froglegs

Greetings ladies and gents,

I am new here. Istumbled upon the forums and have been lurking for a month or sobut now have a legit question. I am heading to down in Mid April for a work trip and will be staying on the bay in Orange beach. I always fish thegulf whenI am downbut don't have much experience on the bay. I won't be fishing from a boat so with that in mind let's start with the basics of bay fishing:

1) What is biting in or around Mid April?

2) Do I soak shrimp/sandfleas a la the gulf or chunk artificial shrimp, jigs, rattletraps, etc.

3) Will fishcongregate near piers similar to bass and other fresh water fish.

4) Enlighten me as you see fit.

Thanks a ton in advance and I have quickly become a huge fan of the forum.

LocalOkie

I don't know much about Orange Beach, but I would think that the specks would be biting decently by mid April in the flats areas. I usually start fishing Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay for specks around that time of year, and I caught a couple this past weekend on the grass flats in Santa Rosa Sound. I fished for a couple of years without a boat, and you can extend your range if you don't mind getting wet and wading. I've had a lot of luck in the past using topwaters in the morning and DOA and Gulp shrimp the rest of the day. I've used live bait as well, but I prefer the artificials because you can cover more water in less time. I've also caught some nice slot redfish while wading and fishing for specks. There are probably people with more knowledge than me since I've only beenin Pensacolafor a few years, but maybethis will help. Good luck.