Panama City primer

FLW Redfish Series makes first visit to ‘P.C.’

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – The Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series is sampling new waters this week on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Panama City.

Panama City Beach, or “P.C.,” is certainly more widely recognized as the spring-break Mecca on the Gulf Coast, where hordes of college students head each March.

And rest assured, the lowly redfish is not the reason tens of thousands of partygoers funnel their way to Panama City for spring break; they come here for the brilliant emerald-green waters, which lap over miles of sugar-white sand, creating an endless, watery playground for the masses of madness.

But that mesmerizing green water is what also attracts inshore anglers to the Florida Panhandle to enjoy the visual pursuit of redfish.

As stop No. 3 of the FLW Redfish Series in the Eastern Division got under way Thursday morning, many anglers were talking about peering into the aquamarine to see huge boils of coppery red.

“The redfish are in huge schools here right now,” described Tadd Vandemark of Key Largo, Fla., “The problem is they’re here today, gone tomorrow. I’ve seen some of the biggest schools of redfish in my life up here in the Panhandle – I mean, so many redfish that they’re running into your boat with reckless abandon. But you can go back to that very same spot the next day, and it will be a ghost town. These fish definitely school up strong, but they’re long-range roamers too. They don’t seem beholden to one certain area like they are in other parts of the state.”

“This is definitely a beautiful sight-fishing venue,” said Castrol pro Warren Girle of Long Boat Key, Fla., who, along with partner Billy Harris, won the first FLW Redfish Series event in Punta Gorda this year.

“I feel right at home here, poling around in this clear water, looking for reds; it’s just like Sarasota Bay.”

Redfish pros will certainly have their choice of redfish water to fish this week, as some plan to run as far as Destin to the west and to Apalachicola to the east.

“We’re going for a long ride this morning,” Vandemark commented from behind the console of his 22-foot bay boat.

“Us, too,” added Girle.

In all, these anglers have some 150 miles of fishable coastline at their disposal, yet some of the best fishing in that stretch can be found right inside East and West bays, where the tournament is putting in.

“We’re going to run about 10 minutes – just right across the bay,” said Berkley Gulp pro John Henninger before takeoff this morning. “There are a lot of good fish right here; I just hope we can get on a couple of them today.”

Logistics

Anglers will take off at 6 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Bay Point Marina located at 3824 Hatteras Lane in Panama City Beach.

Weigh-ins will also be held at Bay Point Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 10270 Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free, and the community is invited to attend the festivities.

Thursday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 60 degrees

Expected high temperature: 81 degrees

Water temperature: 70 degrees

Wind: SSE at 10 to 20 mph

Day’s outlook: abundant sunshine