Landing Large Spanish Mackerel Fishing Fort Morgan, Alabama

Hot Fishing Report with a time restriction!

The bite is on! Large Spanish Mackerel. If your not wearing gloves you might get a cut or two. This week has been very good fishing just off the beaches of the Fort Morgan Peninsula, due south of the Gulf Shores Plantation. We have been hooking up on the Large Spanish Mackerel using live shrimp, trawling spoons and Mackerel Rigs. The most hits have been on our mackerel rigs, just under the waters surface. Just when we think there high in the water column our planer rods twitch, planer trips and fish on from the deeper water column.

Migration Time for the Gulf Traveling Mackerel

The Spanish Mackerels are Gulf travelers from fall to spring.  During the spring they travel to the Northern Gulf of Mexico waterways from south Florida and from Mexico. As the water temperatures drops to 70 degrees or below its time for the Spanish Mackerel to head south for the winter in search of warmer waters.

 

Early Spring and Late winter Cobia in Fort Morgan!

Fort Morgan Cobia Fall Season Fishing Report!

Cobia are known for their early spring run off the Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama waterways. Anglers are ready and all eyes are on the waters during the spring. Looking for shadows or breaks in the water around obstructions, platforms, buoys or floating objects. Rachycentron canadum or commonly known as Cobia, ling, cobio, black kingfish or lemonfish are found worldwide in tropical and temperature waters. Spring brings a lot of cobia action as long as your looking for it, but what about the fall Run?

Cobia Migration and their Winter Hangouts!

Cobia are a rapid growing fish, reaching in the 100 pound class for a trophy down to the newborns less than 12 inches.  The expected life span of a cobia spans up to 15 years, give or take other unknown conditions. The migratory patterns seem to stay the same for the Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores and Orange beach waterways. These fish get hot during the spring and just last week we have noticed the bite picking up off the Alabama coastal waterways this fall. This is not just a fall run for the cobia as most would think. Cobia do tend to spend most of their winter months in south Florida, but a few consider the south west Mississippi coast threw the north west Florida coast home for the winter. This includes the Alabama Coastal waterways slap in the middle of the winter month hangout.

Fort Morgan Fall Cobia Fishing Report!

The cobia have started to hit inshore off the Fort Morgan Beaches. Not looking for the cobia like we are during the spring, but trolling the depths and cobia start to hit! The fall run of cobia starts as some will say, but in reality some are here to stay threw the winter months. The winter grounds for cobia are from South East Pass in Mississippi to the North West corner of Florida and primarily  bordering the south east and  south west coast of Florida. Cobia will hang threw the winter months and come spring they hit the surface. During the winter migration from the west back to the east, most of the cobia will hang just offshore in higher temperature waters. This year the waters have been very hot and we have noticed the cobia hitting our lines in less than 40 foot depths. Trolling with planners have been our main technique for landing these lemon fish this fall.  Spring will bring the main attraction when our popular cobia season starts. Until then they are around, just not as easy to spot or catch.

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Batteling slow bite and Mother Nature Fishing Report

Battling Slow Bite and Mother Nature

Its the end of September, windy, fish are in their usual migration transitional fall moods and were still battling it out anxious for October Bull Red Fishing on Dixey Bar.

Reel Fishing Report for Today!  East winds have blown 13 to 15 and gusting up to 20 knots for the past week. The past few days I have fished the Gulf Shores Intracoastal Waterway due to the Mobile Bay and the Gulf being very choppy. The slot reds hit pretty good and the Black Drum gave us some really good battles on our light tackle. Today in Fort Morgan  around  noon the winds finally subsided and we had a very comfortable fishing trip. The Dixey Bar was very choppy so we fished the North Edge of the bar and not much bait seemed to be coming out of Mobile Bay  with the falling tide and the wind was over powering our drift. Well, we were fishing and not in the best conditions, but we battled it out. After a shark or two we departed into the bay where we fished the ExonMobile 76A-Aux platform. Our baits were live croaker and shrimp. We caught two Spanish Mackerel on live shrimp. We worked the East side of the platform where the reef material was deployed by the Fishery Habitat Enhancement Program. We then fished three other platforms and FHEP Areas in the bay with little luck. Slow Battle  Bite day but we still were fishing. Good fishing soon to come just keep on fishing!

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Amberjack Fishing Season Closure

NOAA announced the Greater Amberjack Season will end on September 28th at 12:01 am. The 1,130,000-pound recreational limit will be harvested by September 27th. This closure includes state and federal waters and applies to all vessels having a valid Gulf of Mexico reef fish charter/head boat permit. It has been reported that the Greater Amberjack are considered over fished.

Mobile Bay Trout Fishing Public Reefs

Mobile Bay Trout Fishing Public Reefs 

September 15th:  Today the east winds subsided around noon. Our plan was to fish the Shellbank Reef, Bayou Cour Reef, Fish River Reef and the Legacy Platforms. We had not fished any of these reefs much at all this season. Fellow guides departed about 3 hours earlier around 11:00 am. Just a few trout caught just east of the Shell Banks Reef on a small structure that was used to research oyster growing tactics for Mobile Bay.

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 Our first stop was at the Shell Banks Reef. Decided on a drift and cast technique making 4 drifts as I  watched for top bait and meter activity. We fished live shrimp with 4 rods working the reef as we drifted threw changing location on the reef each drift. Not much bait activity on top or bottom at all. We used popping corks and one free runner with no luck other than catfish.

 

 

Our second stop was the small research oyster growing structure on South Shore just east of the Shell Banks Reef. We fished the structure with no results. 2 hours prior to our arrival a fellow fisherman had hooked a few trout.  I was contemplating on changing my game plan and hit the Bon Secour river Inlet or the Weeks Bay Inlet at Pelican Point. Up to this point their had been no bait activity. I rolled the dice and Pelican Point won.

 

 

We set out for Pelican Point and on the way I spotted birds feeding in a large area. Decided to get up wind just east of the school of baits they were feeding on and work it as we drifted threw. Bait and more bait. After working the spot with no luck, I am thinking, Right Conditions, Bad Timing! The North Shore of Mobile Bay inshore of the Fish River Reef has good stump structure and grass that the trout and redfish love. The waters were to low for us to get in these areas. Fishing this shore line on higher tides will produce good fish at times. We departed and headed to Pelican Point at Weeks Bay Inlet.

 

 

Loads of small bait thrashed and sprayed the shallow water areas of the Weeks Bay. We fished with minimal luck. The low pressure was turning out to really affect the bite. I start to think trout transition time! Normally the trout transition from the Mobile Bay to the inlets and rivers branching off the Mobile Bay start in October. Trout will hold up in the deeper water channels at the head of these rivers and hold fish for 3 to 4 weeks. As the fall progresses and cold fronts hit, trout will tend to move up these rivers searching for deeper water channels or holes. These holes or pockets will hold salt water for the winter months and their they will hang. Seems strange but since salt water is heavy it will hold low as the rivers are flushed with fresh waters.  This gives the trout their survival spots during the winter months.

 

 

We will be back at it again tomorrow fishing the inlets and deeper channels to inlets and checking to see What's Biting.

 

Good Luck fishing and remember Boat Safety!

                             

Fishing Dixey Bar in Fort Morgan, Alabama

Bull Red fishing in Fort Morgan, Alabama! October and December offer anglers some of the best Red Drum fishing with schools of fish that are aggressive and feeding heavily on The Dixey Bar just off the point of the Fort Morgan Peninsula. These Red Drum school up on the Dixey Bar feeding on the baitfish that flood out of the Mobile Bay on an outgoing tide. During this time of year with the right weather conditions and the right tackle, anglers get some of the best fishing action of the year. Reel Attraction Charters specializes in Bull Red fishing. Our charters depart daily from the Gulf Shores Marina and Yacht Club located just past the Gulf Shores Plantation on the Fort Morgan Peninsula. To book your bull red fishing charter contact Captain Ron at 251-422-8665 or us our Contact Us page.

Inshore Fishing Fort Morgan, Alabama

Fort Morgan Fishing! Fishing weather for the past few days has been wonderful But, today the thunder storms rolled in from the east. Lots of fresh water coming out from the Mobile Bay and continues to keep the Kings out offshore. The Spanish have been hitting around the rigs that are in state waters but you will have to use a number 2 or 3 planner to get your spoons a little deeper if their not hitting the top water stuff. The Black tip sharks have been heavy around the triple rig off Dolphin Island. The Dixey Bar has been slow producing the Bull Reds, even the Atlantic sharks are not really active on the bar. Looking forward to a good change in the next few days. Thanks to our customers at Reel Attraction Charters we have had a great season as it comes to a slow end. But its not over, we have some really good fishing to do threw December. Contact us at http://www.reelattraction.com or contact Captain Black at 251-422-8665 and book your fishing adventure today!