Keith Lusher 02.13.25
Dwelling in Louisiana, I usually make weekend journeys to Orange Seashore for a bit of fishing, however I’ve to confess that I haven’t been for the reason that snowstorm in late January. Since then, I’ve saved involved with a number of the locals there to maintain tabs on the fishing. My largest concern was that the Alabama coast would see some fish kills from the plummeting temperatures. Whereas there weren’t any main fish kills, there have been stories of some floating fish in some dead-end canals.
One among my buddies who works at J&M Deal with on Canal Highway in Orange Seashore referred to as me proper after the freeze. He advised me that the silver mullet took the most important hit. He stated the morning after that snow when air temps dropped into the kids, he walked all the way down to verify his favourite canal and located it iced up – one thing he hadn’t seen since that ice storm again in 2014. The die-offs weren’t simply within the canals both. One other good friend, Jacob Dawkins, who lives on Little Lagoon, despatched me footage of what he was seeing, and I obtained comparable stories from of us who fish the tidal rivers and even components of Cellular Bay.
Salinity Dawkins defined how all that snowmelt performed havoc with the salinity ranges, particularly in these again bay areas. He’s been fishing these waters for over 40 years and stated the timing couldn’t have been worse, hitting throughout a neap tide. However as he jogged my memory, these waters normally reply nicely to robust circumstances with better-than-normal fishing as quickly as the next month.
What’s Biting Now? One among my mates, Dave Snell, who fishes the general public piers alongside Orange Seashore, has been fishing so much this week. He stated they’re nonetheless managing to place some black drum and sheepshead within the cooler, with the occasional keeper flounder combined in. He talked about the bluefish are nonetheless hanging across the jetties at Perdido Move and Gulf State Park. Dave normally fishes with market bait and even artificials, however stated proper now, it’s all in regards to the reside shrimp. “Don’t go away residence with out reside shrimp,” he advised me. “These fish ain’t touching nothing else proper now.”
What Spots Are Producing Fish Proper Now? My contacts at Gulf State Park Pier and across the west jetty at Perdido Move say these spots are nonetheless producing, particularly if you could find these deeper holes. As one native put it to me, “Overlook what they are saying about 90% of the fish being in 10% of the water – proper now, it’s extra like 99% are in 1% of the water!”
Ideas for Catching Fish from Land and Pier I talked to pier fisherman Lance Riggs, who’d been fishing 4 instances this previous week, and he says presentation is every part proper now. These fish are nonetheless sluggish from the chilly, so he’s been having success with lighter traces, smaller hooks, and lightweight weights. Riggs primarily fishes the jetties and advised me to neglect about frozen bait utterly – he’s been doing finest with reside shrimp, although he’s additionally had luck with shucked oysters and mussels when the shrimp are onerous to come back by.
February Outlook: The stories I’m getting are cautiously optimistic total. My contact at Orange Seashore Marina stated water temperatures 12 miles offshore are climbing again into the mid-60s. She predicts we’ll see the large black drum present up first, adopted by the whiting and, lastly, the pompano as soon as the water warms previous 65 levels. She additionally talked about that afternoon incoming tides have been most efficient—it appears each the fish and fishermen recognize that additional heat from the solar.
I plan on making a visit to the coast by the top of February. Till then, I’ll hold checking in with my Orange Seashore fishing household and hold you posted when these pompanos begin displaying up in numbers for surf fishermen. In any case, spring isn’t too far across the nook, and these waters have by no means did not ship as soon as that warm-up will get going.
