 because of Tropical Storm Isaias; check Florida State Parks for reopening.

Is fishing good at Panama City Beach right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Choctawhatchee Bay36 miDestin44 miApalachicola Bay59 miNavarre65 miLake Seminole74 miLake Talquin75 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8729152 β€” Panama City (Alligator Bayou)
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 8 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 30.1760, -85.8050 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.