No Boat? No Problem to Fish Inshore on Alabama's Gulf Coast in November By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Jeff Colley, captain of the “Killin’ Time,” based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, is an inshore guide who fishes for speckled trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead and other inshore species.
Question: Jeff, what will we catch during November fishing inshore along Alabama’s Gulf Coast?
Colley: This month is when the big bull reds will come in, and you can really get your string stretched, your rod bent and have your drag sing. The average bull red weighs 15-20 pounds.
Question: Jeff, how do you find the redfish in November?
Colley: We ride the edge of the beach and look for seagulls in a flock diving on baitfish. Or, we can watch our depth finder and look for the fish near the bottom. They’ll usually be associated with large schools of baitfish.
Question: What’s your favorite way to catch them?
Colley: We like to use 1/4- up to 1-ounce jig heads from Sea Striker with a triangle head with curly-tail grubs. My favorite color is chartreuse. I’ll fish these jigs on 60-pound-test braided line. This way, we can get the big bull reds in quickly and not fight them so hard that we wear them out. We’re fishing with medium-action 7-foot spinning rods. When these schools of big redfish move in, you may see as many as 2 acres of them, and they’re usually traveling pretty fast. If those fish are ready to bite, everyone on the boat will hook-up with one, as soon as you pull-up to the school. We mostly catch and release the big bulls. When the school of redfish move out, we either find them again with our depth finder or go looking for the diving birds. I have had days when I’ve turned-off the motor of my boat, drifted with the schools of redfish and continued to catch them.
Question: What’s an average day of fishing for these bull reds?
Colley: We’ve caught and released as many as 200 in a 6-hour trip with four guys. But on an average 4-hour trip, we usually catch and release 30-40 bull reds. Now, not every day is going to be that way, but that’s about the average.
Question: Where will you find the speckled trout in November?
Colley: They’ll be moving out of the bays and up into the creeks, where they’ll spend the winter.
Question: Where will you be fishing for trout this month?
Colley: I’ll be fishing Oyster Bay, Soldier Creek and any inlet where the salt water is moving into the fresh water.
Question: What will you be using the catch the trout?
Colley: I like to fish live shrimp. I’ll to put a split shot up the line, cast it out and let it swim on a free line.
Question: Tell us how you rig the live shrimp.
Colley: I use a No. 4 j-shaped hook and either a 1/4- or a 1/8-ounce split shot. I’m usually fishing 12-pound-test monofilament on spinning tackle.
Question: Will the flounder be in this month?
Colley: Normally, October is our best month for flounder. However, we haven’t had much cold weather this October, and the flounder don’t start moving out of the bays and into the Gulf of Mexico until our area gets a few cold fronts, generally in November. The flounder and the redfish usually will show-up about the same time. We’ve found that the best day to fish is when there’s a north wind, and the air’s somewhat chilly. That north wind will lay the waves down and make the Gulf calm and slick. Then we can see the birds working and find the redfish and the flounder much easier.
Question: Where will you locate flounder, and how will you catch them?
Colley: We usually catch the most flounder drifting Perdido Pass. The good news is, when the weather’s too rough to hunt the redfish, we can come in to the pass and drift for flounder with either an incoming or an outgoing tide. We like to use either bull minnows or small alewives (locally called LYs) for bait. We use a Carolina rig with a 1-ounce lead slip slinker up the line, a small barrel swivel below the slip sinker, 18 inches of 12-pound-test monofilament leader and a No. 6 hook. The good news about drifting the pass for flounder is that you’ll catch speckled trout and redfish also.
Question: What’s an average day of flounder fishing like?
Colley: We’ll usually catch about 12 flounder, and we have had days where we’ve caught 40 or 50 flounder. But the best thing to do before you come is to call me and let me tell you what and how many fish you can expect to catch, based on weather and water conditions, and what I’ve been catching lately.
New shore-fishing guides are available along Alabama’s Gulf Coast this year and offer the most-inexpensive fishing from the beach, the shores of the Intracoastal Coastal Waterway, the riprap at Fort Morgan and hundreds of other places where anglers daily catch speckled trout, redfish, flounder, pompano, sheepshead and other species of fish. But if you don’t know where to fish, what tackle to use, what bait is the most productive, and when the fish should be biting, fishing becomes a hit-or-miss proposition.
However, for $25, you can have your own personal shore-fishing guide who will meet you at the tackle shop, help you select the tackle you need for a day of fishing, recommend the bait to fish, and then take you to one of the guide’s favorite spots to catch fish, based on the time of day that the fish generally bite, the tide and the weather conditions. You can fish all day or as long as you want to from this spot. If you want to fish several locations in one day, the guide can help you with that for an additional cost. This way, you quickly and inexpensively can learn shore-fishing locations that you can fish any time you come to the Gulf of Mexico.
To learn more about how to fish Alabama’s Gulf Coast from the beach, the jetties, the canal or the back bays, call Distraction Charters (251) 233-3474, or go to www.fishingorangebeach.com/Surf-Fishing.htm.
xxx
November’s Deep-Water Offshore Fishing on Alabama's Gulf Coast with Captain Brian Bracknell By: John Phillips
November on Alabama’s Gulf Coast means Thanksgiving, football, deer hunting and lots of big offshore fish. That’s right – now’s the time that the big ones bite, and you often can stock your freezer with tuna, wahoo, grouper, vermilion snapper, tilefish, yellowedge grouper and snowy grouper. The big fish bite on Alabama’s Gulf Coast when the turkeys are on the table. And, one of the captains who particularly enjoys fishing those deep-water haunts is Captain Brian Bracknell of the charter boat the “Crowd Pleezer” that docks at the Dog River near Mobile, Ala.
Question: Brian, what are you catching now?
Bracknell: We’re catching whatever our customers want to catch. However, since snapper season is closed, we have to throw back all of the red snapper that we catch. The good news is, we’re really seeing a lot of triggerfish right now. When snapper season was in, finding and catching triggerfish was tough. But since snapper season has closed down, and the water’s becoming cooler, the triggerfish have started biting. And, pound for pound, the triggerfish is about as good a fish as you can want for the table. We’re catching a lot more triggerfish now than we caught in the summer, and we’re fishing with 2-hook rigs and squid for bait. We’re really glad that the triggerfish are showing-up. Another thing that makes fishing better during November is that live bait is more plentiful and easier to catch. During the summer, live bait often is scarce. However, if you can catch live bait, you’ve got half the battle won when you head out to deep water.
We like to fish with live hardtails to catch amberjacks, scamp and grouper. When we go out to the edge of the DeSoto Canyon and deep-drop for tilefish, yellowedge grouper and snowy grouper, having those live baits really makes a big difference in how many fish we can catch, since both the yellowfin and the blackfin tuna also feed heavily on the hardtails. We’ve got a lot of confidence when we head-out to the edge of the continental shelf. We know we’ve got the bait the fish want to eat. Straight south of Orange Beach, Ala., on any of the 50-mile rigs, if you put in the time fishing with live baits, you can catch a limit of amberjacks. The last trip we went on, we had some really-nice amberjacks that weighed 40 pounds or more.
Question: How were you catching those big jacks?
Bracknell: I’ve found that when you’re amberjack fishing, the size of the bait you fish with generally determines the size of amberjack you’ll catch. The bigger your live bait, the bigger the amberjack you can expect to catch.
Question: I know you’re catching scamp at this time of year, which is a smaller grouper that’s really delicious. What type of bait are you using to catch your scamp?
Bracknell: We like live, small pogies or small LYs (alewives). The scamp really love those smaller pogies, but they will eat squid, if we don’t have any pogies. When we’re fishing for scamp, we’re also catching what we call football-sized beeliners (vermilion snapper). These are much-bigger beeliners than we see in the spring and summer. We’ll also be catching grouper. We’ve learned that the best time of November to fish for these bottom feeders is around the full moon. That’s when the beeliners, the scamp and the grouper become really active and feed. What most people don’t realize is we can have a good catch of fish, good-eating fish, fun-catching fish, without have a red snapper in the box.
Question: I know you’re doing some deep dropping. How deep are you fishing, and what are you catching out there in that deep water?
Bracknell: When we go deep dropping, we’ll be fishing in water depths from 400 to 600 feet. That’s such a long way down and such a long way back up that we use electric reels when we’re fishing along the edge of the continental shelf. We’re having to fish deeper water now to get away from the red snapper. So many red snapper live on all the artificial reefs around Orange Beach and Gulf Shores that we have to run away from the red snapper to catch fish our customers can keep. We’re catching tilefish, yellowedge grouper, gag grouper and snowy grouper out there in that deep water. More people are starting to enjoy running to deep water and catching those bigger fish. We have many-more varieties of fish that we can catch out there on the edge of the continental shelf than we have when we fish closer to shore. We catch longtail sea bass and a lot of really-good eating fish. We’re finding those grouper on ledges and in crevices out there on the edge. We’re fishing right on the edge of the Desoto Canyon, so once you get to those 50-mile-out rigs, the bottom drops off pretty quickly from 300 to 500 feet. Once reach the edge, we’ll start running east and west down the side of the continental shelf and look for the types of structure that holds the grouper and the tilefish.
The deep-water trip really works out well for many of the groups of people I take. I have a group of 10 fishermen who come down from Birmingham, Ala. They’ll leave work at 5 pm on Friday, drive down and get on my boat Friday night, and we’ll have the grill going. They’ll eat their supper, while we’re driving down the bay. Then they’ll go to bed, while I’m driving out to the edge. By the time we get to that deep water where we want to fish, we’ll have enough daylight to start fishing. We fish all day long. Then when we’re headed back to the dock, the guys eat their dinner, and we return to the dock by 8 or 9 pm Saturday night. A deep-water trip is a great adventure besides a fishing trip.
Great Fall Fishing Blossoms During October in the Orange Beach Area By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain George Pfeiffer of Action Charter Services has fished out of Orange Beach most of his life. Pfeiffer captains both the “Emerald Spirit” and the “C.A.T.” charter boats. To learn what we can expect to catch this month, we talked with Captain Pfeiffer, who says October is a great month to fish Orange Beach.
Question: George, what will we be catching this month?
Pfeiffer: We’ll be catching vermilion snapper, white snapper, grey snapper, grouper, scamp and amberjack. If we fish deep water, we’ll be catching yellow edge grouper, snowy grouper and golden and grey tilefish.
Question: One of the new methods of fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast is deep-dropping, which is a great tactic for this month. What is deep-dropping?
Pfeiffer: Deep-dropping is the same as bottom fishing, except we’ll be fishing in 200 to 300 feet of water or more. Generally we’ll be fishing in 500 to 1,000 feet of water. When we’re fishing this deep, we use 9/0 or 10/0 electric reels. We use Elec-Tra-Mate reels and 350-pound-test PowerPro braided line that still has a small diameter line. We drop-down a three-hook rig with circle hooks. Each leader coming off the main line will be about 2-feet long, and we’ll have about a 2-foot span between each hook. We use mackerel for cut bait to catch these different species of grouper.
Question: How many of these types of grouper can one person catch in one day?
Pfeiffer: We have a five-fish aggregate on grouper, and these different species of grouper fall into this aggregate. When we take 2-day trips, anglers can catch their limits.
Question: How far out do you travel to deep-drop fish?
Pfeiffer: I’ll go a minimum of 40 miles and sometimes as far as 70 miles, depending on the direction we travel from Orange Beach. We mainly fish 350 to 700 feet of water.
Question: How long do you have to travel to reach the area where you can deep-drop fish?
Pfeiffer: At least a 12-hour trip, but it probably will be more productive to book a 2-day trip. This type of fishing is not like fishing on a wreck, where you pull-up on one spot, and all the fish are concentrated there. We fish a flat area that travels for miles. Just because you find fish at one location one day, you may not catch them at the same spot the next day. These fish swim the edges of the reef and migrate around following the baitfish. On a 2-day trip, we fish part of the first day and part of the second day for deep-water grouper. But we also do a wide variety of fishing.
Question: George, walk me through a typical 2-day trip.
Pfeiffer: When we leave Orange Beach on a 2-day trip in October, we start off bottom fishing. We’ll start catching ruby-lip grunts, squirrelfish, small white snapper and vermilion snapper. We’ll use many of these fish for live bait. If the fish are big enough, we’ll keep them in our ice chest. We’ll also troll on the way out to try to catch king mackerel and wahoo. We’ll continue to bottom fish and move further out toward the continental shelf. In 150 to 250 of water, we’ll start catching triggerfish, big white snapper, big vermilion snapper and maybe some scamp. Then we get far enough offshore to fish for amberjacks on some of the bigger rocks and wrecks. By this time, we’ve reached the region where we can deep-drop fish. The spots where we deep-drop fish aren’t too far from the deep-water oil rigs. We’ll spend 1 or 2 hours trying to catch some deep-drop grouper, and if the fish are biting good, we’ll stay longer. But if the fish aren’t biting as good as they should, we’ll go to the oil rigs. We try to reach the rigs at about 3:00 pm. We search for bait or tuna chasing bait, and while we’re looking for tuna, we catch king mackerel, dolphins and wahoo. Then we’ll generally stop and chum for tuna. The big yellowfin tuna will feed up into the chum line, and many times we’ll see them at the back of the boat. We put a hook inside a piece of chum and let it drift back behind the boat. If we don’t catch tuna using this tactic, we’ll fly a kite and use live baits on top of the water. Sometimes we’ll use both techniques to try to catch tuna. At night, we jig for tuna, and our clients have time to shower and eat. Sometimes we even catch tuna while casting top-water lures at night. We continue to fish for tuna until about 8:00 am or 9:00 am, and then we deep-drop fish for grouper as well as, bottom fish and troll our way back to Orange Beach. We run a reverse fishing trip on the way back to the dock from the trip we’ve
had the day before.
Question: How many people do you generally take on a 2-day trip?
Pfeiffer: We usually take 10 to 12. We have showers and bunks for 12, and everyone has enough room to fish comfortably and have a good time. We have a Green Egg (ceramic grill) and a microwave, so we can cook anything our clients want to eat on these 2-day trips.
Inshore Fishing Thrives in October along Alabama's Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Erik Davis of Gulf Shores, Alabama, can’t remember a time when he hasn’t fished for speckled trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, white trout and ground mullet on Alabama’s Gulf Coast and in the creeks and the rivers that feed into the Gulf of Mexico. His dad, Captain Gary Davis of Foley, Ala., has guided for fish in that area Erik’s entire life. In recent years, Eric has joined his dad in the family business. According to Gary Davis, “Some days Erik and his party will catch more fish than me and my party will.” This month, Erik Davis will tell us how he catches speckled trout, flounder and redfish.
Question: Where will you find speckled trout, flounder and redfish in October on Alabama’s Gulf Coast?
Davis: For speckled trout, I’ll be fishing the artificial reefs in Mobile Bay and some of the reefs and the oil and gas rigs out from Fort Morgan, Ala. The speckled trout will stay on these artificial reefs until the middle of October, when they’ll start making their annual migration into the creeks and the rivers that feed Mobile Bay. During this month, there will be an infusion of salt water into the rivers and the creeks that feed the bays and the bayous. So, as the salinity level in these feeder rivers and creeks increases, the speckled trout, redfish and flounder will move into that new water in these drainages. The colder the weather gets, the further the fish will move-up the creeks and the rivers. At the first of October, the artificial reefs out in the Bay will be your best bet to catch speckled trout. At the middle or the end of the month, you’ll need to move to the creeks and the rivers that feed Mobile Bay to fish for trout.
Question: What’s your favorite artificial reef to fish?
Davis: I prefer the Fish River Reef and the Shellbank Reef. I can put in at Weeks Bay, Mullet Point Park ramp or Fort Morgan and quickly and easily reach both these reefs.
Question: What size trout will you be catching at this time of year?
Davis: The trout will range from 16- to 24-inches long, and a 23- to a 24-inch trout will weigh about 3-1/2- to 4 pounds. We’ve caught trout weighing up to 6 pounds fishing the rivers and the creeks in October. But these bigger trout aren’t as common as they are in the summer and the spring, when the trout move down to the bays.
Question: What size redfish will you be catching in the creeks and the rivers this month?
Davis: Most of the redfish we catch in the creeks and the rivers in October will be within the slot. The big bull reds will be holding on the Dixey Bar out from Fort Morgan. Of course, you can catch big bull reds on the Dixey Bar at almost any time of year. For the first half of October, you can catch a limit of speckled trout and then move out to the Dixey Bar and fish for those big bull reds. Toward the end of October, your chances of catching eating-sized redfish and speckled trout will be better in the creeks and the rivers.
Question: When you’re fishing the artificial reefs or fishing up the river for speckled trout, what types of bait and tackle do you use?
Davis: I like a finesse grub, an artificial lure or a jig with a grub tail on it. I prefer a 1/4-ounce jighead, and I’ll bounce my jig and grub off the bottom. Green grubs with sparkle in them seem to be the most productive. Root-beer-colored grubs also are good, and chartreuse is always a great color to use. I’ll be fishing 8-pound-test Vicious line.
Question: How do you fish the reefs?
Davis: I determine which way the tide and the winds are moving, and then I go upcurrent of the reef, turn-off the motor and start drifting across the reef. Once we catch a speckled trout, I’ll very quietly slip my anchor overboard to hold us on that spot where we’ve found the school of trout. When the trout stop biting, I lift the anchor and continue to drift across the reef, until we catch another trout and then repeat the same process. Once we reach the end of the reef, we’ll drift well past it and then crank-up our big engine, go to the head of the reef and start drifting again. One of the advantages to fishing out of Fort Morgan is if the speckled trout aren’t biting on the reefs, we can move out to Dixey Bar and catch those big redfish.
Question: When the speckled trout and the redfish swim into the creeks, what’s your favorite creek to fish?
Davis: I like Fish River, Soldier Creek and the creeks around Lillian, Ala.
Question: How do your fishing tactics change when the fish move into the creeks in October?
Davis: They don’t really. We still will be using the same artificial lures and live shrimp we’ve used in Mobile Bay, except we may add a popping cork above our live shrimp to imitate feeding trout.
Question: What types of places do you fish in the creeks?
Davis: I prefer to fish spots where the river opens-up and then narrows-down again, or areas with good structure on the bottom that will hold speckled trout and redfish.
Question: If you had to choose between fishing the reefs in Mobile Bay or the creeks that feed into the Bay, which will be the most-dependable option this month?
Davis: I’d bet on the reefs in Mobile Bay. Even though at the end of the month the fish will start moving into the creeks, we consistently catch our bigger trout out on the artificial reefs in the Bay during October.
To fish with Captain Erik Davis this month, call him at 251-979-1224, or email him at tidewaterfishing@live.com.
xxx
Uncover Key Pier Fishing Tips with Longtime Angler By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: David Thornton of Mobile, Alabama, fishes Alabama’s new Gulf State Park Pier at least one day a week, every week. He fished the old state-park pier before it was destroyed in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. Since Thornton fishes the pier often and has a history of pier fishing, he knows what’s biting and when. Thornton will tell us what’s biting at the new pier in October and how to catch those fish.
Question: David, what’s the difference between the new Gulf State Park pier and the pier that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004?
Thornton: The new pier is almost twice as long as the old pier, and we’re catching more pelagic species of fish, such as king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and cobia. There are more ways to catch mackerel off the new pier than there were off the old pier, especially king mackerel. Too, the new pier allows fishermen to fish deeper water than the old pier did. Today, the water’s twice as deep at the end of the new pier as it was at the end of the old pier. Now when you’re fishing at the end of the pier, you’re fishing 1/4-mile from the beach, which is a tremendous difference from the old pier that went just to the outer edge of the sand bar.
Question: What will you be catching this month off the pier?
Thornton: Early in October, I’ll be catching the same species of fish I’ve caught during the summer months. I’ll have plenty of king and Spanish mackerel to catch throughout the rest of the month. However, toward the end of October, I’ll catch fewer of them. As the mackerel begin to move out of the area, the big giant redfish will move in, and October is one of the most-productive months to fish the pier for redfish.
Question: How will you catch the redfish on the pier?
Thornton: You can’t beat live bait. Most pier fishermen use scaled sardines, also known as alewives (or LYs locally). There will be a number of LYs holding next to the pier for protection from the predator fish, like redfish and king mackerel. You can catch the LYs using gold-hook and red-ribbon rigs. Once you catch the bait, hook one in the tail, cast it out away from the pier, and be prepared to catch both redfish and king mackerel. For redfish, we generally fish the LYs on the bottom, and if we’re fishing for king mackerel, we’ll cast the LYs out away from the pier and let them swim on a free line. However, many times the LYs we put out on a free line also will catch redfish. Often we’ll have big schools of redfish come right in to the pier.
Question: When you’re fishing for king mackerel or redfish, what hook, line, rods and reels will you be using?
Thornton: For mackerel, I’ll use a 7 or an 8-foot rod with a reel that will hold 250 yards of 15- to 20-pound-test monofilament line. If we’re fishing for mackerel, at the end of the line, I’ll have a barrel swivel and then 12 to 18 inches of wire leader of at least 30-pound test. On the end of the wire, I’ll use either a No. 2 hook or a larger treble hook. I usually hook the LYs in the back and cast them out on the free line. Some pier fishermen will put a float up the line 2 to 3 feet from their baits to keep the LYs high in the water column, if they’re fishing specifically for mackerel, or if the water’s rough, and they don’t want their LYs to go down and hide in that churned-up bottom. More people free-line LYs with no floats or leads. Then they’ll have the opportunity to catch both mackerel and redfish. I’ve learned that the closer I hook the LY to the tail, the more it will swim away from the pier and get out in the open water, where more mackerel and redfish seem to hang-out.
Question: What happens when those large schools of big redfish come down the beach and under the pier?
Thornton: I’ve seen 20 to 25 redfish hooked-up at one time by different fishermen on the pier. These bull reds will weigh 20-pounds each and sometimes more.
Question: So, you’re catching really-big fish off the Gulf State Park Pier. How do you get a 20-pound bull red or a king mackerel that may weigh from 10 to 30 pounds from the water to the top of the pier?
Thornton: There are two options. Most pier fishermen use nets designed to land fish from the pier. The front of the hoop net is 36 inches in diameter and is attached to a stout rope. So, a fisherman can let the net down when he or she gets a fish played-down and bring it close to the pier. Then all the angler has to do is lead the fish over the top of the net and pull the rope attached to the net up to the deck of the pier. This technique of landing fish is generally preferred for redfish, flounder, speckled trout, sheepshead or any of the smaller types of fish we catch. We’ll also tie a gaff to the end of a rope that we let down in the water to gaff the bigger fish, like the king mackerel. The king mackerel is a soft-fleshed fish, and it’s long. Therefore, gaffing a king mackerel is a much-more efficient way to get the fish up to the deck of the pier than using a net. The gaff easily penetrates the fish’s skin. When you get the fish over the gaff, jerk the rope with the gaff on it to set the gaff in the fish. The gaff looks much like a grappling hook, rather than the kind of gaff you see on charter boats. Our gaffs have five prongs on them, and each point of the gaff is extremely sharp. To land fish from the pier, make sure the fish is really played-down and tired and is laying on its side as it comes up to the net or the gaff. Once you get a king mackerel gaffed, you can haul it up to the deck of the pier using the rope.
Question: David, what about the small species of fish caught around the pier?
Thornton: October is a great month to load the cooler with whiting (ground mullet), flounder and a few speckled trout and sheepshead. Although the whiting bite will be good all month, by the end of October, they really start to stack-up. You can catch plenty of them. As soon as the water begins to cool this month, the flounder will move out of the estuary areas and into the Gulf of Mexico. The flounder usually will stay in close to the beach during October to fatten-up before they move further offshore. October and May are the two best flounder-catching months, but we catch flounder year-round off the pier. The first week the pier opened in late July 2009, I saw close to 1,000 flounder caught. Some days 250 flounder were caught off the pier then.
Question: What effect have the artificial reefs built near the pier had on pier fishing?
Thornton: The artificial reefs drastically have increased the amount of fish holding in the area by the pier. By putting more structure on the bottom in the vicinity of the pier, we’re drawing-in more fish. There’s hope that these artificial reefs may pull-in some reef fish. However, remember that the piers and the reefs have been open only a couple of months, and reef fish take much longer to concentrate than pelagic and inshore species do. The pier is the main fish attractor, especially with the addition of the lights on the pier.
Question: How’s the night fishing at the pier?
Thornton: It’s fair. Because of federal regulations, the state park wasn’t able to put floodlights that shine strongly down into the water like we had on the previous pier. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wouldn’t allow this because of some type of turtle regulations. But the pier does have some pretty-good lights that you can fish around at night. The Alabama Marine Resources Division used all the influence they had to get the strongest lights they legally could use to shine-down in the water and still get the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Question: At this time of year, how many anglers generally will be fishing the pier at one time?
Thornton: Some weekends, early in the month, there may be no more than 100 people on the pier, and on weekdays, you’ll have about 50 people fishing the pier. Because of the size of the new pier, fishing is never really crowded. If the area has a strong mackerel run, early Saturday and Sunday mornings, there may be 50 people at the end of the pier. However, there’s enough room on the end of the pier for about 150 people to fish comfortably. The new pier not only is twice as long as the old pier, but the end of the pier, where most people fish for king mackerel, is twice as big around as the end of the old pier. So, the new pier allows about three times as many people to fish comfortably off its end as the old pier did.
Question: How will the pier fishing be throughout the winter?
Thornton: Fantastic. We’ll have king mackerel through the end of October, and then the redfish will start moving into the region. I’ll be catching bull reds through the coldest part of January. Sheepshead will move in around Thanksgiving and be here until warmer weather brings in the mackerel, the cobia and other summertime fish. Ground mullet, speckled trout and flounder can be caught all year here. So, the pier offers an inexpensive way to catch a lot of really-good fish all winter.
xxx
Reel in Big Speckled Trout along Alabama's Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Keith Powell operates Fish On saltwater charters out of Zeke’s Marina at Orange Beach, Alabama.
Question: Captain Powell, where will you find fish this month?
Powell: The big speckled trout will still be on the deep bite and also feeding at night. The bigger trout will be around the bridges and the passes. I fish a lot at Oyster Bar, Perdido Key, the Perdido Pass Bridge and around the jetties.
Question: How deep will the speckled trout be in September?
Powell: They’ll be holding in water 17-feet and deeper.
Question: How are you rigging for the trout, and with what are you fishing?
Powell: During the end of August, we caught a dozen trout that weighed from 6- to 6-1/2-pounds each, and every one of those fish was caught on a No. 7/0 circle hook with 1-1/2-weight and 30-pound-monofilament leader about 3-feet long. I was fishing with 8- to 9-inch live croakers. The big trout like really-large baits, so they have to exert as little energy as possible when they want to eat. We’re using really-heavy weights to get those big croakers down in such a heavy current. I’m also fishing a really-long leader to keep the bait away from the barrel swivel at the end of the leader and the lead above the barrel swivel. I’m using 3 feet of 40-pound-test Yo Zuri Disappearing Pink Fluorocarbon Leader. When those big trout eat those big croakers, you’ve got to let them have the bait for awhile. I never use circle hooks when I’m inshore fishing. But in September when I’m fishing for the big trout, deep circle hooks are exactly what I have to have.
Question: What makes the circle hooks better for catching trout than the straight-shank hooks?
Powell: In that deep water, often up to 30-feet deep, there’s a lot of current. I may be casting 30-feet away from the boat and fishing 30-feet deep, so often in that swift current you can hardly feel the bite. To complicate matters even more, those big trout will eat big croakers and start swimming upcurrent. When you look down and see your line running upcurrent, you’ll have to start reeling. By the time you tighten the line, that circle hook will set itself in the fish’s jaw.
Question: In an average day, how many big trout will you catch in September?
Powell: On one 4-hour trip in late August, we had four trout that weighed more than 6-pounds each, a couple more that were in the 4-pound range and four redfish in the 10- to 12-pound range.
Question: What’s the biggest trout you’ve caught using this technique in deep water?
Powell: We’ve put a 7-1/2-pounder in the boat, and we also lost the biggest trout we’ve ever seen.
Question: How long will this pattern for catching specks be good?
Powell: The pattern will be good until the water starts cooling back down. The big trout spawn in September, and somewhere around the full moon, I think they’ll move into the back bays, lay their eggs and then move out. I really believe that the big trout will be in here throughout the entire month of September. Our area’s redfish started moving in during late August around the jetties and in the pass and around the docks around Orange Beach. The inshore redfish usually school-up according to size. You’ll either find a school of 8- to 10-pounders, or in the 10- to 15-pound class. The 6- to 8-pound redfish are the keepers, and they’re really the ones you want to catch. But the bigger redfish are the trophies for picture taking, but then you’ll release them.
Question: What else will you catch in September?
Powell: We started catching a few flounder in August, but September is a better month for gigging flounder around Orange Beach and the Little Lagoon. Then October is the month that the flounder make that push to go back out into the Gulf of Mexico. So, October is the best month to target flounder around the pass and on outgoing tides around the jetties.
Question: What about catching sheepshead?
Powell: A few sheepshead will start coming in during September, but October is a more-productive month for sheepshead.
Here’s a delicious recipe for the speckled trout and redfish you catch inshore during September.
Fire-Broiled Speckled Trout or Redfish
Nothing’s more fun or tastes better than speckled trout or redfish you’ve cooked over an open fire.
Ingredients:
1 3- or 4-pound speckled trout or redfish, dressed
1-1/2-teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon salad oil
Juice of one lemon
1/4-cup melted butter
Parsley for garnish
1 lemon, sliced
Preparation:
Rub fish with salt, pepper and oil. Grease broiler rack or pan before placing fish on it. Place close to fire at first to sear the surface of the fish, then turn, sear second side quickly. Complete cooking a little distance from the fire, turning the broiler several times during the cooking process. If you don’t wish to turn the fish, cook until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and is browned on the surface. You may wish to transfer the broiler rack or pan to the oven proper to cook if you don’t want to turn the fish. The time of cooking will depend on the thickness of the fish. Thin fillets will require from 8 to 12 minutes with thin whole fish from 12 to 20 minutes. Thick fish (one-inch thick) will take from 15 to 25 minutes. When fish is done, pour melted butter and lemon juice over it, garnish with parsley and sliced lemon and serve.
xxx
Pier Fishing Results in Monster Fish off AL’s Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Trey Myer, the assistant superintendent of Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama, tells us what we can catch on the new pier at Gulf State Park in September.
Question: Trey, what is the difference in the new pier and the old pier that was destroyed by the hurricane 4-years ago?
Myer: The new pier is nearly twice as long as the old pier. Too, the old pier was about 14-feet wide, and the new pier is 20-feet wide. The old pier was 16-feet high, and the new pier is 20-feet high off the water. The new pier is much better and bigger for anglers.
Question: I understand that the new pier has artificial reefs around it. How many reefs does it have, and where are they located?
Myer: Right now there are three sets with four pyramid reefs per set. There’s one area where we’ve placed some of the debris from the old pier. We’re hoping these reefs will concentrate and hold fish for our pier fishermen.
Question: What types of fish will anglers catch around the pier in September?
Myer: Fishermen will catch whiting, flounder, speckled trout, white trout, Spanish and king mackerel, blue fish and sheepshead from the Gulf State Park Pier in September.
Question: Another advantage to the new pier is that there are restrooms halfway out on the pier, aren’t there?
Myer: Yes, there are.
Question: With anglers catching fish that are 20-feet below them, how are they getting their fish from the top of the water to the top of the pier?
Myer: For the smaller fish, an angler will let a net down on a rope, swim the fish over the top of the net and then pull the net up by the rope with the fish in the net, just like you’ll use a dip net. On the larger fish, like the king mackerel, anglers use gaff hooks that are on ropes, and they lead the fish up close to the gaff hooks and jerk on the rope to set the gaff in the fish. Then they use the rope to pull the gaffed king mackerel up to the top of the pier and onto the deck of the pier.
Question: On the old pier that was destroyed by a hurricane 4-years ago, anglers occasionally caught king mackerel. How has fishing for king mackerel been on the new pier?
Myer: Since the pier opened in July, 2009, only two or three days have passed without a king mackerel being caught off the pier. King mackerel have really been a glamour fish for pier anglers this year. I believe our anglers are catching more king mackerel than they once did, since the Gulf State Park Pier goes further out into the Gulf of Mexico than any other pier on the Gulf Coast, and there are artificial reefs around the pier.
Question: One of the things that many new pier fishermen may not know is that the pier gets a run of tarpon coming by it, too?
Myer: Yes, we do. And, we’ve had two or three tarpon hooked-up this year. Often our fishermen can see tarpon jumping a little further out than they can cast.
Question: With what kind of bait are most fishermen fishing?
Myer: They’re using everything from: frozen shrimp; live shrimp; alewives, locally called LYs; hardtails; cigar minnows; and even squid.
Question: When will the sheepshead start moving into the pier?
Myer: They’re being caught right now at the end of August.
Question: How far are the artificial reefs from the pier?
Myer: They’re from 129- to 231-feet out from the very end of the pier.
Question: How many rods can an angler take out on the pier?
Myer: You’re allowed four rods at no additional charge. If you want to take more than four, you can pay $3.50 per additional rod, but you only can fish with one rod at a time.
Question: You have a bait shop on the pier too, don’t you?
Myer: Yes, we do, and we keep most of the tackle in it that most pier fishermen need. Although we sell frozen shrimp for bait, we don’t carry any live bait.
Question: What does fishing from the pier cost?
Myer: The cost is $8.00 from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm or $8.00 from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. The pier is open 24 hours a day. We have quite a few night fishermen who come to the pier to fish at night.
To learn more information on the pier, go to www.alapark.com.
In butter, sauté white onions, green onions, celery, garlic and parsley. Gradually stir in 1 cup of bread and 1 cup of cornbread, cooking until thickened. Add crabmeat, and thicken further with remaining breadcrumbs and cornbread. Add salt and pepper to taste. To prepare flounder: split each flounder, and fill with dressing. Garnish each fish with 2 whole shrimp. Then cook under broiler about 15 minutes, or until fish is done. Yield: 8 servings.
xxx
Late Summer Fishing Bounty Awaits Off Coast of Orange Beach, AL By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Art Jones of the charter boat the “Dana J” docks at San Roc Cay Marina and has fished and guided at Orange Beach, Alabama, since 1986.
Question: What will you be fishing for in September?
Jones: September is a great month for amberjacks, grouper, vermilion snapper, white snapper, mangrove snapper - pretty much everything we’ve been catching in the summer months. But we’ll have to throw all the red snapper back. The red snapper in September will be catch and release, but September is a great month to get photos of big red snapper.
Question: What’s the best trip to take to catch some eating fish in September?
Jones: You don’t want to take less than an 8-hour trip if you’re planning to bottom fish. In 8 hours, we usually can fast-troll on the way out from shore for some king mackerel. Then when we arrive where the bottom fish are, we’ve got about 4 hours of fishing time before we have to leave to return to shore. We’ll target triggerfish, vermilion snapper, mangrove snapper and grouper, and of course, we’ll be catching red snapper that will have be released. But they’re fun to catch. Some of the red snapper we catch and release during September will weigh 10-15 pounds. The grouper we catch in September will be gag grouper and black grouper – about 24-30 inches long. There’s some really-nice mangrove snapper available in September where we fish. They will average 16-18 inches long, and several caught during the trip will weigh 7-10 pounds. Our vermilion snapper will be 12-14 inches long, but we have caught some all the way up to 22-inches long that will weigh 3-3/1/2-pounds. Those vermilion snapper are really tasty. You really can’t tell the difference in them and the red snapper, except that the meat of the vermilion snapper is more moist then the red snapper’s flesh.
Question: How big will the triggerfish be?
Jones: The triggerfish have to be at least 14-inches long to the fork of the tail for us to keep them. On the average, that’s about a 4- or a 5-pound triggerfish. During September and October, we generally catch more triggerfish than we do during the summer months.
Question: What kinds of places are you fishing offshore?
Jones: For the vermilion snapper, we’ll fish coral bottom and rocks, using squid for bait. The way we fish is to try and catch everyone’s aggregate. You can have 20-reef fish – only 10 of which can be vermilion snapper – in an aggregate. And, the good news is that the grouper don’t count in that 20-reef fish aggregate. You can keep one red grouper, two gag grouper and three black grouper, but you only can have five grouper in your grouper aggregate. So, you can catch 25 nice fish.
Question: What else will you be catching this month?
Jones: We’ll be catching king mackerel too. When we stop to bottom fish, we’ll also put out a drift line with a live pinfish or dead cigar minnow on it to catch king mackerel. In September, we’ll catch 10- to 30-pound-each. king mackerel. We usually average six to eight king mackerel per day on a September trip.
Question: What’s the advantage to bottom fishing out of Orange Beach, Alabama, in September?
Jones: The fishing pressure in September is certainly much less than it is during the summer months. Too, we’ll usually catch bigger fish in September than we do in the summertime. September and October are when we start seeing the really-big red snapper. Even though we can’t keep them, they’re really fun to catch. And as I mentioned, September is when we see the big king mackerel. So, I’ll tell anyone coming down this month to bring a camera, because more than likely, he or she will have some big fish to photograph. Also, getting the captain and the boat you want to fish with is much easier in September than in the summer. Often if you’ll call 2 or 3 days ahead of time, you can find the captain and the boat with whom you want to fish.
To fish with Captain Art Jones, call him at (850) 944-3124, or email him at ajones505@bellsouth.net.
Although you can’t enjoy eating red snapper this month, since you must release them, this Roquefort-Crusted Snapper Fillets’ recipe that comes from Sarris’ Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Birmingham, Ala., works well for vermilion or mangrove snapper.
Roquefort-Crusted Snapper Fillet
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1 pound Gulf of Mexico snapper fillet (boneless and skinless)
1/4 pound imported Roquefort cheese (1/4 wheel or crumbles)
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh, grated Italian bread crumbs (coarse)
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 stick unsalted pure butter, melted
1 small clove minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 wedge fresh lemon
1/4 cup cooking wine
1/4 cup sifted flour
Preparation:
Place snapper fillet on a plate, and cut into two, 8-ounce portions. Dust snapper with flour, and sprinkle a light coat of salt and pepper on each side of the fillets. In a mixing bowl, place bread crumbs, Roquefort cheese, parsley, garlic and thyme. Place melted butter and snapper fillets in a sauté skillet on medium heat. Cook until fillets are starting to brown on each side, then add cooking wine to deglaze, and remove from stove. Place snapper on a baking sheet, and top with a generous amount of ingredients mixed in the bowl. Place in a 350-degree oven until topping browns. Can be served with a side of lemon and butter.
xxx
Pier Fishing Returns to AL Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
There’s great news! The new $14.8 million Gulf State Park Pier on Alabama’s Gulf Coast has opened, earning it the title of the longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama’s only pier on the Gulf. The 1,540-foot long, 20-foot wide pier boasts 2,448 feet of fishing space along its rails. Much larger than the previous pier, it can accommodate up to 30 people on the octagon-shaped end of the pier and is open 24 hours per day/7 days per week. On July 23, 2009, Governor Bob Riley cut the ribbon, officially opening the new pier at Gulf State Park to the public.
I’ve lived in Alabama most of my life. My dad, my brother and I always through the years made several trips each year to Gulf Shores to fish from the pier. One time when we fished at the pier, a man screamed “He’s got it,” as the cork on his trolley line sank beneath the waves on the end of the pier. After setting the hook, the angler’s rod bent like a question mark as the monofilament line knifed through the water, and the big king mackerel began to pull-off drag.
On another day while fishing on the pier, I saw a man take a live menhaden and cast it in front of a green shadow cruising down the beach. The instant the fish took the bait, the sky filled with mirror-like scales, reflecting the colors of the rainbow, as a tarpon leapt high above the waves, seeking freedom in the air.
At night on the pier, I saw giant speckled trout weighing at least 5-7 pounds each move in and out of the beams from the pier’s lights, feeding on the baitfish. As anglers scrambled to get their baits in the water, the big trout would move to the shadows before crossing the light again in search of prey.
When I was a boy, during the winter months, we hunted ground mullet (often called whiting) from the pier. My dad and I would fish from the pier, while wearing coats and gloves, and load our cooler with these delicious-tasting bottom feeders.
But then Hurricane Ivan destroyed the pier in 2004, and one of the best saltwater-fishing hotspots in the nation vanished. Not willing to lose a great fishing resource and wanting to make pier fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast available to more people in the future, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources opened the new Gulf State Park Pier to welcome gulf fishermen. New features at the pier include concession area seating, indoor retail space for tackle and souvenirs, mid-pier comfort station and wheelchair-accessible rail fishing.
According to Vernon Minton, chief of Alabama’s Marine Resources Division, “We’ve also added some artificial reefs almost within casting distance of the pier to attract and hold more fish for more fishermen and to improve the fishery around the pier.”
You’ll also find flounder, sheepshead, redfish and many-other species concentrating around the pilings and the artificial reefs near the pier.
In addition to having a saltwater fishing license, the daily fishing permit for the pier is $8 for adults and children over the age of 12. For children under age 12 who want to fish while the adults watch, the charge is $4. The sightseeing-only fee for adults is $3. Weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual permits are available. For more information, including a complete list of pier rules and regulations, visit the Gulf State Park section of www.alapark.com. Or, you can call the pier at 251-967-FISH (3474).
The fish are biting year-round off Gulf State Park Pier. You’ll find live bait, fresh dead bait and artificial lures readily available, and many of the pier regulars will share information with you about what to use and how to catch fish. On your next trip to Alabama’s Gulf Coast, visit the Gulf State Park Pier, whether you’re sight-seeing, casual fishing or planning to spend all day and catch a lot of fish.
xxx
Orange Beach Waters Offers Exciting August Fishing with Capt Ben Fairey By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: During the first half of August, you still can catch and keep red snapper, but red snapper season will close on August 15. However, plenty of other hard-fighting, delicious-eating, fun-to-catch fish still swim then off Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Captain Ben Fairey of the charter boat “Necessity,” based out of Orange Beach Marina, says, “Y’all come on down in August. We have plenty of fish.”
Question: Ben, what’s the average-sized red snapper you’ll be catching at this time of year?
Fairey: Our average red snapper will weigh 3- to 7-pounds each. However, catching snapper weighing 10- to 15-pounds each isn’t uncommon, especially if you downsize the line you’re using and fish with live bait. At Orange Beach, Ala., this year, catching really-big red snapper weighing 15 to 30 pounds has become more common on fishing trips.
Question: Ben, after snapper season ends, what else will you be catching?
Fairey: Our fall fishing starts the last of August, and the cool weather and the lack of fishing pressure really creates some great fishing here on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. We have had a phenomenal amberjack season. We caught a number of amberjacks throughout the spring and the summer, and apparently, the amberjack bite will hold-up strong this month. Too, we’re catching plenty of triggerfish, vermilion snapper, scamp, gag grouper, red grouper, red porgies, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and wahoo, and our offshore fishery will start booming this month, too. Offshore we’ll be catching white marlin, sailfish, tuna, dolphin, wahoo and an occasional blue marlin. The wahoo fishing really starts to pick-up the end of August and continues to get better all the way through November.
Question: What do you generally fish for when you go to that deep, cobalt-blue water off Alabama’s Gulf Coast on a 10- to a 12-hour trip?
Fairey: Alabama’s blue water moves in really close to shore this month - usually within 30 or 40 miles of Orange Beach. We’ll be fishing areas like the Nipple, the Elbow, the Squiggles, the top end and the Dumping Grounds. Every year, we have a really-strong run of white marlin then. The wahoo fishing is strong, and our tuna fishing will really be good. Also, in late August and September, we often see whale sharks, and the yellowfin tuna love to hold close to the whale sharks.
Question: Why do the tuna concentrate around the whale sharks?
Fairey: The whale sharks feed on baby shrimp and small baitfish while eating vertically. They’ll be standing straight up and down underwater in all this bait and straining the bait through their mouths. The tuna prefer to feed around the same type of baitfish the whale sharks eat. I’ve caught 100-pound-plus yellowfin tuna before fishing around whale sharks. We also catch plenty of blackfin tuna and skipjack tuna around the whale sharks. The purple-and-black-striped skipjack tuna will weigh 10- to 30-pounds each. They’re really-pretty fish.
Question: What about the grouper fishing during August?
Fairey: Grouper and scamp have been very consistent all year. When we fish for grouper, we use a slightly-longer leader than we generally use to fish for snapper. We fish with a small circle hook and live bait. Also, we’ve learned this year that the scamp have started to bite dead squid really well. So, we fish rocks on the bottom, south of Orange Beach, and use a different fishing technique than we normally do for snapper when we’re targeting grouper and scamp. Our three primary types of grouper are red grouper, gag grouper and scamp in this section of the Gulf of Mexico.
Question: You mentioned earlier that the amberjack fishing has been really good. How big are the amberjacks you’ll be catching this month?
Fairey: The average amberjack we keep is 33 to 40 inches. These fish will weigh an average of 20 to 30 pounds. This year, we’re having the best amberjack fishing I’ve seen in years.
Question: What about the king mackerel fishing?
Fairey: We’ve had really-good king mackerel fishing throughout July and expect to during August. I believe we’ll continue to catch plenty of king mackerel through October. Our section of the Gulf has really-clear water now, and the king mackerel have been thick just outside of the pass at Orange Beach. We’ve been live-bait fishing around the buoys, and on our 6-hour trips, we troll as we leave the pass and when we return to the pass. The king mackerel we catch in close weigh 8- to 15-pounds each. But when we go out to deeper water, we usually will catch the 20- to 40-pound king mackerel holding above some of the deeper structure where we’ll be bottom fishing. We put out live bait and let the baits swim on free lines when we bottom fish for those bigger kings.
August Offers Red Hot Bay Fishing on AL Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Gary Davis of Tidewater Fishing Service in Foley, Alabama, has fished and guided in Mobile Bay for 35 years. As Davis explains, “This month, the bay’s red-hot around Fort Morgan. August is a very-good month for catching a wide variety of fish in Mobile Bay. Because the water’s so clear, we’ve had an influx of Spanish mackerel and small cobia that will weigh 3-5-pounds each. You can’t keep cobia this size, but they’re fun to catch and release.”
Question: Why is the bay so loaded with cobia, Spanish mackerel and big speckled trout in August?
Davis: This month, the bay is full of baitfish, and the cobia and mackerel will follow the baitfish. We’re catching plenty of flounder this month also. During August, the flounder start moving into the bay and staging to go into the Gulf of Mexico. These aren’t the really-big flounder we see in September and October. These flounder will weigh 2-4 pounds, and you can catch them around the pilings at the gas rigs. The bay also homes numbers of ground mullet and white trout in August, because these fish are following the bait. Too, you’ll see numbers of croakers and pinfish in the bay just out from Fort Morgan, as well as big speckled trout weighing 3- to 6- pounds each. The best way to catch these large speckled trout is to fish live croakers. If you put a live shrimp in the water, more than likely some other species of fish will eat it. But if you bait with live croakers, then when you get a bite, more than likely you’ll have on a speckled trout.
Question: What about the redfish bite?
Davis: The redfish are out in the Gulf of Mexico right now during August. You can catch them just off of Dixey Bar, Sand Island and the old lighthouse. These are the magnum redfish. They’ll weigh 10-30 pounds. The best time to catch the reds is about 1 hour after the tide starts falling out of the bay.
Question: When and where is the best time to catch speckled trout?
Davis: The speckled-trout bite in Mobile Bay in August is usually early in the morning and late in the evening. You can catch good-sized specks around any of the gas rigs in the bay.
Question: Gary, what will you generally catch in an average morning of fishing?
Davis: Seventeen speckled trout was the fewest that I caught all summer long. But in the box with those 17 speckled trout we had 5 flounder, 6 Spanish mackerel and 11 ground mullet. My party that day was 5 youngsters ages 8-12, and those youngsters had bent rods almost all day long.
Question: Do you fish with many young people?
Davis: Yes, I do. Throughout the summer months we have youngsters on the boat just about every day, since Dads and Granddads like to take their children and grandchildren fishing. I provide all the equipment and the bait, and I teach the youngsters how to fish. After the trip’s over, they can take bags of fish with them to either have cooked at a local restaurant or for Momma to cook for them at home.
Fishing should be strong all the way into October here in Mobile bay. We have such fertile waters, such good access to the Gulf and so many artificial reefs, gas rigs and other structures in the bay that we can catch good limits of fish just about every time we go out. If you’re waiting for a good time of year to come to the Alabama Gulf Coast when the fish are in and biting, August is the month to be here.
For more information on fishing Mobile Bay, you can contact Captain Gary Davis of Tidewater Fishing Service at 251-942-6298.
xxx
Third-Generation Charter Boat Captain Shares Insider's Tips for Orange Beach Fishing By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Bobby Walker, a third-generation charter-boat captain based out of Orange Beach, Alabama, along with his family, helped pioneer the charter-boat business in Orange Beach. His grandfather, Rufus Walker, was a mailman who started taking parties on weekends to troll for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. His uncle, Roland Walker, was one of the first charter-boat fishermen to discover red snapper holding on underwater airplane wrecks and shipwrecks. Roland later carried tires and all types of old metal junk to drop in the Gulf of Mexico to create artificial reefs. He also convinced state politicians to deploy 300 wrecked-car bodies in the Gulf of Mexico, which became the first step in Alabama’s intensive artificial-reef-building program that’s today one of the largest artificial-reef programs in the world.
Question: Bobby, what will you be fishing for this month?
Walker: This month, the king mackerel and the Spanish mackerel will really start moving in, and there’ll be a lot more mackerel caught inshore and offshore. Too, this month, the mahi-mahi (dolphin) start moving, and we’ll catch a number of them offshore of Orange Beach. The mackerel will be holding on the rifts and the grasslines and out in the blue water, and we often will catch some really-big ones at this time of year.
Also, in July, the tuna fishing heats-up. We’re seeing a growing interest in catching tuna from fishermen now more than ever previously. We’re fortunate to have good numbers of both blackfin and yellowfin tuna off Alabama’s Gulf Coast, with our average yellowfin tuna weighing from 50- to 90-pounds each, which is a nice-sized fish. We catch quite a few tuna weighing more than 100 pounds, and those big tuna really fight and are delicious to eat. Another advantage to fishing in July is the weather starts to settle out. We have more calm, flat days with little wind than we do at other times of year. So, the fishermen have a more-smooth ride, and the fishing’s better.
Question: During July, Orange Beach Saltwater Series presented by the Red Snapper World Championship (RSWC) Tournament is still in full swing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Where will you find those big prize-winning snapper this month that possibly can win a brand-new Toyota pickup truck for the lucky tournament winner?
Walker: This month, the water’s heating-up, and the snapper are moving in closer to shore. Because the snapper’s metabolism speeds-up, and they have to eat more in the hotter weather, the snapper bite improves. Since we have a number of artificial reefs, and our captains know how to manage the reefs and not over-harvest the snapper holding on these reefs, we’ll have good red snapper fishing from now until the close of the season on August 15.
Question: You have certain places you fish for amberjacks and king mackerel. I noticed on one spot we fished, birds were circling over the area, and I could see bait swimming over the spot. Why was there so much surface activity at the place where we caught amberjacks and king mackerel?
Walker: Amberjacks and king mackerel prefer to hold on bigger underwater structure than snapper and some of the other fish do. The bigger artificial reefs seem to attract more baitfish than the smaller reefs, and these baitfish attract the amberjacks and the king mackerel. When the king mackerel and the amberjacks are pushing bait to the surface, the seagulls and the other birds see this bait, dive on it and eat it. The amberjacks and the king mackerel also hold higher in the water column than the snapper, the grouper and the other bottom feeders do.
Question: Bobby, when you go offshore out to the deep water, what other fish will you be chasing?
Walker: Besides yellowfin and blackfin tuna, we’ll often find dolphin, wahoo and marlin, which are our primary targets when we fish offshore, along current and grass lines. However, we’re certainly not unhappy if we catch either a white or a blue marlin, while we’re trolling for these species. When the blue water starts coming in this month, big king mackerel – 40- to 50-pounds each sometimes and generally 15- to 20-pounds each - also start showing-up around the oil rigs.
Question: Bobby, if anglers go out this month specifically targeting marlin, what will their chances be of catching one?
Walker: The odds of catching a blue marlin now are much less than they were 20-years ago. Long-line fishermen have had an impact on the marlin population. We’re finding marlin around oil rigs with a lot of bait. In June, we fished one rift and we had four or five blue marlin come up and attack our baits. We didn’t hook one, but we had about four chances to catch one. We’ve started seeing quite a few white marlin and swordfish.
Question: When you go on a marlin trip, you’ll catch more than marlin, right?
Walker: You’ll have a chance to catch tuna, wahoo and dolphin, and we’ll try to work in some bottom fishing to catch snapper, grouper and amberjacks. We’ve also got lines out for wahoo when we go out to deep water. We’ve caught wahoo only 20- or 30-miles offshore that will have taken first place in a wahoo tournament.
Families Reel in Memorable Experience Aboard Orange Beach Charters By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Don McPherson, captain of the “Getaway” charter boat, docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, will fish for any variety of fish. Although Captain McPherson will take any type of group fishing, he specializes in family and blue-water trips.
Question: Don, what will be biting this month?
McPherson: The snapper bite has been really awesome this season. We’re catching more and bigger snapper than we’ve caught in years past. We have tons of snapper in the Gulf of Mexico right now, and as the weather continues to warm-up, the water will warm-up, causing many of the snapper to move in closer to shore. Fishing out of Orange Beach, we catch a wide variety of fish, including red snapper, grouper, triggerfish, amberjacks, vermilion snapper, white snapper and scamp. When you fish offshore, you can catch tuna, wahoo, dolphin and marlin. Generally within sight of the beach, you can catch king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. In July, the current slacks-up and we’ll start seeing that pretty green water bring in the mahi-mahi (dolphin) and the wahoo.
Question: What types of trips do you run?
McPherson: We run from 4- to 12-hour trips. We really enjoy family trips, which generally are 4- or 6-hour trips, because many times younger people don’t want to stay out in the sun all day. On a 4-hour trip, we fish for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. On a 6-hour trip, along with fishing for the Spanish mackerel and the king mackerel, we also fish out a little further and catch red snapper.
Question: What type of family trips do you take?
McPherson: We take two-parent family trips, as well as single-parent family trips. Because my first mate Gil Havard has three young boys, he knows how to help young people learn how to catch fish. We fish with light tackle, so parents and their children easily can handle pulling in any fish. While Gil takes care of the youngsters, the parents can catch fish themselves or sit back, watch the kids and take photos. Gil really enjoys fishing with young people and teaching them how to fish. If we have newcomers who never have fished before, Gil teaches the parents and the children how to fish together. We try to provide each family with a trip it’ll never forget.
Question: When you fish offshore this month, what will you be catching?
McPherson: We’re catching really-big amberjacks offshore this year. Some of these amberjacks will weigh 90-pounds plus. Although the grouper bite has been off, we’re still catching really-big grouper. Scamp fishing has been very good offshore, and we’ve seen a lot of nice-sized scamp caught out in deep water. Of course, we’re finding big snapper the further out we travel. If you add wahoo and dolphin, you’ll have a great offshore trip.
Question: What will the red snapper do as the water warms-up?
McPherson: The snapper will move closer to shore and be easier to catch. Many times we’ll see really-big snapper caught on 4- and 6-hour trips. You don’t necessarily have to be on a 12-hour trip to catch big snapper here at Orange Beach. I’ve seen fishermen on their first deep-sea fishing trips bring prize-winning snapper to the scales.
Tuna Time Off Shores of Orange Beach By: John Phillips
Editors Note: Captain Rob Gams of Cool Breeze Charter Fishing based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, runs a variety of fishing trips, from 4-hour trips to overnight trips.
Question: What will you be catching in July?
Gams: Snapper fishing will be good this month. Since amberjacks have been experiencing heavy fishing pressure, they’ll probably move out to deeper water. Too, we’ve seen a good population of triggerfish and beeliners.
Question: What type of trips do you run?
Gams: We take from 4-hour charters, which are trolling trips, to 36-hour charters, which are overnight trips.
Question: When you go on a 36-hour fishing trip, what species of fish will you be targeting in July?
Gams: We generally fish for snapper, grouper, triggerfish and amberjacks on our way out to deeper water, where we fish for tuna. We spend the evening jigging and fishing chunk baits for tuna and then troll for tuna in the morning. Depending on what the client wants, we’ll stay in the blue (deep) water and troll for marlin or bottom fish on our way back to the dock.
Question: Tell us more about night fishing for tuna.
Gams: We’ll be fishing around offshore rigs in 2,000 to 3,500 feet of water. These offshore rigs look like little mini-cities out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. They have a lot of lights on them and attract a number of baitfish, which the tuna feed on all night. We use various techniques to try and catch the tuna.
Question: What does the term “chunking” mean?
Gams: We cut bonito, mackerel or other baits into big chunks and drift them out behind the boat to attract the tuna. Using this technique, we’ll catch both blackfin and yellowfin tuna. Although we’re targeting blackfin and yellowfin tuna, because there usually are a lot of sharks concentrated around those rigs, we often will also catch one or two sharks.
Question: How big are the sharks you catch out around the rigs?
Gams: They get really big out there in that deep water. We see tiger sharks, hammerheads and sand sharks.
Question: What do you do in the morning after fishing all night?
Gams: We continue to chunk or start trolling, or we may put live bait on a kite and try to attract tuna.
Question: What time does the tuna bite usually end?
Gams: It can end 15 minutes after daylight or last all day. The length of the tuna bite depends on the weather and the mood of the tuna.
Question: Once the tuna bite ends, what do you do next?
Gams: We generally talk with our customers and see what they want to do. If they want to stay out in blue water, we’ll change up our spread of baits to target mahi-mahi (dolphin), wahoo and marlin. If they want more fish to take home, we’ll bottom fish on our way back to Orange Beach. On these trips, each customer can catch a 2-day limit of snapper, triggerfish and grouper. There are plenty of rocks and ledges that hold big grouper out in that deep water, and oftentimes that’s what our customers want to catch. But everything is biting during the month of July. We try to take our clients where they can find the fish they want to catch. July is a great month for all species of fish here at Orange Beach. If you want to know what’s biting before you come, give me a call, or check out my webpage to see what we’re catching now.
Inshore Action Heating Up in June By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Dennis Treigle of Find Me Fishing Charters, based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, fishes inshore around the jetties, the Perdido Pass bridge, and all the back bays in the Orange Beach area, as well as the Intercoastal canal. Recently, he’s been catching big flounder, redfish and speckled trout.
Flounder:
Question: Dennis, where will you find those big saddle-blanket-size flounder in June?
Treigle: We catch them drifting through the pass and around the jetties and some of the docks. Sometimes we’ll have one or two consecutive days when we find and catch really-big flounder, while at other times, we may not catch any flounder over 16- or 17-inches long. I don’t know why big flounder tend to congregate in those small areas, but it happens down here frequently. Some days the flounder will be lying right by the bridge, other days they’ll be in the holes by the jetties or in the shallow water around the jetties, and other days they may be concentrated in the shallow water by the piers.
Question: What bait do you use to catch flounder?
Treigle: Flounder like live alewives, locally called LYs, and live menhaden, but my two favorite baits to use are bull minnows and croakers.
Question: How do you fish them?
Treigle: We fish them on a Carolina rig with either a 1- or a 3/4-ounce lead up the line, a barrel swivel and 18 inches of 16-pound-test leader, attached to a No. 6 or a No. 4 hook. If I’m using croakers or bull minnows, I try to take the hook from under the bottom lip and bring the point of the hook out the nostril of the bait. This way, when we’re drift fishing, the bait appears to be swimming along the bottom.
Question: What size is your main line?
Treigle: I prefer 16-pound-test main line. Some fishermen use 12-pound test, while some use 10-pound test. But I like heavier line because we hook a lot of redfish when we’re bumping the bottom for flounder, and I need a line strong enough to bring these redfish to the boat too.
Question: How large are the big flounder you catch?
Treigle: These flounder will weigh from 4- to 6-1/2-pounds each. They’ll lay off the sides of your plate if you remove the heads and cook the fish whole. Our average flounder weigh 1 to 3 pounds. June is a great month to catch big flounder.
Redfish:
Question: Where will you locate redfish in June?
Treigle: The redfish will be concentrated in the deep holes in the pass, just like the flounder, and they also will stack-up on the docks in the bay. When the redfish are holding on the docks, you can find them by bouncing the docks, which means going from one dock to another. In a day of bouncing docks, I may fish 10 to 15 docks. We also do this type of fishing in the early fall. For some reason, the redfish will congregate around one or two docks. But you won’t know which dock is holding the redfish on the day you fish, until you check a number of docks. When we get a bite on one dock, we continue to fish that dock because usually where there’s one redfish, there will be more redfish. If we can’t catch redfish on the docks, we’ll fish around the bridge, the jetties and Perdido Pass at Orange Beach.
Speckled Trout:
Question: During June, where will you find the speckled trout this month?
Treigle: The speckled trout mainly will be holding in the backwaters of the bays. Wolf Bay and the section toward the Perdido River generally will be productive for catching specks in June. Too, many specks will be found in the Intercoastal canal this month. If Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have bad weather or high winds, we always can go to the Intercoastal canal, which is protected water, and locate speckled trout and redfish there regardless of the weather conditions. In April when I had a trip scheduled, this region had 20- to 30-mile-per-hour winds, which made the Perdido Pass, the jetties, the bridge and a number of my inshore spots too rough to fish. But we were able to fish the canal and find and catch speckled trout, redfish and flounder. So, we very rarely cancel a trip because of weather, unless the rains coming down so hard that the customers don’t want to fish. If the weather’s good, you can catch some nice-sized speckled trout around the docks right at first light or just before dark. If we’re fishing in the middle of the day, we generally will run to the Florida high-hump bridge, which has deeper water, where we often can find trout concentrated at that time of day. To fish this bridge, you need a Florida fishing license, and most of the captains here at Orange Beach who fish inshore, carry both Florida and Alabama fishing licenses.
Spanish and Kings:
Question: Can you tell us some locations where we’ll find Spanish mackerel and king mackerel this month?
Treigle: June is a great month for mackerel. When the baitfish show up, so do the mackerel, the bluefish and the ladyfish. Also, rain minnows, often called blood minnows, and LYs show-up out in the Gulf of Mexico in June. Those baitfish come from the east, and the Spanish mackerel and king mackerel follow these baits. Last year, the king mackerel fishing was slow, but the previous year, the mackerel fishing was phenomenal. If we get good, clean water pushed in from the south, we can catch the mackerel in close - right at the mouth of Perdido Pass at Orange Beach. Too, some shallow wrecks 1/2-mile off the beach out to the 3-mile barge concentrates mackerel in June. Some of these artificial reefs are only in about 30 feet of water, and we generally troll around them or anchor-up on them and fish live bait, such as LYs and cigar minnows. We free-line the bait out to the mackerel. On a good day in June, we’ll catch Spanish mackerel weighing from 4- to 5-pounds each, and the king mackerel can weigh from 35- to 40-pounds each. But most of the king mackerel we’ll catch will weigh from 5- to 20-pounds each.
This recipe is a favorite of many Gulf Coast anglers.
Ingredients:
4, 7-ounce flounder fillets
Flour (seasoned with salt & pepper)
Eggwash (4 eggs mixed with 3 cups of milk)
3 cups of pine nuts (chopped in food processor)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Preparation:
Heat 10-inch sauté skillet over high heat. Lightly dust flounder fillet in flour, dip in eggwash, and then coat well in chopped pine nuts. Add olive oil to hot skillet. Place encrusted flounder in sauté skillet, skin side up. Sauté over medium heat until golden brown. Flip, and continue cooking until golden brown.
Sauce Tuscano:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of garlic
1 tablespoon quartered black Kalamata olives
1 tablespoon of quartered green olives
3 tablespoons of quartered Crimini mushrooms
2 cups of crushed tomatoes (fresh, skinless)
2 tablespoons of basil (fresh, chopped)
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
Add salt and black pepper to taste
Preparation:
In 10-inch skillet, heat oil. Then, sauté garlic, olives and mushrooms for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, and turn to a boil. Add basil, salt and black pepper. Remove from heat, and add butter. Mix well. Spoon sauce over fish right before serving.
xxx
Advantages to Party-Boat Fishing in Orange Beach By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Davy Jones of the “C.A.T.” charter boat docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has fished out of Orange Beach for 29 years. “Yes, I do get a lot of kidding because my name is Davy Jones, and I enjoy every minute of it,” Jones says.
Question: Davy, why do you like running a party boat?
Jones: I like meeting new people every day and watching people smile as they enjoy catching fish. I have a lot of fun on these trips.
Question: You run 6-hour fishing trips for families and companies, as well as 4-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 24-hour trips. Tell me about a 6-hour trip. Where do you go and what do you catch?
Jones: Our 6-hour trips are pole-bending trips where we try to catch a lot of fish and keep customers’ poles bent the entire time they’re fishing. We go out to the natural bottom, the Trysler Grounds, and catch vermilion snapper, triggerfish, white snapper, grouper, red snapper, pogies and king mackerel. Occasionally, we’ll catch an exotic fish, such as a bigeye snapper or a queen triggerfish. The 6-hour trip is a great introductory trip for a family or a group who just wants to see the type of fishing they can expect in Orange Beach. We charge $1,450 for 10 people and then an additional 10% for every person over 10-years old for a planned, scheduled trip. If we have a walk-on trip, which is a number of different people who want to fish for 6 hours, we charge $120 per person.
Question: What do you catch on your 10- and 12-hour trips?
Jones: We generally catch amberjacks and grouper and troll for wahoo, and during red snapper season, we’ll catch really-big snapper.
Question: On a 12-our trip, how many fish do you catch?
Jones: We’ll usually bring in between 400 and 600 pounds of fish, which often will include a limit of amberjacks, four or five grouper and a good number of scamp, which is one of my favorite fish.
Question: How big are the scamp you catch?
Jones: They’ll weigh between 7 and 10 pounds, which is a really-nice-sized scamp.
Question: What’s the trick to catching scamp?
Jones: We use two-hook rigs and bait with squid on the top hook and a pinfish on the bottom hook.
Question: How deep is the water you’ll be fishing for scamp?
Jones: We’ll fish from 260 to 300 feet of water. When we fish deep, we’ll catch bigger white snapper than we’ll catch on the Trysler Grounds, 2- to 3-pound vermilion snapper (beeliners), 15- to 30-pound grouper, depending on the species of grouper we catch, and sometimes a wahoo while trolling on the way out or on the way back from our trip. Our average-sized wahoo will weigh 35 to 40 pounds. The wahoo is one of the best-eating fish we catch in the Gulf of Mexico. The king mackerel we’ll catch on those longer trips will weigh from 25- to 30-pounds each. If we’re fishing during snapper season, which we will be in June, July and until August 15th, the snapper will weigh from 10- to 18-pounds each. We’ll be fishing in the Red Snapper World Championship (RSWC) the next couple of months, and I have the coordinates of several artificial reefs locations that I’ve been saving all year for the RSWC to try to catch the biggest snapper we can.
Question: What size reefs do you have to fish to catch those big snapper?
Jones: You’d be surprised, but we’ve caught big snapper on big and little reefs. I spotted one of the biggest red snapper I’ve ever seen in the Gulf of Mexico on an underwater chicken coop that almost was rusted all the way to the bottom. I’m a scuba diver, as well as a charter-boat captain, and I like to dive and see what the fish are holding on and how they’re positioned on a wreck or a reef. I couldn’t believe that big snapper was holding on that little, almost-gone chicken coop. Although big red snapper tend to prefer large structures, I’ve seen them holding on structure not much bigger than a Coca-Cola can.
Question: What else do you see when you scuba dive?
Jones: There are plenty of fish on every reef. It’s unbelievable how many fish these artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico are holding. I dove on the Escambia Bay bridge rubble, which was only 80-feet deep, and found a number of coral, vermilion snapper, scamp, gag grouper, snapper, amberjacks and other fish. When you scuba dive on these reefs, you can see fish you may not generally catch. In the late summer, we go out to the Trysler Grounds and catch shovel-nosed lobsters. Since the reef is in 120 feet of water, you only have 7 to 8 minutes to stay on the bottom, so you may only catch two or three per dive.
Question: How big are the lobsters you catch?
Jones: They usually weigh about 2-pounds each. I’ve heard there are spiny lobsters on the Trysler Grounds, but I’ve never seen one. I don’t believe our fishermen know how many fish are holding on the reefs our charter-boat captains fish. But from scuba diving, I know our reefs are loaded with fish, and that’s why even on a 4- or a 6-hour trip, we can keep our customers’ poles bent and fish coming to the boat.
Several Birmingham, Alabama, restaurants serve this dish – a favorite of all seafood lovers.
(Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1 pound red snapper fillet (boneless and skinless)
1/4-pound imported Roquefort cheese (1/4 wheel or crumbles)
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh, grated Italian bread crumbs (coarse)
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4-stick unsalted pure butter, melted
1 small clove minced garlic
1/4-teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4-wedge fresh lemon
1/4-cup cooking wine
1/4-cup sifted flour
Preparation:
Place snapper fillet on a plate, and cut into two, 8-ounce portions. Dust snapper with flour, and sprinkle a light coat of salt and pepper on each side of the fillets. In a mixing bowl, place bread crumbs, Roquefort cheese, parsley, garlic and thyme. Place melted butter and snapper fillets in a sauté skillet on medium heat. Cook until fillets are starting to brown on each side. Then add cooking wine to deglaze, and remove from stove. Place snapper on a baking sheet, and top with a generous amount of ingredients mixed in the bowl. Place in a 350-degree oven until topping browns.
xxx
Abundant June Fishing Opportunities in Orange Beach By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: From catching marlin at the Nipple, the Spur and the Elbow to catching king mackerel and Spanish mackerel within sight of the pearly-white beaches and the breaking waves of Orange Beach, Alabama, you can do it all on a six-passenger boat. This month, Charles “Chip” Day, captain of the “Chipper’s Clipper” charter boat, based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, will tell us the advantages of booking a trip on a six-passenger boat.
Question: What is a six-pack boat?
Day: It’s a six-passenger vessel that can carry from one to six family members, business associates, long-time fishing partners or people who’ve just met at the dock at Zeke’s while fishing.
Question: What type of trips do you take on a six-pack boat?
Day: We take a variety of trips from a 4-hour trolling trip to a 12-hour offshore big-game fishing trip.
Question: Chip, what is included in a 4-hour trolling trip?
Day: We’ll troll mainly for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel, but we’ll also catch bonita and dolphin.
Question: Where do you troll?
Day: We troll from right off the beach for Spanish mackerel to further out for king mackerel. Alabama’s Marine Resources Division has built some trolling alleys that consist of small reefs in a line that go out about 8 or 9 miles. Baitfish gather and hold on these small reefs, and the king mackerel concentrate above them, providing a great spot to troll for king mackerel. We also have bridge rubble that’s been deployed to make an artificial reef we can troll over, and it’s a really good place to find king mackerel. This month, our Spanish mackerel will run from 1- to 4-pounds each and our king mackerel from 7- to 15-pounds each. Occasionally, we’ll catch a 30- to a 40-pound monster king. Most days in June, we’ll catch our limit of king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. We usually start catching the Spanish mackerel early and then move out to deeper water to catch king mackerel.
Question: Do you also run 6- and 8-hour trips?
Day: Yes, we do. On the 6-hour trips, we catch king mackerel first and then bottom fish for snapper and grouper. We usually can catch a limit of two snapper per person on the 6-hour trips, as well as catch triggerfish and vermilion snapper. Snapper season began June 1 and lasts until August 15th, and when we fish for snapper, we not only catch red snapper, but we also catch vermilion snapper, white snapper and an occasional grouper.
Question: Chip, what type of trips are the 10- to 12-hour trips?
Day: If our party wants to catch amberjacks and grouper, as well as snapper, they generally go on at least a 10- or a 12-hour trip. On these trips, we go out to deep water and remain there all day, catching group, scamp, amberjacks and big red snapper. Most of the time we catch pretty-good-sized red snapper while we’re grouper fishing because we use big baits to fish for grouper.
Question: What type of baits do you use?
Day: We primarily fish with live baits, like white grunts (locally known as ruby lip grunts), vermilion snapper or blue runners. When we finish fishing for grouper, everyone on the boat also will have their limit of red snapper. If they don’t, we stop on some artificial reefs on the way into port and finish-out our limit. On a good day, we’ll catch five or six grouper, a good number of scamps, our limit of red snapper and some triggerfish and white snapper. We often can catch amberjacks on the same hard bottom where we catch the grouper and the snapper. When you’re fishing live bait on these deep-water bottom spots, you’ll catch grouper, scamp, amberjacks and occasionally a big triggerfish. We also keep a drift line out while we’re bottom fishing and often take big king mackerel, dolphin and wahoo.
Question: Are there any other types of trips you run?
Day: During the month of June, all our big-game fish are in, including white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish, dolphin and wahoo. While we’re bottom fishing in that 200-feet-deep water, we’re not too far from the 100-Fathom Curve. So, you can have a bottom trip and a trolling trip combined, or a trip strictly for marlin, sailfish, wahoo, dolphin and tuna.
Question: Chip, how good are the marlin and the sailfish angling at that 100- Fathom Curve?
Day: On just about every trip there, we’ll have a chance to catch white or blue marlin and a sailfish. We’ll often catch wahoo and dolphin and an occasional tuna, while trolling for marlin. On a 12-hour trip, a party can troll for big-game fish and fish for snapper and grouper in the same day. Our 12-hour trips leave the dock at 6:00 am and return to the dock at 6:00 pm, so there’s time to do it all. While we’re running to that deep water to troll for marlin, we’ll put out our high-speed wahoo rigs and often pick up a wahoo going out or coming back into the dock. June is one of the most-productive months to catch all the species we have down here at the Gulf of Mexico. You can bring your friends and food and have a great day of fishing. Some of the six-pack boats even have grills on them, so you can grill a Boston butt, pork ribs or whatever you want. If you get lucky and catch a big tuna, you can have fresh-grilled tuna on the way back to the dock. The captains of six-pack boats want to please their customers and fish for the species their customers want to catch. Right now, fishing is great at Orange Beach. So, everyone come on down.
To fish with Captain Charles “Chip” Day on the “Chipper’s Clipper,” call him at 251-981-1943 or 251-952-8247.
Cubala
This recipe is popular all along the Gulf Coast – especially for get-togethers with numbers of folks.
Ingredients:
10 pounds fish (preferably scamp, grouper or snapper)
6 cups canned tomatoes
1-1/2 cups tomato paste
3 to 4 large onions, chopped
1/2-cup cooking oil
1/2-cup flour
1 lemon
5 pounds potatoes
4 tablespoons flour
Garlic to taste
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Bone fish, and cut into serving pieces. Peel, and quarter the potatoes, and boil in water, saving water. Heat oil in skillet, and sauté chopped onions and garlic until tender. Add 1/2-cup flour, and brown. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste, stirring-in until smooth. Arrange fish and potatoes in a deep roaster with lid, and cover with tomato gravy. Thicken potato water with 4 tablespoons flour, and add cut lemon and rind. Add potato water/flour/lemon/rind mixture as needed to roaster to have sufficient gravy. Cook at 350 degrees 20 to 30 minutes, cooking only until fish tests done.
xxx
Big Game Fishing Adventures off the Alabama Gulf Coast By: John Philips
Editor’s Note: Although Captain Jack Wilhite of the “Summer Hunter,” docked at San Roc Cay Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, will take 6- and 8-hour inshore trolling and bottom-fishing trips like other charter boats in the area, he prefers to make 10- and 12-hour offshore trips, running to that romantic blue water where big fish abound, drags scream and rods bend, and anglers will have their daily workouts trying to bring big fish to the boat.
Question: Captain Jack, what type of fishing do you prefer?
Wilhite: I like fishing inshore or offshore. But I really like to run to blue water and fish for wahoo, dolphin, amberjack and big grouper.
Question: During May, what fish do you generally target offshore?
Wilhite: This month, the Spanish mackerel and the king mackerel are inshore, and if we get pretty cobalt-blue water offshore, wahoo really start showing-up. On our 10- and 12-hour trips, we like to run out to the edge of the continental shelf and catch gag grouper, big vermilion snapper weighing 3- or 4-pounds each, warsaw grouper, red grouper and scamp. About mid-May, numbers of amberjacks start showing-up.
Question: How big will the amberjacks be this month?
Wilhite: In the deeper water, you never know what to expect. We’ve caught 90-pound amberjack, but the average amberjack will weigh 30- to 35-pounds each.
Question: When you take those long trips for grouper and amberjacks, you usually troll for wahoo on the way out there, don’t you?
Wilhite: Yes, we do, and if we see a weedline out in that deep water, we’ll troll around that weedline to try to catch wahoo and dolphins.
Question: When you fish for grouper, how deep is the water?
Wilhite: We’ll be fishing in 180- to 270-foot-deep water, and our primary target will be the red grouper, the gag grouper and scamp. A number of scamp have been caught this year, and even though they’re a smaller type of grouper, they’re delicious to eat and fun to catch.
Question: How big are the gag grouper you’ll catch?
Wilhite: They’ll generally weigh 30- to 35-pounds each, but we’ve also caught gag grouper weighing over 60 pounds. The red grouper are smaller, usually weighing 25- to 28-pounds each. The scamp will average 5 to 10 pounds. We’ve caught scamp weighing up to 20 pounds, but that’s rare.
Question: Do you catch red snapper when you’re fishing for big grouper, amberjack and wahoo?
Wilhite: By fishing deep, we attempt to stay away from the red snapper – which aren’t legal to catch and keep until June. We don’t have a lot of incidental catches of red snapper when we’re fishing deep water.
Question: How long do you have to travel to reach deep water?
Wilhite: We can travel from 35 to 38 miles out in about 2 hours.
Question: What else do you catch offshore at this time of year?
Wilhite: We’ll occasionally catch a king mackerel, but in June and July, we catch a lot of nice-sized kings out in that deeper water.
Question: What’s an average catch on a 10- or a 12-hour trip in May?
Wilhite: We generally bring in about 300 pounds of fish – including several nice-sized gag grouper, some red grouper, a number of scamp and some really-nice-sized vermilion snapper. With the vermilion snapper, you can keep 10 per person, and these fish usually will weigh from 2- to 4-pounds each. We also will often pick up a few triggerfish. However, if we catch triggerfish in deep water, they’ll be garbage-can-lid triggerfish, meaning they’ll be really big and round and put up nice fights. A few cobia still will be around some of the near-shore rigs. Too, we’ll catch big bull reds inshore, trolling and on our 4-, 6- and 8-hour trips.
Question: What will you catch on your 6- and 8-hour trips in May?
Wilhite: We still will target vermilion snapper, but inshore, those fish will weigh 3/4- to 1-pounds each. These fish are good to eat, just smaller than the vermilion snapper we catch offshore. Too, when we fish in close, we’ll catch more triggerfish. We catch plenty of red snapper that we have to throw back. The king mackerel also will be coming in good during the month of May, as well as Spanish mackerel.
To fish with Captain Jack Wilhite, call him at (251) 948-3474, or email him at captainjack@zebra.net.
Scrumptious Baked Fish
You have so-many opportunities to catch various species of fish offshore that the AGCCVB has included this recipe for delicious fish of every kind.
Ingredients:
Fish fillets
lemon concentrate
Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
Italian cheese blend (dried in can)
2 bell peppers, cut into rings
2 onions, cut into rings
Mild cheddar cheese, grated (enough to cover)
Butter or margarine
1 pound crab meat (optional)
Preparation:
Line a 9”x13” pan with fish fillets. Sprinkle fillets lightly with lemon concentrate, Tony’s seasoning and Italian cheese blend. Sprinkle crab over fish, and then layer bell pepper and onion evenly over fish and crabmeat. Again, sprinkle with seasoning and Italian cheese blend. Top with grated cheese, and then dot butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
(This recipe works well for highly-flavored fish, too.)
xxx
Land a New Fishing Experience Aboard Tucker's Party Boat By: John Phillips
Editors Note: Years ago, many people fished on party boats where they each paid a certain amount of money to get on the boat and fish with a party of people. You could fish alone or with family or a group of friends. You didn’t need a certain amount of people to hire a charter. Today, there’s been a resurgence of party-boat fishing and “Zeke’s Lady,” based out of Zeke’s Marina, is a new party boat docked in Orange Beach, Alabama. Captain Butch Tucker often runs two fishing trips a day on “Zeke’s Lady.”
Question: Captain, what’s “Zeke’s Lady”?
Tucker: It’s a 58-foot newly-built party boat docked at Zeke’s Landing in Orange Beach. We do private charters, but we primarily take parties of one, two, three and four people out for a 1/2-day of fishing. We offer walk-on trips (4 to 6 hours), private trips (up to 12 hours) and cruises.
Question: How much does fishing cost on a party boat?
Tucker: Depending on the time of year and the length of the trip, the cost is $55 to $85 for adults and $35 to $45 for children.
Question: What type of fish do you catch?
Tucker: We catch all the reef fish. Until the first of June, when red-snapper season starts, we have to release all the red snapper we catch. However, we catch several other species of snapper that are fun to catch and good to eat. Too, we catch scamp, triggerfish, grouper and an occasional amberjack. We may even catch a king mackerel or a cobia. In April this year, we caught a mako shark. Although we don’t target game fish, like mako sharks, king mackerel and cobia, we catch them incidentally.
Question: This month, what will your customers most likely catch?
Tucker: We’ll catch all the bottom feeders, as well as king mackerel. We caught a king mackerel on our most-recent trip. Many times when we’re catching lane snapper or vermilion snapper, the king mackerel will come along and eat the snapper on the line. Then the fisherman will catch the king mackerel, instead of the snapper.
Question: What types of sites do you fish?
Tucker: We try to fish places that don’t hold red snapper, which in years past has been very easy. Now fishing areas where the red snapper aren’t concentrated is very difficult. There are so many red snapper off the Alabama Gulf Coast that you can run and hide, but you can’t get away from those red snapper.
Question: What kind of snapper do you catch and keep in May?
Tucker: We catch white snapper, lane snapper, vermilion snapper and mangrove snapper, as well as triggerfish, two or three-different species of grouper, scamp and an occasional amberjack.
Question: How many people do you take out on your trips?
Tucker: On a 6-hour trip, we need a minimum of 16 fishermen. On a 4-hour trip, we need the equivalent of 20 adults. When we have good weather, we usually go out twice a day, every day. A party-boat trip is a good way for a family to sample the type of fishing we have at Orange Beach, and our trips are very affordable. In this down economy, more people are opting to take a party-boat trip to find out if they really like deep-sea fishing and because they’re more economical. The 4-hour trip also fits many families’ schedules. This way, they have a 1/2-day to fish and the remainder of the day to go to the beach and see other attractions. We also have private charters available for large groups of people where we can fish all day. Generally, on a day of fishing, we catch nice-sized fish, and everyone has a good time.
To fish with Captain Butch Tucker on “Zeke’s Lady,” call Zeke’s Marina Landing at 800-793-4044, or visit www.zekescharters.com.
Baked Snapper with Crabmeat Stuffing
You can prepare this flavorful dish with any type of snapper.
Ingredients:
5 – 7 pounds snapper of any kind and size
1 pound fresh shrimp
1/2-pound crabmeat
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
1 tablespoon chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green pepper, chopped fine
3/4-teaspoon salt
1/4-teaspoon pepper
1 cup wine
2 tablespoons oil
6 slices white bread
Sauce Ingredients:
1 stick butter
2 shallots, chopped fine
2 teaspoons parsley, minced
1/2-pound crabmeat
Preparation:
Shell and clean the shrimp, and cut into small pieces. Sauté the onion and garlic in oil until clear. Add the shrimp, and sauté for about 10 minutes. Dampen the bread, mash it, and add to onion and shrimp mixture. Add the green pepper, parsley, crabmeat, celery and seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Place the stuffing inside the fish, and sew up the opening or fasten with skewers.
Place the fish in a greased baking pan. Pour 1 cup of wine over it, and bake in a preheated 400-degree oven, with a piece of aluminum foil over it for the first 15 – 20 minutes. Remove foil. Dust lightly with flour. Baste from the pan occasionally, and bake until the fish flakes to a fork and is crusty brown. Remove the fish to a heated serving platter, and keep warm. Make sauce by sautéing shallots and parsley for a few minutes in melted butter. Add crabmeat, and gently stir. Pour over fish and serve immediately.
xxx
Reel In May Inshore Trout on Alabama’s Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: David Brown of Brown’s Inshore Guide Service, captain of the “Audrey II,” based out of Orange Beach Marina, has fished inshore for many years in the Orange Beach region. Brown knows the shallow waters and the back-bay areas so well that we understand he’ll occasionally get a call from schools of speckled trout asking him where they’re supposed to be this month.
Question: David, what will you be fishing for this month, and where will you find them?
Brown: I’ll be fishing for speckled trout and redfish on grass beds along the Alabama and the Florida line in the Perdido section of the coast.
Question: How deep will the grass beds be, what will you fish with, and how will you catch the specks and reds?
Brown: The grass beds will be in 3 to 5 feet of water, and I’ll be fishing with live pinfish and artificial lures, like the MirrOlure Top Dog Jr. and the Top Pup. We’ll also fish with soft-bodied jigs, like the Berkley Gulp! and finesse jigs on 10- to 12-pound-test line with spinning tackle.
Question: Where will the fish be holding?
Brown: I’ll be fishing the edges of the grass beds, the sand and around potholes in the sand.
Question: How big are the trout you’ll catch in May?
Brown: The trout usually will be in the 2- to 4-pound range. On an average day, I’ll catch 15 to 25 trout on a 4- to 6-hour trip.
Question: When is the best time to fish the grass beds?
Brown: Early morning is usually the best time of day. But during the summer months, fishing 1 hour before, during and after the full tide also can be productive.
Question: What’s the biggest trout you’ve ever caught fishing the grass beds?
Brown: About an 8-pound trout.
Question: Why do you like to fish grass beds?
Brown: Most trout fishermen around the Perdido Pass area like to fish the front beach, the jetties, inside the jetties or around the Perdido Pass bridge. I’ve found that there’s less fishing pressure on the grass flats further inside Perdido Bay.
Question: What else will you catch fishing the beds for speckled trout?
Brown: I’ll occasionally catch redfish, especially around piers as well as Spanish mackerel, bluefish and ladyfish.
Question: If you just want to target redfish, where will you fish?
Brown: For the redfish, I prefer to target piers, bridge pilings and seawalls.
Question: What baits will you use for redfish?
Brown: The redfish will hit the top-water MirrOlures I’ve mentioned earlier, gold spoons and either cut or live crabs. I usually prefer a small crab about the size of your palm. I’ll either cut the crab in half or fish it live and whole. If I’m fishing with a whole live crab, I’ll remove the pincers and hook the crab in the back corner of the shell.
Question: What size reds will you catch in May?
Brown: I’ll catch keeper reds, averaging 4- to 6-pounds each.
Question: What pound-test line will you be fishing?
Brown: I’ll be fishing 12- to 15-pound-test line, but if I’m fishing heavy structure, I’ll use braided line with a breaking strength of about 30 pounds. With these tactics, we often can catch 10 to 15 redfish per trip.
Question: Will you start seeing flounder this month?
Brown: Yes, the flounder usually will start showing-up pretty good in May. The flounder prefer a soft, sandy bottom, and I’ll catch them on soft-bodied jigs, bull minnows and live finger mullet (small mullet about the size of your little finger or index finger).
Question: How do you rig for the flounder?
Brown: I usually put a split shot about 18 inches above my bait. In a strong current, I may peg an egg sinker about 18 inches above the bait, so it doesn’t slip up and down the line.
Question: Where’s the best place to find flounder during May?
Brown: You’ll catch numbers of flounder in the Intercoastal Waterway, in and around piers and bridges, along drop-offs where the water drops off from shallow water to deep water and in the mouths of creeks.
Question: What else will you be fishing for this month?
Brown: I should be able to catch pompano, holding on sandy bottoms in clear, green water. I’ll catch them right along the beach up by the breakers on the edge of the shore. Pompano are a great surf species to target. They’re also caught along the jetties at Alabama Point.
Question: Why is May a good month to fish inshore at Alabama’s Gulf Coast?
Brown: In May, the weather begins to stabilize, the water clears-up, and we should start catching more fish than we catch at any other time of year, except the fall.
Question: David, what do you expect to catch on any 4- to 6-hour trip?
Brown: We’ll have a variety of speckled trout, redfish and flounder. And we usually catch as many as 15 to 30 fish, depending on how many anglers we have in the boat. We generally have a lot of throw backs this time of year.
To fish with Captain David Brown, call him at 251-981-6246 or 877-981-6246, or visit www.brownsinshore.com.
Creole Baked Trout
A favorite trout recipe of Alabama’s Gulf Coast anglers comes from the more-than 40-year-old “Gulf Coast Gourmet” cookbook.
Ingredients:
1 2-pound speckled trout
1/2-teaspoon garlic salt
1/8-teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/4-teaspoon thyme
1/4-cup lemon juice
1/2-cup water
1/4-cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Preparation:
Dress, and split speckled trout. Place in oiled shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Heat butter in pan and sauté vegetables for 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, lemon juice and water. Pour over fish. Mix bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon of butter and lemon peel; sprinkle over fish. Bake uncovered in 350-degree oven for 40 minutes.
Warming April Waters Lead to Top-Notch Fishing Opportunities on AL Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Troy Frady of the “Distraction” charter boat docked at Zeke’s Landing Marina is excited about fishing in April.
Fishing should be picking up this month. The water temperature will rise to 68 and 70 degrees and bring in the Spanish mackerel and more cobia than we’ve seen in March. Usually, by the first of April, the peak cobia run will begin, and the cobia fishing will be productive until the end of April.
White snapper, vermilion snapper, triggerfish and redfish will move closer in to shore as the water warms-up, which cuts down on the run time for the charter-boat fishermen and the time anglers expend to reach the fish. We will start seeing white and vermilion snapper, triggerfish and redfish within 12 to 15 miles of Perdido Pass this month.
If the water continues to warm-up through April, the fish will move even closer to the beach. When the water temperature hits 70 to 72 degrees, the big migration of king mackerel will begin as they follow the bait into that more-shallow water.
In April, you can take a 10- or a 12-hour trip to catch the bigger amberjacks and fish 30- to 35-miles offshore in 180- to 200-foot-deep water. Too, grouper season opens in April, allowing anglers to fish for red and gag grouper and scamp.
On big public wrecks, you’ll find plenty of mangrove snapper. Mangrove snapper like to hold on older established reefs, and they’re a lot of fun to catch. Sometimes we can lure those fish right up to the water’s surface. Mangrove snapper usually will hold in water 60- to 120-foot-deep. Chum these mangrove snapper to get them right on top of the water. The largest mangrove snapper we caught last year weighed 15.4 pounds – one pound less than the state record. The average mangrove snapper generally weigh 1-1/2- to 2-pounds each.
This month you can catch plenty of Spanish mackerel and mangrove snapper. The current determines how many mangrove snapper you’ll catch. If the current’s not running hard, and we can chum them up, we can start catching them as soon as we stop the boat. We chum with squid and fish with 20-pound-test monofilament line with no leader and very little or no lead, so we can let the bait just drift down. The mangrove snapper is a finicky eater and very smart. That’s why we hide the hooks in the bait.
Triggerfish have been hard to come by in recent years. However, the length limit just has been raised, and you only can keep triggerfish 14-inches long from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail. We’re starting to see some nice triggerfish caught right now. We can expect the average triggerfish size to be larger in the coming years due to this regulation. Triggerfish are easy to catch, fishing with two hooks at a time, baiting with squid and using a 6- to an 8-ounce lead. We usually fish for triggers up off the bottom.
If you’re coming for cobia, your best weather conditions are a southeast wind, 1- to 2-foot-high seas and a bright day with plenty of sunshine to see the cobia better. Most cobia fishermen go out around 9:00 and 10:00 am to have the sun at their backs. On a 6-hour trip we’ll often see two or three cobia, and we can catch one per person. However, we can catch, release and tag cobia all day long.
To learn more about fishing in April with Troy Frady, visit www.distractioncharters.com, or call 251-975-8111. Frady specializes in light-tackle fishing on 6-hour trips for families. He offers a 4-hour introductory fishing trip. For more-serious fishermen, he offers 8-, 10-, and 12-hour trips.
xxx
Big Trout Take the Bait in April on the AL Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Gary Davis of Foley, Alabama, who’s guided and fished for 40 years on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, primarily fishes out of Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay. He looks forward to April because that’s when the big trout and the flounder really start showing-up in the bay, and there’s also redfish and sheepshead to catch.
Speckled Trout:
At this time of year, speckled trout migrate out of the rivers and move into shallow water as the water warms-up and hold on oyster beds and artificial reefs in Mobile Bay. I’ll fish for the trout with a 3-inch Berkeley Gulp! Shrimp, either in the natural or the new-penny color. I’ll also use the chartreuse and green finesse jigs and grubs and the root-beer-ice finesse grubs. I’ll fish a finesse grub on a 1/4-ounce lead-head jig on either 8- or 10-pound-test line. In April, we catch some of our nicest trout, weighing from 2- to 5-pounds each. Generally on a 4-hour trip, we’ll catch a limit of 10 trout per person.
Redfish:
In April, I fish the Dixey Bar at the mouth of Mobile Bay, the Sand Island lighthouse and the shoals at Dauphin Island. I’ve caught good slot reds just west of the Dauphin Island Bridge and at the Dauphin Island Bridge itself. If you can get live croakers, they’re the best baits for catching reds. If I can’t find live croakers, I’ll fish with frozen menhaden or 12- to 15-pound-test line with a No. 4 Sea Striker hook. If the current’s really running where you’re fishing, use a 1-ounce lead up the line. In light current, you often can fish a 1/4-ounce lead up the line. We’ll usually get a limit of three redfish per person during April.
Flounder:
April’s a big flounder month. I’ll catch most of my flounder on a 3-inch Berkley Gulp! Shrimp in the new-penny color. I’ll fish this grub on a 1/4-ounce jighead by hopping it across the bottom. These flounder will weigh 2- to 3-pounds each.
Sheepshead:
April is a productive month for sheepshead. I’ll find sheepshead on the Dauphin Island Bridge, the rigs inside Mobile Bay and on the oyster beds and the artificial reefs created by the State of Alabama, like White Horse Reef, Fish River Reef and Shell Banks Reef. I catch sheepshead with live shrimp and fiddler crabs. I’ll use a 1/2-ounce lead up the line and tie the main line to a barrel swivel. I’ll fish with 14-pound-test fluorocarbon leader tied to a No. 6 Sea Striker hook. Right now, I’m catching nice-sized sheepshead, weighing from 4- to 10-pounds each. In a 4-hour trip, I’ll generally catch 20 to 40 sheepshead. My favorite way to cook sheepshead, or any type of fish, is to put about 1 inch of olive oil in a black cast-iron skillet, dredge the fish fillets in yellow cornmeal, and then cook each side until just browned. This recipe is quick and easy, and the end product is delicious, tasty fillets.
To contact Captain Gary Davis, call (251) 943-6298.
xxx
Reel in Insider’s Tips and Recipes for April Inshore Fishing on the AL Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Jeff Chambliss of the charter boat, “Baby Therapy,” based out of SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, fishes the waters around Perdido Pass, the jetties, the bridge and inside Perdido Bay. Chambliss tells us what’s biting now in April.
Pompano:
In April, I’ll start catching pompano, weighing from 1- to 3-pounds each, around the jetties and under the Perdido Pass Bridge, using live shrimp, sand fleas and pompano jigs. I’ll fish for pompano on spinning tackle with 10-pound-test line. The limit on pompano is three per person.
Flounder:
April’s a great month for flounder because the flounder will be moving into the estuary areas from the Gulf of Mexico. You can catch the flounder at the jetties, the Perdido Pass Bridge and around docks and pilings near deep water inside Perdido Bay. Oftentimes the flounder will be holding in the middle of Perdido Pass, and you can drift through the Pass, bumping the bottom, to fish for the flounder. I’ll fish a 1/2-ounce lead up the line, like a Carolina rig, with 1 foot of leader coming off the barrel swivel, below the lead and a No. 1/0 hook. To catch flounder, don’t set the hook as soon as the flounder takes the bait. Wait at least 20 seconds, and then set the hook hard.
Speckled Trout:
I’ll catch speckled trout, weighing from 1- to 7-pounds each in April, under the Perdido Pass Bridge, along the jetties and around piers close to deep water. The specks also will be in the Intracoastal Waterway. This month, the trout will be just about everywhere. I’ll catch most of my trout with live shrimp, and later in the month, I’ll catch them using live croakers, jigs with Berkley Gulp! grubs on them and Berkley PowerBait Shrimp.
Redfish:
This month, I’ll usually catch slot-limit-sized (16 to 26 inches) reds, weighing 2- to 6-pounds each. You can keep three slot-limit reds per person. The reds will be holding in the Pass, underneath the bridge, around piers close to the Pass and in shallow water along the edges of the grass beds.
Sheepshead:
A number of sheepshead will be concentrated in the region near the Pass, especially around the jetties. There usually will be large schools of sheepshead at the ends of the jetties, and you’ll have the most success fishing for them on an incoming tide with live shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, and occasionally, dead shrimp. I’ll use a Carolina rig with a 1/2-ounce lead and a No. 1/0 hook to catch sheepshead in April that will weigh from 1- to 10-pounds each.
Pompano Supreme:
My favorite pompano recipe, Pompano Supreme, is delicious and easy. First, fillet the fish. Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with slices of sweet yellow onion. Drizzle olive oil over the onion slices, and then lightly sprinkle Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning over the onion. Add a little garlic powder or fresh garlic. Lay the pompano fillets on top of the sliced, seasoned onions. Mix together olive oil and melted butter, and pour over the tops of the fillet. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the mixture. Next, place fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced, over the fish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender.
Captain Chambliss runs 4-, 6- and 8-hour trips, and guides families with children, individuals and groups. To contact Captain Jeff Chambliss, call him at 251-979-1209 or 251-981-2463, or email him at chambliss@gulftel.com.
xxx
Captain Steve Foust Includes His Favorite Tuna Recipes and Tactics He Uses Offshore at Alabama’s Gulf Coast in March By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Steve Foust, of the charter boat, “Aqua Star,” based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, fishes successfully offshore as well as inshore during March.
Question: What will you be catching offshore this month?
Foust: Since grouper season doesn’t open until April, our best trips this month offshore will be for blackfin tuna and scamp.
Question: How are you catching blackfin tuna in March?
Foust: We go out to the deep water on the edge of the continental shelf and fish around the rigs. We use diamond jigs, drop them down about 100 to 150 feet and then jerk-up the jigs and let them fall back. If the blackfin tuna are in that area, they’ll eat them up. March is too early to catch yellowfin tuna. May’s a good month for them. But the blackfins are a lot of fun to catch and delicious to eat.
Question: What else do you catch when you go out to deep water in March?
Foust: We fish for scamp, which are like small grouper. They too are fun to catch and delicious to eat. March is still somewhat early for king mackerel, marlin and wahoos.
But we can have some good fishing out in deep water for the tuna and scamp.
Question: What else are you fishing for this month?
Foust: If we’re fishing inshore, then March is a great month for the Spanish mackerel. They’ll generally start running the beach and can provide productive fishing and catching this month. Although we usually target the Spanish mackerel, we always carry cobia rods with us in case we see the cobia. If we’re fishing for Spanish mackerel on a day that we’re seeing a lot of cobia, we’ll leave the Spanish mackerel and start concentrating more on the cobia.
Question: What about bottom fishing now?
Foust: Our bottom-fishing trips are for vermillion snapper, white snapper, triggerfish and an occasional scamp. And before in March, bottom fishing has been pretty good at this time of the year. So, we have a lot of choices for fishing this month. But my favorite fishing this month is for the blackfin tuna. We can catch a lot of them, and I love to cook blackfin tuna. They are easy to cook and delicious to eat.
Blackfin Tuna Recipes:
Question: How do you cook your blackfin tuna?
Foust: I have two blackfin tuna recipes that I really like.
I’ll cut the fillet off the blackfin tuna and leave the skin attached to the fillet. Fire-up your grill, and place the tuna fillet skin-side down on the grill. Baste the top side of the tuna either with lemon and butter. Let the fish cook until the meat starts to turn white, and then remove it from the grill. The biggest problem with cooking tuna is most people overcook it. So as soon as the tuna starts to change color and turn white, go ahead, and pull it off the grill.
I also like to cut off the fillet and take the skin off the fillet. I soak the tuna fillet in Italian salad dressing for at least an hour or two. Next, I’ll put the tuna fillet on the grill and when it turns white, take it off the grill, and eat it.
I also have a favorite blackfin tuna recipe for leftover tuna. Take the leftover tuna that has been grilled, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Then the next day break-up the tuna into small pieces, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise to the tuna - more if you like the creamy type of tuna salad – add some pickles, onions and celery that have been chopped-up fine. Mix all the ingredients together to have a delicious tuna salad.
To learn more about Captain Foust, call (251) 747-4761, or email him at aquastarcharters@aol.com.
"Intimidator" Captain Shares Insider Tips for Catching and Cooking Cobia By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Johnny Greene of the charter boat, “Intimidator,” based at Orange Beach Marina, tells us what to look for this month when the brown fish show-up just off Alabama’s beaches, and how he also catches Spanish mackerel and redfish.
The cobia should start showing-up about the middle of March, and usually anglers will catch some pretty-big fish at the beginning of the run. We’ve noticed over the years that when we have really-cold winters like we’ve had this year in the Alabama Gulf Coast area, we’ll often have a larger migration of cobia running just off the Alabama Gulf Coast than usual. So, this year we’re expecting to see and catch a lot of cobia. To catch the cobia, we move up and down the beach at almost-idle speed, trying to see the cobia to cast to them. The cobia can be as close as 1/2-mile or 4 to 5 miles off the beach. We’ll run a zigzag pattern, look for the fish and try to identify a thermocline (a temperature change in the water either on or under the surface). The cobia will tend to follow changes in the water temperature and water clarity. Ideal conditions will be when this area has a southeast wind and clear water, so we can see the fish.
Once we spot the cobia, I’ll try to get the boat into position so my anglers can cast to the cobia. We like to start-off fishing with live eels from the boat’s live well. When we start looking for cobia, we’ll hook-up one of the eels, place it in a 5-gallon bucket and put some ice in the bucket with the eel to bring the water’s temperature in the bucket down. When we see a cobia and cast that cold eel out into the warm waters of the Gulf, the eel will really put on a show for the cobia and entice the big fish to eat it. If the cobia won’t take the live eel, we usually have a large live pinfish or a croaker ready to cast to the cobia. If the live bait doesn’t produce a strike from the cobia, we have big cobia jigs we can cast to the fish on spinning tackle to try to get the cobia to bite.
Oftentimes we’ll only see one or two cobia in a day of fishing, but we may see as many as 15 or 20. The best day I’ve ever had in March was one year when we saw 30 fish, cast to 20 and caught and released eight. The biggest cobia we’ve ever caught off my boat weighed 99 pounds and 6 ounces. Through the years, we’ve caught four cobia that weighed 90 pounds or more each, but we’ve never caught a 100-pound cobia. I believe that 2009 will be the year I’ll break that 100-pound mark for cobia.
One of the advantages of cobia fishing is we can catch other species of fish, while we’re looking for cobia. While moving along the beaches hunting those big brown fish, we can be pulling baits for Spanish mackerel and redfish. Many times I have families who come down in March and want to go fishing. So, we’ll troll for Spanish mackerel and redfish along the beach while we’re looking for cobia. When we spot a cobia, we’ll pull-in our trolling rods and position the boat to cast to the cobia. Once we catch or spook a cobia, we’ll once again start trolling for Spanish and king mackerel. We make sure our customers have plenty of action when we go cobia fishing.
Another advantage this year is we’ve made two changes in our pricing and the length of our trips because of the economy and better fuel prices. We’ll run 4-hour cobia trips for a family of four for $400, and we can take two, 4-hour trips in a day. We realize that many families with small children don’t want to fish all day long and may not have enough money to book an all-day trip. So, we’ve tried to make our trips more affordable and shorter who want to go on an adventure and fish for cobia, Spanish mackerel and redfish.
Rub mackerel with salt, pepper and oil. Grease broiler rack or pan before placing fish on it. Place close to a fire on the grill at first to sear the surface of the fish, and then turn and sear the second side of the fish quickly. Complete the cooking a little from the fire, turning the broiler several times during the cooking process. Or, cook the fish close to the fire until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork and is browned on the surface of one side. Transfer the broiler rack of the pan to the oven to finish cooking. Thin fillets will require from 8- to 12-minutes each. Thin whole fish will require 12 to 20 minutes of cooking. When the fish is done, pour the melted butter and the lemon juice over, and garnish with parsley and lemon.
Barbecued Ling (Cobia)
Ling is best cut into steaks or roasts for broiling or barbecuing and then basted with a sauce.
Ling steaks
Salt and pepper
Mrs. Gill’s Barbecue Sauce
Cut ling steaks 1-1/2-inches thick, and season. Use a commercial cookout grill basket. Cook on a barbecue grill for an hour or so. Baste with barbecue sauce while cooking.
Mrs. Gill’s Barbecue Sauce
1 cup chopped onions
1/3-cup garlic, minced
2 sticks margarine
1-1/4-cups lemon juice
1/2-cup Worcestershire Sauce
Salt, red pepper and Tabasco to taste
2 beef-bouillon cubes dissolved in 1 cup water
1 tablespoon smoke sauce
Sauté onions and garlic in margarine until transparent. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes.
xxx
Discover Captain Broughton’s Secrets to Capturing and Cooking Inshore Fishing in March By: John Phillips
EDITOR’S NOTE:Captain Kathy Broughton, of the charter boat, the “Kitty Wake,” based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Ala., says that March is one of the best months for inshore and near-shore fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast and then for cooking your catch.
I fish up and down the beaches near the shore, the jetties and Perdido Pass and all the back bays during March. In March, we’ll still have bull reds biting on the front beaches. Also later in March, the sheepshead will move into the jetties and the docks in the bay, and we’ll start catching speckled trout and redfish in the bays when they move out of the rivers and start heading toward the Gulf of Mexico. We may pick-up a few speckled trout around the jetties, but our best trout fishing will be in the bays during the early spring. We’ll also start catching pompano this month, however, sheepshead, speckled trout and redfish will be the primary targets.
Speckled Trout, Redfish and Sheepshead in the Bay:
The speckled trout will start coming down the creeks, and we’ll start fishing for them in the bay around the docks. The trout come to the docks first because the docks tend to hold a lot of baitfish. Too, the docks provide easy places for the trout and the slot redfish to attack and feed on the bait. The speckled trout we catch around the docks will average around 1-1/2- to 3-pounds each at the first of the month. However, as the weather warms-up toward the end of March, we’ll be catching bigger trout. On an average trip, we’ll usually catch 5 to 10 speckled trout, and often a limit of redfish or more as well as 5 to 20 sheepshead. On most of our March trips, we catch a mixed bag of speckled trout, redfish and sheepshead. We catch our fish mainly on live shrimp using a No. 6 wide bend hook and 12-pound-test line. Depending on the wind and the current, I’ll often use a split shot up the line. When we’re fishing for sheepshead, we’ll often add 20-pound leaders to our main lines to keep the sheepshead from biting the line in two and to get the sheepshead away from the barnacles on the dock.
Front Beaches on Gulf of Mexico:
If we leave the bay, motor through Perdido Pass, and go out to the front beach, we still can catch bull reds at the first of March, and those reds generally will weigh from 8- to 20-pounds each. Also on the front beach this month, we may catch pompano. Our best pompano run usually occurs about the middle or the end of March. To catch the pompano, we fish with No. 6 wide bend hooks. We’ll tie the hook onto 15- or 20-pound leader that’s about 18-inches long. We tie the leader to a barrel swivel. Then we put a slip sinker up the main 12-pound test line. We catch the pompano on live shrimp and on pompano jigs. Pink or chartreuse green seem to be the most-productive jig colors for catching the pompano. Alabama’s Gulf Coast has a three-fish limit on pompano, and they usually will weigh between 1-1/2- and 2 pounds. And the pompano are really delicious to eat.
Also when we’re fishing the front beaches in March, we’ll carry cobia rods with jigs on them. Then, if we see a cobia running close to the beach, we can cast to the cobia and often catch them.
Recipes:
Kathy Broughton enjoys cooking fresh fish. Here are some of her favorite March recipes.
Sheepshead:
Trim blood lines out of the fillets. Lightly season the sheepshead with Cajun Land seafood seasoning. Dredge in flour, and shake. Put 2 tablespoons of real butter in a medium-high skillet on the stovetop. Brown the fillets, and turn them. You may have to add some-more butter. At the last moment, add a splash of vermouth (optional).
Trout Almandine:
Lightly flour speckled trout fillets. Brown the fillets in a small amount of real butter on medium high, and then remove. Brown more butter lightly, add sliced almonds, brown, and add healthy splash of vermouth (optional). Pour sauce over trout.
To contact Captain Kathy Broughton, call her at (251) 981-4082 or (251) 747-7375, or email her at kittywakecharters@yahoo.com.
Fishing Inshore at Alabama's Gulf Coast in February with Clyde Brothers By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Clyde Brothers of Clyde’s Inshore Fishing, based at Bear Point Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, fishes primarily around Perdido Pass. In February, anglers can expect to catch big bull reds, sheepshead and any other species of inshore fish off Alabama’s beaches.
Question: Clyde, what’s biting in February in the Gulf of Mexico, and where will you catch them?
Brothers: In February, our primary targets inshore are the big bull reds. We’ll find and catch them trolling along the beach with deep-running crankbaits and jigs.
Question: What crankbaits do you like to use when you’re trolling for big bull reds?
Brothers: We prefer to use pink-colored Mann’s Stretch 25+ with 2- to 4-ounce lead-head jigs and Screw-Tail Grubs on the back.
Question: What pound-test line do you use for the big reds?
Brothers: When I’m trolling, I use 20-pound-test line. When we locate schools of redfish, I’ll cast to them with jigs on 12-pound-test line.
Question: How do you find and catch redfish inshore off Alabama’s beaches in February?
Brothers: I’ll troll in areas where I generally catch redfish, look for schools of baitfish on the surface, and then troll to the outside edge of that school. If we catch a redfish while we’re trolling, we’ll reel in the redfish, release it, reel in our trolling tackle, pick-up our casting rods and then start casting to the redfish under that school of baitfish.
Question: How big are the redfish you’ll catch fishing along Alabama’s beaches?
Brothers: We’ll catch redfish 32-inches and larger. Our average redfish in February will be 32- to 39-inches long, weighing 12- to 30-pounds each. Occasionally, we’ll catch a bigger redfish.
Question: How long do you fish for reds, and how many do you expect to catch?
Brothers: On a 4-hour trip, we’ll catch one to two redfish on a bad day. On a good day, we’ll catch as many as 20 redfish in 4 hours.
Question: How long will the big reds run at the beach?
Brothers: The redfish usually stay close to the beach, until the water warms up, and then they move inshore where you’ll find the baitfish. The redfish come in to the beach because they like to spawn at the mouth of Perdido Pass and the bow of the bay. The mouth of Perdido Pass is one of our favorite places to fish.
Question: The redfish is your primary target this month, right?
Brothers: That’s right. We’ll also start to see sheepshead inshore in February. If you run-up into the creeks that feed into the bay, you still can catch speckled trout this month, too.
Question: Where do the sheepshead show up in February?
Brothers: Perdido Pass has a good jetty system, a really-nice bridge and other structures that carry barnacles. The sheepshead come to the rocks and the bridge pilings to feed on the barnacles. Although February is too early to see numbers of sheepshead, we’ll see a few toward the end of the month with their numbers increasing as March approaches. Inshore fishing for speckled trout picks-up around the end of March. During the first of March, pompano, one of the finest eating fish in the Gulf Coast, begin to show up, and we start catching them.
Question: What species do you primarily target inshore at Alabama’s Coast in February?
Brothers: I target any species that’s biting. My job is to help my customers catch fish. We fish productive spots in February, using baits, such as live shrimp, that will produce the most fish for my customers every day we fish. There are very-few fish in the Gulf of Mexico that won’t eat live shrimp. We hook the fish just under the horn and Carolina-rig them with an egg sinker up the line, a barrel swivel below the egg sinker and about 2 feet of leader going off the barrel swivel to the hook. We’ll use 12-pound-test main line with a 20-pound-test leader and a No. 1/0 hook. Rigged this way, you can catch almost any fish that swims in the bay, under the bridge, along the jetties or out in the Gulf.
To book a trip with Clyde Brothers at Clyde’s Inshore Fishing, call him at 251-752-0421, or visit www.clydesinshorefishing.com.
Reminder to Watch Cobia Fishing Show on ESPN2 Saturday morning
George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing will feature a cobia fishing trip along the Alabama Gulf Coast. In April 2008, this world-renowned fishing expert and his production crew boarded Captain Ben Fairey’s 62-foot sport fishing boat, the Necessity.
The results of that 3-day long fishing trip will be seen during his show on Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. (CST). An encore performance will be aired on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 4:00 a.m. (CST). Check local listings to verify show times.
To learn more about the year-round fishing opportunities on the Alabama Gulf Coast, visit www.orangebeach.com.
xxx
Inshore Fishing off Alabama’s Gulf Coast and in Mobile Bay in February with Captain DeJuan Tedder By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain DeJuan Tedder of the charter boat, “No Excuses,” based at Fort Morgan, Alabama, has guided anglers off Alabama’s Gulf Coast and in Mobile Bay for 5 years. In February, Tedder expects to catch plenty of sheepshead and redfish.
In February, I’ll be catching numbers of sheepshead and slot-sized redfish. Most people visit Alabama’s Gulf Coast in February to catch monster-sized sheepshead, weighing 5- to 12-pounds each. We’ll not only find sheepshead around rigs in February but also around any type of structure with barnacles, including docks, riprap, rocks and State reefs. The weather determines where we’ll fish in February. In good weather, we’ll fish around the rigs 2- to 3-miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. However, if the water’s too rough, we’ll pull back into Mobile Bay to fish around the rigs, the riprap and other structure. Live shrimp is critical for catching sheepshead. I’ll either use live shrimp or fresh, dead shrimp that I’ll purchase from Gulf Shores Marina or Fresh Market Seafood.
I’ll use a No. 6 Khale hook on 12-pound-test line with a 3/8- or a 1/2-ounce slip sinker up the main line. Below the main line, I’ll tie on a barrel swivel. On the other end of the barrel swivel, I’ll tie on 2 feet of 20-pound-test monofilament line and attach the hook and the bait. I’ll cast my bait as close to the structure as possible without getting in the structure. To catch sheepshead, fish near rocks, wrecks, pilings or rigs. You want to catch the sheepshead cruising on the outer edges of structure. If you fish down in the structure, the big sheepshead will run around a piling, a post or another barnacle-encrusted structure and cut the line.
Sheepshead bite quickly. Usually by the time your lead reaches the bottom, you’ve either hooked-up a sheepshead or lost your bait. Because sheepshead have bony mouths, when you feel the sheepshead take the bait, quickly set the hook really hard. Once I get the sheepshead away from the structure, I’ll use less pressure on the drag to fight them in open water. For people who aren’t accustomed to fishing for sheepshead, landing the fish can be difficult. Sheepshead have sharp spines on their dorsal fins that can punch through plywood. So, I always use a dip net to land the sheepshead and a de-hooker to remove the hook. Don’t stick your finger in the mouth of a sheepshead. Their sharp teeth and powerful jaws, will bite you.
We’ll catch and keep two or three redfish weighing 5- to 12-pounds each, within the slot size we’re allowed to keep, which is 16 to 26 inches, as well as a few pompano, while fishing for sheepshead. In February, we’ll catch 15 to 20 sheepshead, weighing 5- to 8-pounds each. Alabama’s regulations allow us to keep three slot-sized redfish, or two 16- to 20-inch redfish and one over-sized redfish. The sheepshead generally will stay inshore from now until the middle or the end of April. When the sheepshead leave Mobile Bay, speckled trout, flounder and more redfish will come into the bay. Then we’ll begin to catch king mackerel offshore.
To fish with Captain DeJuan Tedder, call him at 251-978-9711, or visit www.gulfadventures.net.
Fishing Offshore at Alabama's Gulf Coast in February with Captain Dick Cappar By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: You can fish in February offshore for a wide variety of species off Alabama’s Coast. To get the most up-to-date report on offshore fishing, we talked with Captain Dick Cappar of Traveler Fishing Charters, based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Question: What’s biting out in the Gulf of Mexico in February?
Cappar: Anglers can catch plenty of vermilion snapper, triggerfish, white snapper and amberjack. We also have more red snapper than you can imagine, but we have to throw all of them back. There’s a new regulation that closes gag grouper season throughout the months of February and March this year. Toward the end of February, we’ll see king mackerel and start preparing for cobia (ling) season. When ling season hits in March, everyone will be chasing cobia up and down the beaches.
Question: You mentioned amberjack. How good is the amberjack fishing in February?
Cappar: Amberjack fishing is a gamble in February. You have to make a long run, and the amberjack may not even be there. Your best bet in February is vermilion snapper (beeliners) and triggerfish. There’s a 20-fish aggregate with beeliners, white snapper and triggerfish, meaning you can keep 20 fish of these three species. Fishing for these species will give you plenty of fish for a delicious fish fry.
Question: Where in the Gulf of Mexico do you go to find triggerfish, vermilion snapper and white snapper?
Cappar: We’ll generally find these fish 20 to 25 miles from Perdido Pass at Orange Beach. We’ll mostly fish on natural bottom, not artificial reefs or wrecks. We’ll be fishing the edge of the continental shelf in 100 to 150 feet of water.
Question: How big are the vermilion snapper you catch in February?
Cappar: We’ll keep 10-inch-long vermilion snapper, weighing about 5- to 6-pounds each. However, most vermilion snapper we catch will weigh 1-1/2 to 2-1/2-pounds each, and these are really nice-sized fish. When I catch fish to take home and eat, I prefer vermilion snapper over red snapper. It’s one of my favorite fish to eat.
Question: Where will we find triggerfish?
Cappar: Although we catch triggerfish on natural bottom, we’ll generally locate them holding above wrecks and artificial reefs. The Liberty ships and artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico are productive spots to find triggerfish in February. There are plenty of triggerfish to catch in February, and they’re easy to catch because they haven’t had heavy fishing pressure at this time of year.
Question: What size triggerfish do you catch?
Cappar: The triggerfish we can keep are up to 13-inches long from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail – a pretty-nice-sized triggerfish. This month, you won’t only catch triggerfish, vermilion snapper and white snapper. You’ll also catch numbers of red snapper, but as I’ve mentioned, you’ll have to throw them back. Our biggest challenge this month is staying away from the red snapper. There are overwhelming numbers of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico because of the new red snapper regulations, and they’ll bite any bait and rig. In the past, when we could keep red snapper throughout most of the year, we’d use single-hook rigs with long leaders and leads up the line because the red snapper would get line-shy due to heavy fishing pressure. In those days, the bigger red snapper only would eat live bait or whole cigar minnows. The red snapper became a food snob. However, because there now are tremendous amounts of red snapper in the Gulf, they’ll eat anything that hits the water. We’re constantly catching red snapper on two-hook rigs baited with squid. Only a few years ago the red snapper would turn their noses up at little baits on a two-hook rig, but not anymore. When the red snapper move into the spot we’re fishing, we’ll usually leave that site and look for another place to fish.
If we get on a good spot catching triggerfish, those red snapper often will swim in to eat our baits, and we’ll have to move away from them. A six-pack boat carrying six fishermen easily can catch and release 100 red snapper a day off Alabama’s coast. We’ll catch 8-inch and 20-pound red snapper. Some of the biggest red snapper we’ve caught this year have been caught using a two-hook rig baited with squid, while we’ve been fishing for vermilion snapper and triggerfish. Right now, the fishermen at Orange Beach will give you the coordinates for a really-good place to catch red snapper in exchange for the coordinates of a spot that holds a lot of triggerfish and/or vermilion snapper.
Bet on the Bon Secour for January Specks with Ross Whitworth By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Ross Whitworth of Jesse’s Trout Lodge on the Bon Secour River says that January’s one of the best months to catch speckled trout at Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
Question: Ross, how is your fishing in January?
Whitworth: Fishing is often great in January, because the speckled trout will concentrate in holes on the river. We keep three boats running during the winter months, and this time of year can be very productive. Our lodge is located on the Bon Secour River on Mobile Bay, and we’re on the river fishing just about every day of the year.
Question: How do you fish for the trout?
Whitworth: There are lots of options in January. We’ll fish top-water baits early in the morning for trout or use live shrimp and popping corks. Finally, we’ll freeline shrimp down to the bottoms of the deep holes. One advantage here on the Bon Secour River is the underwater springs that bring warm water into the river. The trout will enter these areas and hold all winter long. Besides the Bon Secour River, we’ll fish the Magnolia River and the Fish River, depending on which river is producing the most trout each week. My choice is the Bon Secour River because it usually yields the most speckled trout in January. We target the mouths of tributaries that feed the river, like Schoolhouse Creek, Blight’s Creek, and Boggy Branch, but the mouths of any tributaries that flow into the Bon Secour may produce a good limit of trout this month. The Bon Secour River has 28-foot-deep holes, and often the speckled trout will hold on the bottoms of these holes and nearly becoming dormant. But if you put live shrimp in front of them, they’ll take them. Because speckled trout are schooled-up at this time of year, you’ll generally catch more than one in most locations.
Question: When you’re fishing down 28 feet, what type of bait and line are you using?
Whitworth: I like 10-pound-test line on spinning tackle. I’ll keep my bait about 2 feet off the bottom. I’ll count my line down and measure it out by pulling line from my index finger and thumb down to the end of my arm. I assume that’s about 2 feet of line. You also may use live shrimp and a split shot, let the bait fall to the bottom and reel it up 2 feet off the bottom. We always can purchase a good supply of live shrimp here on the Alabama Gulf Coast. For every three people fishing, we’ll take 10- to 12-dozen live shrimp with us for a trip.
Question: Where do you hook your live shrimp?
Whitworth: I hook the shrimp right behind the horns on the tops of their heads, just behind their brains. This way, the shrimp will swim naturally to the bottom and not be drug to the bottom by the hook’s weight. By hooking a shrimp under the horn, it will stay alive better than if you tail-hook it.
Question: What’s the advantage of inshore fishing in January?
Whitworth: There are very-few days when we don’t have protected water to fish. Therefore, we aren’t nearly as affected by wind and rain as we’ll be when fishing along the beach.
Question: What are other critical factors involved in catching trout in January?
Whitworth: We time our trips to fish the tides. We always prefer a moving tide, whether it’s coming in or going out.
Question: How many speckled trout do you usually catch in a day?
Whitworth: On a good day, we’ll limit out on 18- to 22-inch speckled trout.
Question: What about catching flounder and redfish in January?
Whitworth: The flounder will be just about gone. We may catch one or two little ones, but September and October are our good flounder months. We’re catching redfish on both live shrimp and soft-plastic lures. The Berkeley Gulp! seems to be a productive soft-plastic lure to use in January. With three people on-board, we’ll catch three to five slot reds that will measure 18- to 20-inches and weigh 6- to 7-pounds each.
Question: How long are your trips?
Whitworth: Most of our trips are 6-hour trips. We’ll try to leave by 7:00 am to return to the dock around 1:00 pm. Because our lodge is on the Bon Secour River, we’ll have our clients fishing 5 minutes after we leave the dock.
Question: How does someone get in touch with you to book a trip?
Whitworth: You may call the lodge at 251-955-2248, or visit his website at www.jessestroutlodge.com.
Captain Jeff Chambliss Fishes for a Mixed Bag of Fish off Alabama's Gulf Coast in January By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Jeff Chambliss, who’s fished the front beaches, the back bays and Perdido Pass around Orange Beach for 19 years, fishes out of SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach as well as from Florida. In January, he’ll catch big redfish, speckled trout, sheepshead, black drum and red drum off the front beaches from Orange Beach to Fort Morgan on Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
Question: Jeff, where will you find fish this month?
Chambliss: There will be plenty of bull reds on the beach and near shore this month. You’ll be able to locate redfish along 40 miles of beach from Pensacola Pass to Fort Morgan. Schools of redfish will be between 1 and 2 miles from the beach feeding on the baitfish, and the best way to find them is to look for seagulls diving on the baitfish.
Question: How will you catch the redfish?
Chambliss: I’ll be using 1- to 1-1/4-ounce bucktail jigs and jigs with plastic grubs about 5-inches long on 17-pound-test line. I’ll be catching redfish from 30- to 45-inches long. On a good day, you can catch and release as many redfish as you can reel in, which may be 50, 60 or 70 redfish.
Question: Where will you find inshore fish this month?
Chambliss: We’ll catch speckled trout, sheepshead and redfish around Perdido Pass, the bridge at Perdido Pass and in the Intercoastal Canal around Gulf Shores. The most-dependable fishing spot is the Canal because on almost any day you fish, the fish will be biting. We usually drift the canal and look for the fish that may be holding on rocks, points or shallow bars. We’ll be fishing jigs with grubs on 12-pound-test line. We prefer to fish a Berkley Gulp! Alive! 3-inch Shrimp with a 3/8-ounce jighead or a Berkley PowerBait Shrimp. In the canal, when speckled trout aren’t biting, the redfish will be biting, and if the redfish aren’t biting, the speckled trout will be biting. If the speckled trout and the redfish aren’t feeding, we often can catch sheepshead or black drum. We generally catch a mixed bag of fish out of the Canal this month. The Canal offers a protected area to fish where it’s rarely too windy or too rainy to fish.
Question: When you’re fishing the back bays at this time of year, where do you find fish?
Chambliss: The piers on the south side of Bear Point and Old River usually hold trout this month. We also fish the Intercoastal Canal and the Oyster Bar Bridge in Florida. Because Orange Beach is on the Florida line, I have charter-boat licenses from Florida and Alabama, so anyone fishing with me is covered – no matter which state we fish.
Question: Jeff, in recent years we’ve heard a lot about black drum. Anglers along the Gulf Coast are now learning that black drum are as good to eat as red drum (redfish). How do you catch black drum?
Chambliss: Black drum usually don’t bite as aggressively as redfish, and we generally fish for them with shrimp or crabs. Occasionally, we’ll catch black drum with jigs.
Question: What type of run will you make to locate fish this month?
Chambliss: If the weather’s calm, I’ll look for big redfish out in the Gulf of Mexico. If the weather’s too rough to fish the Gulf, I’ll move back to Perdido Pass and fish around the piers. If I’m not successful fishing there, I’ll fish the Oyster Bar Bridge in Florida, the Lillian Bridge or the Intercoastal Canal near Gulf Shores.
Question: How do you get to the Lillian Bridge?
Chambliss: Run straight up Perdido Bay about 5-miles north of Bear Point, and you’ll come to Lillian Bridge. There are deep holes up there and piers next to deep water. But you’ll find most of the fish near the bridge. In this area, we’ll usually fish for speckled trout with grubs. You generally can cover more water with grubs, and the trout seem to prefer grubs instead of live shrimp in February. Shrimp don’t swim well in cold water.
Question: How do you work the grubs when you fish them?
Chambliss: We let the grubs fall to the bottom, bounce them three or four times over the bottom, jump them up 2 or 3 feet, let them fall back to the bottom and repeat this same action until we get the grubs back to the boat. We’re basically working the bottom third of the water column.
Question: What will be a great day of fishing during January on Alabama’s Gulf Coast?
Chambliss: We can have several-different types of fishing days. A great day may be catching and releasing all the big bull reds you’ve ever wanted to catch or catching a mixed bag of about 15 trout, a few sheepshead and three or four black drum or red drum.
"Chipper’s Clipper" - Offshore January Fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Chip Day of the charter boat, “Chipper’s Clipper,” based out of Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has been fishing off Alabama’s Gulf Coast for 24 years.
Question: Chip, what do you like about January fishing?
Day: Throughout most of the country, people are fighting ice storms, slippery streets and snowy sidewalks, but on Alabama’s Gulf Coast we’ll often have mild temperatures and sunny skies in January with plenty of fish to catch. We can tailor make a trip on “Chipper’s Clipper” to fit anyone’s fishing needs. For instance, we offer a 4-hour near-shore trip where we’ll troll for big-bull redfish. On a 10- or 12-hour trip, we’ll go offshore to catch amberjacks, triggerfish, vermilion and white snapper. On these offshore trips, we’ll also catch red snapper that we’ll throw back, because the season’s closed. Depending on the grouper season, we may catch and keep grouper. We have a good grouper fishery off Alabama’s Gulf Coast for gag, black, red and scamp grouper. The inshore boats do well on redfish and sheepshead in January, and if we go up the river we’ll catch speckled trout inshore.
Question: When you go offshore, around what are you fishing?
Day: We fish a lot of natural bottom covered with big rocks and big wrecks like barges and boats. Those big wrecks hold plenty of amberjacks. Most trips, everyone on the boat will catch amberjacks. Next we’ll target triggerfish, and white and vermilion snapper.
Question: How big are the vermilion snapper you’re catching in January?
Day: They’re 12- to 20-inches long, so they’re a good grade. The triggerfish have to be 14-inches long, and those will run from 3- to 7-pounds each. In January, we’ll catch some really-nice triggerfish.
Question: Tell me about your grouper.
Day: The gag grouper is the most-dominant species in our area, but we’ll also catch black grouper. Although our average grouper weigh 10- to 20-pounds each, every once in awhile, we’ll catch a 40-pounder using big baits. Too, we’ll catch 15- to 20-pound each catch-and-release red snapper. This year, we’ve seen a good grade of scamp weighing from 3- to 8-pounds each.
Question: What size amberjacks do you catch in January?
Day: The regulation on amberjacks says they must be 30 inches to the fork of the tail. We’ve been catching amberjacks weighing 14- to 40-pounds each. If you want to catch amberjacks and other big fish, you’ll want to schedule a 10- or a 12-hour trip, unless you want to remain inshore fishing for 20- to 40-pound catch-and-release redfish. If gas prices will stay down this year like they have been the past month, we’ll see more boats running to deep water on 10- and 12-hour trips that target big fish. During January, by catching various types of fish, a party of six will leave the boat with enough fish for a good dinner when they return to port, and still they’ll have plenty of fish to take home for their freezers.
Question: What’s the advantage of visiting Orange Beach in January?
Day: There aren’t nearly as many people fishing this month as there are in the spring and summer. Finding a charter boat is easier, and because the fish haven’t been fished hard, they’ll usually bite better. The bite generally comes much quicker at this time of year because the fish are hungrier and haven’t had that much bait offered to them. If we have the right weather (calm seas and fairly-warm temperatures), you may have the best day of fishing of your life in January on Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
To plan a trip with Chip Day on the charter boat, “Chipper’s Clipper,” call 251-981-1943 or 251-952-8247.
Catching Wahoo, Tuna, Scamp, Blue Marlin and Red Grouper with Captain Mike Rowell in December By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Mike Rowell of the “Annie Girl” docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has been a charter-boat captain for over 18 years. This month, Rowell tells us how he fishes for wahoo, blackfin and yellowfin tuna, scamp, blue marlin and red grouper.
As long as our part of the Gulf of Mexico doesn’t get a really-hard freeze, or the weather stays really cold for a couple of weeks, we can catch both blackfin and yellowfin tuna all winter. The only time we can’t catch tuna is if we have unseasonably-cold weather, and the water temperature in the Gulf drops drastically. Our area also generally has a late-season run of wahoo, and they should be here in December. If the weather stays warm like it has the last few years, we still can catch big king mackerel this month. Too, our grouper fishery has gotten better.
When we go on an overnight tuna trip in December, we usually catch more blackfin tuna than yellowfin tuna. The blackfin tuna weigh about 10-pounds each, but the yellowfin average about 100 pounds. On a good trip, we’ll catch around about eight to 10 yellowfin tuna that weigh about 100-pounds each.
We also troll for wahoo on the way to or back from the tuna grounds. Too, there are some rigs in about 300 to 400 feet of water that generally hold wahoo. We also have really-good grouper and scamp trips at this time of year. Although the scamp are smaller than the grouper, they’re usually the best eating. A legal-sized scamp is 16 inches and will average 5 to 10 pounds. But we’ve caught scamp weighing from 15 to 25 pounds. A legal-sized gag grouper has to be 22-inches long. We generally catch gag grouper that average about 10 pounds, but we’ve caught some weighing 40 pounds.
We’ve had a really-productive year in 2008 for scamp, and we’re starting to see more red grouper than we have in years past. The red grouper moved in after one of the hurricanes, and for a while, the red grouper were on every spot we fished. Even though we’re not catching as many red grouper now as we were 2- to 3-years ago, we’re catching more than we were 5- to 10-years ago. Before the hurricane brought the red grouper to the area, finding a red grouper was rare in the waters we fished. Now we frequently catch red grouper.
A couple of weeks ago, we caught a white marlin on one of our overnight trips, and a friend of mine caught a blue marlin about a month ago. Many people don’t realize that the Gulf of Mexico still has productive marlin fishing in deep water all winter. The water temperature determines the type of fish we’ll catch. As long as the water temperature stays warm, we’ll have excellent fishing this month. The 2- or 3-day cold snaps don’t really bother the fish as much as a 2-week hard freeze. South of Orange Beach, we catch blue marlin every month of the year.
We also caught bull dolphins in November. As the water cools in December, the dolphins will begin to leave. The water temperature affects the dolphins more than any other species of fish.
I strongly encourage people to book overnight trips in December because that gives the captains the option of targeting several-different species. For instance, on a tuna-fishing trip, we have to travel 70 to 80 miles. If we try to make that run in one day or during an 18-hour trip, we’ll only get one chance to catch tuna. The tuna generally bite better early in the morning or late in the evening. So, with an overnight trip, we try to get the morning tuna bite and the evening tuna bite. If the tuna aren’t biting well, we’ll have plenty of time to fall back and catch reef fish like grouper, scamp, amberjacks and other species. Your odds of catching the fish you want to catch on a 2-day trip are probably five-times better than they are on a 1-day trip. A 2-day overnight trip out of Orange Beach is a great family Christmas present. You can take the trip before or after Christmas. These kinds of trips are adventures, and family members not only have chances to catch the biggest fish of their lives, but they also have opportunities to bring back plenty of fresh fish for a Friday night fish fry in the middle of winter.
Captain John Hollingshead Catches Various Kinds of Snapper, Triggerfish, Amberjacks, Spanish Mackerel and King Mackerel in December By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain John Hollingshead of the “Miss Hollie” docked at Old Salt’s Dock across the street for the Florabama Lounge in Orange Beach, Alabama, has been a U.S. Coast Guard licensed charter-boat captainand a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) certified diver for 25 years. This month, he’ll tell us how to catch white snapper, red snapper, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, amberjacks, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel.
This month we’re catching everything except red snapper. Well, that’s not true. We’re catching plenty of red snapper, but we have to throw them back. We’re able to bring in white snapper, vermilion snapper, triggerfish and amberjacks. If the water stays warm, we’ll also catch Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. The Spanish mackerel we catch now are 18 to 28 inches and weigh an average of 2 to 3 pounds. I fish trolling areas where I always can catch Spanish and kings, if the mackerel are holding there. Many times, if you see birds working and diving on baitfish, you’ll also see Spanish or king mackerel breaking the surface, chasing the bait. If the water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico remains above 61 degrees, the mackerel will stay here. But when the water temperature drops below 61 degrees, the mackerel will leave that area.
Fortunately, when the Spanish mackerel move out, the redfish will move into the region. We usually can catch redfish right off Orange Beach within the 3-mile limit in December. At this time of year, the big bull reds will move with the cold weather, and when we locate these fish, there generally will be a school of them. Although we primarily catch-and-release big reds, we also try to find schools of little reds within the slot limit. This month, you can catch the biggest redfish of your life, and you may even catch several giant bull reds.
Right now, we have plenty of vermilion snapper (beeliners), white snapper and triggerfish holding on natural bottom in this section of the Gulf. We try not to fish the artificial reefs because they’re usually loaded-up with red snapper that we can’t catch and keep. Unfortunately, we’re still catching red snapper on natural bottom, even though we have to throw them back. In the past, the red snapper didn’t hold on natural bottom. But since the National Marine Fisheries Service reduced the bag limit, increased the length limit and shortened the season for the red snapper, you can find them in numbers of places where they haven’t normally concentrated in the past. So, we try to locate places we can fish where our customers can catch fish they can keep. The vermilion snapper and the white snapper we keep are generally 12 inches or bigger, and the triggerfish run 14 inches or larger. In one day of December fishing, we’ll catch a pretty-good mixed bag of fish. Luckily, we’ve been catching grouper on the natural bottoms. When we fish for grouper, we usually go out 20 miles or more.
If you go to almost any big wreck, you often can find amberjacks. To catch the amberjacks, we fish with live bait higher up in the water than where the snapper usually hold. We generally fish two rods at one time for amberjacks, until we catch one amberjack per person. Amberjacks will show-up as big blobs on your depth finder about 30 feet above the bottom. Sometimes if you’re fishing in 120 feet of water, the amberjacks will show-up above 190 feet. Because our electronics are more high-tech and advanced, when we pull onto a spot, I can identify the type of fish holding there by the marks they’ve left in the area. So, when we move over a site, I usually can tell if that section is holding amberjacks, vermilion snapper, white snapper, triggerfish or redfish. These new depth finders have helped the captains determine what types of fish hold on a particular area before the fishermen even let their lines down, which enables us to better target the species we want to catch. Fishing is good right now in December. And, we’ve got plenty of fish anglers can catch in a half- or a full-day fishing trip. So, come on down, and fish with us.
Inshore in December: Catching Speckled Trout, Big Bull Reds, Flounder and Pompano with Captain David Brown By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain David Brown of Brown’s Inshore Guide Service, has fished the area from Mobile Bay to Perdido Bay for over 20 years and guided professionally for more than 15 years. Brown specializes in light-tackle inshore fishing and offers full-service guide trips year-round in Alabama and Florida waters, including the Perdido Pass, the back bays and the front beaches for speckled trout, redfish and flounder.
Big Bull Reds
In December, our main attraction will be the big bull reds caught off the front beaches at Orange Beach. To find these schools of big reds, look for the birds. The larger the flock of seagulls you see diving on bait, the bigger the school of redfish beneath the bait. At this time of year, the redfish will be in the 12- to 18-pound range, but we’ll catch some as big as 30 pounds.
If I’m casting to reds under the birds, I’ll be using a jig and a soft-bodied Berkley PowerBait grub on 15- to 20-pound-test line with Shimano reels and a 7-foot St. Croix Premier Series fast-action rod. You can fish with lighter line. But if you get a 30-pound red on the line, you’ll have difficulty landing that big fish with light line. I like a 1/2-ounce jighead because I can make long casts with it and stay away from the schools of redfish. Too, the 1/2-ounce jig will fall faster than a smaller jig will.
On a 4-hour trip on a really-good day, you can catch and release 15 to 30 redfish, and on an average day, you can expect to catch 12 to 18 redfish. If you’re coming down here to fish for big bull reds, bring your camera. You may have the fishing trip of a lifetime catching big reds, and if you’re lucky enough to be here on a good day, no one will believe the number and the size of fish you’ve caught without photographic evidence. To catch these big redfish if you don’t see the birds, troll a Mann’s Stretch 20+ in chartreuse or red-and-white. When I can see the bait on the surface, but I don’t see the birds diving on the bait, I’ll start trolling Mann’s lures.
Speckled Trout
At this time of year, the speckled trout will move into the backwaters. To catch them, I prefer to go to the upper reaches of the Weeks Bay system, which includes the Fish River and the Magnolia River. I primarily catch my trout in these areas on live shrimp. During the early part of December, I’ll fish the shorelines. As the weather cools, I’ll start fishing the creek channels
.
Sheepshead
Too, toward the end of the month, we’ll generally have a good run of sheepshead. You can catch sheepshead around bridge pilings, riprap like you find at the jetties and relic piers, which are broken-down piers or docks with a lot of barnacles. The sheepshead’s main course to feed on at this time of year is barnacles. Therefore, wherever there’s a good concentration of barnacles, you should find a good concentration of sheepshead. On a productive day of sheepshead fishing, you can catch 10 or 15 in a 4-hour trip, and if the sheepshead are biting really well, catching 30 in a day in December isn’t uncommon.
Flounder
Although most of the flounder have moved out into the Gulf of Mexico by this time of year, you can still find a few flounder hanging around the sea walls, the bridge pilings and the channel drop-offs and under docks and piers.
White Trout
The white trout will be in this month in creeks and boat basins like the new Barber Marina located on the Intercoastal Waterway, just north of Orange Beach, Alabama. If you can get those white trout biting, you often can catch 20 to 40 on a trip in one day.
Slot Redfish and Black Drum
Also, in the creeks, you’ll find slot redfish and black drum. In the past, the black drum have been a discard fish, but more fishermen are learning that the black drum is as good to eat as slot-sized redfish. I don’t know why they haven’t been popular before, but the black drum and the fact that it’s a really-good eating fish have been best-kept secrets down here. Finding black drum in the same places, using the same baits you’ve fished with for sheepshead and redfish isn’t uncommon. Most of these black drum will weigh from 2 to 5 pounds. But in Mobile Bay, you may catch black drum that weigh from 30 to 40 pounds.
Pompano and Whiting
Many people aren’t aware that this section of the Gulf of Mexico gets a fall run of pompano about this time of year. The pompano will be running the front beaches, especially when we have warm weather like we’ve had recently. We’ll continue to have a run of pompano, until we get the first one or two really-hard freezes that last for several days. Since the pompano will be scattered, to catch them, we use live shrimp, fresh dead peeled shrimp or sand fleas (mole crabs), which you can dig out of the sand. I use a No. 1 hook with a 1/2-ounce egg-sinker up the line about 18 inches from the hook on 12-pound-test line with a 20-pound-test shock leader. The 18-inch shock leader is tied onto the hook and then tied onto the 12-pound-test line. The whiting, also known as ground mullet, are also in at this time of year.
If you enjoy fishing, now’s the perfect time to come to the beach. We’ve got plenty of fish right now in December. The weather’s been good, and you can avoid the summer crowds. So, if you want to have a holiday adventure, catch a lot of fish, have a ton of fun and possibly catch the biggest redfish of your life, come on down to Orange Beach this month. Plan to go home with a mess of fish you can eat for dinner.
To fish with Captain David Brown, call (251) 981-6246 or (251) 942-4037, or visit www.brownsinshore.com.
Catching Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder on the Eastern Shore with Captain William Manci in November By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain William Manci of Eastern Shore Outfitters, guides and fishes on the Gulf Coast and the Eastern Shore area of Mobile Bay. This month, he’ll tell us what we can expect to catch inshore.
Question: William, what kind of inshore fishing can we expect this month?
Manci: This month, the inshore fishing will be really good. Speckled trout, redfish and flounder move up into the rivers all along the Gulf Coast in November. We’ll be catching fish in the Mobile River, the Tensaw River, the Blakely River and the Apalachee River. The fish will be holding near points and some of the deeper holes in the river, as well as along bottom changes.
Question: What do you use to catch speckled trout in the rivers?
Manci: I generally use 3-inch grubs in the electric-chicken color. I like a 3/8-ounce lead head on 8-pound-test line with spinning tackle.
Question: How do you fish the grubs?
Manci: I like to put the grubs about 3 feet under a popping cork. I’ll generally pop the cork twice and then let the grub settle. If I don’t get a bite, I’ll pop it two times, let it sit still for about 15 seconds and then repeat the same action. Typically, the trout will take the bait after you pop it, when it’s settling. But I have had trout attack just as I’ve been popping the cork and in-between the first and the second pop. The size of the school usually determines the aggressiveness of the trout. When there’s more fish in the school, the trout tend to bite more aggressively.
Question: How big are the trout you catch?
Manci: They generally will measure from 16 to 24 inches. Cooler weather causes the trout to start leaving the bays and move into the rivers. Too, there are more shrimp in the rivers at this time of year.
Question: What is your favorite river to fish?
Manci: I like the Blakely River because it has many points and cuts. In a morning of fishing during November, we often can catch 40 to 50 trout per person, but we only can keep 10 per person.
Question: Where do you find your redfish this month?
Manci: The redfish will be up the river mixed-in with the speckled trout, holding on structure like pilings and tree tops. When I’m fishing for redfish, I’ll usually tip my grub with a piece of dead shrimp. Typically, you catch redfish bottom-hopping your jig, but I’ve also caught redfish on a popping cork. Many times the redfish will be holding in shallow water. So, even though you’re fishing with a popping cork, your jig will be close to the bottom. My jig usually will run from 6 inches to 1 foot off the bottom.
Question: How many redfish do you expect to catch in one day of November fishing?
Manci: We’ll usually catch 10 to 12 per person, and we can keep three per person.
Question: Will you be catching any white trout at this time of year?
Manci: You often will catch a few white trout, but the white-trout fishing is generally the most productive in October but starts to taper off in November. However, there will be good numbers of flounder up the rivers this month. We generally catch flounder when we’re fishing for redfish because flounder hold on the bottom where the redfish are concentrated. I fish for flounder with a grub tipped with a dead shrimp or a bull minnow. When I’m fishing with a bull minnow, I’ll use a No. 2 Kale hook and a split shot about 10 or 12 inches up the line. Fishing piers, docks, tree tops and the middles of the rivers often will pay-off in big flounder dividends.
Question: Do you ever see any working birds at this time of year?
Manci: Yes, we do. The trout will move under the schools of shrimp and start pushing the shrimp to the surface where the birds can dive on them and eat them. If you spot birds diving and picking up shrimp off the surface of the water, you can be sure there are flounder under those shrimp.
Catch Grouper, Vermilion Snapper, White Marlin and Other Species Off Alabama’s Gulf Coast in November with Captain Patrick Ivie By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Patrick Ivie of the “Intruder,” docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, guides and fishes oil rigs and other offshore areas for grouper, vermilion snapper, white marlin, tuna, king mackerel, sailfish and much more. Ivie will tell us what to expect to catch offshore in November.
Question: Patrick, what will you be catching this month?
Ivie: The length of the trip determines what kind of fish we catch, and how many we catch. On a 4- to a 6-hour trip, we’ll catch a lot of fish, including vermilion snapper, white snapper, king mackerel and triggerfish, but most of the fish will be red snapper, which we have to throw back. If you take an 8-hour trip, we usually can find these same species along with triggerfish and grouper. On a 10-hour trip, we can catch all these species as well as amberjacks. If you take an overnight fishing trip, we can catch white marlin, wahoo, sailfish and tuna, which is really-good fishing on the offshore rigs. On the longer trips, we’ll catch numbers of scamp, grouper and triggerfish, which have been our primary targets since the end of red-snapper season.
The fishing during November is productive because school has started back, cooler weather is moving into the area, fishing pressure is lighter, the fish will be biting more readily, and the grouper, the scamp and the triggerfish bite will be much better than earlier. At this time of year, I expect our anglers to really do well on these species. Our best times to fish offshore down here are in the early spring and during the fall and the winter. If the weather’s good, we usually can have really-productive fishing trips in November.
Question: What two trips are the most popular right now?
Ivie: We mainly have three trips people like to take: our 12-hour blue-water trip when we run to the Elbow and the Nipple to fish for white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish, wahoo, dolphin and tuna; our 12-hour bottom-fishing trip where we fish for grouper, white snapper, vermilion snapper, scamp and triggerfish; or, for the really-serious bill fishermen and tuna fishermen, an 18-hour trip or a 2-day trip, which usually provides the most and the biggest fish for them. On our 12-hour bottom-fishing trips, we determine which species is biting best and then target that species. We’ve had a really-productive bill fishing season this year, but the best bill fishing actually is 100-miles offshore. The tuna fishing is really good right now, with the tuna weighing from 60- to 100-pounds each, but you need an 18-hour or a 2-day trip to reach them. If we get the right weather, we can have slick seas this month. Come on down, and fish with us because the sun’s not too hot, and the fishing’s really good.
Catching Big Bull Reds, Speckled Trout, Flounder and Much More in November on Alabama’s Gulf Coast with Captain Kathy Broughton By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Kathy Broughton of Kitty Wake Charters docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has been a charter-boat captain for the past 15 years and has fished the back bays and the front beaches around Perdido Pass since 1975.
Question: Kathy, what will you be catching in November, and where will you be catching them?
Broughton: November is bull reds’ month in Orange Beach. These bull reds spawn just off the beach from 100 yards to about 2- or 3-miles offshore. I prefer to fish for these bull reds using live baits, such as pinfish, croakers, spots and alewives (if they’re still available) on light spinning tackle with 12-pound-test line.
Question: How big are the redfish you catch in November?
Broughton: We catch redfish measuring from 24- to 44-inches long, weighing from 12 to 30 pounds. These big bull reds consistently bend our rods, stretch our lines and cause our drags to scream.
Question: How many reds will your customers hook in a day of fishing?
Broughton: On a good day, my customers will hook six to eight redfish. On a great day, we’ll hook 20 or 30 reds.
Question: How long will fishing for bull reds last off Orange Beach?
Broughton: Last year was one of the best years for bull reds we’ve ever seen on the Gulf Coast with the fishing lasting from November until March. This year seems to be just as productive for redfish as last year, and it may prove to be a better year.
Question: Why do you like catching big bull reds on light line?
Broughton: Catching big reds on light line is more challenging than muscling the fish to the boat using a big reel and 30-pound-test line. Anglers must use more finesse and take more time landing a red using lighter line. Too, lighter line produces a better fight from the bull reds. Since we release most November redfish because of their big size, why not prolong our enjoyment and make the fight last as long as possible?
Question: What rod and reel do you use?
Broughton: I’ll use Penn and Shimano’s Okuma reels with Contour Rods.
Question: Tell me about speckled-trout fishing in November.
Broughton: I fish the back bays and the jetties around Perdido Pass, the bridge at Perdido Pass and the front beaches just out of the Pass. By November, most speckled trout in these regions have left and moved north into the back bays. However, good numbers of white trout will remain in coves and along the Intercoastal Waterway. A few speckled trout should be in the canal as well. When the speckled trout begin moving north in November, the flounder will start moving south. We have a productive November flounder run on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. When the speckled trout move north, the flounder leave the estuary regions and swim into the Gulf’s back bays, jetties and the Pass. These flounder will hang around in large numbers until the first big cold front arrives, and then they’ll move offshore. People interested in flounder fishing should stay close to the Pass and fish the docks closest to the Pass.
A new regulation has been introduced on flounder. In the past, no limits were placed on flounder, but the new regulations state that anglers may keep only 10 flounder that are 10 inches or longer. I’m glad to see this limit placed on flounder because flounder are fun to catch and delicious to eat, so we need to ensure there are always plenty of them. My customers and I catch nice-sized flounder from 12- to 22-inches long in November, with 4 pounders not being uncommon. Too, large numbers of mangrove snapper will be in this region during November, but these mangrove snapper are usually less than 12-inches long, so we aren’t permitted to keep them.
Question: Kathy, what else do you catch along Alabama’s Gulf Coast in November?
Broughton: If the weather stays warm, king mackerel and Spanish mackerel will roam the front beach waters. The average-size November king mackerel weighs 4 to 5 pounds, but 10 pounders aren’t uncommon. A king mackerel weighing 3 to 5 pounds may have brown spots and resemble a Spanish mackerel. To tell the difference between a young king mackerel with brown spots and a very-large Spanish mackerel, look at the lateral line on the side of the fish. If this lateral line drops down to a sharp 45-degree angle and then becomes wavy, you’ve landed a king mackerel. The lateral line on the Spanish mackerel goes straight across the fish’s side and is wavy but doesn’t have the sharp 45-degree drop. The daily creel limit on king mackerel is two per person with a 24-inch minimum size limit, and the limit on Spanish mackerel is 15 per person with no size limit.
Although we catch a wide variety of fish in November, most fishermen visiting the Alabama Gulf Coast look to battle with the big bull reds and catch white trout and flounder to take home for supper. In November, even beginner anglers have the opportunity to catch the bull reds of their lifetimes. You may catch four or five monster bull reds on a day of fishing in November. So, y’all come on down and fish with us, because we’ve got plenty of string-stretching action on Alabama’s Gulf Coast this month.
To fish with Captain Kathy Broughton, email kittywakecharters@yahoo.com, or call 251-981-4082 or 251-747-7375.
More Fish Than Ever Before on Alabama’s Gulf Coast in October with Captain Bobby Walker By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Bobby Walker of the Summer Breeze Charters docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has charter fished for 40 years.
Question: Bobby, what kind of fishing can we expect in October?
Walker: The fishing for blackfin and yellowfin tuna was really productive in September and should improve during October. On the way to catch tuna offshore, we’ll catch numbers of wahoo and dolphin (mahi-mahi). Too, this month, the amberjack fishing should be really good. However, I’m most excited about catching more triggerfish, which are fun to catch and delicious to eat. Our region should home plenty of triggerfish this month. The vermilion snapper bite has continued in September and should get better in October. In October, we start catching football-sized beeliners, which are bigger, more-rounded vermilion snapper that come from the natural bottom down to the south and the southeast of Perdido Pass. We have bigger rocks on the bottom in those directions, which tend to hold the bigger vermilion snapper. Although we’ve had good catches of big vermilion snapper, I’m most excited about the bigger triggerfish we caught last month and will continue to catch through October.
Question: There’s a new size limit on amberjack, right?
Walker: Yes. The amberjack has to be 30-inches long from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail to keep it. That size amberjack will weigh about 20 pounds.
Question: You mentioned that the triggerfish bite is strong. What’s the secret to catching big triggerfish?
Walker: Triggerfish hold higher in the water on rocks and reefs than most other species. We catch them using a two-hook rig with smaller hooks than the hooks we use to catch red snapper, and we put squid or cut bonita on for bait. We’ve found that the cut bonita seems to be the best bait for triggerfish. We instruct our customers to drop their baits down, let their lines down for 10 to 15 seconds and then stop the descent of the line. If the bait reaches the bottom, you’ll most likely catch red snapper, which have to be released.
Question: What size triggerfish do you catch?
Walker: We catch all sizes of triggerfish, but the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has increased the size of triggerfish we can keep to 14-inches long from the fork of the tail to the tip of the nose, which are really-nice-sized triggerfish. Since snapper season closes early, and the limits have been reduced, the triggerfish have been hit hard by anglers. So, I’m really glad to see this regulation being enforced on the triggerfish. We still can catch plenty of triggerfish, but we’re keeping the bigger-sized fish.
Question: Normally when hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast, we get a new crop of grouper. Did that happen this year after the hurricanes of the late summer and early fall?
Walker: Yes, to some degree. A number of small grouper and a few bigger ones moved into our area after the hurricanes. On our last charter trip, we caught about 10 or 15 grouper off one spot, weighing from 3- to 5-pounds each. That was a boat load of grouper. Too, after the storms, our area received a big surge of smaller grouper. When we fish natural bottoms instead of reefs, we generally catch one or two nice-sized grouper each day. Some of the other boats will catch five or six grouper. The scamp fishing has increased more than the grouper fishing. I’m really hoping that the NMFS will change the red snapper season and bag limit. Right now, if I’m 3-miles or 20- or 30-miles out in 200 feet of water or more, we catch 5-pound-or-more red snapper. So, the area homes a high-quality grade of snapper and numbers of them, but we can’t keep them.
Question: What else is moving inshore in October?
Walker: King mackerel are starting to move in at this time of year. On almost ever spot we fish, we put out a drift line and generally will catch king mackerel weighing from 12 to 20 pounds. On some trips, almost everyone on the boat will catch a king mackerel. And catching a 30- or a 40-pound king mackerel in October isn’t uncommon. This month, we’ll fish for a mixed box of fish, such as white snapper, vermilion snapper, grey snapper, triggerfish, amberjack, scamp, grouper and king mackerel, which are all fun-catching and good-eating fish. We catch and release more fish now than we ever have, and we keep a wider variety of fish.
Question: What about offshore fishing?
Walker: The captains fishing offshore report that marlin fishing, especially white marlin, has really been hot. One captain tagged four white marlin and one blue marlin in one day of fishing. So, the marlin are coming in strong right now, and there should be plenty of marlin to catch during October. When we fish offshore, we generally catch plenty of blackfin tuna at first light around the rigs, and then we start trolling for yellowfin tuna. Too, we’ve caught a good grade of yellowfin tuna that will weigh from 50 to over 100 pounds. Most of our tuna average from 60 to 70 pounds. Of course, when you fish for yellowfin, you’ll catch dolphin and wahoo, especially since the water is clear. October is a great month to fish here on the Alabama Gulf Coast, whether you want to bottom fish or fish offshore.
To fish with Bobby Walker at Summer Breeze Charters, call 251-981-6159, or visit www.bobbywalker.com.
Fishing Doesn’t Get Any Better Than October Offshore at Orange Beach with Captain Johnny Greene By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: October is the best month to catch a variety of fish along Alabama’s Gulf Coast because as the weather cools off, the baitfish move in, with the sportfish following not far behind. According to Captain Johnny Greene of the “Intimidator,” docked at Orange Beach Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, anglers don’t have to travel nearly as far to catch fish in October as they do in the summer.
This month, the primary focus for our bottom fishermen will be yellowfin tuna, blackfin tuna, amberjack, white snapper, scamp and gag grouper. In October, we don’t have to travel nearly as far to find and catch the gag grouper as we do in the summertime. On a good day of grouper fishing, everybody in the boat will catch one or two grouper. Of course, there always will be big snapper to catch, which you can’t keep, but you can photograph them. Too, you’ll catch scamp and big white snapper. With snapper season being shortened, more anglers are targeting scamp. We’ve caught several scamp in the 15- to 25-pound range. To catch these big-sized scamp, put your time in at the rail, and be ready to drop your bait when I tell you to drop it. You can’t stand back and wait until someone else gets a bite before you decide to fish. Traditionally, the first one or two baits that hit the bottom will be the baits the scamp will take.
Too, this month, we’ll catch plenty of king mackerel until the first really-hard cold front moves through the area. The tuna and the king mackerel follow the same baitfish, and as long as the bait stays close inshore, the king mackerel will be biting. If we have a mild winter, we may have king mackerel inshore all month. Now, we don’t catch the monster kings that weigh from 40 to 60 pounds like those, caught by the Southern Kingfish Tournament anglers. Our kings will range from 25 to 30 pounds.
Amberjack fishing will be good throughout the winter. We’ve caught gorilla-sized amberjack weighing an average of 30- to 50-pounds each all year because of the overabundance of baitfish. We’ve also caught amberjack in the 90- to 100-pound range. We fished the Alabama General Contractors Rodeo a few weeks ago and finished second place in the amberjack division with an 88-pound amberjack. We won the rodeo overall with a number of other good catches. Too, this year, we’ve caught plenty of blackfin and yellowfin tuna, which have averaged about 100 pounds, depending on the size of fish in the schools of tuna we find each trip.
The wahoo fishing also has been really productive this year. The average wahoo we catch weighs around 30 to 50 pounds, with an occasional 60 to 70 pounder. In October, the wahoo make their fall migration into our area, so everyone on the boat generally will take at least one wahoo. Most of our big wahoo are caught in the middle of the day when most of my fishermen are half-asleep and not expecting to get good bites.
This year has been the best for marlin I can remember. We’ve caught more white marlin over at the Nipple and the Elbow than I’ve caught in many years. Also, the swordfish have really showed-up well this year. We’re catching quite a few swordfish now, and around the 14th of October, we’ll be doing a lot of swordfishing. Although we haven’t caught many blue marlin, we have caught white marlin and sailfish.
This month, you can leave the dock and expect to catch anything from a white snapper to a blue marlin within 40 to 50 miles of Orange Beach. Since the baitfish are moving close to shore, we don’t spend nearly as much money for gas to reach productive fishing waters. If I had to pick one species this month that your chances are the best for catching, I’d choose swordfish. We’ve had tremendous success with the swordfish this year. We can average catching about one swordfish every trip. Recently, I saw pictures of a fisherman who caught a 200-pound swordfish. Our boat record is a 185-pound swordfish. When I was younger, this area didn’t home swordfish. But the swordfish have had a strong comeback in our region, and we’ve just begun to learn how to catch them.
If you’d like to fish with Captain Johnny Green on the “Intimidator,” call 251-747-2872, or visit www.fishorangebeach.com.
Catching October’s Inshore Specks, Reds and Flounder with Captain Chad Pruitt By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Chad Pruitt of the charter boat “Reel Job,” docked at SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach, is an inshore guide along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Pruitt will tell us where to find specks, reds and flounder, and how to catch them.
Question: Chad, what species of fish will you be catching this month, where will you find them, and how will you catch them?
Pruitt: This month, flounder will migrate out of the rivers and the back bays, moving out toward the Gulf of Mexico. October should offer flounder fishing as productive as any other month.
Question: Where will you locate the flounder this month?
Pruitt: Many flounder will migrate out into the Gulf of Mexico in October. So, I’ll usually pinpoint flounder stacked-up on wrecks or reefs in less than 40 feet of water. Piers in the Gulf of Mexico’s back-bay regions and the passes leading from the back bays to the Gulf also will fill-up with flounder. We’ll have plenty of flounder to catch all month, but the peak of flounder catching in October will be around the full moon.
Question: How big are the flounder you’ll take this month?
Pruitt: We’ll catch smaller flounder weighing from 1- to 2-pounds each or doormat-size flounder, which are 6 to 8 pounders.
Question: What bait will you use for flounder?
Pruitt: If you’re using live bait for flounder, you can’t beat bull minnows or small finger mullets, 1- to 3-1/2-inches long. For artificial baits, my favorite is the Berkley Gulp! Shrimp. I prefer a non-painted jighead over a painted one.
Question: How do you rig when you’re fishing live bait?
Pruitt: I’ll put a 1/4- to a 1/2-ounce egg sinker up the line, tie a barrel swivel to the end of the line and attach 10 to 12 inches of fluorocarbon leader to the barrel swivel. Then I’ll hook live bait through the lips with a No. 2 Khale hook. I’ll attempt to cast out to the side of the structure, whether I’m fishing wrecks, pier pilings or rocks on the bottom. Then, I’ll drag my bait beside the structure.
Question: How do you set the hook on a flounder?
Pruitt: Many people miss flounder when fishing in October because the flounder typically will come-up and bump or bite the bait. The fishermen often will set their hooks the first time they feel the flounder hit their baits. I advise an angler to wait 5 to 8 seconds after he or she feels the bite before attempting to set the hook on the flounder. When you feel the flounder bite the bait, drop your rod tip to throw slack in the line, and allow the flounder to pull the line through the egg sinker with no resistance. After 5 to 8 seconds, lift your rod tip up until you feel the flounder, but instead of setting the hook, begin reeling. The Khale hook will set itself. If you try to strike a flounder too quickly or set the hook too hard, you’ll more than likely miss the fish.
Question: How do you get the flounder in the boat?
Pruitt: We use a dip net. I saw a client lip a flounder only once. The first time a person sticks his thumb in that flounder’s mouth and is bitten with those sharp teeth, he’ll realize why we use a dip net and pliers to take the flounder off the hook.
Question: During a day of October fishing, how many flounder do you expect to catch?
Pruitt: Around a productive wreck or dock, I’ll easily catch 40 to 50 flounder in a day. The daily limit for flounder is 10 per person, but you can catch and release as many as you want. If you don’t find a large school of flounder holding on one spot, you still should be able to get your 10-fish limit in one day of fishing.
Question: Let’s talk about speckled trout. Where will you find the specks and how will you catch them this month?
Pruitt: There are plenty of trout around Ono Island, Bunkhart Point and the flats. Bunkhart Point is what the locals and guides call it – it doesn’t have an official name. It’s a little point across from Sportman Marina. Even if a cold front passes through, trout will remain in the bays moving toward the mouths of creeks such as Soldier Creek, Palmetto Creek and Long Creek. My favorite places to fish in October are the Old River, the grass flats on the north side of Ono Island and the docks around Bunkart Point. Too, I prefer to fish the grass flats around Rabbit Island on the opposite end of Ono Island.
Question: What do you use to catch trout?
Pruitt: If I’m fishing grass flats early in the morning, I’ll use top-water lures like the MirrOlure Top Dog or the Heddon Super Spook, which are both top-water walking baits. As the sun rises, I prefer to fish a finesse bait, such as the Bass Assassin saltwater lures, or the Berkley Gulp! Shaky Shad rigged with the new keel-weighted hooks that have the weight on the shaft of the hook. You can purchase these hooks in a variety of weight sizes. Keel-weighted hooks have a peg pin that allows you to peg the bait’s head to the eye of the hook on a Texas-style rig. The weight on the hook’s shaft allows you to cast this hook further and causes the hook to fall vertically instead of horizontally. When you twitch the bait, and the bait comes to the surface, the keel-weighted hook will take the bait back to the bottom. Using these types of hooks, you can fish the bait faster than if you put the weight on the line.
Question: What pound-test line will you be fishing?
Pruitt: I like 20-pound-test braided line with 10- or 15-pound-test fluorocarbon leader attached to the line with a uni-knot.
Question: Where do you find redfish, and how do you catch them in October?
Pruitt: The redfish will be everywhere, and you’ll locate them while fishing for flounder and specks. But if you just want to catch redfish, fish around docks on Bunkart Point and the Old River and fish the bridge pilings at Perdido Pass. The Pass is loaded with redfish right now. Look for them in the pass and around bridges and jetties. The redfishing is absolutely phenomenal.
Question: How do you fish the docks?
Pruitt: I’ll skip artificial lures under the docks on 50- to 60-pound-test braided line. You’ll need heavy braided line with abrasion resistance to pull the redfish out of the docks. Most redfish I’ll catch weigh 5 to 8 pounds, but I’ll catch an occasional 10 to 15 pounder fishing docks.
Question: How do you catch the redfish around the Perdido Pass Bridge?
Pruitt: You’ll need an incoming or an outgoing tide for good redfishing in the pass. My favorite bait is live croakers, but alewives and big menhaden are also productive. To get these baits, you must catch them yourself in a cast net before you go fishing. If you don’t have a cast net or don’t know how to catch bait, you’ll be successful using live shrimp, which you can purchase at most bait shops. However, croakers are my favorite live bait for redfish and speckled trout.
Question: In an 8-hour day of fishing, what do you expect to catch this month?
Pruitt: I’ll have 4- to 10-hour guide trips, but if an angler wants to fish all day, we’ll target speckled trout, flounder and redfish, and most likely we’ll limit out in good weather conditions. With two fishermen, we can load the cooler with good-eating fish, while having fun catching specks, reds and flounder at the same time.
To fish with Captain Chad Pruitt on the “Reel Job,” call (251) 747-4275, or email him at reeljobcharters1@gulftel.net.
Catching Vermilion and White Snapper, Grouper, Triggerfish, Tuna and Amberjacks in September with Captain George Pfeiffer on Alabama’s Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain George Pfeiffer, captain of the “CAT” charter boat docked at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has fished in the Gulf of Mexico for 35 years and has owned his own charter boat since 1995.
Right now, everything’s biting in the Gulf of Mexico. There are plenty of nice-sized vermilion snapper, white snapper, triggerfish and amberjack to be caught. The snapper are biting really well, and we’re still catching plenty of grouper. We still can catch two red snapper per person in Florida waters, which is only about 9 miles from Perdito Pass at Orange Beach, until the end of October. Too, almost half the charter boats in Alabama are licensed in Florida, so you don’t have to purchase an additional Florida fishing license.
To get snapper and other fish into your boat in a 12- to an 18-hour trip, I recommend you catch offshore fish first. Then move to Florida waters for snapper, and finally, fish Alabama state waters before you return to the dock. On an 18-hour trip, we’ll fish for tuna and big amberjacks on the close-in oil and gas rigs. We’ll catch grouper, scamp, white snapper and triggerfish in 200- to 300-foot-deep waters and then head to Florida waters for red snapper. On a 12-hour trip, we’ll catch amberjacks, grouper, snapper, triggerfish, white snapper and red snapper.
In September, not much fishing pressure exists because schools has started, and not many boats are on the water fishing for snapper, grouper and amberjacks. However, the fish have gathered back-up, the water’s cooling off, making the bite more active, and the fish are hungry. So, at this time of year, keeping rods bent all day is easy.
If you book a fishing trip on the “CAT” charter boat, we’ll have time to run to Florida waters to catch snapper and return to Alabama waters for other species of fish. But to get more value for your money, plan a 12- to an 18-hour trip to have time to stop for live bait for offshore fishing. Although we’ve caught numbers of scamp lately, the scamp are finicky, only preferring smaller pinfish and pogies. If we don’t get smaller-sized baitfish, we’ll have a more-difficult time catching scamp. When we catch the right-size bait, we’ll catch nice-sized scamp.
We also deep drop fish offshore with electric reels and polypropylene line in water depths of 300 to 400 feet, catching yellowedge grouper, scamp, tilefish and other deep-water fish.
September is a great month to plan a trip in the Gulf of Mexico. The weather’s cool, and the tropical storms have turned to gentle breezes. Last time I fished with a family during this month, the water was so calm and slick that the small children were able to stand on the deck beside their parents and fish. So, if you’re thinking of visiting the Gulf this year, September is the most-productive month.
To plan a trip with Captain George Pfeiffer on the “CAT” charter boat, call (888) 558-3889, or visit www.fishorangebeach.net.
September’s Blue Water Report for Alabama’s Gulf Coast with Captain Ricky McDuffie By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Ricky McDuffie of the “Sea Hunter,” docked at SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has fished out of Orange Beach for 30 years.
Question: Ricky, why is September such a productive month to fish out of Orange Beach?
McDuffie: We’ve got some really-big fish in the region that can be caught this month. At this time of year, the giant king mackerel will come in weighing from 35- to 45-pounds each. Too, this is a great month for swordfish. The swordfish in our area have really made a comeback. On our 2-day trips, we usually drop fish for swordfish at night. Most people don’t know that we’ve got a great swordfish fishery here in this region. During the 1970s here, area fishermen caught quite a few swordfish. But then when the commercial long-line fishermen discovered the abundance of swordfish, they almost wiped-out the population. Fortunately, the federal government restricted the catching of swordfish, allowing the swordfish population to rebound tremendously.
Right now, you have a better chance of catching swordfish at night than any other species of fish. Your odds are much better for catching a swordfish at night than they are trolling for marlin or sailfish during the day. Our swordfish weigh on average from 30- to about 200-pounds each. To keep a swordfish, it must weigh about 50 pounds. Swordfish are delicious to eat and a lot of fun to catch.
Question: How deep is the water you’re fishing when you fish for swordfish?
McDuffie: The bottom will be around 1400- to 1500-feet deep. We bait with squid and use a Cyalume light stick to illuminate the bay and attract the live squid. The swordfish will chase the live squid and then hopefully take our dead squid bait.
Question: What’s the best night of swordfishing you’ve ever had?
McDuffie: We’ve caught five or six swordfish in one night. On one night, we caught three keepers that weighed a total of over 300 pounds.
Question: How deep do you run your baits?
McDuffie: We generally put our baits down from 100- to 300-feet deep. Our clients really like catching swordfish because they fight so hard. Too, the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) ranks the swordfish as the highest achievement an angler can attain, if he catches it on a hook and line. Last year, Orange Beach didn’t have any swordfish, but now there are plenty concentrated in our area. If someone is willing to fish for swordfish all night long, he or she will have a good chance of catching two or three swordfish in one night. We often catch swordfish when we’re fishing in areas that usually produce swordfish. Many of our fishermen on overnight trips prefer to go to the places where we normally catch tuna than the spots where we usually catch swordfish. We sometimes catch swordfish in the tuna sections, but not nearly as many as we’ll catch if we fish the regions that hold the most swordfish.
Question: What other fish do you catch out there in the blue water during September?
McDuffie: We still have plenty of dolphin (mahi mahi) and wahoo.
Question: Where do you find wahoo, and how do you catch them?
McDuffie: September and October are great months for wahoo fishing. We catch the wahoo on our trolling lines when we’re reef fishing for grouper, scamp, amberjack and triggerfish. We generally catch a few wahoo every day when we’re reef fishing, but when we fish offshore around the deep-water rigs, we’ll catch even more wahoo. Too, when we go out to the rigs, we have a chance to catch blue marlin or sailfish. We still have a lot of anglers who come out in the fall to fish for tuna. We catch quite a few yellowfin and blackfin tuna that fight well and are delicious to eat. So, for anglers who want to get in some great fishing during cooler temperatures while there are more boats available, and the fish are biting better, come down this month and fish with us.
To fish with Ricky McDuffie, call him at (251) 981-9686, or on his cell at (251) 747-4468, or check out his webpage at www.orangebeachfishing.com.
Catching September Speckled and White Trout, Flounder and Keeper-Sized Redfish with Captain Don Holloway on Alabama’s Gulf Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Don Holloway, captain of the “Back Bay” charter boat docked at Gulf Shores Marina at the western tip of the Fort Morgan peninsula, is the owner and operator of Back Bay Fishing with Don.
Question: Don, where do you fish?
Holloway: I primarily fish Mobile Bay in the Fort Morgan area.
Question: What kind of fish will be biting this month?
Holloway: Speckled trout, white trout, flounder and slot-limit-size redfish. We catch and release big bull reds bigger than the redfish slot on Dixey Bar.
Question: What rods and reels do you use?
Holloway: When I’m live-bait fishing, I prefer Shimano 4000 open-face spinning reels and Shimano 6- to 7-foot medium- to light-action rods with 12-pound-test Trilene Big Game line and a No. 4 Kale hook. If I’m fishing with a jig, I’ll use the Berkley Gulp! in the new-penny color or the natural-molting color.
Question: Why do you use these rods and reels?
Holloway: I like the Shimano 4000 reels because you can’t wear them out.
Question: Why do you like 12-pound-test line?
Holloway: This line is light enough to be invisible in the water and heavy enough to land any fish I’m targeting in this area. If we’re fishing for bull reds off Dixey Bar, I’ll use a heavier test line and a heavier rod and reel. But when I’m fishing the bay, I fish with 12-pound-test line.
Question: What kind of fish do you catch in Mobile Bay?
Holloway: In September and October, the speckled trout will weigh 2- to 4-pounds each, with an occasional 6 pounder being caught. White trout will weigh an average of 1- to 1-1/4-pounds. Keeper reds will weigh 3- to 5-pounds each, and flounder will weigh 2- to 4-pounds each. From the middle of September through October, flounder begin coming out of the rivers and the bays, migrating toward the Gulf of Mexico. That’s when we’ll catch big flounder. When the flounder come down the rivers and the bays, they must make a 90-degree turn when they hit the Fort Morgan peninsula to swim into the Gulf of Mexico. That’s why we catch so-many nice-sized flounder during September and October. Flounder will stack up-on the southeastern corner where the Intracoastal Waterway meets Mobile Bay.
Question: When you’re fishing Dixey Bar for big bull reds, how big are the redfish you’re catching, and on what are you catching them?
Holloway: I like to fish with pogies, croakers and pinfish. To catch big reds, I prefer a 3- to a 4-inch-long live bait, a No. 7/0 circle hook and a 2-ounce slip sinker with a swivel attached to 60-pound-test leader and 30-pound-test main line. I’ll keep the lead on the bottom and let the live bait swim just above the bottom. The best time to catch big bull reds is on an outgoing tide. I’ll drift with the current. After I pass over Dixey Bar, I’ll take up my line, go back into the bay and drift over Dixey Bar again. When we locate schools of redfish, we’ll mark the spot where they’re holding with a buoy. Then we’ll drift over that spot again and again.
Question: How big are the redfish you catch?
Holloway: Last year, I caught the biggest redfish I’ve ever caught – 44 pounds, 4 ounces. Most of the redfish we catch on Dixey Bar will weigh 25- to 30-pounds each.
Question: How many big bull reds will you catch in a day in this region?
Holloway: With clear water and no wind or crosscurrent, I’ll often catch 20 to 25 redfish in a 4-hour charter. On a bad day, I’ll catch five to 10 redfish. On our best day, we’ve caught and released 42-big bull reds in a 4-hour trip.
Question: What fish do you keep and eat?
Holloway: You’re allowed to keep three redfish. Two of them can be 16- to 20-inches long, and you may keep one oversized redfish. We choose not to keep the big bull reds. You can keep 10 speckled trout longer than 14 inches. There’s no creel limit with flounder, but the flounder must be longer than 12 inches. Also, there’s no creel or length limit on white trout, and you can keep all the white trout you want. September is an excellent month to fish Mobile Bay, so y’all plan to come on down and bring your coolers. We’ll fill them with fish.
A Second Offshore Cobia Run in August on Alabama’s Gulf Coast with Captain Seth Wilson By: John Phillips
Along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, the annual cobia run occurs toward the end of March. The cobia come from south Florida, migrating up Florida’s west coast around the Panhandle, and then move to the Alabama, the Mississippi and the Louisiana coasts to spend their summers around or near the mouth of the Mississippi River. In the fall, the cobia make a second, smaller run from west to east and back to south Florida. Now there’s a strong indication that the cobia make a second run from east to west in August.
According to Captain Seth Wilson of the “Riptide” charter boat out of Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, “I’ve received reports from my friends who are charter-boat captains in Destin, Florida, that they’re having a phenomenal second run of cobia right now, and that the cobia are migrating from the east to west like they do in early spring. For as long as I’ve fished Alabama’s Gulf Coast, I’ve never seen the migration of cobia this late in the year. But for some unknown reason, the cobia are on their way. These cobia should arrive in large numbers by the end of July and perhaps into August. If the cobia keep coming, we could have a cobia run bigger than we’ve had in the spring that possibly will last throughout August and into September.” If this migration takes place as predicted, we may see some of the best fishing of the year during August and September.”
Question: What else will you be catching in August, Seth?
Wilson: We’ll be trying to catch beeliners (vermilion snapper), white snapper, grouper, scamp and amberjacks.
Question: Where will you find these fish?
Wilson: We’ll make longer runs to fish deeper water than we’ve fished all season to get away from the red snapper. However, we’ll still be catching a few red snapper that we’ll have to release after August 4.
Question: How deep is deep water, Seth?
Wilson: Generally when you’re fishing in water 180-feet deep, you don’t get into the large numbers of red snapper that we catch in shallow, warm water. We’ll be catching more amberjacks and grouper in deeper water and fewer snapper.
Question: How far out will you have to go to reach 180-foot-deep water?
Wilson: We’ll have to travel 30-miles offshore.
Question: Are the big beeliners moving in during August like in the past?
Wilson: I’m not sure. We’re catching numbers of big beeliners right now. This year has been strange. We’ve got a healthy crop of amberjacks, and my reports reveal a big migration of cobia that should show up on Alabama’s Gulf Coast any day now. This means the cobia are several months past their time that they usually show up here. The captains I’ve talked to in Panama City and Destin have told me to get ready, because they’re catching cobia now, and the cobia are headed our way. We had a strong cobia run this past spring, and the yellowfin tuna didn’t show up at the Midnight Lumps off Louisiana’s coast like they have in the past. No one really has an explanation for this second cobia run.
Question: Are you catching any triggerfish?
Wilson: No, we believe the red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico have eaten-up all the young triggerfish. All the triggerfish we’re catching are too big for red snapper to eat. The limit on triggerfish is 14 inches from its nose to the fork of its tail. We’re not catching any small triggerfish at all.
Question: You’ve mentioned that you’ve been having a strong amberjack run. How big are the amberjacks you’re catching?
Wilson: We’re catching numbers of amberjacks between 28- and 30-inches long, weighing about 15- to 20-pounds each.
Question: What about white snapper?
Wilson: We’ve been catching some big white snapper, weighing an average of 3 to 5 pounds – an excellent eating-sized snapper.
Question: Red-snapper season closes on August 4, but that doesn’t mean the charter-boat captains at Orange Beach can’t take a party out fishing and catch a good box of fish, right?
Wilson: That’s exactly right. This misconception is common for many fishermen visiting the Gulf Coast. Just because we can’t catch and eat red snapper doesn’t mean the season’s closed for other fish. During this time of year, we have lots of fun and catch numbers of fish that are delicious to eat, such as white snapper, vermilion and mangrove snapper, amberjacks, grouper and scamp. August is a great month to go fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, and because many school systems begin in August, you’ll probably have your pick of charter-boat captains this month.
To book a trip aboard the “Riptide” with Captain Wilson, call him at (251) 981-1500.
The August Head Boat Report with Captain Butch Tucker By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Butch Tucker of “Zeke’s Lady” charter boat, docked at Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, runs a 6-hour trip in the morning and a 4-hour trip in the afternoon, during the summer months. Even if you can’t charter a boat on your own, you can go out on a head boat like “Zeke’s Lady” with other anglers and catch plenty of fish.
Question: Butch, what will snapper fishing be like in August?
Tucker: Red snapper are the easiest fish to catch. So, when we get our limit of two snapper per person per day until the season closes on August 4, we try to catch everything but red snapper. We catch three or four species of other types of snapper, as well as grouper, scamp and amberjacks.
Question: How will you find those fish this month?
Tucker: I’ll be fishing natural bottom and large underwater wrecks.
Question: What did you catch in July?
Tucker: We caught large numbers of red snapper. In August, we’ll catch even more red snapper, but we’ll have to release them. Red snapper are taking over the Gulf of Mexico. One boat went out to 199-foot-deep water, and 20 feet under the boat, they were catching red snapper. This incident reveals how many red snapper are in the Gulf of Mexico right now. We’ve still got many-other varieties of snapper we can catch this month along with grouper, amberjacks and scamp. King mackerel will be found in Gulf waters in August as well. When we’re fishing for snapper other than red snapper, we’ll fish with two hooks instead of one and use smaller baits. When we’re fishing for grouper or scamp, we’ll use bigger live bait.
Question: When you’re fishing for grouper and scamp with live bait, how long is the leader you use?
Tucker: As short as 18 inches or as long as 8 feet. The type of wreck or reef we’re fishing usually determines the length of the leader we’ll use.
Question: How do you get the grouper off the bottom once you hook it, Butch?
Tucker: You reel the handle forward as quickly as possible to get a grouper out of its hole and toward the surface quickly.
Question: What size king mackerel will you be catching in August?
Tucker: We’ll be catching what I call “schooling kings” that will weigh from 12- to 20-pounds each. As the weather cools down, larger king mackerel will move in, and we’ll catch kings that weigh 40 pounds or more.
Question: If someone wants to catch a king mackerel on your boat, how do they do it?
Tucker: They’ll fish with a spinning reel and a hook with no lead and cast out a live bait or a whole dead cigar minnow on a drift line. King mackerel often swarm over the bigger wrecks and reefs, since there’s plenty of bait there for them to eat.
Question: What sizes of snapper are you catching right now?
Tucker: We’re catching really-big snapper. During one 4-hour afternoon trip, we caught a 22-1/2- and a 21-pound red snapper. So, there are plenty of snapper waiting to be caught. The big snapper are always on Alabama’s wrecks and reefs. The problem is getting our bait through the small snapper and down to the larger snapper. There are so many red snapper on Alabama’s reefs in August that they’re like a pack of wild dogs waiting on a biscuit. When you throw a biscuit out there, one of the snapper will grab it.
Question: How deep was the water where you caught those big, 20-pound-plus snapper?
Tucker: I was in 45 feet of water, fishing over an artificial reef. I got one report of a boat out fishing last week that stopped in 150 feet of water over an artificial reef. Before the passengers could get their baits in the water, red snapper began swimming around their boat looking for food.
Question: If someone wants to go fishing with you, how do they contact you?
Tucker: They can call me at (850) 380-3321. When snapper season closes, we’ll start running 8-hour trips in addition to our 4- and 6-hour trips. One 4-hour trip is $75-per-adult and $45 for children and riders. A 6-hour trip is $95 for adults and $65 for children and riders. This price includes your Red Snapper World Championship tournament ticket, if you’re fishing the very first of the month while the tournament continues. Out of the top-20 red snapper caught in this Championship, two of the red snapper were caught on our boat by clients on one of these trips.
Inshore August Fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast with Captain Dennis Treigle By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Dennis Treigle of the “Find Me Fishing” charter boat is an inshore fisherman who specializes in finding and catching speckled trout, redfish and flounder.
Question: Dennis, where will you be fishing in August, and what will you be catching?
Treigle: During August, most of our fish will be caught from the bay area near Perdido Pass. In the early morning, we’ll be concentrating on speckled trout. Later in the morning, when the sun’s up, and the trout bite is over, we’ll be fishing for redfish and flounder. As the weather warms up even more in August, fishing for speckled trout becomes tough. So, anyone who wants to catch speckled trout needs to get up before daylight and be on the water as soon as the sun glows. After the redfish bite’s over, we move from dock to dock inside the bay until we find a dock holding redfish. Certain docks will hold large numbers of redfish. When you locate these docks, you can have a good time catching plenty of redfish. Not every dock will produce redfish. We’ll still be catching quite a few flounder around jetties in the Pass when we catch the right bait for them.
Question: Let’s talk about the early-morning bite with speckled trout. Where will you fish for the trout, and what will you use to catch the trout?
Treigle: Several factors dictate how many trout you’ll catch on any morning you fish. You must first begin fishing before daylight, and then you need to fish either the incoming or the outgoing tide. Generally the speckled trout bite is better during an incoming tide. Most of the guides fishing for trout this month will arrive at the docks long before they meet their parties and drag their shrimp nets to catch live croakers for bait. They’ll catch a few trout on menhaden and some trout on live shrimp. But live croakers are the best bait for speckled trout.
Question: How big are the croakers you use?
Treigle: I fish with croakers 2-1/2- to 4-inches long because croakers get on the bottom and croak, attracting speckled trout.
Question: What pound-test line should our readers use to catch speckled trout?
Treigle: I prefer to use 10- to 12-pound-test line when fishing for speckled trout. When you’re fishing for redfish around docks, you’ll need 14- to 17-pound-test line. However, many fishermen use heavier test line then that.
Question: What bait do you use to catch redfish?
Treigle: The redfish should be taking alewives, menhaden, croakers and spots. Right now, redfish prefer live shrimp, which is odd but not surprising since we’ve had such a strange year of fishing. The inshore bait didn’t show up until the third week of July. Usually by this time, the fish are tired of eating shrimp and are feeding heavily on baitfish. However, since the baitfish will be in the area in August, we may see a transition from live shrimp to other live baits I mentioned earlier. Generally medium-sized baits will produce more redfish than really-big baits or very-small baits.
Question: How do you catch the menhaden and the other live baits you use for redfish?
Treigle: We use a cast net and find the live bait around the docks. Nothing’s better than getting good, fresh hardy baits early in the morning before you go out fishing.
Question: What about flounder – where do you find them, and how do you catch them?
Treigle: The flounder eat bull minnows early in the morning. You can get those bull minnows at a tackle shop or catch them in your cast net. You can walk around any island around Perdido Pass and see small schools of baitfish floating to shore. The locally-named tiger minnow is a productive bait for flounder. You also can use bull minnows with a big, round head or live alewives. Once I get my bait, I’ll use an ounce of lead with a 1-1/2-foot leader and a No. 6 hook. I’ll bounce the lead off the bottom, on the edge of rock jetties or behind bridge pilings.
I tell my fishermen to cast the bait out, let the bait cover the bottom and sit there for a full minute. Then slowly begin to drag the lead on the bottom back toward the boat, so the bait covers a large portion of the bottom. I’ve found that the best time to catch flounder is on either end of the tide change, meaning you’ll want to fish either the last hour or two of an incoming tide and/or the first hour or two of an outgoing tide. That’s when the speckled trout seem to feed the best in this region.
Question: Dennis, what do you think about reports of a possible second cobia run in August and September?
Treigle: I believe it will happen this month. The third week in July, I was returning from fishing, and I ran past a cobia cruising on the surface. I didn’t see the cobia until I was right beside it. That fish dove for the bottom and never reappeared. I’ve never seen a cobia this late in the season, and the cobia was heading from east to west. Since we’re getting reports out of Destin and Panama City, Florida, that boat captains are seeing large numbers of cobia moving up the beach, I believe we’ll have an unusually-late run of cobia this year. If this happens, we’ll have some of our finest fishing of the year this month.
To fish with Captain Dennis Treigle, call him at (850) 221-7732, or email him at fmfcharters@cox.net.
Captain Jeff Chambliss Fishes for Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder in July on Alabama’s Coast By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: In Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, the weather’s never too rough to fish. With the number of back bays, canals, lagoons, coastal rivers and artificial reefs in the area, regardless of the weather conditions or the temperature, fish are always biting somewhere on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Captain Jeff Chambliss, who’s fished Perdido Bay and Perdido Pass for 18 years, fishes out of SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach and specializes in catching speckled trout, redfish and the occasional flounder.
Question: Jeff, where will the fish be in July, and how will you catch them?
Chambliss: I primarily fish for speckled trout. This month they’ll be in the bays and on the grass beds around piers and sandbars.
Question: Jeff, how do you rig, and what do you use to catch specks?
Chambliss: I primarily use live bait, unless I’m fishing early in the morning or late in the evening. During those early-morning hours, I’ll catch speckled trout on the MirrOLure Top Dog or a MirrOdine, which is a new sub-surface bait from MirrOLure that’s fished like a twitch bait. The trout will be holding in only about 2 feet of water on sandbars, grass beds and island points on July early mornings.
Question: How do you fish with live bait for specks?
Chambliss: I either fish live shrimp or a live croaker on a No. 1/0 hook, using10-pound-test line with spinning tackle. If I’m fishing with shrimp, I’ll occasionally use a shot lead up the line. But if I’m fishing with live croakers, I don’t put any lead on my line. I just cast ‘em out and let ‘em swim.
Question: What size trout will you catch this month?
Chambliss: Our trout will weigh from 1-1/2- to 5-pounds each in July, and we can catch them every day this month.
Question: How about redfish?
Chambliss: Redfish are normally good in July, but the redfish bite was really slow during the first half of this summer.
Question: Where do you catch the redfish?
Chambliss: We mainly fish for them around Perdido Pass and along the jetties and the bridge pilings.
Question: A swift current’s generally running through the pass. How do you get your bait down to the redfish?
Chambliss: I use about a 1/2-ounce lead up the line on a Carolina rig with a 20-pound-test monofilament leader about 18- to 24-inches long and bait with either a live shrimp or a live croaker. I may even bait with a piece of a crab. Instead of 10-pound-test lines, like I fish with for specks, I’ll be fishing with 14-pound-test line, using a No. 1/0 or a No. 2/0 hook, depending on the size of the redfish we’re catching.
Question: How do you fish for the redfish in the current that comes through the pass?
Chambliss: If the current’s not too bad, you can fish upcurrent of the bridge pilings and alongside the edges of the jetties and let your bait bounce on the bottom. But if a really-strong current is coming through the pass, we’ll fish downcurrent of the bridge pilings in that slack water. Now, if you’ll be fishing behind the pilings, you’ve got to know which pilings you can fish behind and which pilings you can’t, because you can’t anchor, tie-up or fish in the channel. One of the best ways to make sure you’re where you’re supposed to be is when you motor your boat behind the pilings, look up at the pilings. If there aren’t any lights on them, then you’re in a place you can fish. If there are lights at the tops of the pilings, you’re in the wrong place, and you’d better move before you get a ticket.
Question: What size reds do you catch in the pass?
Chambliss: They’ll generally weigh from 5- to 15-pounds each.
Question: What’s the slot?
Chambliss: Our slot is 16 to 23 inches, and an angler can have three redfish with only one of them being bigger than the slot.
Question: What’s the limit on speckled trout?
Chambliss: The trout have to be a minimum of 14 inches, and you can keep 10 per day.
Question: Jeff, where would you go to catch flounder in July?
Chambliss: I drift fish with bull minnows around the bridge, using the same type rig I’ve used for redfish. The only difference is the bait. Small croakers will produce flounder, but those flatfish really prefer bull minnows.
Question: On a day of flounder fishing, how many do you expect to catch?
Chambliss: If we’re just targeting flounder, I’ll hope to catch from 0 to 12.
Question: If I want to catch speckled trout, redfish and flounder in July, how will the day unfold?
Chambliss: We’ll first go after speckled trout. We’ll leave the dock at 7:00 am, and if we have our trout by 8:00 am or 9:00 am, we’ll move from inside the bay out toward the pass and fish for redfish and flounder around the bridge and the rocks.
Question: What makes the pass so productive?
Chambliss: Perdido Pass moves a lot of water when the tide comes in and goes out. That moving water brings in and out a number of baitfish.
Question: Do you catch anything else in the area you fish?
Chambliss: Just outside the pass, we’ll catch Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. We use 60-pound-test line, a steel leader and a No. 2/0 hook with two hooks on a piece of wire leader with no lead for mackerel. We’ll fish with live cigar minnows or alewives for bait. Then we slow-troll around the mouth of the pass. The king mackerel there will run from 5- to 25-pounds each, and the Spanish mackerel will weigh an average from 1- to 3-pounds each.
Question: How long is a half-day trip?
Chambliss: Usually 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Most days, during that time, we’ll catch either 10 or 25 trout. Oftentimes we’ll catch a few redfish, too.
Question: Jeff, if somebody doesn’t want to fish in a boat but wants to fish the pass, will you advise them to fish the wall near the parking lot or fish the jetties?
Chambliss: The jetties will be your best bet, but the rocks are really rough, and crawling out on them is rough. We should have a lot of trout here in July, and the fishing should be good the entire month. Your best fishing will be during the middle of the week because there’s less crowd fishing, and you have better odds of catching more and bigger fish.
To fish with Captain Jeff Chambliss, call (251) 981-2463 or (251) 579-1209, or email Chambliss@gulftel.com.
Catching a Box Full of Fish Near Shore with Captain Art Jones By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Art Jones of Orange Beach, Alabama, has operated the charter boat, “Dana-J,” docked at Outcast Marina in Orange Beach, since 1986. While many captains reach the dock early to get quickly to the offshore fishing grounds, the “Dana-J” is one of the last boats out and one of the first boats to return, always carrying a good box full of fish. Many years ago, while other captains built reefs 10- to 20-miles offshore, Jones built reefs just outside the 3-mile limit. “In the past, we used landmarks to find our reefs, but with the arrival of global positioning systems (GPS), most captains could travel further and still have the ability to pinpoint their reefs,” Jones says. “But I continued to fish close and caught as many big-sized fish close to port as the other boats that ran far offshore. With the continuous rise of fuel prices, I haven’t needed to increase my fishermen’s charges, because I don’t run as far out as other boats. However, we still catch the same amount of quality fish as other boats.”
Question: What’s offshore fishing close-in like in July?
Jones: We’ll catch a number of king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, red snapper and triggerfish. The grouper bite will be a little slow, but the white-snapper bite should be good at this time of year.
Question: How far do you generally fish from the pass?
Jones: I usually don’t travel more than 10-miles offshore because I’ve built close-in reefs. Sometimes we catch big snapper within 5 miles of the beach. When the water temperature reaches 80 degrees or more, the snapper move-in close and load-up on the inshore reefs. Those artificial reefs hold a wide variety of baitfish, and the baitfish move closer to shore as the water warms-up. Too, we don’t have as much competition on near-shore reefs as the captains who fish offshore. I enjoy fishing by myself – without other boats near-by.
Question: How deep are your reefs, Art?
Jones: My most-shallow reef I’ve built is in 35 feet of water. I fish out to 200 feet of water, but most of my fishing takes place in 50 to 80 feet of water.
Question: What kind of reefs do you build?
Jones: Most of my reefs are chicken coops. We put two to three large chicken coops together to create a reef. I also buy and deploy concrete pyramids about 10-feet square and 10-feet high, weighing approximately 5,000 to 6,000 pounds, with triangular-shaped holes in them. These reefs are able to survive a hurricane, and they’ll hold numbers of fish.
Question: What do you catch around these near-shore reefs?
Jones: Occasionally I’ll catch grouper, amberjacks and numbers of triggerfish and red snapper. Since the red-snapper limit is two-per-person, I start fishing as soon as I leave the pass. We put out lines and troll for Spanish and king mackerel on the way out to the artificial reefs. The Spanish mackerel we catch weigh from 2- to 3-pounds each, and the king mackerel weigh from 8 to 10 pounds on average. We’ve also been limiting out on vermillion snapper (beeliners) during each 8- to 10-hour trip. We can get the aggregate limit of triggerfish, vermillion snapper and red snapper, and when you throw in a couple of amberjacks and several king mackerel, that’s a big box full of fish.
Question: What’s the limit on king mackerel and Spanish mackerel?
Jones: On Spanish mackerel, it’s 10 per person, two per person on king mackerel, which must be 24-inches long from the fork to the tail, and two per person for red snapper.
Question: What’s the secret to catching red snapper?
Jones: Wait on the second bite. Many times snapper will come up high in the water, allowing me to study the way red snapper take the bait. The first time it hits the bait, the snapper is trying to either kill the bait or taste it but not eat it. The second time the snapper hits the bait, it’s attempting to eat it. So, I tell my fishermen not to set the hook on the first bite, but instead to wait until the second bite, count to three and then set the hook. Over the years, I’ve learned that the fishermen who wait on the second bite land more snapper than those who set the hook on their first bite. There are plenty of inshore fish to catch at this time of year. Too, July is a great month for bottom fishing.
To contact Captain Art Jones, call him at (850) 944-3124 or (251) 967-3262, or email him at ajones504@bellsouth.net.
Finding and Catching Fish Offshore in July from Alabama Waters with Captain Peter Fill By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Captain Peter Fill of the charter boat, “Yankee Star,” based out of Outcast Marina in Gulf Shores, Alabama, set the new state record for black grouper this past year. This month, Fill will tell us where he finds and catches fish offshore in July.
Question: Peter, how long have you fished at Orange Beach?
Fill: I’ve fished here for 20 years.
Question: What fishing conditions can we expect in July?
Fill: If we don’t have a hurricane, the fishing should be fantastic.
Question: Do you go far offshore or fish in close?
Fill: I fish as close as I can to catch the fish my customers want to catch. Last year, before gas prices were so expensive, we could run to the deep water and have productive catches. Now we fish more 6- to 8-hour trips and still catch numbers of fish closer to shore. I run 10- to 12-hour trips as well, but the majority of our trips run 6 to 8 hours.
Question: How long does getting the two-red-snapper-per-person limit take?
Fill: That depends on the fishermen and their skill levels. With some fishermen, we get everyone’s limit within 10 minutes. With other fishermen, we may spend 1 hour catching the limit. There are plenty of big red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico right now.
Question: What’s the average size red snapper you’re catching right now?
Fill: Our average snapper weighs from 6 to 8 pounds with an occasional 10 to 14 pounder being caught. We try to stay away from the smaller snapper that we have to catch and release.
Question: What type of bait do you use in July?
Fill: Primarily we use live cigar minnows, and we do a lot of light-tackle fishing.
Question: After you catch your two red-snapper limit, what fish do you target?
Fill: We’ll often try to catch black snapper. Around our region are natural bottoms with rocks on them, which home numbers of black snapper.
Question: How big are the black snapper you’re catching?
Fill: The black snapper weigh from 2- to 12-pounds each. These are great snapper, and we usually can catch nice-sized ones. Some days we may not catch any black snapper, and on other days, we may catch four to six black snapper. The number of black snapper we catch depends on the weather and the water conditions and the skills of the anglers.
Question: During a 6-hour trip, after you catch your limit of red snapper and four or five black snapper, what will you target next?
Fill: We’ll target king mackerel. We usually troll spoons with planers or sea witches. We often catch 8, 10 and 12 pounders. During an 8-hour trip, after we’ve tried to catch black snapper, we’ll often try to catch grouper. Sometimes we’ll catch beeliners (vermillion snapper) and/or white snapper instead. The white snapper and the beeliners generally prefer natural bottom, so we’ll search for places to target those fish. We’re fortunate at Orange Beach because not only do we have plenty of reefs to fish, we also have numbers of close-in reefs as well as offshore reefs. We always can find a pretty-good catch of fish in July.
Right now, there are plenty of boats and captains available for charter. But if you’re coming to the Orange Beach area this month, book your trip early. The middle of the week is always the best time to charter a boat because there’s less fishing pressure then, and a captain usually can work more spots. Some boats run double-down trips, taking a party out for 6 hours in the morning and another party out for 6 hours in the afternoon. So, if you’re unable to book a morning trip, don’t overlook afternoon trips. Since fish don’t carry pocket watches, they don’t know the time of day. When you put baits down in front of them and they’re hungry, they’ll eat it. Fishing at the Gulf Coast is great right now. Plan a trip this month, and come fish with us!
To have a great day of fishing and catch a wide variety of fish, you can reach Captain Fill at Marina Charters at (251) 981-4510, or email him at dodo@gulftel.com, or visit his website at www.yankeestar.com, where you’ll see photos of his fishermen and their catches.
Fishing at Alabama’s Gulf Coast with Josh Hiller By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Josh Hiller, an inshore guide for Inshore Fishing Adventures at Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has fished these waters for the last 16 years. Hiller tells us where to find fish and how to catch them in June.
Question: Josh, where will the speckled trout be this month?
Hiller: You’ll find the majority of the speckled trout either on the grass flats first thing in the morning before the sun rises or near docks around the bays in the afternoon. The trout bite is usually an early-morning bite, a late-afternoon bite or a night bite. When the sun rises, and the weather warms up, the trout move into deeper water and usually don’t feed very well.
Question: How do the tides affect the trout bite?
Hiller: When I’m fishing for trout, I always like to find some type of moving water. Whether the tide’s is coming in or going out isn’t important, as long as the water’s moving. The tide moves the bait, and the trout follow the bait. However, when I’m trout fishing, I really prefer an incoming tide.
Question: What about night fishing for trout?
Hiller: We’ll be doing plenty of night fishing in June, around the dock lights in the bays and Ono Island. The night bite is excellent for trout. Many times we’ll catch more trout at night than in the morning. There’s not as much boat traffic then, and the trout just seem to bite better after the sun goes down.
Question: Where will you locate redfish at this time of year?
Hiller: Redfish will be pretty much on the same bite as the trout – early in the morning, late in the afternoon and at night. You can catch the redfish on the flats and around docks in the evening. To catch redfish, look for schools of menhaden. Since the redfish follow the menhaden, wherever you find menhaden, expect to catch redfish. Too, the redfish bite is really good in June. The dock lights in the bay attract baitfish after dark, and wherever you find concentrations of baitfish, you’ll locate plenty of speckled trout and redfish.
Question: Josh, where should anglers look for pompano?
Hiller: The pompano arrive about the end of May in our section of the Gulf Coast, and in June, they’re usually here in numbers. To effectively catch pompano, fish jigs in really-clean and clear water. You also can use natural baits, like sand fleas or live shrimp. Pompano prefer clear water and sandy bottoms.
Question: Josh, you get a good run of Spanish mackerel this month too, right?
Hiller: Yes, we do. The Spanish mackerel like to hold in the passes during June. We prefer to catch the Spanish mackerel trolling with either tube-type baits or the Mann’s Stretch 15+ lures. Also, the Got-Cha lures are very productive for catching Spanish mackerel. Spanish mackerel like to run the edges of a sandbar or a shoal. Many times you’ll spot large schools of Spanish mackerel coming through the passes, feeding on glass minnows and rain minnows. If you see schools of Spanish mackerel, throw a jig or a Got-Cha lure to the fish. Remember to use wire leader because Spanish mackerel have sharp teeth that will cut your monofilament line.
Question: Josh, what about king mackerel?
Hiller: In June, we can catch king mackerel at the mouths of the passes. We like to either float live cigar minnows or troll big swim baits. Another good technique is to anchor-up outside the pass, put out a chum bag and float dead baits behind the boat in that chum slick. Remember, the king mackerel have sharp teeth like the Spanish mackerel, so use wire leader when fishing for them. The king mackerel also will move into the bays, chasing schools of menhaden.
Question: Where will you find flounder this month, Josh?
Hiller: The flounder usually will hold on the jetties or any other rock piles as well as on docks and piers and in drainages coming from the marshes. My favorite bait for flounder is live bull minnows. If our area gets a strong southern wind, the incoming tide will push baitfish up against the rocks along the jetties and sea walls. That’s where you’ll locate flounder. Early morning is your best bite for flounder, but you also can catch them at night. When the tide’s falling, you’ll find flounder in the ditches and the cuts coming out of the marshes.
If you want to fish with one of Zeke’s Landing Marina’s experienced guides, call Zeke’s charter office at 800-793-4044, visit www.zekeslanding.com, or call Josh Hiller at 850-554-5371. You also can email Hiller at jlhiller@cox.net. Hiller can take up to six people on one trip. However, you’ll have a better trip with just four people. You’ll need to bring food, drinks, sunscreen and clothes for bad weather. Hiller provides bait, tackle and even a camera for pictures. Trips generally last 4 to 8 hours during the day, with evening/night trips lasting 4 to 5 hours.
Catching the Aggregate in June with Captain Butch Tucker By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: To catch enough fish for a fish fry this year, you’ll have to fish for the aggregate, made up of a total of 20-different species of varying sizes of saltwater fish, with only a certain number of each species. Captain Butch Tucker of Orange Beach, Alabama, a 38-year veteran of fishing the Gulf of Mexico, tell us how to catch the aggregate this summer.
Getting Ready To Catch the Aggregate:
If you’ll be catching the aggregate, start by catching live bait like blue runners, pinfish, croakers and other live bait that you can feed to the bigger fish. If you can’t catch live bait, you may be able to purchase it. Regardless of the species I’m targeting first, I’ll put out feather dusters to high-speed troll on the way to my fishing grounds. Most fishermen use 60-pound-test wire line for high-speed trolling, to allow their baits to get deeper than monofilament line will.
Many anglers like the Wahoo Waster for fast trolling, but others prefer to use Ilanders or other baits designed for fast trolling. Fifteen to 20 feet in front of the lure, most anglers run a 1- to a 1-1/2-pound lead to help get the line and the lure deeper in the water. The boats troll these lures at about 15 knots or less in hopes of catching king mackerel, bonita, wahoo or possibly blackfin tuna. During the aggregate, you can keep two king mackerel weighing from 8- to 50-pounds each per person. If you catch two or three wahoo, you can consider it a great fishing day.
Because we have fresh, live bait, my second target species will be amberjack. Amberjack are hard-fighting fish, and if we fish deep water, we often can catch 20- to 40-pound amberjack. The amberjack tend to hold on large wrecks, offshore rocks and reefs and deep-water gas and oil platforms. My favorite places to fish for amberjack are sunken school buses, combine machines, barges or boats. You’ll find amberjack concentrating near large, underwater man-made or natural structures that can hold and support plenty of baitfish. You may catch amberjack in water as shallow as 60-feet deep to water as deep as 400 feet. Amberjack don’t feed on the bottom but instead tend to feed in either the mid or the upper story of the water. We use 60- to 80-pound-test main line and put a slip lead up the line. We generally use a 6- to an 8-ounce slip sinker on the line, and below the sinker, we’ll have a barrel swivel and 6 to 12 feet of leader.
Locating Quick and Easy Snapper:
We can fish one artificial reef or rock pile and limit out on red snapper. Since the limit is only two snapper per person, and there are more red snapper on the Upper Gulf Coast now than ever before, catching the two-snapper limit is a quick and easy task. If you’re fishing for 2- to 4-pound snapper, use a two-hook rig and cut bait like squid, northern mackerel, cigar fish or bonita. For big red snapper, if we’re fishing in relatively-shallow water, about 130 feet or less, we’ll use a knocker rig fished on a light-action deck rod or a heavy-action spinning rod with 30- to 50-pound-test line. “We’ll use a 2-ounce slip lead up the line and tie a No. 5/0 hook to the end of the knocker rig. This way, when the bait is cast out, the lead slides down the line ahead of the bait.
Finishing the Aggregate Gets Tough:
Since we only can have a total of 20 fish per person, we’ll target white snapper, Lane snapper, vermilion snapper, scamp, grouper and mangrove snapper, as well as triggerfish. The triggerfish usually will hold in water less than 200-feet deep, particularly on natural bottom or other types of structure in 90 to 130 feet of water. I’ve found that live coral or rock bottoms tend to produce more white snapper, vermilion snapper and triggerfish than wrecks, artificial reefs and oil or gas platforms do.
Learning the Hard Cold Facts:
On Alabama’s Gulf Coast, catching the aggregate has become more difficult as red-snapper populations have exploded. The American red snapper appears to have displaced many of the other once-plentiful reef fish on reefs and wrecks. Although you’ll enjoy catching and releasing red snapper, you’ll have fun too, catching the aggregate and taking home fish to eat, if you can dodge the red snapper.
You can contact Captain Butch Tucker by calling Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Ala., at (800) 793-4044 or (251) 981-4044, or visit www.zekeslanding.com.
Captain Brian Lynch Gears Up for the Red Snapper World Championship on Alabama’s Gulf Coast in June By: John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Brian Lynch is the captain of the “Island Girl” charter boat out of Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Question: Brian, what will snapper season be like this year?
Lynch: We have plenty of snapper on Alabama’s Gulf Coast for people to catch. They’re everywhere.
Question: What techniques will you use to catch big red snapper and win the 2008 Red Snapper World Championship (RSWC), which will be held this year from June 1 to August 4?
Lynch: I’ll start fishing with bigger baits than normal. When fishing for bigger snapper, I’ll be fishing much higher in the water. Too, I look for bigger, older reefs than I’ll normally fish. I generally find big snapper on natural bottom, but over the years, I’ve caught more really-big snapper on very-old artificial reefs. In the past, when old car bodies still have been in the Gulf’s waters, there may have been a handful of snapper holding on those old car bodies. You may have pulled up on a spot like that and only gotten one bite, but it will have been from a really-big snapper. Today, there are so many snapper on our reefs leaving a bait down long enough for a big snapper to take it before the little snapper eat it is tough.
Question: You mentioned that you use big baits for red snapper. How big are the baits you use?
Lynch: For live bait, I like hardtails (blue runners) and big threadfin herring. For dead baits, I’ll either use whole Boston mackerel, northern mackerel or the belly strip of a king mackerel. I’ve caught big snapper on whole Spanish mackerel and small dolphin (mahi mahi). Really, there’s not much that snapper won’t eat.
Question: You also have said to catch big snapper, you fish higher in the water. What does higher in the water mean?
Lynch: When marking an artificial reef on your depth finder, you’ll see fish holding 30 feet up off the reef. Many times the bigger snapper will be on the outside of those highest fish in the water. I can catch big snapper on the bottom, but you have to contend with all the other fish on the bottom that also can eat your bait. I’ve caught big snapper 30 feet below the bottom of the boat at a bottom of 200 feet. How active the snapper are when you’re fishing for them determines how far off the bottom the big snapper will move up to take the bait. Normally, you’ll catch bigger snapper higher in the water column than you will smaller snapper.
Question: How does your tackle change when you’re fishing for big snapper?
Lynch: I prefer to use a circle hook when fishing for big snapper because it jaw-hooks the snapper. Too, you usually can put more pressure on the line to pull the snapper up with a circle hook than you can with a straight hook. The circle hook goes to the corner of the snapper’s mouth, which is a tougher part of the snapper’s mouth than the rest of the places where you can hook a snapper. I’ll also use a longer leader and the smallest sinker I can when fishing for bigger snapper. If you’re fishing with big live bait, you have to use bigger leads than if you’re fishing with big dead bait, because live bait will try and swim up on you. My rule of thumb is the less terminal tackle you use, the better your odds are for catching a big snapper. When I’m fishing for big snapper, I’ll use about 6 to 8 feet of leader coming off a barrel swivel. Above the barrel swivel, I’ll put 6 to 12 ounces of lead, depending on the tide and the current. I’ve even used 16 to 20 ounces of lead when fishing in deeper water. If you’re fishing in 120 feet of water or less in the water, say, about 30-feet below the bottom of the boat, you can use a lighter lead. I normally fish with 60-pound-test monofilament leader and either 50- to 80-pound-test main line.
Question: How will you fish the 2008 RSWC?
Lynch: I fish a little differently during the RSWC than everyone else. I normally go offshore and fish for other species, like amberjack and grouper, before I target snapper. Many times I’ll catch a big snapper when I’m offshore targeting those amberjack or grouper. Then, on my way back inshore, I’ll stop off at one or two spots that I’ve identified that generally produce big snapper. To keep from having so many throw-back snapper, I usually snapper fish during the last part of my trip.
Question: When you say you run offshore, how far from Perdido Pass do you run?
Lynch: If I go to the east, it’s usually 30 miles. If I go south, I’ll run 40 to 50 miles. I’ll be fishing over some type of natural bottom or rocks.
Question: What tackle do you use when fishing for beeliners and triggerfish?
Lynch: I’ll catch quite a few of these fish offshore. There are so many snapper close to shore that the vermilion snapper seem to be eating the smaller beeliners and running the larger beeliners off the wrecks. So, I’m catching some of my best beeliners offshore. Too, the snapper seem to have run the triggerfish away from the inshore wrecks or have eaten the small triggerfish because I locate some of my best triggerfish offshore.
Question: How big are the beeliners you catch offshore?
Lynch: I caught five or six beeliners on my last trip that weighed between 5- and 6-pounds each.
Question: How do you find and catch triggerfish?
Lynch: I use small baits and small hooks to catch triggerfish because they have small mouths. If I can catch a fresh bonito, I’ll cut it into small chunks and use it for bait. Or, if I’ve caught an amberjack the day before, I’ll use the belly of the amberjack for bait. If there’s triggerfish holding on an artificial or a natural reef, they’ll generally move up higher in the water than the other fish, once you drop your baits down for snapper. To find triggerfish, watch your fishermen. When they drop their baits down to the bottom and they don’t get any bites, but the bait on their lines has disappeared, usually triggerfish are under the boat. The triggerfish are so fast and aggressive that they can eat the baits off the fishermen’s hooks while the baits are falling to the bottom. So, to catch triggerfish, we stop our baits higher in the water and let them down slower. People who aren’t experienced at fishing for triggerfish often will have a hard time catching triggerfish because the triggerfish are so quick at stealing bait. I expect a great fishing season this summer. There’s plenty of fish on the reefs, wrecks and offshore, and we should have one of the best fishing seasons this year on the Gulf Coast.
To fish with Captain Brian Lynch on the “Island Girl”, call him at (251) 747-0217, call Zeke’s charter office at (800) 793-4044, visit www.zekeslanding.com, or email Lynch at blynch@gulftel.com.
The Gulf Coast Mystery Lake By John Phillips
Editor’s Note: Kelly Reetz, the naturalist at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama, has plenty of information about Lake Shelby, as does Dave Armstrong, district fisheries supervisor for District V, which includes Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. One of the most-amazing bodies of water anywhere, Lake Shelby is the closest freshwater lake to salt water. Lake Shelby consists of three spring-fed lakes but also has had an intrusion of salt water throughout its history. When waves from hurricanes wash over the Alabama Gulf Coast, they often deposit speckled trout, redfish, white trout and flounder into the lake. When the storms subside, and the lake returns to its natural boundaries, Lake Shelby then will home good numbers of both freshwater and saltwater fish. “Lake Shelby is a part of the state park system,” Armstrong explains. “However, the Fisheries Section of Alabama’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has often helped stock Lake Shelby.”
Question: Dave, what species of fish have been stocked in Lake Shelby?
Armstrong: Over the years, Lake Shelby has been stocked with Florida-strain largemouth bass, channel catfish, bluegills and shellcrackers. It also seems to have a naturally-occurring population of crappie and a few pickerel. In the past, Alabama Marine Resources Division also has stocked the lake with redfish. Because the sand around Lake Shelby has been naturally saturated with salt, the waters have always had some salinity in them. Therefore, the lake’s waters can support both freshwater and saltwater species of fish.
Question: Kelly, where does the fresh water come from that creates Lake Shelby?
Reetz: I’m not certain, but I’ve been told that the springs that feed Lake Shelby come from an underwater aquifer that may extend as far north as Lake Michigan. Wherever the water comes from, we know our lake is spring-fed. I’ve been told that “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” says that Lake Shelby is the closest freshwater lake to salt water in the world, but I haven’t been able to verify this myth.
Question: What types of fish are being caught out of Lake Shelby right now?
Reetz: Our visitors catch a good number of freshwater catfish, largemouth bass, bluegills, shellcrackers, speckled trout and redfish. So, you get the best of both worlds, saltwater and freshwater, when you fish Lake Shelby.
Question: How do the freshwater fish stay alive in that salt water?
Reetz: The last time our water was tested, there was about eight-parts-per-million of salt in the water, which the freshwater fish and the saltwater fish can tolerate. When hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Dennis dumped rains and salt water into our lake, many of our freshwater fish died. However, when the water cleared-up, and the freshwater content began to rise, our lake was restocked. We once again had freshwater and saltwater fish in Lake Shelby. In April 2008, we put into Lake Shelby $2500 worth of freshwater catfish, 1000 catfish weighing 2- to 4-pounds each, for the Kids’ Jubilee we held. Of course, the youngsters didn’t catch all the catfish, so there are plenty of them left in the lake, plus the other catfish that have been stocked by the State of Alabama.
Question: What about the bass fishing in the lake?
Reetz: Most people don’t report what they catch, but I’ve heard that anglers are catching nice-sized bass from the lake. Too, we have some pretty-good bream fishing. To fish Lake Shelby, you need to have a park permit, a fishing license and a fishing permit, and if you launch a boat, there’s a launch fee.
Here’s the breakdown on costs:
The entrance fee to the state park is: children under 7-years old are admitted free
Children ages 7-12 pay $0.50
Senior citizens 62 years and older pay $0.50
All other visitors are admitted for $1
A boat launch fee is $2 and fishing Lake Shelby costs $2 per person.
An honor box is located at the entrance of the picnic area where you can deposit your money. Tear off the top of your envelope, and that’s your permit to fish. The length and bag limits are:
bass – 14-inch-minimum length limit with a bag limit of three
bream – no minimum size and a bag limit of 10
crappie – 9-inch-minimum length limit and a 10-fish bag limit
catfish – 12-inch-minimum length and a bag limit of six
redfish – 16-inch-minimum and 26-inch-maximum with a three-fish bag limit
speckled trout – 14-inch-minimum length limit and a 10-fish bag limit.
All other fish limits are based on the State of Alabama’s freshwater and saltwater limits.
When you visit Lake Shelby to fish the Gulf of Mexico this summer, you can fish from your jonboat, bass boat, canoe, kayak or belly boat for both saltwater and freshwater species. Many Alabama Gulf Coast guests don’t realize what a unique fishery we have here at Lake Shelby.
For more information, contact Kelly Reetz at Gulf State Park at 251-948-7275. Or contact the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau at www.gulfshores.com or 1-800-745-SAND.
May’s Inshore Fishing at the Mississippi Sound and in the Mobile Bay Captain Scott Jordan
Editor’s Note: Captain Scott Jordan of Dauphin Island, Alabama, guides on the Mississippi Sound and in the Mobile Bay. This month, Jordan will tell us where to find the best inshore fishing in May.
Question: Scott, where do you find and catch fish this month?
Jordan: Early in the morning and late in the afternoon, we catch speckled trout on top-water lures, like the Rapala Skitter Walk, the Zara Spook or the MirrOlure Top Dog. The big trout are inshore now, and they like to eat big baits. The trout seem to be holding on shell-bottom points in 2 to 4 feet of water, and high tide is the best time to catch them. One of the best spots to catch quality-size trout in May is around the Dauphin Island Bridge, because there are numbers of shells around that area and plenty of shallow water next to deep water. That’s the key to catching numbers of trout at this time of year. Look for big trout where you find shallow-water flats dropping off into deep water. The big female trout like to move on and off these shallow-water flats, but they want to have deep water where they can retreat to, especially when the tide starts falling out. You can fish miles of shallow flats and catch numbers of trout. However, to catch the big trout, you need a region with deep water close to shallow water, like you find at the Dauphin Island Bridge.
Question: Where else do you catch trout at this time of year?
Jordan: We also catch trout along the gulf beach bars. Anywhere you find a tidal trough, you’ll find big trout. On low tide, you often can find deep-water gullies close to the beach. On high tide, the drop-offs between the beach and the sandbar often will fill up with big trout. I primarily fish around the west end of Dauphin Island, but you also can pinpoint these types of troughs around the Fort Morgan area. Search for white, foamy water washing over a shallow sandbar into a deep trough close to the shore. You’ll be surprised at how many trout and redfish are holding in those 3- to 4-foot holds. When I’m fishing the troughs, I’ll usually be fishing with live shrimp and a Cajun Thunder cork or with soft-plastic lures, like the D.O.A. shrimp, minnow-crankbait type grubs and plastic grubs. I’ll be fishing root beer, chartreuse and white colors, if the water’s off color. If the water’s clear, I’ll be fishing more-translucent colors, like smoke or root beer. I anchor my boat on the outside of the sandbar, cast toward the beach, let that soft plastic fall in the trough, and then fish it up the sandbar. Using this tactic, we also catch a lot of incidental flounder and redfish.
Two other good places to fish this month for trout are Heron Bay, next to Cedar Point Pier, and Portersville Bay, which are both little feeder bays off Mississippi Sound. All these little bays have bayous emptying into them on the north side of the bays. At the mouths of these bayous, where they empty into the bays, you’ll find trout you can catch with live shrimp with a cork.
Question: How big are the redfish you catch?
Jordan: The redfish will weigh up to 15 pounds. Most of the fish you catch in the tidal troughs will be within the redfish slot limit, averaging from 3 to 7 pounds. The flounder will weigh up to about 4 pounds, and we mainly catch them on grubs and live shrimp. If the water’s muddy or stained, your best bait will be live shrimp under a popping cork. Most people like to pop the cork and then let it sit still. I prefer to anchor up-current of a trough or an oyster bar. Then as soon as I pop my cork, I strip the line and let that cork and shrimp move with the current. After the cork drifts back about 4 or 5 feet, I’ll pop it again and let it drift another 4 or 5 feet. If you pop the cork and then keep a tight line, the current will cause your shrimp to rise up rather than stay down where the trout are located. I’ll often let my popping cork and shrimp drift back 75 yards and out of sight. Oftentimes my line will get real tight and start to bend my rod, which lets me know there’s a fish on the line. To have a good day of fishing for reds at this time of year, let your bait cover a lot of water.
Question: In a day of fishing, what do you expect to catch?
Jordan: In May, catching 50 trout or more often weighing from 5- to 9-pounds each, isn’t unusual. In a half-day of fishing, you often can catch 20 to 50 trout.
Question: How long will the trout fishing stay this productive?
Jordan: We always can catch trout down here, but the best trout fishing is from now until the weather gets so hot that the teeth show-up.
Question: What do you mean the teeth show-up?
Jordan: When the salinity in the water gets extremely high, we start having sharks, bluefish and Spanish mackerel move into shallow water. Shallow-water fishing will be good, but when the teeth show-up, you’ll have to fish the deeper water to get away from the teeth and catch the trout. Our shallow bite is usually good until the first week or two of June. After the full moon in June, I start fishing deep water around the rigs in the bay, the wrecks and the bridge platforms.
To contact Captain Scott Jordan, call 251-649-5198.
Tips for Landing Offshore Fish in May Captain Don Walker
Editor's Note: Captain Don Walker of the charter boat "Lady D," docks at Sportsman Marina and Dry Dock in Orange Beach, Alabama, and has fished offshore on Alabama's Gulf Coast for most of his life.
Question: Don, what will you be catching offshore in May before snapper season begins next month in June?
Walker: I mainly catch tuna, wahoo, amberjack, grouper, triggerfish and beeliners. The cobia still will be running this month, and we'll be fishing for them along the beach. The cobia usually stay inshore through the first two weeks of May, and then they seem to drop off.
Question: How and where are you catching fish?
Walker: At this time of year, we catch plenty of amberjack and grouper out in deep water. Too, we generally, fast-troll for wahoo and slow-troll for tuna.
Question: How big are the amberjack you catch?
Walker: Right now, we're catching amberjack weighing from 30- to 50-pounds each, and blackfin and yellowfin tuna. We've had really-pretty water offshore, and now we're beginning to see grass in the water. From mid- to late-May, the grass lines will start forming.
Question: What do you catch on the grass lines offshore?
Walker: Last year, we had an extremely-productive year with dolphin (mahi-mahi) and wahoo. Even as early as April, I had a report of a 95-pound wahoo being caught offshore. Too, while we're tuna fishing, we'll often have a white marlin or a blue marlin come up and take the bait.
Question: How far offshore do you run?
Walker: We usually run about 70 miles off the port of Orange Beach.
Question: Tell me about your 18-hour-and-longer day trips.
Walker: We generally go straight out for tuna, wahoo, dolphin and marlin. On the return trip, we usually stop off in the more-shallow water and catch amberjack, grouper, triggerfish and beeliners. At the beginning of May, the gag grouper and the scamp are showing-up, and of course, you'll catch plenty of red snapper. Even though you can't keep red snapper until June, you still can have a lot of fun catching and releasing them. Right now, the snapper we catch offshore weigh 5- to 10-pounds each, and catching a 15 pound or larger snapper isn't unusual.
Question: What's the advantage of making an 18-hour trip over an 8-hour or a 12-hour trip?
Walker: People want to get more fishing for their dollars. So, by taking an 18-hour or a 2-day trip, the anglers get more fishing time and less running time. When you go offshore, you're fishing an area that isn't fished as much as many of the inshore reefs, and you're fishing in deeper water for bigger fish. Too, your chances of catching and keeping more fish are much better on longer trips than on shorter trips.
Question: On those 18-hour, 2- and 3-day trips, you have bunks where your clients can sleep and a galley where hot food can be prepared, right?
Walker: Yes, we do. The only thing we lack on our boat to make it almost as comfortable as home is a washer and a dryer. We just put in a new 40-inch flat-screen TV, so our fishermen can stay up-to-date with the latest news, weather and sports, and they can watch their favorite TV shows, when they're not fishing.
To fish with Captain Don Walker or find out about fishing offshore, write to him at PO Box 27, Orange Beach, Alabama, 36561, call him at 251-747-1623, or go to www.ladydcharters.net.
Catching May Cobia By: Captain Jeff Colley, Jr
Editor’s Note: Captain Jeff Colley, Jr., of the “Killing Time,” based out of Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has developed a technique for catching cobia that has resulted in his boat not spooking a single cobia during the 2007 cobia run. Colley and his fishermen boated 71 cobia in 2007 and tagged and released another 31 fish.
I hunt cobia with a 26-foot Goldline boat, custom made in south Florida, and powered by a Suzuki 4-stroke engine. I’ve learned that my small, quiet boat spooks fewer cobia and enables me to catch more cobia than I do when I’m fishing on a bigger boat. Too, my Suzuki 4 stroke engine is quiet. I can shift the motor to reverse, easily turn around if I need to and steer the boat away from the cobia quicker and quieter than I can with a big boat. A boat with one or two diesel engines will cause cobia to dive for deep water when you shift into reverse. The sounds those diesels make then have the same effect on cobia as a fire-truck siren does on a person who has had a fire truck hit him. Too, if you have to turn around and go back to a cobia that’s moving more slowly than you’ve thought, oftentimes, the change in engine noise will spook the cobia.
The closer you can get to the cobia without spooking the fish, the more accurately you can cast either live bait or lures. Proper timing determines whether or not you catch the cobia. You want to time your cast so that when the bait hits the water it doesn’t spook the cobia but does fall within easy striking distance. If you cast too early, your bait will fall below the fish, and the fish won’t see it. If you cast too late, you’ll either hit the fish, or the bait will land so close to the cobia that it spooks the fish. Therefore, the correct boat position is critical.
I believe the number of rod holders you have and the placement of those rod holders on your boat is critical to your success. On the side of the boat where I’m steering, I keep three rods in three-different rod holders, each within easy reach. Then when I spot a cobia, I can pick up the rod and immediately cast to the fish with one of three baits I know cobia prefer. One rod will be baited with a live baitfish, the second with a live eel and the third rod with a cobia jig.
Sometimes a cobia swimming close to the surface may decide to dive due to cloudy water or for an unknown reason. And that’s when I’ll cast a cobia jig instead of either of my two live baits to the fish. Many times you can cast that jig in front of the site where the cobia has gone down, and the cobia will see the jig diving for the bottom at the same time it is. Then the cobia will take the jig.
If you throw the live bait in the same spot as you’ve cast the jig, the live bait won’t drop in front of the cobia as fast as the lead-headed jig will. Then you won’t get a bite. Having those three rod holders on the side of the tower when I’m steering the boat gives me three bait options, depending on how the cobia are acting, and the distance I am from the cobia when they come within casting range.
To contact Captain Jeff Colley, Jr. in Orange Beach, you can call him at (850) 791-8722, or email him at marlinmagnet@yahoo.com, or visit his webpage at www.orangebeach.ws.
Sidebar: Learn More about Cobia
Although the pelagic cobia, also known as a ling, lemonfish, crabeater and black kingfish, lives worldwide in tropical, subtropical and warm-temperate waters, biologists know very little about this species. In the United States, cobia live from Nova Scotia south to Argentina with the most-abundant fish found from Chesapeake Bay south and throughout the Gulf of Mexico in harbors and around wrecks, reefs and oil and gas rigs.
Professor Jim Franks, a fisheries-research biologist at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Lab, has studied cobia for almost two decades to learn the fish’s spawning and feeding habits and their ages, growth and migratory patterns. Much of the information the scientists have learned about cobia has come from the tag-and-release program Franks and his fellow biologists have conducted with the help of Gulf Coast anglers. To learn more about tagging and releasing cobia and the exciting information the cobia study now knows, call Franks or his colleague, Read Hendon at (228) 872-4202, or email Read Hendon at read.hendon@usm.edu.
Reeling in April's Best Inshore Fishing Captain Erik Davis
Editor’s Note: In April, some of the best inshore fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast occurs at the mouth of Mobile Bay under the guns of Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines. As a young boy, Erik Davis of Gulf Shores, Alabama, spent much of his childhood in his dad’s boat fishing these waters. Now, he’s fulfilling a lifelong dream of being a fishing guide, like his dad, Gary Davis of Foley, and guiding parties out of Fort Morgan. This month, Erik will tell us what to catch and how to catch them in this history-rich, extremely-fertile estuary area.
Question: Erik, what’s biting inshore during April?
Davis: This month, the speckled trout will be moving into Mobile Bay, and we’ll be fishing artificial reefs created by Alabama’s Marine Resources Division inside of Mobile Bay. My favorite reef is the Shellbank, and I prefer to fish it at first light with live baits, like small croakers or live shrimp, Berkley’s Gulp! baits or D.O.A. shrimp. I’ll use a No. 6 Sea Striker hook and put a 1/16-ounce or larger shot lead 16 to 18 inches above the hook on 8-pound-test Berkley Trilene line. I want the shot lead to be as light as it can be and still be able to get the bait down near the bottom, even if a strong tide’s running in the area. I’ll let the live bait drift around the reef, and usually, the trout will pick up the bait. During early April, we’ll generally be catching 2- to 3-pound trout, and later in the month, the bigger trout will start showing up in the area.
Question: What else do you catch around Fort Morgan at this time of year?
Davis: This month, the sheepshead will still be in the region, and they’ll be biting really-good around the oil rigs in Mobile Bay. We’ll use live shrimp, a tiny split shot 16 to 18 inches up the line and a No. 6 Sea Striker hook.
Question: How do you keep the sheepshead from breaking that 8-pound-test line on the barnacles attached to the legs of the oil rigs?
Davis: As soon as you set the hook on the sheepshead, you’ve got about 2 or 3 seconds to get the fish away from the legs of the platform, and then you can get the sheepshead in the boat. As soon as that sheepshead strikes, you have to set the hook and pull it away from those legs.
Question: How big are the sheepshead you catch?
Davis: They average from 3- to-6 pounds each, which are really-fine sheepshead.
Question: What’s the limit on speckled trout and sheepshead?
Davis: The limit is 10 per person for speckled trout, and there are no limits on sheepshead.
Question: How long will there be a good sheepshead bite at Fort Morgan?
Davis: The sheepshead are usually here until the end of April.
Question: What about the redfish?
Davis: The bull reds start biting about the end of April on Dixey Bar at the lighthouse. I’ll generally fish the rocks on the outer edges of the lighthouse. We’re anchored-up when we’re fishing this pattern. I’ll use about a 1/2-ounce slip lead up the line, a barrel swivel below it, 15-pound monofilament leader coming off the bottom eye of the barrel swivel and a live pogy as bait. I let the bait reach the bottom. To catch big bull reds, don’t set the hook when you feel the bite. The live pogy will pull the line out away from the lead and swim around in the open water. When the redfish attacks the pogy, the first thump you’ll feel on the line is the redfish killing the pogy. The second bite you’ll feel is the redfish actually eating the pogy, and that’s when you set the hook. Some people have a difficult time not setting the hook on the first strike, causing a lot of fishermen to lose big redfish. Redfish this month will weigh from 12 to 30 pounds. We’ll have a lot of fun catching these big bull reds. So, y’all come on down, visit the forts, and plan to fish with us in Mobile Bay.
To contact Erik Davis, call his home at 251-967-1224 or his cell at 251-979-1224, or email erikdavis@gulftel.com.
The King of Offshore Cobia Captain Ben Fairey
Editor’s Note: Captain Ben Fairey of the charter boat “Necessity,” based out of Orange Beach Marina, holds the Alabama state record for cobia with a fish that weighed 117 pounds and 7 ounces caught in 1995. He’s one of the most-relentless cobia fishermen on the Gulf of Mexico. Fairey prowls the beaches from Panama City, Florida, to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in search of the brown bombers that make their annual migration in the spring each year.
Question: Ben, how long have you been fishing for cobia?
Fairey: About 37 years. I fish for other species out of Orange Beach, but cobia is my love.
Question: When do the cobia start showing up at Orange Beach?
Fairey: They usually begin to show-up about the third week of March and still are around until the middle of May.
Question: How do you find them, and how do you catch them?
Fairey: The weather conditions determine how many cobia we locate, and how many we catch. Sometimes cobia show-up better east of Orange Beach, and at other times you’ll find more cobia west of Orange Beach. Since we haven’t had severe winter weather this year in this section of the Gulf Coast, I expect the first cobia to appear about the third week of March. We’ll continue to catch them off the beach by sight fishing until the second or the third week of May.
Question: Ben, how do you find the cobia?
Fairey: The really-serious cobia fishermen have towers on their boats because the higher off the water you’re located, the easier spotting cobia is. We also wear polarized sunglasses and big-brimmed hats to keep the sun off our glasses. We actually spot the fish first. They will be migrating from east to west, coming from Florida and heading to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Once we see the fish, we’ll get the boat ahead of the fish and position ourselves so the cobia will come within casting distance of the boat.
Question: What kinds of baits are you casting to the cobia?
Fairey: We use a wide variety of baits. But the live eel flown in from the East Coast seem to be the most productive. We’ll also use pinfish, vermillion snapper and catfish. However, the eels are somewhat expensive at $3.00 each, and you have to buy a dozen at a time.
Question: Ben, what are the ingredients for a good day of cobia fishing?
Fairey: You must have plenty of sunlight, clear water and wind blowing from the southeast. When that wind comes from the southeast, the cobia can get up in the waves and catch free rides on their migration from the east to the west. The worst wind is a hard wind blowing from the southwest or the west. We also don’t want any cold weather for the best cobia fishing.
Question: Ben, what are some common mistakes people make when cobia fishing?
Fairey: You want your boat to be in neutral as the cobia approaches, because if it’s in gear, you’ll spook the fish. You never want to put your boat in reverse. Those changes in the pitch of the engine will spook the cobia and drive them down to the bottom. I always try to stay offshore or to the south of the fish and a little bit west of the fish, so the cobia are coming toward us. We want to be like a fast-food restaurant. The cobia just motor by and pick up something to eat. We don’t ever want to change the direction the fish are moving toward.
Question: Ben, how do you decide which bait to throw to the cobia?
Fairey: We’ll pick a bait and throw it to the cobia. If the cobia refuses that bait, we’ll choose a different kind of bait to throw. Many guys cast jigs to cobia, but I don’t. Most of my anglers are fairly-inexperienced cobia fishermen. When you’re fishing with a lead-headed jig, the weight of that jig often will cause the cobia to come off the hook more quickly than if you’re fishing with live bait and the hook tied directly to the line. We use circle hooks. When a cobia gets hooked with a circle hook, the fish usually will stay on the line much better.
Question: Ben, what do you expect to catch on an average day of cobia fishing from the middle of March to the middle of May?
Fairey: You may see from 25 to 30 cobia in a day, but the limit on cobia in Florida is one fish per person, with a maximum of six per boat. In Alabama, you can have two per person, per day. We do plenty of tag and release, tagging numbers of fish during the season. Our fish will average from 35- to 55-pounds each.
Question: Ben, how close to the shore and how far out do the cobia usually run?
Fairey: The fish can show up from within 50 yards from the beach all the way out to 10-miles offshore. As the migration begins to build, and more people start fishing for cobia, the cobia will move further offshore. If this area has a fair amount of onshore wind, we’ll look for cobia a little closer to shore. Each day, we keep up with where the fish are found. The next day, we’ll start where we’ve seen them on the previous day. For instance, on Monday, if I find the cobia 300 yards off the beach, on Tuesday morning, I’ll begin fishing 300 yards off the beach.
Question: What pound-test line are you using, Ben?
Fairey: I use 30-pound-test line because you have to be able to cast a pretty-good distance to reach the cobia. I don’t use any leader. I tie my circle hooks directly to the line. You get more bites with lighter line and less terminal tackle than you do with heavier line using swivels and leaders. I fish with a 10-foot custom made rod, so I can cast a long way, and a Van Staal reel, which is the finest manual pick-up reel. These reels were made in Germany for a while, and they cost about $800 each. But they’re worth it.
Question: Ben, what are you predicting for the season this March?
Fairey: We’ll have a really-good season this year, and you’ll see more people fishing for cobia because you can’t catch as many snapper as you could in the past. Since snapper season doesn’t start until June, you’ll probably see many of the saltwater fishermen fishing for cobia this spring.
To learn more about cobia fishing or to fish with Captain Ben Fairey, call (251) 747-5782, or call his booking agent, Stella Fill, at (251) 981-4510, or visit www.necessitysportsfishing.com.
Gearing Up For A Mammoth March Close to Shore By: Captain Jeff Chambliss
Editor’s Note: Captain Jeff Chambliss fishes out of SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, for inshore pompano, speckled trout, redfish, flounder and sheepshead.
Question: Jeff, when do pompano show up inshore in this area?
Chambliss: The pompano will start moving in from Florida during March, and we’ll catch most of them around the jetties, the Perdido Pass Bridge and some of the deeper holes around the piers and inside the pass.
Question: If I just wanted to catch pompano, where would you take me, and how would we fish for them?
Chambliss: We’d fish the bridge first and then the jetties with pink pompano jigs on 8- to 12-pound-test line spinning tackle. The color pink is hard to beat for catching pompano. Our pompano will run from 1- to 3-1/2-pounds each. This year, the pompano actually began coming into our section of the Gulf Coast during February. I caught the first one at Berkhart Point inside the pass. We can catch three pompano per person, per day. Sometimes we can take a limit in no time and then catch and release pompano for 1 or 2 hours.
Question: Where will you find speckled trout this month, and how will you catch them?
Chambliss: We will fish with live shrimp and Berkley Gulp! jigs. The trout will be from Pensacola Pass to Perdido Pass and in Perdido Bay and the creeks. I prefer to fish around deep piers this month. Too, during March, some really good-sized trout will start moving into this region. They may weigh from 1- to 7-pounds each. On an average day, we usually can catch 15 speckled trout. Even if the speckled trout aren’t biting, we generally can catch sheepshead and redfish during March inshore.
Question: Are the big redfish that have been holding offshore moved out by March along this section of the Gulf Coast?
Chambliss: Generally they are, but we usually have plenty of slot reds 16- to 26-inches long concentrating inshore in this region in March. The tide dictates which fish we target. If the tide’s coming in, and the water isn’t rough, we’ll start the day fishing for pompano. But if there’s a chop on the water, we’ll probably target speckled trout. Last year, we caught a pompano that weighed almost 4 pounds and two speckled trout that weighed 6-1/2-pounds each. The trout were about 29-1/2-inches-long each. If they hadn’t spawned, they would have weighed more. The big trout are always here at Orange Beach, but they’re not always caught.
If you want to fish inshore this month with Captain Jeff Chambliss, call him at (251) 579-1209 or at (251) 981-2463, or email him at Chambliss@gulftel.com.
Editor’s Note: Sonny Alawine, captain of the “Summer Breeze,” based out of Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has fished offshore from Orange Beach most of his life. The “Summer Breeze” has a long history of being a fish-catching machine.
Question: Sonny, what are you catching in February at Orange Beach?
Alawine: This month, our primary target is usually grouper. We generally go offshore on a 12-hour trip to catch the grouper. We also catch amberjack, beeliners (vermillion snapper), white snapper and triggerfish.
Question: What type of bait are you using to catch the grouper?
Alawine: We use live bait when we can get it, but we primarily fish with cut bait.
Question: What usually makes your best live bait for grouper?
Alawine: We prefer pinfish, beeliners, little white snapper, squirrel fish (small sea bass) and any type of small, live bait we can get.
Question: What kind of grouper are you catching?
Alawine: We catch red grouper, gag grouper and scamp. Our gag grouper will weigh up to 40 pounds at this time of year, but our average grouper will weigh about 12 to 20 pounds. The red grouper season is closed at the first of February, but it opens again at the end of the month.
Question: How big are the scamp you’re catching at this time of year?
Alawine: They’ll vary in size from about 2- to 10-pounds each.
Question: Sonny, how are you getting those grouper up in the boat?
Alawine: As a general rule, grouper like to live in rocks and reefs. So, as soon as they take the bait, the grouper like to run in some type of hole. Our fishermen really have to get after the grouper if they hook one. That first 10 feet coming off the bottom after someone hooks a grouper is the critical point in whether or not we’ll boat that grouper. The fishermen have to really wind that reel handle and pull up hard to get the grouper away from the bottom and up in open water where he or she can fight it. Many times if we’ve got a big grouper on the line, I’ll pull the boat forward a little bit to help the fisherman pull the grouper out of the rocks and the reefs.
Question: Tell me about the amberjack you’re catching offshore.
Alawine: When we find amberjack, they’ll be from barely legal keepers to 40- or 50-pound fish. They like to hold over big structure on the bottom or a big rock coming up off the bottom. We usually catch our amberjack on live baits. They like the same live baits the grouper do, so if we get lucky on a grouper trip, we usually can catch grouper and amberjack. We can catch and keep one amberjack per person, so we generally try to catch an amberjack for each customer.
February is also the time of year when we catch huge red snapper offshore. Because the red snapper season’s closed, we have to throw the red snapper back, but we still catch magnum-sized red snapper this month. We have so many red snapper in the Orange Beach area that staying away from red snapper is difficult. Our customers seem to really enjoy having their pictures made with a 10- to a 20-pound snapper, even if they have to throw them back. Last spring, before red snapper season opened, we caught and released 10 red snapper that weighed 20 pounds or more.
Question: How big are the white snapper in the Orange Beach region?
Alawine: The white snapper usually will weigh from 1/2- to 4-pounds each. The white snapper is in the aggregate of several species of fish of which you can keep up to 20. The beeliners (vermillion snapper) and triggerfish are also in that aggregate. This time of year, too, is when we catch magnum footballs, beeliners that will weigh from 2- to 4-pounds each. We usually catch those big beeliners in deeper water where we’re fishing for grouper and amberjack. When we had those two back-to-back hurricanes a couple of years ago, our triggerfish became really spotty. Before the hurricanes, the triggerfish normally showed-up really heavy in the fall and stayed pretty thick on the reefs and the wrecks until the middle of the summer. After the hurricanes, the triggerfish generally show up really strong for about 2 weeks, vanish for 1 or 2 weeks, and then come in strong again. So, the triggerfish are really hit or miss at this time of the year.
In February, you can have a great day of fishing for triggerfish, or you may not see a single one. We’ll also usually catch a few mangrove snapper. However, the fishing for mangrove snapper gets better as the water becomes warmer. We’ll start picking up a few king mackerel this month, but our heaviest run of king mackerel generally comes from about the end February to the first of March. For about 1 or 2 weeks in that time span, we’ll catch monster kings offshore that will weigh 40- to 60-pounds each. We generally drift-line fish for the kings with live bait or dead cigar minnows. Most of the time we’ll put out a drift line for king mackerel when we’re bottom fishing for amberjack and grouper. February can be great month for catching a lot of different types of fish and having a great day of fishing. Most of the time the weather isn’t too cold, and as long as we don’t get wind, fishing this month can be a lot of fun. So, y’all come on down for some great offshore February fishing.
To fish with Captain Sonny Alawine, contact him by mail at P.O. Box 612, Orange Beach, AL 36561, or call (251) 981-4082, or e-mail kittywakecharters@yahoo.com.
Inshore Family Fishing Fun Captain Kathy Broughton
Editor’s Note: Captain Kathy Broughton of Orange Beach, Alabama, an inshore charter boat fisherman since 1994, was once a typical suburban soccer mom and housewife living in Mountain Brook, Ala. “But ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a fishing guide,” says Broughton. “My father always had big boats. I’d go along with him, drive the boat and help rig the tackle. I’ve always enjoyed taking people fishing. I finally found a time and a place to live out my dream.”
Question: Kathy, where is your boat based?
Broughton: I’m based out of SanRoc Cay in Orange Beach. I can fish four adults c
Editor’s Note: Jeff Colley, captain of the “Killin’ Time,” based at Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, is an inshore guide who fishes for speckled trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead and other inshore species.
braided line. This way, we can get the big bull reds in quickly and not fight them so hard that we wear them out. We’re fishing with medium-action 7-foot spinning rods. When these schools of big redfish move in, you may see as many as 2 acres of them, and they’re usually traveling pretty fast. If those fish are ready to bite, everyone on the boat will hook-up with one, as soon as you pull-up to the school. We mostly catch and release the big bulls. When the school of redfish move out, we either find them again with our depth finder or go looking for the diving birds. I have had days when I’ve turned-off the motor of my boat, drifted with the schools of redfish and continued to catch them.
r’s somewhat chilly. That north wind will lay the waves down and make the Gulf calm and slick. Then we can see the birds working and find the redfish and the flounder much easier.
rt Morgan and hundreds of
er hunting and lots of big offshore fish. That’s right – now’s the time that the big ones bite, and you often can stock your freezer with tuna, wahoo, grouper, vermilion snapper, tilefish, yellowedge grouper and snowy grouper. The big fish bite on Alabama’s Gulf Coast when the turkeys are on the table. And, one of the captains who particularly enjoys fishing those deep-water haunts is Captain Brian Bracknell of the charter boat the “Crowd Pleezer” that docks at the Dog River near Mobile, Ala.
we have to throw back all of the red snapper that we catch. The good news is, we’re really seeing a lot of triggerfish right now. When snapper season was in, finding and catching triggerfish was tough. But since snapper season has closed down, and the water’s becoming cooler, the triggerfish have started biting. And, pound for pound, the triggerfish is about as good a fish as you can want for the table. We’re catching a lot more triggerfish now than we caught in the summer, and we’re fishing with 2-hook rigs and squid for bait. We’re really glad that the triggerfish are showing-up. Another thing that makes fishing better during November is that live bait is more plentiful and easier to catch. During the summer, live bait often is scarce. However, if you can catch live bait, you’ve got half the battle won when you head out to deep water. 
we’ve got the bait the fish want to eat. Straight south of Orange Beach, Ala., on any of the 50-mile rigs, if you put in the time fishing with live baits, you can catch a limit of amberjacks. The last trip we went on, we had some really-nice amberjacks that weighed 40 pounds or more. 
We’re catching tilefish, yellowedge grouper, gag grouper and snowy grouper out there in that deep water. More people are starting to enjoy running to deep water and catching those bigger fish. We have many-more varieties of fish that we can catch out there on the edge of the continental shelf than we have when we fish closer to shore. We catch longtail sea bass and a lot of really-good eating fish. We’re finding those grouper on ledges and in crevices out there on the edge. We’re fishing right on the edge of the Desoto Canyon, so once you get to those 50-mile-out rigs, the bottom drops off pretty quickly from 300 to 500 feet. Once reach the edge, we’ll start running east and west down the side of the continental shelf and look for the types of structure that holds the grouper and the tilefish. 
hite snapper and vermilion snapper. We’ll use many of these fish for live bait. If the fish are big enough, we’ll keep them in our ice chest. We’ll also troll on the way out to try to catch king mackerel and wahoo. We’ll continue to bottom fish and move further out toward the continental shelf. In 150 to 250 of water, we’ll start catching triggerfish, big white snapper, big vermilion snapper and maybe some scamp. Then we get far enough offshore to fish for amberjacks on some of the bigger rocks and wrecks. By this time, we’ve reached the region where we can deep-drop fish. The spots where we deep-drop fish aren’t too far from the deep-water oil rigs. We’ll spend 1 or 2 hours trying to catch some deep-drop grouper, and if the fish are biting good, we’ll stay longer. But if the fish aren’t biting as good as they should, we’ll go to the oil rigs. We try to reach the rigs at about 3:00 pm. We search for bait or tuna chasing bait, and while we’re looking for tuna, we catch king mackerel, dolphins and wahoo. Then we’ll generally stop and chum for tuna. The big yellowfin tuna will feed up into the chum line, and many times we’ll see them at the back of the boat. We put a hook inside a piece of chum and let it drift back behind the boat. If we don’t catch tuna using this tactic, we’ll fly a kite and use live baits on top of the water. Sometimes we’ll use both techniques to try to catch tuna. At night, we jig for tuna, and our clients have time to shower and eat. Sometimes we even catch tuna while casting top-water lures at night. We continue to fish for tuna until about 8:00 am or 9:00 am, and then we deep-drop fish for grouper as well as, bottom fish and troll our way back to Orange Beach. We run a reverse fishing trip on the way back to the dock from the trip we’ve
Editor’s Note: 
ng their annual migration into the creeks and the rivers that feed Mobile Bay. During this month, there will be an infusion of salt water into the rivers and the creeks that feed the bays and the bayous. So, as the salinity level in these feeder rivers and creeks increases, the speckled trout, redfish and flounder will move into that new water in these drainages. The colder the weather gets, the further the fish will move-up the creeks and the rivers. At the first of October, the artificial reefs out in the Bay will be your best bet to catch speckled trout. At the middle or the end of the month, you’ll need to move to the creeks and the rivers that feed Mobile Bay to fish for trout.
catch big bull reds on the Dixey Bar at almost any time of year. For the first half of October, you can catch a limit of speckled trout and then move out to the Dixey Bar and fish for those big bull reds. Toward the end of October, your chances of catching eating-sized redfish and speckled trout will be better in the creeks and the rivers. 
Editor’s Note:
Spanish mackerel to catch throughout the rest of the month. However, toward the end of October, I’ll catch fewer of them. As the mackerel begin to move out of the area, the big giant redfish will move in, and October is one of the most-productive months to fish the pier for redfish.
pier fishermen will put a float up the line 2 to 3 feet from their baits to keep the LYs high in the water column, if they’re fishing specifically for mackerel, or if the water’s rough, and they don’t want their LYs to go down and hide in that churned-up bottom. More people free-line LYs with no floats or leads. Then they’ll have the opportunity to catch both mackerel and redfish. I’ve learned that the closer I hook the LY to the tail, the more it will swim away from the pier and get out in the open water, where more mackerel and redfish seem to hang-out.
bite will be good all month, by the end of October, they really start to stack-up. You can catch plenty of them. As soon as the water begins to cool this month, the flounder will move out of the estuary areas and into the Gulf of Mexico. The flounder usually will stay in close to the beach during October to fatten-up before they move further offshore. October and May are the two best flounder-catching months, but we catch flounder year-round off the pier. The first week the pier opened in late July 2009, I saw close to 1,000 flounder caught. Some days 250 flounder were caught off the pier then. 
fish take much longer to concentrate than pelagic and inshore species do. The pier is the main fish attractor, especially with the addition of the lights on the pier. 
ound as the end of the old pier. So, the new pier allows about three times as many people to fish comfortably off its end as the old pier did.
bigger trout will be around the bridges and the passes. I fish a lot at Oyster Bar, Perdido Key, the Perdido Pass Bridge and around the jetties. 
each. The inshore redfish usually school-up according to size. You’ll either find a school of 8- to 10-pounders, or in the 10- to 15-pound class. The 6- to 8-pound redfish are the keepers, and they’re really the ones you want to catch. But the bigger redfish are the trophies for picture taking, but then you’ll release them. 
ones: The triggerfish have to be at least 14-inches long to the fork of the tail for us to keep them. On the average, that’s about a 4- or a 5-pound triggerfish. During September and October, we generally catch more triggerfish than we do during the summer months.
uring the summer months. Too, we’ll usually catch bigger fish in September than we do in the summertime. September and October are when we start seeing the really-big red snapper. Even though we can’t keep them, they’re really fun to catch. And as I mentioned, September is when we see the big king mackerel. So, I’ll tell anyone coming down this month to bring a camera, because more than likely, he or she will have some big fish to photograph. Also, getting the captain and the boat you want to fish with is much easier in September than in the summer. Often if you’ll call 2 or 3 days ahead of time, you can find the captain and the boat with whom you want to fish. 
opened, earning it the title of the longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama’s only pier on the Gulf. The 1,540-foot long, 20-foot wide pier boasts 2,448 feet of fishing space along its rails. Much larger than the previous pier, it can accommodate up to 30 people on the octagon-shaped end of the pier and is open 24 hours per day/7 days per week. On July 23, 2009, Governor Bob Riley cut the ribbon, officially opening the new pier at Gulf State Park to the public. 
ok the bait, the sky filled with mirror-like scales, reflecting the colors of the rainbow, as a tarpon leapt high above the waves, seeking freedom in the air. 
rk Pier to welcome gulf fishermen. New features at the pier include concession area seating, indoor retail space for tackle and souvenirs, mid-pier comfort station and wheelchair-accessible rail fishing. 
he charge is $4. The sightseeing-only fee for adults is $3. Weekly, monthly, semi-annual and annual permits are available. For more information, including a complete list of pier rules and regulations, visit the Gulf State Park section of 
Editor’s Note:
Our fall fishing starts the last of August, and the cool weather and the lack of fishing pressure really creates some great fishing here on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. We have had a phenomenal amberjack season. We caught a number of amberjacks throughout the spring and the summer, and apparently, the amberjack bite will hold-up strong this month. Too, we’re catching plenty of triggerfish, vermilion snapper, scamp, gag grouper, red grouper, red porgies, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and wahoo, and our offshore fishery will start booming this month, too. Offshore we’ll be catching white marlin, sailfish, tuna, dolphin, wahoo and an occasional blue marlin. The wahoo fishing really starts to pick-up the end of August and continues to get better all the way through November.
and skipjack tuna around the whale sharks. The purple-and-black-striped skipjack tuna will weigh 10- to 30-pounds each. They’re really-pretty fish.
believe we’ll continue to catch plenty of king mackerel through October. Our section of the Gulf has really-clear water now, and the king mackerel have been thick just outside of the pass at Orange Beach. We’ve been live-bait fishing around the buoys, and on our 6-hour trips, we troll as we leave the pass and when we return to the pass. The king mackerel we catch in close weigh 8- to 15-pounds each. But when we go out to deeper water, we usually will catch the 20- to 40-pound king mackerel holding above some of the deeper structure where we’ll be bottom fishing. We put out live bait and let the baits swim on free lines when we bottom fish for those bigger kings. 
Editor’s Note: 
month, the bay is full of baitfish, and the cobia and mackerel will follow the baitfish. We’re catching plenty of flounder this month also. During August, the flounder start moving into the bay and staging to go into the Gulf of Mexico. These aren’t the really-big flounder we see in September and October. These flounder will weigh 2-4 pounds, and you can catch them around the pilings at the gas rigs. The bay also homes numbers of ground mullet and white trout in August, because these fish are following the bait. Too, you’ll see numbers of croakers and pinfish in the bay just out from Fort Morgan, as well as big speckled trout weighing 3- to 6- pounds each. The best way to catch these large speckled trout is to fish live croakers. If you put a live shrimp in the water, more than likely some other species of fish will eat it. But if you bait with live croakers, then when you get a bite, more than likely you’ll have on a speckled trout.
avis: The speckled-trout bite in Mobile Bay in August is usually early in the morning and late in the evening. You can catch good-sized specks around any of the gas rigs in the bay.
dchildren fishing. I provide all the equipment and the bait, and I teach the youngsters how to fish. After the trip’s over, they can take bags of fish with them to either have cooked at a local restaurant or for Momma to cook for them at home. 
and there’ll be a lot more mackerel caught inshore and offshore. Too, this month, the mahi-mahi (dolphin) start moving, and we’ll catch a number of them offshore of Orange Beach. The mackerel will be holding on the rifts and the grasslines and out in the blue water, and we often will catch some really-big ones at this time of year. 
Editor’s Note: 
an we’ve caught in years past. We have tons of snapper in the Gulf of Mexico right now, and as the weather continues to warm-up, the water will warm-up, causing many of the snapper to move in closer to shore. Fishing out of Orange Beach, we catch a wide variety of fish, including red snapper, grouper, triggerfish, amberjacks, vermilion snapper, white snapper and scamp. When you fish offshore, you can catch tuna, wahoo, dolphin and marlin. Generally within sight of the beach, you can catch king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. In July, the current slacks-up and we’ll start seeing that pretty green water bring in the mahi-mahi (dolphin) and the wahoo. 
a 4-hour trip, we fish for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. On a 6-hour trip, along with fishing for the Spanish mackerel and the king mackerel, we also fish out a little further and catch red snapper.
apper the further out we travel. If you add wahoo and dolphin, you’ll have a great offshore trip. 
Editors Note:
), wahoo and marlin. If they want more fish to take home, we’ll bottom fish on our way back to Orange Beach. On these trips, each customer can catch a 2-day limit of snapper, triggerfish and grouper. There are plenty of rocks and ledges that hold big grouper out in that deep water, and oftentimes that’s what our customers want to catch. But everything is biting during the month of July. We try to take our clients where they can find the fish they want to catch. July is a great month for all species of fish here at Orange Beach. If you want to know what’s biting before you come, give me a call, or check out my webpage to see what we’re catching now.
Editor’s Note:
tching specks in June. Too, many specks will be found in the Intercoastal canal this month. If Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have bad weather or high winds, we always can go to the Intercoastal canal, which is protected water, and locate speckled trout and redfish there regardless of the weather conditions. In April when I had a trip scheduled, this region had 20- to 30-mile-per-hour winds, which made the Perdido Pass, the jetties, the bridge and a number of my inshore spots too rough to fish. But we were able to fish the canal and find and catch speckled trout, redfish and flounder. So, we very rarely cancel a trip because of weather, unless the rains coming down so hard that the customers don’t want to fish. If the weather’s good, you can catch some nice-sized speckled trout around the docks right at first light or just before dark. If we’re fishing in the middle of the day, we generally will run to the Florida high-hump bridge, which has deeper water, where we often can find trout concentrated at that time of day. To fish this bridge, you need a Florida fishing license, and most of the captains here at Orange Beach who fish inshore, carry both Florida and Alabama fishing licenses. 
Editor’s Note:
at Zeke’s while fishing.
snapper and grouper. We usually can catch a limit of two snapper per person on the 6-hour trips, as well as catch triggerfish and vermilion snapper. Snapper season began June 1 and lasts until August 15th, and when we fish for snapper, we not only catch red snapper, but we also catch vermilion snapper, white snapper and an occasional grouper. 
wahoo, dolphin, amberjack and big grouper.
grouper, the gag grouper and scamp. A number of scamp have been caught this year, and even though they’re a smaller type of grouper, they’re delicious to eat and fun to catch.
but in June and July, we catch a lot of nice-sized kings out in that deeper water.
.
grass beds along the Alabama and the Florida line in the Perdido section of the coast.
in May. The flounder prefer a soft, sandy bottom, and I’ll catch them on soft-bodied jigs, bull minnows and live finger mullet (small mullet about the size of your little finger or index finger).
you can take a 10- or a 12-hour trip to catch the bigger amberjacks and fish 30- to 35-miles offshore in 180- to 200-foot-deep water. Too, grouper season opens in April, allowing anglers to fish for red and gag grouper and scamp. 
e chum with squid and fish with 20-pound-test monofilament line with no leader and very little or no lead, so we can let the bait just drift down. The mangrove snapper is a finicky eater and very smart. That’s why we hide the hooks in the bait. 
out around 9:00 and 10:00 am to have the sun at their backs. On a 6-hour trip we’ll often see two or three cobia, and we can catch one per person. However, we can catch, release and tag cobia all day long. 
Editor’s Note: 
hoals at Dauphin Island. I’ve caught good slot reds just west of the Dauphin Island Bridge and at the Dauphin Island Bridge itself. If you can get live croakers, they’re the best baits for catching reds. If I can’t find live croakers, I’ll fish with frozen menhaden or 12- to 15-pound-test line with a No. 4 Sea Striker hook. If the current’s really running where you’re fishing, use a 1-ounce lead up the line. In light current, you often can fish a 1/4-ounce lead up the line. We’ll usually get a limit of three redfish per person during April.
the rigs inside Mobile Bay and on the oyster beds and the artificial reefs created by the State of Alabama, like White Horse Reef, Fish River Reef and Shell Banks Reef. I catch sheepshead with live shrimp and fiddler crabs. I’ll use a 1/2-ounce lead up the line and tie the main line to a barrel swivel. I’ll fish with 14-pound-test fluorocarbon leader tied to a No. 6 Sea Striker hook. Right now, I’m catching nice-sized sheepshead, weighing from 4- to 10-pounds each. In a 4-hour trip, I’ll generally catch 20 to 40 sheepshead. My favorite way to cook sheepshead, or any type of fish, is to put about 1 inch of olive oil in a black cast-iron skillet, dredge the fish fillets in yellow cornmeal, and then cook each side until just browned. This recipe is quick and easy, and the end product is delicious, tasty fillets. 
pompano on spinning tackle with 10-pound-test line. The limit on pompano is three per person. 
nds each. You can keep three slot-limit reds per person. The reds will be holding in the Pass, underneath the bridge, around piers close to the Pass and in shallow water along the edges of the grass beds. 
Editor’s Note: 
sually target the Spanish mackerel, we always carry cobia rods with us in case we see the cobia. If we’re fishing for Spanish mackerel on a day that we’re seeing a lot of cobia, we’ll leave the Spanish mackerel and start concentrating more on the cobia. 
Editor’s Note: Captain Johnny Greene of the charter boat, “Intimidator,” based at Orange Beach Marina, tells us what to look for this month when the brown fish show-up just off Alabama’s beaches, and how he also catches Spanish mackerel and redfish. 
and cast that cold eel out into the warm waters of the Gulf, the eel will really put on a show for the cobia and entice the big fish to eat it. If the cobia won’t take the live eel, we usually have a large live pinfish or a croaker ready to cast to the cobia. If the live bait doesn’t produce a strike from the cobia, we have big cobia jigs we can cast to the fish on spinning tackle to try to get the cobia to bite. 
conomy and better fuel prices. We’ll run 4-hour cobia trips for a family of four for $400, and we can take two, 4-hour trips in a day. We realize that many families with small children don’t want to fish all day long and may not have enough money to book an all-day trip. So, we’ve tried to make our trips more affordable and shorter who want to go on an adventure and fish for cobia, Spanish mackerel and redfish. 
Spanish Mackerel
I fish up and down the beaches near the
Also when we’re fishing the front
Editor’s
Brothers:
Editor’s
In
pilings or rigs. You want to catch the sheepshead
Cappar:
Cappar:
Cappar:
Question:
Secour may produce a good limit of trout this month. The Bon Secour River has
Whitworth:
Whitworth:
Question: Jeff, where will you find
Chambliss: Black drum usually don’t
Chambliss: We let the grubs fall to the
Day:
Editor’s
As
A
na-fishing trip, we have to travel 70 to 80 miles. If we try
Editor’s
Right
In
Many
Manci:
Broughton:
look at
Question:
Question:
Walker:
This
Amberjack
snapper
Pruitt:
Pruitt:
Pruitt:
Right
18-hour
McDuffie:
McDuffie:
Editor’s
Holloway:
The
Wilson:
Wilson:
Editor’s
Question:
Editor’s Note: Captain Dennis Treigle of the “Find Me Fishing” charter boat is an inshore fisherman who specializes in finding and catching speckled trout, redfish and flounder. 
Treigle: During August, most of our fish will be caught from the bay area near Perdido Pass. In the early morning, we’ll be concentrating on speckled trout. Later in the morning, when the sun’s up, and the trout bite is over, we’ll be fishing for redfish and flounder. As the weather warms up even more in August, fishing for speckled trout becomes tough. So, anyone who wants to catch speckled trout needs to get up before daylight and be on the water as soon as the sun glows. After the redfish bite’s over, we move from dock to dock inside the bay until we find a dock holding redfish. Certain docks will hold large numbers of redfish. When you locate these docks, you can have a good time catching plenty of redfish. Not every dock will produce redfish. We’ll still be catching quite a few flounder around jetties in the Pass when we catch the right bait for them. 
Treigle: Several factors dictate how many trout you’ll catch on any morning you fish. You must first begin fishing before daylight, and then you need to fish either the incoming or the outgoing tide. Generally the speckled trout bite is better during an incoming tide. Most of the guides fishing for trout this month will arrive at the docks long before they meet their parties and drag their shrimp nets to catch live croakers for bait. They’ll catch a few trout on menhaden and some trout on live shrimp. But live croakers are the best bait for speckled trout. 
Treigle: The redfish should be taking alewives, menhaden, croakers and spots. Right now, redfish prefer live shrimp, which is odd but not surprising since we’ve had such a strange year of fishing. The inshore bait didn’t show up until the third week of July. Usually by this time, the fish are tired of eating shrimp and are feeding heavily on baitfish. However, since the baitfish will be in the area in August, we may see a transition from live shrimp to other live baits I mentioned earlier. Generally medium-sized baits will produce more redfish than really-big baits or very-small baits. 
Question:
Question:
Question:
Question:
Jones:
Jones:
Question:
We often catch 8, 10 and 12 pounders. During an 8-hour trip, after we’ve tried to
Editor’s Note: Josh Hiller, an inshore guide for Inshore Fishing Adventures at Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama, has fished these waters for the last 16 years. Hiller tells us where to find fish and how to catch them in June.
Question: Josh, where will the speckled trout be this month?
Question: Where will you find flounder this month, Josh?
Editor’s
If
Because
We
particularly on natural bottom or other
Lynch:
Lynch:
Question: Dave, what species of fish have been stocked in Lake
Question: What types of fish are being caught out of Lake
Question: What about the bass fishing in the lake?
Jordan:
Jordan:
Jordan:
Walker:
Walker: 
The
If
Although
Editor’s Note: 
Davis: 
Editor’s Note:
Fairey:
Fairey: 
Question: Jeff, when do pompano show up inshore in this area?
Question: Where will you find speckled trout this month, and how will you catch them?
two speckled trout that weighed 6-1/2-pounds each. The trout were about 29-1/2-inches-long each. If they hadn’t spawned, they would have weighed more. The big trout are always here at Orange Beach, but they’re not always caught.
Editor’s
Alawine
Alawine
In