Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook July 10-24, 2024
Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook July 10-24, 2024
The previous fortnight was filled with plenty of good fishing despite the heat and occasional thundershowers. But we are well into our mid summer cycle with plenty of good action for those willing to go the extra mile (literally)! The early morning and evening action around the point at Fort Morgan has been fairly consistent with lots of bull redfish and muscle aching jack crevelle on hand. Medium sharks (mostly Blacktips) 4 to 6 feet have entertained anglers there too, as well as other beaches when they are able to get a bait out to them.
Melissa Peacock and her partner Chip Gillikin had a couple of big July fishing surprises recently while beach fishing from Perdido Key. Melissa landed a 52 inch king mackerel, and a few days later caught and released a 7 foot tarpon, both while shark fishing.
July is the prime month for the tarpon migration along this part of the Gulf coast. Charles Smith with the Gulf State Park reported workers on the pier have been sighting tarpon just about every day from the pier. Speaking of the pier, no reopening date announcement has been made yet, but we are now within 90 days of the previously mentioned time frame of late summer. Hopefully, work will soon progress to the point they can estimate an end to it. Barring, of course any interference from Mother Nature which seems intent on an active hurricane season this year. Let us pray we are spared the worst!
Beach fishing is traditionally slow in July, but we have been seeing pompano brought in fairly consistently on pompano rigs. Fresh shrimp, sandfleas, and ghost shrimp have been the best natural baits, but with a horrendous amount of bycatch including ladyfish, blue runner, whiting, small sharks, and the usual nemesis hardhead catfish. Early and late in the day are the best times to find action on the beach, and avoid interaction with the hordes of swimmers which take over the beaches from about 9am until around 5pm. It is not worth getting into a hassle with beach goers just to exert your right to fish. Either fish at a remote location (at least a quarter mile from the public access point), or fish early and late in the day (or at night). That should be no problem for savvy fishermen, because that is when the gamefish they seek are most active and hardly any swimmers are in the water early and late due to sharks being more active then too. Besides, it gets so HOT during mid day even the fish often seek shelter from the sun by abandoning the surf zone and retreating to deeper water to shield their eyes.
Alabama Point seawall and jetties have been producing a fair number of mackerel this summer (king and spanish). Mainly due to the hordes of baitfish in Perdido Pass. This time of year, LYs school up there to feed, mate, and avoid predators like mackerel, bull redfish, jack crevelle, bluefish, etc. They can’t always find refuge in the pass though, as the predator fish sometimes follow them there which gives shore bound anglers a crack at catching them. Again, depending on tide, current, and weather and water conditions, early and late in the day are generally the best times to fish the pass and from the west jetty. Of course boat traffic can interfere at times, especially on weekends during snapper season. But things usually quiet down after 8am once the boats head out in the Gulf, and persistent anglers along the seawall can have good success if the current is still running sufficiently strong to entice mackerel into feeding mode. Speaking of current, the strongest tidal variation and currents will occur between July 17-22.
Anglers have good luck drifting LYs with the current on a steel leader and treblehook, or several feet deep under a float. Something about a baitfish struggling near the surface triggers mackerel to attack it. Other anglers are content to throw lures to catch mackerel, especially spanish, with ladyfish and bluefish as the most common bycatch. Jigs, spoons and small to medium sized plugs can all be effective at times too. So if you are not having any success, switch lures, or change the action considering the water depth within casting distance from the seawall exceeds 25 feet in some places.
Anglers often have difficulty securing enough live shrimp this time of year because demand is consistently high, but supplies are limited due to variable conditions in the bays with too hot of water. Even the Gulf water temperature has been running at or above the mid 80s which is the seasonal high. At times water in the back bays may exceed 90 degrees. Water this hot holds only a fraction of the oxygen of more temperate waters, and can even lead to mass movements of fish and shrimp, or in extreme cases fish kills in the canals where water exchange is limited. This makes it more difficult to keep bait alive once you put it in a bucket too. Shield your bait water from direct sunlight with a vented lid or damp hand towel. Some anglers add a frozen water bottle into the bait bucket to cool the water a few degrees and keep their bait friskier. Another reason to avoid the mid day sun, heat, and crowds.
A leisurely spot to fish, slightly off the beaten path is to pull off Canal Road (Hwy 180) along the Intercoastal Waterway to fish for large black drum. Folks using crabs and heavy tackle enjoy this catch and release fishery just for the sport of catching these huge drum up to 40 inches at 25 pounds or so. Occasionally a large redfish is in the mix, along with other species, though shrimp are quickly destroyed by the hordes of always hungry pinfish living the canal.
Little Lagoon Pass can still produce some speckled trout, flounder, redfish, white trout, and large croakers for anglers wading the sandbar inside the Lagoon during the early morning incoming tide. And fishing the Gulf side in the evening with the falling tide. An even larger variety of fish lie in wait in deeper water outside the mouth of the pass as baitfish or other prey is flushed out of the Lagoon with the outgoing tide. It is a great place to target bluefish and even spanish mackerel on occasion.