Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 11-12-24

Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 11-12-24
By David “The Pierpounder” Thornton
Overall, fishing action slows down this time of year with a few notable exceptions like occasional runs of bull redfish or king mackerel at the pier and a general increase of other smaller drum like fish such as croakers and kingfish in the surf zone. But the water temperature has remained above average so far this November (77° instead of 74°), so just about anything can happen especially when the water is relatively calm and clear.
The mass exodus of menhaden from the estuaries is well underway fueling what was already been a pretty hot bull red bite at Mobile Point near Fort Morgan. Numbers of large sharks have joined in the carnage, often leaving anglers with smoked drags and shredded leaders. But the fun factor is high at these times providing a lot of smiles and shared good times.
Speaking of good times, bull reds have made frequent appearances at the Gulf State Park Pier recently while chasing schools of menhaden up and down the coast. A few days there even saw substantial numbers of king mackerel landed which is a bit unusual for November. This was even after the water clarity had decreased since the weather changed behind the long spell of dry, hot and sunny skies with light winds to intermittent rain showers pushed in by moderate to strong easterly winds. Eventually this soggy pattern spawned hurricane Rafael up from the Caribbean Sea. And it meandered across the middle Gulf of Mexico for a week as it slowly wound down.
We were again quite fortunate this system stayed far enough away that the only affect here was several days of large, long period swells that dingied the water again.
Our long term weather outlook may not harbor any freezing weather in this fortnight, and perhaps not until near the end of November, but it is coming. What affects this delayed onset of chilly weather will have on fishing in the area has yet to be determined, but as a reference, the water temperature usually drops into the low 70s by Thanksgiving. This trend could help fishing for some species while hurting others. Cooler water helps stimulate the sheepshead movement and bite in the fall.
But with water this warm anglers can expect there to be plenty of pinfish and pigfish along with other incidental species intercepting their live bait intended for sheepshead. Warmer water though could trigger more activity from pompano in the surf along with Gulf and Northern kingfish (whiting and ground mullet) that have been showing up consistently along Perdido Key beaches.
Bluefish too should be more active around the jetties at Perdido Pass and Little Lagoon Pass. And spanish mackerel often hang around the pier in targetable numbers well into November when the weather remains mild. Look for slot-sized redfish and puppy black drum in the surf as well, along with flounder too, even though they are out of season in Alabama and Florida for the remainder of November. Even some keeper sized mangrove snapper may be available for anglers around their preferred haunts.
There are still plenty of possibilities for anglers to find fish if they are willing to try a variety of target species and locations on a given day. The trick (as always) is to keep trying different things to find a solution to the riddle of what is biting, when, where, and on what. Fortunately the warmer weather has allowed for fairly consistent work by the live bait catchers to provide shrimp and bull minnows for the fishermen. And the mid day low tides through this period are generally good for collecting ghost shrimp, if you choose them as bait. Otherwise, look for the NEAP tide period to slow water movements centering on the days around November 24th. After that the afternoon low tide will shift back to early morning low tide for the remaining days of the month.
Whenever mornings and evenings have the best tidal flow this month, those days are often most productive for a variety of species and reasons. Especially since the water temp has remained relatively warm. Warmer weather is better stimulation for the invertebrate species that many gamefish feed on.
Also it lends to better movement of the smaller finfish like menhaden, mullet, and pinfish which the larger predators feed on. Anticipating the movements of these prey items in the water, based on the predicted tide height along with the effects of wind and waves can help put you in the right place to intercept these fish as they feed. Also, there is a lot of reorganized sand in the surfzone now from last year’s beach dredging operations which has created some fine feeding habitat for fish like pompano and whiting to move close enough to shore to reach with rod & reel.
And the water is still mild enough that wading out to cast is not an issue as long as surf conditions allow it. Otherwise go with longer, heavier rods to reach the distances you need to put your baits in front of the fish you are targeting. This could be pompano rigs with shrimp and Fishbites or Fishgum. Or it could mean throwing chunks of crab, mullet or other cut fresh fish for bull reds, sharks, and large rays. Plus this time of year, shore fishing is much less hindered by folks swimming in the water and just not nearly as many people on the beach.
While the public parking lot at Mobile Street has reopened, the boardwalk is still being reconstructed. So anglers must still use the sand trail west of the boardwalk for now. Hopefully the project will be completed soon, so watch the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page for announcements.
A reminder to anglers fishing the point west of Fort Morgan, is to remain on the beach, resisting the temptation to walk down the road inside the park after closing hours. This is technically trespassing and gets the authorities involved, and we don’t need that just to go fishing. So please, walk along the shore from the pier to the point, and help keep the path and point clean of trash and dead fish.
A similar reminder goes to anglers wanting access to the west jetty at Perdido Pass. That parking lot (including the unpaved west end next to the concrete slab) is private property owned by the Gulf Restaurant. The owners don’t really mind people walking in (especially since some of the property is publicly owned), but taking up parking spots from their paying customers could get the law involved, and we don’t need that kind of bad reputation. Simply park in the public lot (Seawall Park) east of the restaurant and walk around the building to access the west end of the seawall and jetty. And picking up any trash you see along the way won’t hurt our image either. Thanks!