Light Tackle Fishing, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Alabama

"Light Tackle Trolling Trips Are Fun For The Kids"  

Reef fishing is another type of deep sea fishing we do with light tackle.  We usually head South out of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores and ride for about an hour or longer to get to the saltwater artificial reefs that we have put out on the bottom of the deep sea.  Reef fish such as Red Snapper, Triggerfish, Grouper, Amberjack and Sharks congregate on these reefs.  That is why we have good Shark Fishing in the waters off of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.  There is so much food for them to eat.  Where there is food in the deep sea, there are sharks.  We do fish for shark on light tackle.  We use 50 to 60 lb test for shark instead of 300 lb test.  4 hour trips are light tackle trolling only.  6 hour trips are for light tackle reef fishing and having fun. Call us at 251.975.8111 or look at our light tackle deep sea fishing reports about Orange Beach, AL and Gulf Shores.  Remember, the longer you fish, the better your catch!  6 hour guided trips are only $1,100 plus tip.

"Light Tackle Reef Fishing Is A Blast"

Brian shows a huge Almaco Jack caught on Light Tackle

We offer light tackle fishing offshore for Red Snapper, Triggerfish, Amberjack, King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel.  

Our saltwater anglers are sportsmen and usually enjoy bass and sportfishing.  Only meat hunters use heavy line, big rods, bulky reels and thats not what we are about.  We listened to our customers and they told us that they wanted to feel the fight and enjoy catching fish instead of being tired of reeling up a 3 lb fish on 50 lb test.  BORING... Thats not even a challenge and we don't do it.  

Sportsmen enjoy light tackle fishing with us because our trips are about them, their family,  Kids, their friends and just having fun catching fish all day.  We give sportsmen a chance to "WHACK'EM" and enjoy themselves while they are doing it. 

Gary and Webb Broussard, Late June, 2009

Convinced?  Give us a call at 251.975.8111 and book your saltwater fishing charter today.  We look forward to serving you!

When you think of snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, what do you think of?  If your like me, the first snapper that comes to mind is the Red Snapper.  Red Snapper over the past twenty years, has become the staple of all recreational fishermen.  With the artifical reef programs in place off the gulf shores of Alabama, its no wonder why the Red Snapper became the most sough after sport fish in the salt water.

Bowers family fishing, June 2009

The Red Snapper offers novice and experienced salt water anglers the opportunity to fight a fish that pound for pound, are the hardest fighting reef fish in the gulf.  The average Red Snapper weighs between 3 to 5 pounds each and we often catch some over 20 to 30 pounds.  Our anglers get to catch these fish on light tackle.  We can catch them year-round.  You just can't keep them until the summer.  The Red Snapper season is usually during June and July and a little bit of August each year.  These fish are federally regulated.  We will post the dates as soon as we know them.

The Mangrove Snapper also known as the Black Snapper because of their almost black scales on their back.  They are a lot of fun to catch.  We often have to chum them up and then toss a light tackle line to them.  They weigh about 1 to 10 pounds each.  We have caught some over 12 to 15 pounds. 

Vermilion Snapper are known by locals as Beeliners or BB's.  These fish are caught mostly over natural bottom.  They are actually a mild tasting fish.  We can catch them year round on our reef fishing trips.  They weigh between 10 oz to 5 pounds.  The average fish is 10 to 15 inches long.

Snapper are caught on our 6 hour trips or longer due to the lenght of the ride out to our private artificial reefs.  The 6 hour trips are ideal for those who want to experience light tackle reef fishing and trolling.

Mackerel are highly migratory.  They move through during different times of the year.  We first start seeing some species of them just off the beaches of Alabama during March. 

The first mackerel I would like to introduce you to is the Spanish Mackerel.  These are the smaller species of the mackerel family.  They are long and sleek and are usually caught on light tackle during trolling trips right off the beach.  They move very quickly.  When we get on a school of them, you will see us start circling the boat and trying to keep us on the mackerel.  They weigh about 1 to 3 pounds and during the summer months we catch some over 6 pounds.  The meat is very tasty and you can keep as many as you catch.  If any of you remember Morrisons cafateria restaurant chain used to have mackerel on the serving line.  This is the species.

The second mackerel I would like to introuce you to is the King Mackerel.  This species is called the King because of its size.  These highly migratory kings show up in May off of Orange Beach and hang around through October each year.  The warmer the water the better.  The King Mackerel fishing starts getting good when the water temperature gets above 70 degrees.  During the summer months, our water temp gets up to about 85 to 87 degrees.  That is usually the peak of our fishing season.

Mackerel are the most common species caught from March to October on our 4 hour trolling trips.  Some of our recreational fishing customers even do a 6 hour trip and do a mix of reef fishing and trolling.  The six hour trips are affordable and are ideal for those who want to get a taste of trolling and reef fishing. 

What do you think of when you hear of Shark Fishing?  If your like me, I think of Great White, Hammerheads and Tiger Sharks.  Television and shark shows for over thirty years have captured our imagination by showing these large predators of the seas.   In reality, shark fishing is can be one of the most adreneline pumping fishing trips one can have. 

The most common sharks of any size caught in the salt water off Alabama are the Reef Shark, Lemon Shark, Black Tip, Spinner and the Bull Shark.  The best eating shark out there is the Mako Shark.  I am going to list below the ones that we commonly catch.

Black Tip Sharks are caught just off the beaches of Alabama usually late in the evening.  They weigh 60 to 120 pounds on average.  We ease out to our honey hole and put out the lines and drift.  We have some good success during the hot summer days.

Spinner Sharks are caught just off the gulf shores like the Black Tip Sharks.  The Spinner Sharks are amazing to watch when hooked.  They jump straight up out of the water spinning around faster than the eye can see.  They are very agressive spinners.  They give a lot of entertainment and excitement when hooked.

Bull Sharks are one of the most feared predators of the sea.  They are very common off the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Bech.  We have caught our share of these monsters.  They weigh anywhere from 100 pounds up to over 500 pounds.  I would say the average one we caught in 2008 was about 350 pounds.  We catch most of our bulls offshore on reef fishing trips.  The Bull Shark was the culprit that bit my friend Chuck Anderson's arm off while swimming at day break in about 4 feet of water off Gulf Shores about 10 years ago.

Reef Sharks are a lot of fun to fight.  They are similar in size to the Black Tips and Spinner Sharks.  They are often caught more offshore on artificial reefs.  They are also a lot of fun to catch.  Their weight is averaging about 60 to 100 pounds.  Some weigh 120 plus.

As with any fishing, there comes responsibility and conservation.  In the years, we have caught and harvested sharks for customers.  We have seen a decrease in the number of sharks in the past years and we know that overfishing by commercial fishermen has taken its toll.  We want our shark fishery to be viable so everyone can enjoy catching one.    We found that many sharks were only killed and discarded.  Except for the Mako which is a fine eating fish; most of the sharks we catch emit urea through their skin causing the shark to smell and taste like amonia. 

Distraction Charters will do what our customers want, but we would rather release these monsters of the deep to be caught again another day.

Shark trips are usually 4 hours in length and can be combined with on longer 6 hour reef fishing trips.

Cobia are also known as Lemon Fish or Ling.  These migratory fish come through Perdido Key, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores waters each Spring.  We usually start seeing them in mid March and continue through the end of April each year.  2008 was a slow year for cobia.  2007 was a great year.  We hope that 2009 is a great year for Cobia fishing.  Our trips are 4 hours or longer.  We usually catch them on clear days with plenty of sunshine.  Cloudy days and rough seas are not good.  We usually depart about 9 to 10 am and return about 3 p.m.

Cobia fishing is truly sportfishing.  We put up to two customers and a guide in the crows nest of the boat and we idle along the gulf shores waters looking for them.   Ling are always swimming from the East heading West.  They swim just under the surface, right off the beach.  Cobia look like a big dark torpedo contrasting in the emerald green waters.  They weigh from 30 pounds up to over 90 pounds.  We catch them on Jigs or live eels. 

Cobia or Ling have long been known for a local fishing thing.  It is the fish that captains and deckhands fish for during the spring before our charter season really kicks off.  When your at the beach and see boats going back and forth with fishermen in the tower above the boat, that is what they are fishing for.  More customers that sportfish are starting to fish for Ling.  Cobia trips are not a trip for those who want to catch a lot of fish. 

Cobia trips can be long and boring until you see one.   If your group is larger than two, the other fishermen will have to sit down below with the captain or on the back deck.  We suggest you bring some playing cards or something to spend some time.

I highly recommend these trips for one or two fishermen who have patience and don't mind riding and looking.  It is like big buck hunting.  Sometimes you see them, sometimes we don't.

If your group would be bored doing this, you had better take a 6 hour trip minimum and let everyone hold a pole and reef fish. 

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