By Carrie Stambaugh
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.
The vacations my husband Carl and I prefer to take are typically marked by almost continuous travel around a central geographic area. We explore a different locale by day and sleep at another each night.
This year we took a more traditional-style family vacation to Panama City Beach, Fla. with my parents, sister Katie, and her boyfriend, Nick.
We shared a three-bedroom condo in the Gulf Highlands Resort – across busy Back Beach Road from the Gulf of Mexico – for a week, marking the first time we’ve stayed in one place for an entire trip!
But don’t get me wrong – the week was jam-packed with outdoor excursions. We are not a lie-around-and-sleep-on-the-beach-all-day kind of couple. Nope, we’re way to pale and restless for that.
To satisfy our craving for some vacation angling, we ventured to nearby St. Andrews State Park several times during the week. The park is the crown jewel of Panama City Beach in my opinion. A former military reserve turned public park, it boasts the same emerald green waters and sugar white sand beaches that make PCB a top vacation destination but lacks the crowds. It is possible to throw a line in the water here without hooking another tourist.
And did I mention the fishing is always fun?
Surf Fishing
Our poles and tackle box almost always get packed for vacation regardless of where we go. For surf fishing, we take our larger and longer “catfish rods,” which generally have 12-16 pound test on them. This year, I purchased a new Shakespeare rod and reel combo (in Kentucky Blue and White!) while in PCB, which came with 20 lbs test. We rigged our lines with No. 1 hooks and one ounce sinkers to help hold it in place in the surf.
Florida saltwater fishing licenses are required for residents and non-residents. We bought three day licenses for $17.00 each. Also available are seven day license for $30 or a one-year license for $47.
We picked our licenses (and some additional hooks and sinkers) up at the Half Hitch Tackle where we also loaded up with a new minnow bucket and four dozen live shrimp before heading to the park.
Entry into St. Andrews is $8 per carload. For non-campers the park is open from dawn to dusk. In addition to campgrounds, picnic pavilions, showers and restroom facilities, and a snack bar, the park offers two piers and a boat ramp, which are open to fisherman.
We prefer to cast from along the mile and half stretch of beach, often combining fishing and with good-old fashion ocean floating.
Skipjack were our most frequently caught fish here. They put up a terrific fight, often jumping over waves on the way in, making for some exhilarating vacation fishing. They travel in large schools and when they are biting it’s hard to keep bait on your line.
Salt water catfish and a variety of sharks were also frequent catches from the shoreline in St. Andrews.
Just down the coastline from Panama City – a pleasant 90 mile drive – is another one of our favorite Florida state park fishing destinations. The Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park. Another former military reservation, the park is just a few minutes outside Apalachicola and directly across Apalachicola Bay from the Hell Tate’s State Forest.
The area is beautiful, free from crowds and is in the beating heart of Florida’s oyster country. Can you say, yum?
Carl and I visited St. George on a trip to the region two years ago and spent several days camping here and fishing from the beach along St. George Island each dawn and dusk.
Either side of the island – ocean side or bay side – can be fished but we preferred the ocean side, again for its white sand and emerald waves. Here we also caught a variety of fish, primarily Skipjack, catfish, and sharks, using frozen shrimp.
Carl hooked a small hammerhead and a few small black tip but it was here on St. George that I reeled in my biggest catch ever.
I had been swimming next to my husband while he fished when he handed me his rod and went to shore for a quick drink. He encouraged me to cast, so I did and as soon as the bait hit the water, the line took off.
I reeled frantically as my rod tip bent into the waves. Then the fish swam in and I noticed its size and went scrambling to the shore.
I had caught a Black Tip shark, which we estimate to have weighed about 12 to 15 pounds. Needless to say, I let him keep the hook.
Although we planned to return to St. George this year, no one felt like making the 2 hour drive – to and fro – in a single day.
Guided Boat Fishing in PCB
Instead, we booked a charter fishing trip in PCB for nearby St. Andrew’s Bay. I found Capt. James Pic, whose been guiding locals and tourists to memorable catches for 17 years in the waters around PCB, through his posting on cyberangler.com.
Pic who owns JP2Fish Guide Service specializes in light tackle and fly fishing but also guides winter duck hunts into the bay. His boat is docked along Beck Avenue in Panama City, just across the Hathaway Bridge from Panama City Beach. He offers four, six and eight hour trips.
We booked a 6-hour trip for three people at a cost of $400, which included all gear, bait and our fishing licenses. We launched just before 6 a.m. in order to avoid the strongest sun and the heat of the day.
With my husband at the helm of Pic’s boat – don’t worry he’s a former Navy Boatswain’s mate and a member of the Ashland Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team – we set about getting bait. Pic guided us under a small bridge passing over the bay where he cast a net and hauled in dozens of menhaden, which Nick and I quickly scooped into the live well. This was the only bait we used to catch a variety of fish throughout the day.
As the sun rose, we fished several spots near the shores of small bay islands for Speckled Trout and Redfish but to no avail. I missed several big bites early on, much to the dismay of Capt. Pic and myself. His good-spirited heckling helped me to concentrate later in the day.
If you are going to fish with Pic be prepared for his authoritative style. Pic baits hooks and casts for his clients until he’s comfortable with them. One of his strictest rules is that he always pulls fish into the boat and removes them – with very few exceptions. (A still bandaged wound on his lower right leg from a client mishap early this season helped him to firm up this policy.)
It wasn’t long before I reeled in my first catch of the day – a too small to keep Bluefish, just like Nick’s. Carl’s first catch was a small lizard fish.
We then anchored at the conjunction of a grassy shelf and deeper bay water, where the tide current was rather strong. Here we each pulled in numerous ladyfish, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. It was here that I finally reeled in a good-size Speckled Trout – the only one we caught all day.
After catching some more bait fish in a small inlet nearby, we fished the spot some more until a pod of porpoises ruined the fun.
We moved to another, similar spot where we again caught some keeper Spanish and Bluefish. It was here that Nick caught a seagull, which got tangled in his line when he cast. Capt. Pic was able to free the bird without too much trouble or injury to the pesky sea pigeon.
A bit later in the morning, we returned to our original sweet spot where the fishing got fast and furious.
We reeled in most of our catch in about an hour here, despite the porpoises that returned to claim one of Nick’s largest catches.
I caught a good size Bluefish – probably weighing three pounds – which Pic said was one of the largest caught by his clients to date this year. It was delicious.
By noon, we had 19 fish weighing a collective 28lbs in the cooler. Our catch consisted of my single speckled trout, three bluefish and fifteen Spanish mackerel.
On the recommendation of Pic, we dropped off our catch at Buddy Gandy Seafood a few blocks away from the dock along Highway 98. For just under $17, the staff at Buddy Gandy’s cleaned and filleted our fish and packed it in ice in less than an hour.
While we waited for our catch we took down several dozen raw oysters at Hunt’s Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant directly across the street from the dock where Pic’s boat is moored.
At home that night we prepared a sampling of the fish and packaged the rest to bring home as edible souvenirs.
Carrie is the managing editor of Kentucky Angling News. She can be reached by e-mail at KentuckyAnglingNews@gmail.com or by phone at (606) 369-2635.
Hi Carrie,
Yes, the Zieglers used to Spring Break at PCB when Grandpa Ziegler lived there in the ’90’s. Bill Ziegler, formerly Finneytown, could be found most late mornings and early afternoons doing some beach fishing. One day while we were there, he caught a stingray that was about 2 feet in diameter!
Loved your story. It brought back good memories.