Coastal Alabama Fishing Report - Week of 3/6/2018
- Captain Billy Howell
- Mar 11, 2018
- 10 min read
There is no cure for the wintertime blues like warm weather, good water and fish bending the rod. Hopefully, this past week saw Ole Man Winter's dying gasp leaving warmer temperatures here to stay. We saw nighttime temps in the 30's and daytime highs around 70 degrees, a departure from the previous weeks 80 degree weather. 1-2 foot seas this past Thursday and Friday provided a great opportunity to head to bluewater for tuna, deep drop for tiles or barrelfish , or just set up within 30 miles to catch triggerfish, vermillion and other species. The inshore guides continued to hammer the sheepshead off the jetties and under Perdido Pass bridge in Orange Beach and at the inshore and nearshore gas rigs in southern Mobile Bay just off Fort Morgan. Some even got to share the experience of a lifetime with customers, catching bull redfish. Reportedly, there were schools of redfish over Dixie Bar approximately 200 yards long and thicker than molasses. Over the last week, there have been some good reports of a solid trout bite on the Mobile River as they are making their way back to Mobile Bay. Also, it's always encouraging to hear that flounder are starting to move in from their offshore winter home. Even though a handful of Cobia (Ling) have been caught so far, we are still a week or so away from the mass migration.
If you don't have a boat, no worries, there is ample opportunity to have a great time catching multiple species of fish for the dinner table from Gulf State Pier and from the shoreline. Each week our goal is to provide you with a local fishing report for our Coastal slice of paradise, working our way from inshore to offshore.
INSHORE REPORT
Orange Beach / Gulf Shores - Wolf Bay - ICW
Tails and Scales Fishing Charters - Captain Taylor Fisher
Instagram: @tail_scalescharters
Cell: 251-550-9301
Capt. Taylor says that Spring Breakers are here just in time to catch the sheepshead bite on fire. Sheepshead are thick thieves right now as they are in their spawning period under Perdido Pass bridge and off the east and west jetties departing Perdido Pass. In addition to sheepshead, he reported another local guide catching a couple on a charter this week. Strong tides brought crystal green, salty water so clear you could see the bottom, from just outside the pass to Bird and Robinson Island. The clear water makes it easy to spot schools of sheepshead swimming off the jetties and around the boat. Capt. Taylor said they are catching a few trout on the reefs in Orange Beach early in the morning either freelining or slip corking live bait (shrimp and croakers). Capt. Taylor has been fishing the Orange Beach / Gulf Shores area from over 10 years, runs his guided fishing trips out of Caribe Marina and always shows his customers a great time.
Eastern Shore - Weeks Bay - Mobile Bay
Bayside Charters - Captain Patrick Hill
Facebook: @baysidecharters
Instagram: @phill04
Website: www.baysidecharterfishing.com
Cell: 251-379-0560
Capt. Patick says, "For our trips during the first week of march, we were lucky to have some incredibly nice weather which is always a added bonus. This allowed us to be able to take advantage of some springtime sheepshead fishing. These fish are on spawn and can be found in large numbers across the gulf coast and make for a very fun, action packed day on the water. Sheepshead are very structure oriented and can be found on just about any available structure in the area such as rocks, pilings, oyster reefs, as well as the gas and oil rigs in the bay and gulf. In my opinion, lighter is always better when targeting sheepshead. 15-20lb leader and either a #6 or #8 treble hook are more than capable of doing the job effectively. A slip cork, Carolina rig, or just a hook with a small split shot with a live shrimp works the best for me and my clients. Most times, current speed dictates which technique works best on any given day, and normally one out those three rigs will get more bites. This is why I have multiple rigs ready to go and adjust accordingly. As March rolls on, these fish continue to be plentiful and targeted on good weather days. When Mother Nature isn't so cooperative, there is still good trout and redfish action in the various tidal river systems in our area. The conditions on any given day really determine what we target, where we target it, and how we go about fishing for it. But as far as fun and providing great table fare for such a wide range of people, no matter the skill level, sheepshead fishing in the spring is hard to beat." Captain Patrick
Sheepshead travel from the rivers nearshore / offshore in the spring to spawn, so you are likely to find them full of roe (eggs) when you begin cleaning. Capt. Patrick typically launches off highway 98 under Fish River Bridge but in late fall and early winter he may meet you up near the causeway. Capt. Patrick has years of experience guiding and providing a great fishing experience on the water.
Western Shore - Mobile Bay - Dauphin Island
Ugly Fishing - Captain Patric Garmeson
Facebook: @ugly.fishing
Instagram: @ugly_fishing
Website: www.uglyfishing.com
Cell: 251-747-1554
Captain Patric fished 3 days this week, two days out of Dauphin island and one day in both Dog River and Mobile River. "The first day was out of Dauphin Island with a group of college students from South Dakota. The morning temperature was 34 degrees with a northeast wind. This was a two boat trip with a total of 8 anglers. The second boat was guided by Captain Erik Nelson (Finatics Fishing Charters) . Erik and I left the dock with our guests around 9:15 a.m. and headed toward the gulf. The plan was to go to the gas rigs south of Fort Morgan. As we were crossing the locally famous Dixie Bar I noticed a group of birds working aggressively to our south. As I slowed the boat to see if I could see any fish blowing up under the birds, I look in the water and notice that fish are all under the boat. What fish? Big redfish! Thousands of them! I casted the first rod and handed it to the young lady beside me and the first fish was on within seconds of handing the rod off. For the next couple hours our guests on mine and Capt. Erik's boats caught one giant redfish after another. Our South Dakota guests could not have been more impressed. The redfish school moved off and we lost sight of them, so we switched gears and motored on to the gas rigs. We pulled up to the first rig and could see the sheepshead swimming around the legs of the rig. Once we found them, we had to get them to bite. Sheepshead are in spawning mode so they are focused on procreation. However due to the massive gathering, competition is high, most of the time these fish will gobble up a shrimp or small crab as soon as it presents itself. We dropped our live shrimp down and began catching red snapper immediately. After boating a few red snapper, the sheepshead began to bite and our guests started bringing them in on almost every cast. This trip was text book, best case scenario for a perfect spring fishing charter. We wrapped our fishing trip up by stopping on the bar and catching a few more bull reds. All people on board both boats had the time of their life. My next fishing trip was a repeat of the day before with our South Dakota folks. Instead of taking clients on this day, I had local weatherman and outdoorsman, Jason Smith and his camera crew on board. Our goal was catching bull reds on a variety of tackle and tactics. All I can say is, mission accomplished! During our shoot we broke a rod and had a hard plastic lure ripped in half! Once we got our fill of bull red action, we targeted sheepshead again and it was game-on every cast. My last day of fishing this week was with my brother, Jeffrey. He and I teamed up to fish the BOG. The final Battle of the Grubs for winter 2017-2018. Jeff and I started out in Dog river and landed only 4 trout, but one was a 5lber. The bite slowed to grinding halt, so we relocated to Mobile River, where we finished out our creel and caught approximately 20 more speckled trout on soft plastic grubs. Next week we are booked 6 of 7 days, We plan to mix up speckled trout fishing, redfishing and sheepshead" Captain Patric
Captain Patric Garmeson is very mobile running trips from Dauphin Island to Gulf Shores. Captain Patric has years of experience fishing our local waters and is sure to provide you and your family with a fun-filled, fish catching experience on the water.
Surfside
Shore Thing Fishing - Captain Dusty Hayes
Instagram: @capt.dustin
Cell: 678-897-0167
Captain Dusty Hayes provides surf fishing trips from the beaches in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama. When Capt. Dusty is not working at Lost Bay Tackle in Orange Beach, AL, you will find him and his customers catching more than just the sunrise or sunset off the beach. This past week Capt. Dusty fished 4 days and caught multiple undersize pomano. big black drum, slot to oversize redfish, bluefish and some monster whiting (15-17 inches) Capt. Dusty said there have been reports of 17-20 inch pompano being caught already. Capt. Dusty's main rigs consist of 2 drop pompano rigs and size 2 or 4 kahle hooks. For bait he favors fresh live shrimp or Fish Bites. According to Capt. Dusty, incoming tides and warm weather are gonna fire up the Spring pompano run very soon. One key to catching more fish in the surf is to keep moving until you find the fish. If you are looking to do a little fishing from the beach, Capt. Dusty is well known in the area to provide an exciting time for your family.
The Pier Review
Captain David Collins
Avid angler and local pier legend, Captain David Collins will be providing us with updates throughout the season and tips on how you can find pier fishing success. For best success, Capt. David recommends getting to the pier before sunrise to fish a GOTCHA plug, a bubble rig or # 8 /10 Rapala X-Rap. Those 3 setups you should allow you to catch a limit of spanish mackerel in a hurry. The sheepshead bite is on fire right now so be sure to bring fiddler crabs, ghost shrimp, sand fleas or live shrimp. For the sheepshead, Capt. David likes to use #10 treble hooks since the creatures can sometimes be finicky. This time of year never leave the house without cigar minnows, 31lb single strand wire, some #4 - 4X strong treble hooks and a good medium action spinning set up for king mackerel. The kings can show up at the pier any time of day. Capt. David says, this year the pier fishing is off to an early spring season, so get your gear and your carts ready and get on down to the pier. Fishermen have already been catching spanish and king mackerel. According to Capt. David, t's not unusual this time of year to catch a 40lb king mackerel right off the pier. As water temps continue to rise, you might even catch mahi or a sailfish. Words of Wisdom from Capt. David, "Always stay as diverse as possible with the tackle and setups you bring. CAST ALOT! Be Ready for anything and everything and keep your bait "wet and wiggling."
Offshore Report
Orange Beach, Alabama
Reel Kill Fishing Charters - Captain Bryars Bishop
Facebook: @reelkillcharters
Instagram: @reel_kill_charters
Website: www.reelkillcharters.com
Cell: 251-714-6008
This week Captain Bryars hosted a family from Michigan. Capt. Bryars and the group ventured offshore about 30 miles and caught limits of Triggerfish with a few white snapper and vermillion in the mix. They decided to make one last stop along the way in and landed a 60lb amberjack. Capt. Bryars said it took 30 minutes and 3 change-outs to get this Reef Donkey landed for its photo op. Unfortunately, Amberjack are not in season so this hunk of steaks was released to be caught another day.
On Saturday, the winds started out less than 10 knots but as the day went on quickly switched and strengthened to about 18-20 knots out of the southeast. Luckily, Capt. Bryars and his crew were able to get out and catch limit of triggerfish and a nice mess of vermillion snapper.
Capt. Bryars has years of experience fishing the Alabama Gulf coast and guides out of Caribe Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. His trips always brings in a boat load of fish shows his clients a great time on the water.
Bent Outfitters Fishing - Captain Billy Howell
Facebook: @bentoutfittersfishing
Instagram: @bent_outfitters_fishing
Website: www.bentoutfittersfishing.com
Cell: 601-938-7161
"This week saw strong incoming tides and beautiful water around the islands in Perdido Pass and especially in the Gulf of Mexico. For those who get seasick easily, Friday would have been your best bet for getting offshore to fish without having to hang over the side of the boat. We hosted a bachelor party from Mississippi because another charter boat had canceled on them. We headed out in 1-2 foot seas, 9-10 knot north winds and temps around 50 degrees. As we ventured out, we crossed over at least a couple tide lines, with the passing of each one, the water looked more blue than green.
Easing up to our first stop, 20 miles southeast of Orange Beach, Captain Taylor Fisher of Tails and Scales Charters, took over the wheel. I started to get hooks baited and lines in the water. Since we had a special guest on the trip, we got him ready to go first. If you're wondering why I was baiting hooks and not driving the boat, Capt. Taylor and squid don't mix :). I've seen it and it's not pretty. Our target species on this natural bottom, was triggerfish. For triggerfish we typically fish with light tackle gear using 30lb test and a double hook rig commonly referred to as a chicken rig with a 4-8 oz bank sinker, Sinker size depends on how strong the current is. While getting the other hooks baited up, the bachelor hooked up on the first drop. This year, triggerfish size and creel limits were updated to 1 per angler and 15 inches long. On the bright side, at least we got a season. If you're asking, why would I want to go fish for triggerfish when you can only keep one. The answer is, there are other species to keep even when red snapper, amberjack and gag grouper season are closed. After limiting on Trigger and catching a few other species, I asked the boys if they wanted to know what a getting ran over by a freight train felt like. Even though they boarded the boat already feeling that way thanks to the Flora Bama the night before, they said Hell Yeah, of course we do. We motored on to another private location, consisting of concrete rubble, Capt.Taylor and I tied on vertical jigs and summoned the Reef Donkies. Unfortunately, the first one big amberjack left with a pierced lip as he broke the 80lb wind-on leader leaving us to tie on another jig. That was the first of 4 jigs that that are still swimming around in amberjack lips. We ended up landing only 2 amberjack, but we managed to keep all fishermen safely aboard the vessel." Captain Billy
With Spring Breakers in town this month, we hope to get back on the water for some more lively action and will keep you posted. Captain Billy has a few years fishing experience in the Alabama Coastal area and guides trips out of Caribe Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. Captain Billy has a history of putting clients on fish and showing them a great time.
Summary
If your not wetting a hook right now you are missing out on an opportunity for some fun. Special thanks to all the contributors for this report. We look forward to keeping you informed each week of what's happening on the water.
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