Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 4/29/26-5/13/26

Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 4/29/26-5/13/26

By David “The Pierpounder” Thornton

Our previous fortnight wrought more confusion and conflicting results for the angling public along the Baldwin County and Perdido Key coasts. The weather just can’t seem to make up its mind as temperatures ranged wildly from the middle 80s to the lower 50s.
At least a couple of fronts brought some much needed rain across the region, as we continue in the throes of severe drought conditions. Quite possibly this persistent dryness has added to the difficulty area shore bound anglers have had to contend with in order to be successful.
Since several days of cooler air behind the fronts pushed the water temperatures back into the lower 70s again. Still, that is very near the 20 year average for mid April.
Consequently, Spanish mackerel catches in Perdido Pass have been sketchy, at best. And even at the normally reliable Gulf State Park Pier, spanish mackerel have been hit or miss, with little continuity in the pattern.
But when they are there, they have been thick at times with easy limits caught in just a couple of hours. Some days the sharks have been an issue for pier fishermen, and some days there are very few, or even none. The mackerel are already schooling into spawning aggregations, and that is likely a contributing factor to their relative abundance or absence.
Squid are still active in the Gulf coastal waters, and everything from mackerel to flounder seem to be feeding on them at times. But squid numbers seem to be decreasing rapidly as they have already spawned and there are more mackerel moving into the area to eat those remaining.
When the mackerel schools are present at the pier, they seem to bite a little better on smaller plugs like the Rapala X-rap size 8 or 10, more than anything else. But if you want to weed out smaller mackerel, mostly males in the 15 to 17 inch range, upsize your Rapala plug to a 12. Bigger bait often means bigger fish, though there will be fewer of them. Do you want quantity or quality?
Larger plugs and baits are a better way to target king mackerel too. These typically show up around the pier as the Gulf water temperature climbs through the middle to upper 70s during May. The arrival of king mackerel usually coincides with the accumulation of Scaled herring and other baitfish near the pier, often drawing these and other gamefish like jack crevelle, bull redfish, cobia, etc. within casting range.
Soon the spanish mackerel will be joined by schools of ladyfish (skipjack) and blue runner (hardtails). While this increased variety provides a bit more action overall, it often adds to the difficulty of limit-minded spanish mackerel fishers to accomplish their goal. But these distractions sure are fun!
Speaking of fun, there are fair numbers of speckled trout and flounder in the surf zone available to pier and shore fishers. Targeting these gamefish with live bait from the pier (shrimp or bull minnows usually) is a time honored tradition.
But the flip side of that coin is these popular species may be targeted effectively along the beaches from Little Lagoon Pass westward using artificials. Either species can be caught on a variety of soft plastic swim tails, pinned on a leadhead jig. But speckled trout can be targeted in the surfzone using topwater plugs this time of year.
The excitement of a big trout blowing up a topwater lure is better than 10 cups of coffee to get that morning rush! Look for dropoffs around beach points, or anywhere the longshore sandbar comes within casting range from the beach.
As the waters get a little warmer more anglers will be wadefishing, but for now waders are your best bet for comfort. The most favorable conditions for wade or shore fishing include fairly calm and clear water with a light offshore breeze (from the north). Mobility is a key to success for wadefishing.
You don’t want to keep beating the same water unproductively. Instead keep moving until you locate a cooperative school of fish and concentrate on that until the bite dies off. Usually the fish either become wary and shut off, or relocate. If they move, you may get lucky and find the school nearby and continue to catch them. If not, you move on to the next likely looking spot, rinse, and repeat. Light and fast travel is essential for this type of fishing, and it is typical for an angler to walk several miles in the course of their fishing session.
Most of this is catch and release fishing because anglers don’t want to be slowed down carrying a cooler or even dragging a stringer. But a beach cart can work too. Then you have the added option to put out some set rigs for pompano, which are slowly becoming more numerous in the area.
May is prime time for pompano along the Baldwin County coastline, including the pier. While set rig fishing with the double drop pompano rigs, bearing colorful floats or beads is a standard method for surf casters, they may also be caught closer to shore on lighter, simpler tackle.
While set fishing, pompano rigs are usually cast much farther from shore on longer rods and heavier weights. To perform safely, this requires bigger reels with stronger line (20 pound minimum). The last thing you want is a three to six ounce chunk of lead being launched in the direction of someone nearby.
Plus it gets expensive to replace lost rigs, which happens often enough due to cut offs from mackerel or sharks, or hanging a big cow nose ray. But this can be a rather effective way to catch your pompano when they are out of reach with the smaller, lighter gear.
Lighter rigs are most effective when the wind and surf are light, and the water fairly clear. That’s when a certain amount of finesse can be an advantage for you while targeting wary fish in relatively shallow water. Even whiting can be targeted with light or ultralite tackle in the surf on so-called freshwater spinning gear made for crappie, bream, or other panfish.
Four to 10 pound mono is ideal with the limber rods 8 to 12 feet in length, as it gives you a little extra stretch when a fish bites. Lighter braids work well too especially when teamed with a number 6 kahle hook on fishfinder rigs.
The weight can vary from ½ to one ounce depending on the conditions of wind, waves, and current. Bell-shaped sinkers can be used in situations that call for less than one ounce, as that is usually the smallest size pyramid sinker available.
The trick is to use tackle you already have and adapt it to surf casting or pier fishing to maximize the number of fish you catch as well as the fun you have while doing it! Good luck!