Coastal Fishing Connections - Alabama Report - 6/18/2018
- Captain Billy Howell
- Jun 18, 2018
- 17 min read
Summer Weather Patterns Are Here!
If you woke up ready to go fishing this past Monday, some of you may have looked at the radar and the skies and said; not today! As guides, we have to fish to make a living, so the majority of us made minor adjustments to departure times and locations to fish. As we departed for our early morning adventure, the sky was red and the clouds were dark all around, even in the Gulf. On Mondays, the number of boats leaving Perdido Pass is greatly diminished compared to the Friday through Sunday mad dash. As typical in the summer, the storms dictated areas we were able to fish. While fishing, we got to witness cloud to water lightning in the distance and even saw a water spout trying to plummet from the sky. It sure didn't stop the fish from eating even even with a ripping current.
Pictured below was a capture of the early morning red sky. As the old addage goes, "Red Sky in the Morning, Sailors take warning."
Before we get to the fishing, I would like to address some things people get fired up about during the summer fishing craze. As more anglers hit the water it's becoming more commonplace to see these two things absent; common courtesy and common sense. Everything starts at the boat ramp. The weekends are always busiest, especially when the weather is good. Plan ahead, have everything in the boat you possibly can load prior to backing your trailer down the ramp. Once in the water, get the boat and truck out of the way as quickly as possible. I know occasionally, we have to launch a boat by ourselves, for me it's all the time. Before I ever back the boat down, I load all my gear in the boat, tie a rope from the front cleat to the trailer, unhook the strap then back her off into the water, hop out, crank the engine and back the boat away from the launch out of the way. What I have seen over the past few months at the ramp is appalling. People backing their boat off the trailer while their buddy, spouse or partner, sits there and holds the boat to the dock blocking the launch while they end up having to park a long way off, then work their way back to move it out of the way so others eager to launch their boat can get in the water. My recommendation is to either teach whoever you go boating with to back the truck in, drive the boat off the trailer and re-park it out of the way, take someone with you who already can do one or the other or at a minimum, get out of the truck, move the boat then pull the truck out of the way. An for those waiting, be patient. There are new boaters every year while the economy is good, so be as patient as possible and offer to help if needed.
Common Courtesy / Common Sense go hand in hand, but not nearly enough people use either on the water these days. Just this past week, we had a dive boat pull right up in our drift, and even after letting him know we were drifting this particular area, he sent his diver off the back anyway and laughed at me. It was only a matter of minutes before bubbles were popping up just off the port side of the boat. In Alabama, you are supposed to remain at least 100 feet from a vessel with divers down. Thank goodness this particular diving crew did not anchor their boat, because they may have had pirates come aboard and whip their booty! The name describes the captain and his attitude perfectly, "Deplorable."
For those anglers who have just driven 20 miles to fish a wreck only to arrive and there is a dive boat sitting there, show respect. Either keep your distance or find another place to fish. It's not like we don't have another 9,999 reefs off our coastline.
Respecting others requires self respect. Show a little bit when you are out on the water and use common sense.
One more thing, know the areas that you will be fishing, including all navigable channels. For the 2nd time in 3 years, there is a boat currently stuck on the jetties going out of Perdido Pass. We may never know the full story, but it was reported that the captain said his anchor line broke and they drifted into it. Guess we will wait for the full story. Regardless, the vessel owner will be responsible for its removal.
On to the fishing, the weather has been hot, humid and fairly tempestuous this week with strong scattered storms throughout the day and lightning that is out of this world. An observer in Point Clear, Alabama was able to capture this lightning strike in the marina at the Grand Hotel earlier in the week. Notice the big bolt in the back and the two smaller bolts going down into the actual slip. During the summer on the coast you will just have to work around the storms as best possible.
Stormy weather didn't keep the fish from biting this past week but the bite definitely slowed down a little. Captain Patric Garmeson with Ugly Fishing believes it could possibly have had something to do with the new moon. He does expect the bite to pick back up this week. Offshore the current was ripping pretty hard but the fish still ate pretty good. From the pier and the surf, the algae has been a nightmare but there are still plenty of fish to be caught if you are patient and your bait is in the water.
Captain Erik Nelson, Finatics Fishing Charters, continued to get his Fairhope Rattle on, smashing the trout on the western side of Mobile Bay.
Highs in the upper 80's and lows in the mid 70's over the next couple weeks, with rain chances in the 20-40 percent range for the most part of the next 10 days should mean lots of good weather for those who love to fish or beachgoers. Early this week we will start with 3-4 foot swells as the seas lay down a little mid week. Unfortunately, it looks like the wind is going to be predominately out of the west this week, so be careful out there!
Mobile Mystic Stripers (MMS) held their annual fishing rodeo this past weekend and there were several records broken in multiple categories. Congratulations to the winners. Click HERE for results.
These reports require a collaborative effort from all the contributors, so please click their link and follow their social media accounts. Look for the column header that says weekly drawing, email coastalfishingconnections@gmail.com your answer to the question to get in the drawing held on Facebook live on Friday nights @coastalfishingconnections. Also, subscribe on our website at www.bentoutfittersfishing.com to receive these reports as they come out. Please leave comments at the bottom of the blog after reading and let us know if you find the information interesting and helpful. If you would like to get local fishing news or a tournament announcement in the blog, email coastalfishingconnections@gmail.com
INSHORE REPORT
Orange Beach / Perdido Key / Gulf Shores - Wolf Bay - ICW
Tails and Scales Fishing Charters - Captain Taylor Fisher
Instagram: @tail_scalescharters
Cell: 251-550-9301
Captain Taylor says,"The night time speckled trout bite has been on fire. We have been catching speckled trout under the dock lights at night time in Orange Beach on free-lined shrimp, matrix shad and hard jerk and twitch baits like the mirrodyne.
On saturday we got into the redfish and the black drum pretty good fishing live shrimp on a carolina rig. The king and spanish bite has been pretty good and the jack crevalle have shown up and I expect them to be running inside the bays pretty soon. This upcoming week we will be on the water day and night and expect the bite to remain good."
Captain 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.
Orange Beach / Perdido Key / Gulf Shores - Wolf Bay - ICW
Liquid Force Charters - Captain Dusty Hayes
Facebook: @liquidforceinshorecharters
Instagram: @capt.dustin
Cell: 678-897-0167
Captain Dusty says, "I spent most of the week nearshore catching lots of bonita, king and spanish mackerel and a few cobia.
Trolling drone spoons, mackerel trees and diving plugs is a great approach, as well as casting small white bucktail jigs into schooling fish. Most of the bait we are finding is holding up about 2-3 miles offshore.
Captain Dusty has been offering guided fishing trips for several years in Coastal Alabama out of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores and is sure to offer a great time on the water and catch fish!
Eastern 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 says,"Tuesday through Saturday we located speckled trout and white trout in and around Three rivers area of fort Morgan, catching them on popping corks with live and vudu shrimp. We also landed some of the best fish on topwater lures worked at a ridiculously slow pace. Once the shallow water bite slowed we landed some, but not many nice quality speckled trout and Spanish mackerel near the bay rigs on slip corked shrimp.
Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon we caught a ton of redfish in the Mobile Tensaw Delta using live and vudu shrimp under popping corks. We tagged and released 8 reds which we hope to hear back from one day. Saturday we targeted red snapper on public reefs using live pogies which we cast netted in the navy cover area. The best bite was on some public numbers just inside the 9NM line. This upcoming week I am booked every day except Thursday. We hope to target speckled trout, reds and anything else that wants to bite."
Pictured above is young Cooper Garmeson with his Papaw Marty holding a nice redfish they caught on Father's Day.
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.
Mobile Bay - Dauphin Island – Fort Morgan
Irish Wake Fishing - Captain Jay O’Brien
Facebook: @ IrishWake Fishing
Instagram: @Irish Wake Fishing
Website: www.irishwakefishing.com
Phone: 251-272-4285
Captain JayO says, "The fishing in the lower end of the Bay and Mississippi Sound continues to be good. Live shrimp and Vudu's under popping corks as well as slip corks continue to be the ticket in most areas.While the fishing slowed down a little over the past week the fish still seem to be on all the wrecks, artificial reefs and rigs from the middle part of the bay all the way to the lower end of the Bay on through the Mississippi Sound.
You can also find fish early in morning on the shallow flats and along the Gulf beaches. Fish were caught with Vudu shrimp and live shrimp under popping corks, Slick Lures, Rapala Skitter Walkers, Yum Mud Minnows, live shrimp on slip corks and free lined croakers. The Tripletail bite seems to have improved over the past week. We had several days landing several fish and seeing numerous other fish.
The fishing in our area continues to be outstanding. Get out there and take advantage of it or hire your favorite captain to take you out!"
Captain JayO is very mobile running trips from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan. Captain JayO 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. Irish Wake Fishing’s motto is Trophies, Groceries and Good Times!
Irish Wake Fishing would also like to thank their sponsors Islamorada Boatworks, Cajun Custom Rods and Smith Optics.
Mobile Delta
Dippi Outdoors - Dip McMillan
Email: alkeenmcmillan87@gmail.com
Phone: 251-747-9261
Dip says, "I'm definitely excited bout this coming week. For the last two weeks I have been waiting on the new trolling motor to come in and to be installed. I finally got it all installed this morning and we will be on the Tensaw delta bright and early most of this upcoming week during the morning time.
The Dippi Outdoors Crappie Tournament is this Saturday, June 23rd at Hubbards Landing. Blast off will be at safe light which is around 5:30 a.m., and weigh-in will be around 2:15 p.m., following the kid's prizes giveaway.
This week I have receive a lot of calls on my crappie setup about how I rig with a minnow and jig. The picture below includes the items I use. The line I use is high vis 6 or 8 lb test, with a # 2 J hook or red sickle hook, and #4 split shot. Also I use a 1/8 or 1/16 sickle jig head. When fishing with a minnow I use the sickle or J hook with the split shot about 6 inches above hook. I have a lot of success on this certain setup, the high vis line is a must for crappie fishing especially trolling. When using jigs I will only use a sickle jig head because the regular jig head hooks will lose a ton of fish. I will also put a split shot about 6 inches above jig head as well. Stay tune, this is going to be a fun week on the delta."
Thank you Dip for that outstanding report! If you like to crappie fish and want to to the where and how, contact Dip to go have some fun in the delta catching some crappies!
Surfside
Orange Beach - Gulf Shores – Fort Morgan
Bama Beach Bum Fishing - Matthew Isbell
Facebook: @bamabeachbumfishing
Instagram: @bamabeachbum_fishing
Cell: 334-391-5913
Bama Beach Bum Fishing, Matt Isbell says, "We still have some areas with heavy “June Grass”. Some beaches are still clear enough to fish, however other types of seaweed have started to move in as well. Typically, it is congregated inside the first gut so if you are fishing an area where you can get baits to the sandbar or behind the sandbar, you can avoid it a bit.
On a positive note, this year has been great for sand fleas! The last couple years numbers were down but large colonies are scattered all over the beach this year! This makes getting some fresh live bait a breeze if you don’t have time to swing by the tackle shop. The whiting bite was spotty this past week but there were some good days when the bite was great! Pompano can still be caught, just be prepared to be patient to get a one person limit. If you are willing to get out early in the morning you can experience some great blue fish and lady fish action! They are coming in very close to the beach and feeding heavily on numerous glass minnows present. Hang on to one or two of those lady fish to toss out some cut bait for bull reds and sharks after the action dies down and you’ll have a great trip!"
Matthew Isbell is the one and only, Bama Beach bum and has been guiding visitors to fish catching experiences in the surf. Not only does he offer guided surf fishing trips, but he also does a lot of instructional videos to help people catch more fish in the surf. His Youtube channel currently has over 2800 subscribers. Click on his link above for more information on how to book a trip with him.
The Pier Review
Captain David Collins
Captain Collins says, "The algae bloom has been a booger for the pier but there are still fish to be caught. King and spanish mackerel, redfish, jack crevalle are there, if you keep your bait ready. At night, the speckled trout are there in the shallows.
Fish as low profile as possible; small hooks, light fluorocarbon and lots of patience.
It seems the state is issuing permits for shark fishing. Maybe this is a step in the right direction to eradicate some of the nuissance sharks that steal nearly every king mackerel hooked at the pier. Tight Lines and screaming drag, fish on!
For the link to more information about the sharkfishing at the pier, click the link Gulf State Pier Shark Fishing.
Keep up with the latest Gulf State Pier information at GSPierfishing.com. or on Gulf Shores Pier Rats.
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
Captain Bryars was busy this week and says, "It's been a great week of fishing with big red snapper coming in. With recreational snapper season being open on the weekend, it has been hectic with boats everywhere. Below is a 28 lb red snapper we caught on one of our trips this week.
Thankfully, federally permitted charter captains are still able to catch red snapper during the week. We've brought in plenty of red snapper over 20 lbs this year so far but Bailey still has the biggest for us, weighing in at 28 lbs. There are plenty more big snapper to be caught!
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 and he 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
Captain Billy says, "It was a busy week for us as well. With red snapper season in full swing and the tourists in town, we got to meet some new people create lasting memories on the water. The current was a little bit annoying for us and we ended up using 10 oz weights on a couple trips. That get's old after a bit. We still managed to put our new friends from South Carolina and Georgia on some good fish while dodging storms every day we fished.
Earlier in the week, we hosted a family from South Carolina. Leading up to the trip, the mom said all her son wanted to do was catch a red snapper. It wasn't long before he was the first one hooked up. He ended up catching the most fish on the boat that day. After catching our limits of red snapper, we did a little trolling and caught a couple bonita that made great cut bait a couple days later.
A couple days later, I had a group that has fished with me for three years, or at least one in the group had. Last year, Mike caught a red snapper that made the Alabama Marine Resources Calendar. This year, he had the good fortune of whipping a 40 plus pound amberjack AND catching a tagged red snapper. The tag got sucked into the belly and wasn't visible externally while cleaning the fish but us saving the belly and throat, he was able to recover the tag and report it for a reward from Dr. Bob Shipp's group at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Another interesting thing that happened on this trip was us hooking and getting broke off by the same fish twice. The first time, we lost about 100 feet of braided line. The second time, we brought back up about 10 feet of said line but no fish.
Over the weekend, I hosted a business to business group from Florida, Georgia and Tennessee for a family Father's Day weekend fishing trip. Unbelievably, we had 80 lb test line broke at least a half dozen times while using live LY's, had a 50 plus pound cobia come unhooked after a 5-10 minute fight. Click this link to see the 17 seconds of it I actually posted to Facebook(click here). They still had a great time and ended up with a nice box of red snapper plus a bonus 5 lb mangrove snapper and a 4 lb spanish mackerel. I'm looking forward to the being able to use some of our big fish catching techniques this week, with the current slowing down and can't wait to share information with you next week. Keep those lines tight and rods' bent!"
Captain Billy has been fishing the coastal waters of Alabama for several years now and provides a fun-filled, family fishing experience for your family. Captain Billy runs his offshore trips from Caribe Marina in Orange Beach and inshore trips pretty much any where from the eastern shore of Mobile Bay to Orange Beach.
Upcoming Tournaments
Below you will find a mostly complete list of upcoming tournaments put together and posted by Saltwater Finaddicts . Give it a look over and make your tournament plans today.
The Rowe family says, "Join us on June 24th for the 2nd Annual-Elaine Rowe-Kids Day Out Tournament. We will have raffle prizes, food, drinks, and more! Get those babies outdoors for a fun filled day!" More information can be found by clicking on the image above. This tournament had over 200 participants last year.
Local Roundup
On Saturday, June 9, 2018, Fairhope High School made up their Pirate Classic tournament from an earlier date that was cancelled due to rain. The weigh-in was held at Camp Beckwith with 18 young anglers participating. The categories included redfish, speckled trout, white trout and red snapper. Placement in each category was as follows:
Master Angler
Brodie Fultz
Redfish 4.36 lbs
Speckled Trout 2.18 lbs
Redfish
Jack Gregorius 2.07 lbs
Matthew Robertson 1.6 lbs
Chandler Cook 1.3 lbs
Speckled Trout
JW Hurley 2.99 lbs
Ellena Michalopoulos 2.91 lbs
Abby Coker 2.18 lbs
White Trout
JW Hurley .66 lbs
Red Snapper
Christopher Simons 16.82 lbs
Cole Pearson 14.52 lbs
Dylan Simons 13.58 lbs
Winning the CCA Orca cooler door prize was JW Hurley, pictured below.
Congratulations Coach Berry on another outstanding fishing season and thank you for creating opportunities for young anglers to feed their addiction.
Coastal Culinary Corner
I can't tell you how many times I've been on a boat and when we talk about catching king mackerel, the people with me say, "I don't like king mackerel, it's too fishy or it's too nasty." Normally, I say that's cool, I will take all you catch. By the time I am finished with it and make my smoke mackerel dip, nobody can tell the difference or what type fish it is and they can't stop eating it. We shared that recipe a few weeks back. In my opinion, king mackerel is cooked fresh and with the skin on. Below I will list a way to cook it that may change the way you bake or grill fish.
Baked or Grilled King Mackerel
Ingredients
Cavender's all purpose Greek Seasoning
Sea Salt
Blue Plate Regular or Olive Oil Mayo
Preparation:
1. Preheat the over to 400 degrees
2. Season the fish with sea salt and cavender's greek seasoning
2. spread mayonaise over the filets
3. wrap in foil and place in the over for 10-15 minutes once the oven is preheated
7. Enjoy!
Sponsor Spotlight
This weeks sponsor is Captain JayO and Irish Wake Fishing. Captain JayO has been fishing the waters of Mobile Bay and surrounding areas for over 30 years. Over his career, he has won and placed in numerous tournaments in the Mobile Bay area. Some of his accolades include being an Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Champion along with other placings in the Rodeo (the world’s largest fishing rodeo as confirmed by Guinness Book of World Records), three-time Alabama Coastal Fisherman's Association Big Fish Champion (a yearlong contest where anglers can accrue points over 9 categories), and holds 2 different Alabama Coastal Fisherman's Association all-time records to go along with his other local tournament victories and showings. His favorite fish to target are Trophy Speckled Trout and Tripletail.
Captain JayO was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, and resides here with his wife and two children, and has always been drawn to the water. While at a young age visiting his grandparents in Crystal River, Florida, Captain JayO's grandfather taught him how to fish and inspired him to continue growing as a fisherman. His father furthered fueled this desire by taking him as often as possible to fish around Mobile Bay and Orange Beach during his childhood.As a fishing guide, Captain JayO loves exploring the waters of Mobile Bay, Dauphin Island, Fort Morgan, the Mississippi Sound, Bayou La Batre, Fowl River, Theodore Industrial Canal, Dog River, Mobile River, Mobile Tensaw Delta, the Eastern Shore and the Gulf of Mexico. He would love to spend some time with you and your family, friends, or clients and show you everything the Mobile Bay area has to offer.
Weekly Giveaway
This weeks prize pack is courtesy of Captain JayO with Irish Wake Fishing. Not only does Capt. JayO contribute valuable information each week, but he will be donating 2 hats for this weeks' drawing. You know what THAT means, 2 hats = 2 winners! I will be getting together with him next week to do the drawing on Coastal Fishing Connections Facebook page live!
Now to this weeks' question, Where was the weigh-in and prize ceremony held for the Fairhope High School Fishing Team's, Pirate Classic this past weekend? The answer is in the report!
The correct answer to last weeks question was Carrotstix Rods. Congratulations to Sam Houston. Sam, reach out to Captain Patric at his social media link under his profile above to coordinate picking up your prize.
Submit your answer via email to coastalfishingconnections@gmail.com
Like and Follow the 2 new social media accounts set up for the weekly report to get an extra entry into the drawing.
Facebook: @coastalfishingconnections
Instagram: @coastal_fishing_connections
Summary
Regardless of the forecasts, the avid anglers and boating enthusiasts will find a way to get their fix. Just a friendly reminder; have all your safety gear up to date, be safe and courteous and but most of all keep those rods bent!
If you are planning a vacation to the area and want to take advantage of great fishing, cruise the bay or islands, there are plenty of options for you. 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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