# Gulf Shores Surf Fishing Help



## jdw34

Hey fellow fishers!

Heading down to GS in a couple weeks. Staying near the Hang Out. Any suggestions or help on surf fishing would be appreciated. Not looking for any secrets. Just want some ideas on how to catch some decent fish. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Please feel free to PM me also if you want. 

Thanks in advance for any help.


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## kbush

Small pieces of fresh dead shrimp or sandfleas on a pompano rig you can buy at J&M, Top Gun Tackle or even WalMart. 1-3 oz. pyramid sinker depending on conditions. 

Any of the state park beaches or down at Ft Morgan would be a good place to try. Watched some guys whack the bull reds right at dark at the fort. They were using cut bait for the reds.


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## jdw34

thanks for the info. I'd be interested in catching some reds if possible. Do they run all along the beach by the hangout or do I need to go and search for a specific area?


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## ride135pcolaboy

the hangout is the public beach area, go west, to west pass, park in the parking lot there(early), fish across the street in the gulf, or go east and across the PP bridge, fish the beach in front of the parking lot, jetties on both sides of PP are good, key is to fish early before the beach crowd get's there.Mike


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## jdw34

Thanks for the great info. i will check those areas out for sure. Is the other side of the PP bridge FL or is that still alabama? Just asking because I am planning on getting a Alabama license, but didn't know if I would need a FL license to fish there.


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## ride135pcolaboy

ALA, all the way to the night club Flobama about 2miles east of the pass, you can't miss the FL LINE. MIKE


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## kbush

If you want to tangle with big reds go to the fort and fish the beach. You'll need pretty heavy gear to handle the weights and bigger redfish. What dates will you be down? Sat. the 11th the tide will be falling right after daylight. This might be better than right at dark.

You can make a cheap sled from a plastic concrete mixing tub at Lowes for $10-15. Just add a rope handle to pull it across the sand loaded with your cooler and tackle. Works pretty good if yoy don't have a beach cart.


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## jdw34

I'm heading down from Aug 4th to Aug 11th. I've fished at the fort a few times. I usually stay in the fort morgan area and surf fish near whatever house I stay at and at the fort. Typically I catch cats, lady fish, hard tail....if I'm lucky a speck or whiting. That's about it though. I didn't know how much different the fishing in GS compared to the fort is. I'd also like to figure out how to catch a nice sized fish. Instead of the typical rat fish. 

I have never had much luck at the fort fishing the point. Used a boat a couple years ago to fish Dixie Bar and hooked a nice sized red, but lost it at the boat. Then the sharks moved it and the bite died. 

I appreciate all the help and advice. I will try the PP bridge area and west pass. Any species I should be targeting in those areas or is there a pretty big array?


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## animalspooker

Keep in mind that I know nothing about surf fishing (except what I read here on the PF Forum). Be down at GS in a week and a half. Noticed high tide was going to be hitting around the early a.m. just before daylight. Plan to fish that.

What species can I expect to catch while surf fishing? I've heard whiting and the PITA catfish, but I hear you all talk about pompanos a lot. Is that something I could get ahold if I'm lucky? Ideally, I'd like to catch enough fish so we could maybe eat it once or twice during the week. What good 'edible' specied can I hope for?


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## MyLoudKids

*I'm in Gulf Shores near Hangout through Sunday*

Same question again. We're near Hangout, here for the NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championships. My 19 year old son and I brought our Okuma travel rods. They're light but we've caught a lot of big fish on them. And if we catch something so big it breaks the rod, the story will be worth it! Last year I was here and did a little fishing but it was random, didn't know where to go. Any suggestions are appreciated. We have a car, some Big Hammers and Gulp Sandworms, and we can go to the tackle place and get live shrimp or whatever you recommend. We can drive 30-60 minutes for good fishing. But on the map I see so many interesting places right here, Shelby Lake and Little Lagoon and Big Lagoon and Oyster Bay and Perdido Bay and little waterways behind Adventure Island. Plus I snorkeled in front of our condo by Hangout and saw some nice looking 18" silver fish. So, what do you suggest? We'd love to try several places. God bless you! Ian


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## Wade Patton

I'll be there in a week or so. Have experienced both great fishing on the beaches closer to the fort. Will be new experience at the State Park. 

What I gather is that they're catching Pompano on sand fleas right now with Red and Black drum also and some mackerel from the piers. A big Goliath Grouper was recently caught off Ft Pickens Pier (SRI). Ling (cobia) should be cruising too.

I've never fished with sandfleas at all, so am coming to give that go. We usually rent a house in October but my bro went earlier this year when I couldn't, so I'm coming down to camp and fish. I don't know poop compared to locals, but love the fishing and learning more of it. 

The June grass may clog up your lines and methinks dodging that is going to be the big hassle of beach fishing. I'll go to piers or bridges or points if need be. 

I posted here a month ago. No replies. So realize I'm a "far inlander" and all my various exposures to near-shore and surf-fishing are nothing compared to folks who live much closer. I have now resolved to make 3 or more trips each year. Camping or otherwise. Life's too short to not have a steady source of sand in your floormats.


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