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Gulf Shores Vacation

Anyone done any surf fishing when in this area? Going to be there for week, and not enough people in our party want to do a charter so figure my son and I will hit beach daily and try some surf fishing. Any input or suggestions would be great. Planning on trying to rent tackle somewhere as opposed to hauling our stuff the fourteen hour drive.

I fished the "Government cut" in the middle of St George Island, Apalachicola bay, many years ago and caught some Redfish, one was 42"...caught several other species as well. Not sure it's still open to the public, or even "fishable" anymore but might be worth a look. It was best when the tide was moving through the cut.

Not Gulf Shores but just a few miles down the road in Florida.... Always try to fish the surf while there. Last year, we caught bunch of fish after sunset in the surf. Bunch of Ladyfish and small sharks. We would fish with frozen shrimp, sand fleas and mullet. We did good during the day at times. When we would see the baitfish schooling, I would catch a few with my cast net and then throw em on a hook. Caught plenty of lady fish like that. Typically that would happen right before or after a rain shower. Good luck to you!

You should check at the marina before or when you get there to see if there is a charter that needs a couple. A lot of times there will be a couple open spaces on some of the private charters. Well worth the try as the offshore fishing there is great for snapper and other species. And you don’t have to go far offshore as the oil rigs are not far. If no luck there Is good fishing around the jetties for redfish, Spanish mackerel and others. Tarpon and cobia should be running the beaches. I would definitely check for openings on one of the offshore boats. Good luck !

The oil rigs are 70-90 miles off of Gulf Shores. The Cobia run is in March and I’ve only seen a couple tarpon in many years of fishing there. You may catch a Cobia offshore but they are not at the beaches due to the warm water.

KSBOW feel free to send me a pm if you have any questions. You’re gonna love it there. FYI it will be hot!

Sorry there are a couple rigs 8-10 miles offshore at the mouth of the mobile bay but they are only in 40 feet of water and are over fished. The great fishing is on the platforms 70-90 out. Usually a 24 hour charter.

I lived in Pensacola for 10 years from 1988 to 1998. We used to fish the jetties at Orange Beach, Alabama. There were always huge sheepshead there, spanish mackerel, pompano and an occasional king mackerel would be caught. Live shrimp is your best bet for sheepshead. In my opinion, sheepshead is one of the best tasting fish around if cleaned properly. Personally I would stay away from the fish piers. The pier rats think they own the piers and don't like out of towners. I saw several fights on the piers over the years. But if your budget allows there are some great opportunities out in the Gulf. You really need to try the mullet while you are there. As a Kansas boy, that gave up most of his hunting to move to Florida, throwing a net for mullet took the place of my hunting. It's kind of like hunting, you put on your polarized glasses, then stand there with your net ready waiting for those big schools to swim by. You will have a blast no matter what. Enjoy

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