No hoax, ftimmy. Panama City Beach is famous for being one of the very few places in the world where boaters, and to a lesser degree, swimmers can find and easily interact with Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins.

If you take a boat out into the Gulf, you're likely to see dolphins riding your bow wake, or pacing you for short periods of time. I've seen dolphins in St. Andrews Bay from the north side of Hathaway Bridge all the way to the Pass... even seen them from the Hathaway Bridge.

The most popular spot for spotting the dolphins, though, it just around the east end of the jetties off Shell Island. On most any given day you'll see wave runners and boats circling around, trying to draw the attention of several dolphins.

If you care to see them, your best bet is to rent a boat or wave runner. There are also several excellent dolphin encounter tours out there.