Just to let everyone know, the M.B. Miller Pier is now open. It actually opened over July 4th weekend, but there was a lot going on with the oil spill and the opening didn't receive much media coverage.

The M.B. Miller Pier (also known as "the County Pier") is nearly identical to the Russell-Fields Pier (at Pier Park), is 1,500 feet long, hurricane resistant, and cost nearly $9 million to build.

There is a small fee to access the pier: $2 for spectators, and $6 for fisherman.

Construction is not quite complete, but the pier remains open 24/7. A bait and tackle shop is also scheduled to be built on site.

M.B. Miller Pier is located at 12213 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, FL 32407. Phone number is (850) 233-3039.

Here's a map: Map to M.B. Miller Pier

Here are a couple aerial photos of the new M.B. Miller Pier... taken during a helicopter tour of the beach. *

Panhandle Helicopter Tours
(*best way to see PCB!)

Attached Thumbnails

   

Wow, now we have 2 piers to go out on. We have always gone out on the Dan Russell Pier, now Russell-Fields Pier but never have been on the county pier in all our years of coming. It's getting hard to find parking along the city pier now every time we come. At least in their parking spaces in front of the pier anyway. But we still think it is worth the $2 fee to go out on them. Our trip is 4 weeks away.

I always fished off the old Dan Russell (City) pier but it is now a bit noisy from Pier Park and crowded with spectators. Nothing wrong with that in general, but I think the new pier will be preferable for fishing.

New pier will be quieter and have more parking!

I don't mind the noise of Pier Park. I like hearing the music from Reggae J's, I believe that is spelled right. And I like Margaritaville.

I do too if I'm in Pier Park, but it ruins the fishing experience when you hear it clear to the end of the pier. The city pier is now better suited for Pier Park spectators than fishing.



It gets a little hazardous mixing fisherman casting baited hooks with inattentive tourists out for a walk, especially when it gets as crowded as it now does.


This is not a rant, I think it works out well for everyone having the two piers.

I hear ya about the inattentive tourist thing but we do pay attention to baited hooks being cast and do wait until someone has cast before walking on. The only complaint I have about the Russell Fields Pier is the difficulty parking.

I wasn't referring to all spectators. I've just encountered a few, including one young lady giving one of the fisherman a hard time because she got "sprayed by yukky slime" off his bait-casting reel. Granted, she was dressed to the nines, obviously from an evening out dining, but she was on fishing pier! I chucked at that one, but she was more than a bit upset which made me wonder why they coupled a shopping/entertainment venue to a fishing pier. The hustle and bustle of the commercialization took a little away from what that pier once was. It would be a little like putting a marina in the kiddie pool at St. Andrews. I'm happy with the new pier. It is close to where we now stay and looks like it provide a little quieter alternative to the Dan Russell pier.

I do have a question. The old Dan Russell pier was one of a small number of Florida piers that allowed shark fishing. Is it still allowed on the Dan Russell pier and does anyone know whether it is legal to shark fish on the M.B. Miller Pier? Thanks!

That is funny. What was she thinking coming onto a fishing pier dressed up? I get a good visual picture of the slime hitting her. That should teach her not to go on a pier dressed up again.