Coastal Fishing Connections Newsletter - 9/24/2018
- Coastal Fishing Connections
- Sep 25, 2018
- 9 min read
Fishing - Nature's Everlasting Gift
Take a moment to remember the first time you saw the cork go under, felt that little tug on your line and embraced the bend of the rod as you attempted to reel in your first fish. Joy and happiness coupled with a rush of adrenaline so profound that the feeling instills a lifetime longing and sears memories into your soul. Adrenaline provides a natural high that is truly addictive and the reason we pursue our a repeat event. For those who have children, we see the joy first hand that we once felt.
Every year, local anglers and outdoor enthusiasts have opportunities to share natures' gift with those in need. Whether it be Wounded Warriors, Fishing with Vets, Captains for Kids or other events, each one provides an opportunity help them create a bond with nature that will last forever. For those unfamiliar with Camp Rap A Hope, hope is a key part of their message. Camp Rap A Hope provides an opportunity that might not otherwise not be afforded to them.
The following is an excerpt from the "About Us" on their Facebook page.
"Camp Rap-A-Hope is a one-week summer camp for children and teenagers who are battling cancer or who have ever been diagnosed with cancer and who are 7 to 17 years of age.It is 100% free of charge. Camp is sponsored by the Medical Society and The Alliance to the Medical Society of Mobile County in the state of Alabama and various corporate and individual donors. Our campers usually reside along the Gulf Coast in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana. Camp Rap-A-Hope was a vision of love conceived in 1985 by the Medical Society and Medical Alliance of Mobile County. The first Camp Rap-A-Hope was held in 1986. Kids and counselors have enjoyed this carefree week each summer since then."
"Today I had the privilege of assisting Blakeley Ellis, Jenn and Jason with providing some happiness to children who need it more than most. The C.C.A. Volunteers spent the day with kids from Camp Rap-A-Hope, special children. Most were siblings of juvenile cancer patients. We were not allowed to photograph the children for their privacy and protection but I have a few pics that will maintain anonymity but still convey the enthusiasm and happiness these kids experienced today. One of C.C.A.’ S partners in Conservation is Bass Pro Shops.
Due to the generosity of Store 41’s management, all of the children were given ball caps and were provided with necessary gear for the fishing portion of the day. For several, it was their first ever chance to fish, and I was rewarded with the pleasure of watching them land their first ever catch. The first fish caught today ( he caught two ) was just such a milestone and it was a largemouth bass. The facility at Camp Grace was truly amazing and the Camp volunteers were invaluable."
Over the next few months, I challenge each reader of the blog to find seek out opportunities to share your love of fishing or the outdoors with others who are less fortunate. Help someone who can't help them self and be a part of a greater purpose. Nature is not selfish nor should we be!
News, Notes and More!
This past Thursday the Eastern Shore Chapter of CCA held their annual Fallout banquet at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center. Roussoux's Catering provided all the food for the event including sliders and a mashed potato bar. While Cooper Trent was hammering out hits on the keyboard, volunteers were raising money through the silent auction and sell raffle tickets and playing cards for the big prizes. Overall the event was a success and fun for all.
This week, we are finally seeing cooler temperatures with highs in the mid to upper 80's, some of that due to the persistent storms that will be on our wing. The seas will be manageable to get offshore this week, for the most part under 2 foot. Shorter cooler days are on the way as summer solstice is now over and tilting us to Fall and Winter. That beautiful Harvest Moon on display at night time this week should be a good sign that speckled trout fishing is about to get good.
For information on what's biting, what to use and other tips to catch more fish, check out the guide reports each week. We cover Orange Beach to the Mississippi Sound. Be sure and check out MeMe's kitchen below for a great new recipe. Until next time, Get out there, keep those lines tight and rods bent!
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 your answer to coastalfishingconnections@gmail.com to get in the drawing held on Facebook live on Sunday nights @coastalfishingconnections at 8 p.m.
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.
MeMe's Coastal Delights by Melinda Ellis
Meme is back at it with another tasty treat this week.
BBQ Shrimp
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, plus more to sprinkle before cooking
½ cup beer
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I use Texas Pete)
2 pounds uncooked shrimp in the shells
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 loaf French bread, toasted
Directions
Preheat oven to 400. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the next 7 ingredients and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes then remove sauce from heat. Meanwhile, rinse shrimp, still in their shells and drain well. Spread the shrimp in a single layer onto a large pan. Pour sauce evenly over all shrimp, coating them well. Sprinkle extra Cajun seasoning over shrimp. Sprinkle green onions evenly over the shrimp. Bake for a total of 16 minutes, turning and stirring the shrimp once after the first 8 minutes. The best part of this dish is dipping the toasted French bread in the sauce!
Sponsor Spotlight
This week, Coastal Fishing Connections will be giving away a $ 25.00 Academy gift card to the winner of this weeks' drawing.
Weekly Giveaway
Congratulations to Rob Wilson, winner of this weeks' prize pack from Overcast Lure Company.
What is the location of the Camp where Camp Rap A Hope holds their fishing events for kids.
Submit your answer via email to coastalfishingconnections@gmail.com
Like and Follow the 2 new social media accounts set up for the weekly report and share our report to get an extra entry into the drawing.
Coastal Alabama Fishing Reports
Mobile Delta
Dippi Outdoors - Dip McMillian
Email: alkeenmcmillan87@gmail.com
Phone: 251-747-9261
Dip says, "The crappie bite is still getting better every week now. I managed to get after them Thursday morning on the lower Tensaw Delta. They were holding structure tight, but couldn't resist a live minnow. I only got a chance to fish for two hours but caught over 50 crappies. I only kept 10 inchers' or better, and lost several good ones at the boat. I took the weekend off. My luck this year with a full moon hasn't been good at all. According to the forecast for this upcoming week, the temperature looks awesome and the crappie bite should increase tremendously!
If you love dem crappies, there is only one man to call around here, Dip McMillian of Dippi Outdoors!
Surfside
Orange Beach - Gulf Shores – Fort Morgan
Bama Beach Bum Fishing - Matthew Isbell
Facebook: @bamabeachbumfishing
Instagram: @bamabeachbum_fishing
Cell: 334-391-5913
Matt had a busy week last week and had this to say. "Fall is officially here! We aren’t seeing that so much in the way of temperatures, but we have seen glimpses of what fall fishing can bring over the past couple weeks.
Pompano have been creeping in, redfish have been active, and we are starting to get some good numbers of larger whiting. Just this past week on a trip we picked one up that was over 2lbs!
While we are waiting on the bull reds and pompano to pick up now would be a good time to shift your focus to targeting whiting. I use the same pompano rig as when I’m pompano fishing but I just downgrade the tackle. I use 10lb mono with size 1 circle hooks and as small of a pyramid as possible, 1 ounce, surf conditions permitting.
If you have some lighter gear pull it out and put away the beefier surf setups and these whiting will give you a fantastic fight! And honestly, there isn’t much better eating available!
Matt Isbell of Bama Beach Bum Fishing offers fun-filled family surf fishing experiences while feeling the sand between your toes on the beaches between Fort Morgan and Orange Beach.
The Pier Review
Captain David Collins
Captain Collins says, "GS Pier has still been slower. The spanish are there but he kings aren't playing the fishing game yet. There are still flounder and speckled trout to be caught in the skinny water. If a person is willing to go to Florida, the sailfish are making appearances and the kings are there also. Be patient everyone, it's coming. Until next week, keep casting!!!"
On the flip side, there was a potential new state record remora caught from the pier this week by avid angler, Rich Hamlin. This remora weight 9 lb 4.4 ounces was 90 cm to the fork and had a 11.5 inch girth.
Keep up with the latest Gulf State Pier information at GSPierfishing.com. or on Alabama Pier Rats.
Offshore Report
If you're looking to catch your first sailfish, wahoo or mahi mahi; now is the time of year to do it. Over the past couple weeks, there have been reports of all of those species being caught within 30 miles of shore some even near the Florida piers. Other tasty species still in season that put up a ferocious fight are Amberjack. Who knows whether or not it will be open through the end of the year or not, so you better get out there. Grouper, vermillion snapper and white snapper have provided solid boxes of fish to those who decided to target them. You can't catch them if you're sitting on the couch, so get out there!
INSHORE REPORT
Orange Beach / Perdido Key / Gulf Shores - Wolf Bay - ICW
The black drum bite is insane on the ICW right now. Just drop some fresh dead shrimp carolina rigged to the bottom around docks and rocks and voila. Redfish continue to provide solid action under Perdido Pass Bridge and docks at night time. A few decent speckled trout are being caught in the shallows early morning. There are still plenty of legal mangroves to go around if you take the time to fish for them.
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 past week felt like the movie Groundhog Day. The temperatures continue to be brutal. We even saw water temperature hit 95 one day last week. The midday bite continues to be good and the early morning bite has been picking back up the past couple of weeks for us.
Live shrimp under slip corks continue to be the ticket in most areas. We have been concentrating on the wrecks, artificial reefs and rigs from the middle part of the bay all the way to the lower end of the Bay. Along with live shrimp under slip corks we have also been picking up fish on Rappala Skitterwalkers early and Lil Slick lures fished deep on the bottom."
Midweek, Captain JayO and some friends got to target and tag some tripletail.
Irish Wake Fishing would also like to thank their sponsors Islamorada Boatworks, Cajun Custom Rods and Smith Optics.
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, "Don’t be a fishing snob! Go out and enjoy all the diversity Mobile Bay has to offer right now. Speckled trout and redfish maybe the first two species that most people think about but there are so many other varieties to choose from this time of year!
Sunday, we smoked the speckled trout on live shrimp under slip corks. Monday, and Tuesday were specific to fishing the delta region which turned out to be much slower than I anticipated. We found some speckled trout showing up in amongst redfish but overall the day had minimal success. The fish we did catch, came on topwater, pogies or bull minnows. Wednesday through Friday we focused heavily on the southern end of the bay. The south end of the bay is like a melting pot full of diversity.
Wednesday through Friday we fished most of the time near gas rigs on mobile bay. The gas rigs provided a lot of variety while fishing with live shrimp. We used freelined and slipcork rigs. In addition we located some redfish near some marsh area around Fort Morgan peninsula.
The upcoming week should be interesting. Look for fish in shallower water early in the morning and again near high tide. Also, continue to enjoy the diversity of fish species because they will be gone soon and then you only have trout and reds to bend your rod."
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.
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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