Shore and Pier Forecast: June 2013

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June traditionally marks the transition from spring to summer fishing patterns for pier and shore fishermen. The water temperatures are well into the 80s and the daily air temps often reach into the 90s making night or wade fishing an increasingly popular pastime. The full list of species available to catch often comes into play depending on when, where and how the angler is able to fish. Often the diurnal wind pattern is key to what is biting and where. Incoming tides and light offshore “land breezes” in the morning hours often lend to near calm conditions along the gulf beaches and a great opportunity to wade fish for speckled trout from public access spots in Gulf Shores westward to Dauphin Island. Many nice specks are caught by wading anglers casting topwater of subsurface hard baits just off the beach on these slick mornings.

The duration and variety of the morning bite is influenced by a variety of factors, but the savvy shore angler can often increase their catch by including in their tackle belt a few soft plastic minnow imitation baits and 1/8 or ¼ ounce jig heads. Pearl white or other natural looking colors are very popular in the clear gulf waters and shades of brown and green or chartreuse in dingier waters. While targeting speckled trout, a variety of other fish may also keep the wade fisher busy. Slot redfish, flounder, spanish mackerel, bluefish and the often present ladyfish might take a lure or bait intended for specks. And most any light tackle, even bass casting or spinning tackle will suffice for wade fishing as long as it is properly wiped off or rinsed after contact with salty gulf water. It’s a great way to spend leisurely morning fishing. Just keep a wary eye out for “sea-nettles” (stinging jellyfish), stingrays, and possibly a marauding shark that may intrude into your fishing space.

The west jetty at Alabama Point (Perdido Pass) and the jetties at Ft. Gaines on Dauphin Island offer shore bound anglers’ similar experiences without even getting your feet wet.

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The same type tackle, lures and techniques often work from the jetties, especially early and late in the day or on cloudy days and low light conditions. But live baits like shrimp, bull minnows, ‘finger’ mullet, ‘LY’s (scaled sardines) or ‘pogies’ (menhaden) can often give an decided advantage to catch game fish that are lure wary especially in conditions when the water is clear and calm. You may have to cull through a variety of undesirable fish and share the space with other anglers as these locations are very popular for both the fish and the fishermen, but the effort is usually worth the results.

The Gulf State Park Pier offers 24/7 access and top notch accommodations to fishers searching to fill their coolers with mackerel, bluefish, jacks, spadefish or whatever else is biting at a given time. And in June the tarpon migration gears up in earnest as schools of “silver kings” can often be seen from the pier moving from east to west, but often coming close enough to grab a few baited hooks at the pier. On some days feeding tarpon and spinner sharks put on a spectacular display by exploding upward from the calm green water in a sudden stark contrast to the featureless sea and sky. 20# class spinning tackle is the norm for this type of fishing and the reel should hold a minimum of 250 yards of line as these brutish gamefish along with the other ‘usual suspects’ (king mackerel, jack crevelle, bull redfish, sharks and even a few ling) may push tackle to its limit, or beyond.

David Thornton
Fishing tips, pictures and almost daily reports from the Gulf State Park Pier as well as other sites can be found on the internet @ http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com