Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 5-27-26

Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook 5-27-26

By David “The Pierpounder” Thornton

Historically, late May provides shorebound anglers with what is usually described as the best fishing of the year. And our previous fortnight was no exception in reference to the availability of most species.
The action at Seawall Park at Perdido Pass in Orange Beach was a prime example of a venue that had been languishing through most of the spring. But it suddenly came alive when spanish mackerel and redfish moved into the pass in hot pursuit of abundant baitfish like LYs.
A significant rise in water temperatures across the area (into the upper 70s) is likely the best reason for the sudden improved situation for anglers to find more fish inshore. Plus, recent rains added more nutrients into the coastal waters to fuel a bloom of phytoplankton to feed these herbivorous bait fish. This activity coincides with many species of fish and other sea life spawning near shore, contributing to the available food base for the forge fish. In turn, an abundance of baitfish draws the predatory species closer to the action inshore, and often within casting distance.
Hordes of hungry ladyfish (skipjacks) and blue runner (hardtails) have entered the fray now that Gulf water temperatures are sustained above 75 degrees. These and other small pelagic jack species are more tropically inclined and prefer these warmer conditions with abundant food sources.
They are also a lot of fun to catch on light tackle, as many anglers visiting the Gulf State Park Pier lately could attest. Though jacks are not usually a target species, they provide plenty of sporting distractions, and are actually quite palatable.
Jacks are widely eaten around the globe where they are available year round. Anglers in our area however, tend to scoff at that prospect and set their sights on mackerel or other inshore species.
Spanish mackerel traditionally provide the bulk of effort (and catches) from the pier, jetty, and seawall this time of year. And this May has been no exception with savvy anglers on the pier taking advantage of an abundance of smaller than average sized LYs hanging around the pier.
While plenty of spanish have been landed on a variety of lures, many of the larger specimens have been caught using LYs or live shrimp. There is something to be said about matching the hatch with the real thing, rather than an imitation, and LYs are free for the taking around the pier!
Red snapper season is now open, and a growing contingent targets them with heavy tackle from the octagon when other large species are not available.
The most iconic pier game fish that has been pretty much absent from the action so far this spring, and that is king mackerel. A few kings were caught back in April, but none have been reported since. So they are overdue to show up as the weather warms.
Water temperatures sustained in the upper 70s might just trigger another appearance of these popular gamefish. Until that time however, anglers will just have to content themselves with spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks, red snapper, or other distractions.
Closer to shore on the pier, fishermen have still been catching some nice sized speckled trout on live shrimp along with a lot of undersized flounder (a few keepers), and an increased number of pompano. There have been times when ladyfish crashed that party, and blue runners too, but so far the bite in the shallows has been pretty clean without too many non-target species like bluefish and pinfish.
Similar results have been reported from surf anglers as well, with numbers of pompano caught during the previous fortnight increasing along the beaches, especially west of Little Lagoon Pass. Many surf anglers using set rigs have been successful with pompano just using fresh dead shrimp tipped with Fishbites or Fishgum. But ghost shrimp are still a viable alternative bait until other species flood the surf zone.
These are attractive to pompano in calm water conditions on a naked single drop rig, or a Carolina rig presentation on bottom. There are still targetable numbers of Gulf kingfish (locally called whiting) in the surf too, though they do seem to be waning.
Whiting continue to spawn throughout the summer months, so their availability and size will likely vary from week to week through each lunal cycle. Our next full moon occurs on May 31. That usually signals an uptick in spawning activity depending on the tide cycle, which will be moving strongest at that time. The next NEAP tide period occurs around June 8. So look for less water level change at that time, unless the wind and waves pick up.
Much can be said of speckled trout in the surf during this recent period, as they seemed to show up better after recent heavy rains lowered salinities in the back bays. More rain may force even more trout into the Gulf waters, where they tend to accumulate in the deeper pockets of the surf zone between the beach and sandbars. Here they can wait in relative protection from marauding predators like sharks and dolphins. They also ambush prey such as small mullet or other baitfish.
Savvy anglers may target specks along the beaches on calm mornings when the water is fairly clear. Topwater lures can be quite effective to locate cooperative schools of specks, but they often wise up after several individuals are caught from the school. Repeated casting and catching action tends to scatter the school.
So, it may take a little while for them to regroup and assume feeding posture again. Mobile anglers usually just move on to the next hole and hope for the best. But those who are anchored to one spot for whatever reason, may still catch more trout by waiting patiently to try again, or change lures (like sinking MirrOlures), or tactics like throwing live bait.
A live or artificial lure under a popping float can be quite effective in these situations. So switching lures to cover lower in the water column is often successful, especially as the sun gets higher in the sky and specks sink deeper into the water. Also bouncing soft plastics off the bottom using ¼ or 3/8 ounce jig heads is a good tactic to pick up flounder and redfish. And slowly dragging live shrimp or bull minnows along the bottom can be quite productive at times, as long as that area is relatively free of seaweed.
Floating Sargassum grass and suspended green algae (June grass), along with Spaghetti bryozoan have all been intermittent issues for surf anglers to deal with this spring. If onshore winds continue as water temperatures rise, these fishermen may have more frequent problems.