MakeMyDay

<SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__c tl1_lblFullMessage><SPAN class=posttext>Hello, fellow Sportsmen -

I will be visting (actually contemplating a permanent move with the family) Gulf Shore, Alabama, and am wondering about the offshore action in this neck of the woods. I am a SE Florida resident and fish solely offshore in the Florida and Bahamian waters for dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna and the like. I also do some deep dropping and love to dive and snorkel for lobster and hog snapper.

Anyone have experience in the waters off Gulf Shores? What are the target species in this area? Are there oil rigs this far north in the Gulf? I made a trip to Venice, LA, last month and the fishing around the oil rigs was fantastic. I lived on Florida's Gulf Coast back in the 90s and recall that the rule of thumb was a mile for every foot of depth to reach serious fishing water. How far out do you need to go in the northern Gulf for serious offshore angling opportunity?

Boating, fishing and all the stuff that goes along with it are what make my family's quality of life what it is. I need to make sure we have and will enjoy the same opportunity just outside of the Panhandle. Any information or feedback would be appreciated.

Tight lines!

Jim/Ga

Got some good news and some bad news. The good news is the fishing isin my opinionbetter than SE Fl when conditions are right. The bad news is you have to run a heck of a lot further to get to them and the conditions are not right a lot of the time.I really miss my 16 mile trip to Push Button Hill off Stuart, and the Bahama runs we definitely a blast.Out of here it is a 40 mile run to The Nipple and the deep water rigs are 70 mi out of Orange Beach ,slightly less if you go out of Ft.Morgan.On the positive side they have great tuna fishing which we never did in Stuart. Miss the sails ,but they have way better marlin and wahoo here. The bottom fishing is great and it is farly easy especially on the oil rigs. Get to know some guys on this board abd they will teach you all you want to know.

dpewitt

All in all great fishing year round inshore and offshore. Marlin, Dorado, Wahoo May through October or so. Great summer inshore fishing and great reefs for grouper and snapper. If you have a boat that can handle long runs, it can be year round for Tuna and Wahoo over off the Louisianna coast. I can promise you won't be bored fishing here! Not many sailfish, but plenty of good fishing to make up for it.

CarolWeaver

The local marinas and charter boats are pretty well organized. The visitors office has lots of the info you'll need on their website. http://gulfshores.com/fishing/fishing-charters-cruises/Makes it easier to find out weather reports and info on what is biting.

ccustom43

Fishing is great off Alabama, better than south florida. You just have to run out longer. 15 miles out is about 115 ft deep. The blue water fishing can be close as 37 miles to the south east and 45 to the southwest. The rigs every one talks about start at 65.5- petronius, and go to the middle gulf. if you want to get some close in action try the Nipple/Elbow, last August I was fishing with my dad there and caught a grand slam on sea whitches- white marlin, blue marlin sailfish. Your best bet to make sure you know where to go, is through buying a Roffers report for about 65 dollars, water changes daily and it is hard to get accurate predictions. Roffers gives you lat/long where the fish are!!! that is your best bet if you dont know Alabama waters.

www.roffs.com :usaflag