Deep Water Fishing / Deep Drop Fishing

Catching a giant red grouper is fun.

Deep water fishing is a style of fishing, similar or the same as deep drop fishing.   It is where you are fishing in deep water or water that is too deep for most traditional tackle to be fun.   Off the coast of Orange Beach, Alabama, we deep water or fish on or near the bottom of the gulf in water 150 feet up to and including 600 feet of water.   This type of fishing is pretty cool, because you don’t ever really know what you are going to catch.   These trips require a full day trip in length to get far enough offshore to fish for the many different species out there.

The ride to the fishing grounds is usually 3 to 4 hours in length.   It takes a while to get there at 12-13 knots.  Sea conditions such as wind and waves can make the ride shorter or a little longer.

The Fish We Catch Deep Water Fishing

Gag grouper are one of the species caught while deep water fishing.  The season is September 1 to September 16.

Depending on the depth, we catch a large variety of deep water species such as yellow edge grouper, scamp grouper, tile fish, long tail sea bass, barrel fish, scorpion fish, scamp grouper, gag grouper, white snapper, vermilion snapper and a few more.    The deeper the water we fish, the more unusual the species we catch.   Most of the gag, scamp and red grouper are caught in 200′ of water.   The more exotic fish are caught at greater depths up to 600 feet.

Things That Affect Deep Water Fishing

The under sea current can also have an affect on how the fish bite and or being able to get the baits all the way down to the fish.    Sometimes the current is running 2 to 2.5 knots, which makes deep water fishing tough or impossible.   The moon, the tide, the wind, the sea height and the bite are all things that have to align in order to have a very successful trip.   There are a lot of variables in deep water fishing, but the rewards are pretty nice.

Scamp grouper are caught while deep water fishing.  Season Open Year Round.

Beeliners are plentiful on deep water trips. They are in season year round.   These fish bite better when there is not a full moon.

Wahoo can be caught on full day trips.  We catch them high speed trolling going to and from the deep water.  They are in season year round.

Amberjack are also called sea donkey’s. They fight real hard.  They are in season beginning September 1 to October 31 each year.

Larger red snapper can be caught in waters as deep as 250 feet.   The season opens June 1 to usually the end of August.

Fishing Seasons

Most of the deep water species of fish are in season year round.  However, gag grouper and red grouper have short seasons.  Red Grouper opens January 1 each year and closes the end of June.  Gag Grouper for 2024 opens September 1 and stays open 16 days and then closes.   Scamp grouper are open year round.