Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 11/12/25

Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 11/12/25
By David “The Pierpounder” Thornton

Cooler weather during the past fortnight was punctuated by a couple of rain events, and even a bout of very heavy rain (in Orange Beach), plus a few days of rough surf on the Gulf beaches. Remarkably though, the water again cleared quickly between storm fronts which seem to be coming through about once a week. Successive chillier air masses have contributed to the Gulf waters cooling below 75 degrees, which is right about average for early November.
Meanwhile, back bay water temps plummeted into the middle 60s in some locations, setting off a mass exodus of menhaden (called pogies) from the bays into the relatively mild near-shore Gulf waters. As a result, many of the bull redfish that had been aggregating near the point at Fort Morgan have broken away into deeper water in hot pursuit of these menhaden schools. Consequently locations like the Gulf State Park Pier have been experiencing occasional blitzes of bull reds around the outer octagon.
Hours of humdrum fishing may be suddenly sparked back to life during these almost random occurrences when practically every bait and lure in the path of these fish gets eaten. Even on the pier, these large red drum are good candidates for catch and release where they are typically netted, the hook removed before a quick photo opp, and then promptly plunged back into the Gulf headfirst to go about their business. By the way, in case you haven’t heard, Alabama no longer allows redfish over 26 inch total length to be retained. This is to allow thousands more of the mature red drum each year to remain in the fishery and producing millions of new offspring for all of their 20 to 30 year average lifespan.
Pier anglers in pursuit of species like large croakers under the octagon, have had to contend with ravenous hordes of large pinfish (the biggest of the year) as they aggregate for their spawn later in the fall. Fortunately once the Gulf water dips below 70 degrees near the end of this month, numbers of pinfish typically diminish dramatically as they move farther off shore to spawn.
That’s when sheepshead and whiting (Gulf kingfish) usually arrive around the pier in target-able numbers. In fact anglers have been spying a few sheepshead feeding on the pier piling, and occasionally even catching one or two. Closer to the beach, whiting fishing has been tough because of the ever present pinfish. But those may soon move out of the way to deeper waters, allowing for schools of whiting to accumulate in the surfzone as we near winter.
There are still a few spanish mackerel available from the pier, mostly just after daybreak, and mostly on lures, though they are still biting the small LYs (Scaled herring) and live shrimp drifted under a float. The main body of mackerel has already moved into Florida waters since the water temps along coastal Alabama have cooled. But there should still be some stragglers available on occasion from the end of the pier and end of the west jetty at Perdido Pass until water temperatures fall below 65 degrees.
Targeting redfish has been the name of the game for most anglers along the seawall and west jetty at Perdido Pass, though bluefish are sometimes available in good numbers around the west and east side jetties.
Catching bluefish is usually easier when the tide is rising, but anytime the current is moving they may be feeding around those hard structures, using the large boulders to create eddies in the strong currents where the wait to ambush passing baitfish. Lures such as jigs and diving plugs often work well for these hungry post-spawn blues that typically weigh one to three pounds.
The 4 inch long Zoom Fluke on a ¼ ounce jighead is also a very effective lure especially in the Albino color. And at 35 to 40 cents each are still cheaper than live shrimp. But live bait such as spot croakers, small mullet, or LYs (when available) often work best, especially once the sun comes up higher in the sky or on days when the current is not very strong or sustained for very long. This usually occurs during the tide changes, but especially during the days around the NEAP tide, centered on Saturday November 15th. Otherwise, look for the strongest tidal flow and maximum tide differential to occur about a week following the NEAP.
Tides will usually be lowest during the mid morning hours, thus the late afternoon hours will see a rising tide. This may be a great aid to surf fishers who have been struggling to find a good bite in the morning, especially when they have to battle patchy seaweed as well. If you do encounter slow conditions while surf fishing, try a different venue or time to fish it during the opposite tide when conditions may be more to the liking of the fish you are targeting. Following recent storms the longshore sandbars migrated farther from shore in most locations.
So, scouting around to find the occasional beach points where the longshore sandbar bends withing casting range from shore is going to pay big dividends. Oftentimes the areas just east or west of the beach point provide a dropoff from the sandbar into the trough where the fish you seek will naturally gather to feed. And finding which parking access venues are closest to these spots is also critical for your productivity.
Too often during the cooler months, successful anglers will need to walk a quarter to half mile mile (or perhaps more) to reach one of these honey holes.
Pompano have been available all along the Baldwin County coastline this month, but seem to be a bit more numerous along Perdido Key and Johnson’s Beach. Though Johnson’s Beach access has been affected by the government closure. Whiting numbers are also on the increase in the surfzone as the water gets cooler, and some nice catches have been reported fishing pieces of fresh shrimp on bottom in the shallow troughs near the beach. Light or even ultralight spinning tackle is a fun way to target these feisty whiting, with occasional pompano, puppy drum or slot redfish to make things more exciting. And whiting are just good to eat!
Anglers are having better success around Little Lagoon Pass since the channel was dredged and the strong falling tides blew out the sandbar that was blocking the south end. Though flounder are strictly catch and release through the balance of November, history tells us of a good afternoon bite of flounder using plastic tail jigs along the sandbar dropoff inside the Lagoon with the incoming tide. Nevertheless, it is great practice and a good time for anglers catching double digit numbers of larger female flounder in route to the deeper Gulf waters to spawn.
Wading anglers may also catch good numbers of speckled in the same vicinity on suspending twitch baits like MirrOdine that imitate menhaden which have migrated into the Gulf for the most part. Other lures that imitate small mullet may also be effective at times, as well as topwater plugs popped over the dropoff during twilight. Be sure to bring your waders because 70 degree water can be mighty chilly for wading, especially with a breeze blowing.
The timing of tide changes along with their strength, as well as direction and speed of the wind will become more critical factors for angling success as we move deeper into the fall fishing season. While some options are going away others are just now opening up for anglers able to adapt to the changing conditions and species as we slip farther into fall.