Two piers, one long beach
Panama City Beach is the Bay County city laid out along Front Beach Road: sand and surf to the south, condos, mini golf and seafood counters to the north. The Census Bureau estimated 20,375 residents in 2025, and the crowd multiplies once school lets out. For anyone who fishes without a boat, life here centers on two concrete walkways that stride out over the water.
Russell-Fields City Pier stands at 16101 Front Beach Road, next to Pier Park. Visit Panama City Beach lists it at over 1,500 feet and counts it among the longest piers on the Gulf. Farther east, at 12213 Front Beach Road, M.B. Miller County Pier matches that length. The local chamber explains why: when Bay County teamed up with the city to replace its old, battered pier, the new one was built identical to the city's.
Both stay open year round, with a walk-on pass and a daily fishing pass sold at the gate. The tourism bureau names cobia, king and Spanish mackerel, redfish, pompano and flounder among the catch at Russell-Fields, and dolphins and sea turtles drift by often enough that regulars pack binoculars.
The spring ling run
Along this stretch cobia also answer to ling and lemonfish. Rick O'Connor, a Sea Grant agent with UF/IFAS Extension, writes that they travel north and west through the Panhandle every spring, starting once nearshore water reaches roughly 67F. Because cobia trail rays and sea turtles, one passing turtle can set off a volley of casts from the rail. FWC rules allow one per person or two per vessel, whichever is fewer, and each must measure 36 inches to the fork.
Mackerel carry the warm months. Per the FWC, Spanish mackerel push north in spring and retreat once water falls under 70F. Gulf state waters allow 15 Spanish per angler at 12 inches fork length, and 3 kings at 24 inches, with no closed season for either. Both are oily, tender fish that taste best within hours of landing, or after a turn in the smoker.
Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin on October 9, 2026, and the city called off its Pirates of the High Seas Fest beforehand. The visitors bureau chief later told WJHG a few beach accesses were broken up but the shoreline held and the beach stayed open. Confirm your pier is open before heading out this fall.
