Gulf Shores Fishing-Deep Sea Fishing-Salt Water Fishing-Gulf of Mexico

Distraction Charters light tackle fishing is located at Zeke's Marina in beautiful Orange Beach, Alabama. They are near Gulf Shores and Perdido Key, Florida. Captain Troy offers deep sea fishing charter trips just off the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama. They offer 20 to 30 lb test light fishing tackle because it will handle most of those larger fish that are found out deep sea fishing.Even the kids can handle their gear. Vacationers to Orange Beach and Gulf Shores love catching fish with our light tackle rods. The trips are 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 hours in length. Family fishing is what Capt. Troy does best, but they also have a lot of serious fishermen who charter The Distraction for 10 or 12 hours to try and catch some huge fish.

Family fishing off shore Gulf Shores Alabama

Fishing fun for all ages !
The Distraction's Captain Troy's daughter can even baby sit your yournger children while the rest of you fish ! ph 251-975-8111anytime.

Gulf Shores Yacht Club & Marina at Fort Morgan-(251) 540-BOAT
SanRoc Cay--251-981-5423 or 1-888-386-4853
Bear Point Marina--251-981-2327
Zeke's Landing Marina--251-981-4044 or 1-800-793-4044
Orange Beach Marina--251-981-4207

Gulf State Park Pier Report

July 2008--new pier is half way done. The new pier is designed with massive concrete columns and interlocking concrete beams. The concrete structure creates a framework into which 5' x 5' sections of treated wood sections will be dropped into place checkerboard style. When storms high wind and water push against the new Gulf pier from below, the wood sections will pop out and allow nature's force to push on thru the pier. The new entry from the he parking lot will have an eat spot, fishing supply store, restrooms. Additional restrooms will be built at the half way mark. The new Gulf State Park Pier will have a fish cleaning area and handicapped fishing spots. Our pier will again be the longest pier into the Gulf of Mexico. Completion is hoped to be Spring 2009.

Construction has begun to rebuild the Gulf State Park Pier in Gulf Shores. The burecratic red tape and settlement negotiations are finally completed. “It’s going to be the longest on the Gulf of Mexico." says Barnett Lawley, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The area around the pier construction will be closed off for a while. The end of the pier and 300 yards either side will be closed to boat traffic.

The new pier will be 20 feet wide and 1,512 feet long. It has a concession area with rest rooms, picnic tables, snack bar and tackle shop. Restrooms will also be built about the halfway mark, as well as a saltwater intake structure for the Marine Resources Division to use at its Claude Peteet Mariculture Center on the Intracoastal Waterway. The end of the new pier design is an octagon shape that is about 65 feet across. The old pier’s end cap was only 30 feet wide.

Construction began on Dec. 3, 2007. The main contractor is LCI Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.and they have 15 months to complete the project. M&N of Alabama of Magnolia Springs is the pile driving sub-contractor. The 15 months would put completion in February of 2009, but they’re optimistic that they can work on the pier and parking lot simultaneously with the staging area at the old pier parking lot location. If they get good weather and the materials come in like they’re supposed to, they could be finished by late summer or fall next year.

The early spring is prime mullet fishing season. After spring break, the mullet fish migrate out into the Gulf to spawn in large schools. The do this usually on the full moon or just as a cold front is passing through. We on the Gulf Coast eat Mullet fried, smoked, baked and in gumbo. Mullet scraps are used in crab traps and as bait for other fish like red bulls in the fall.

We even have a mullet festival down here where large quantities of beer are consumed and dead fish are tossed across the state line.

There are two species of mullet in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The most common one here is the striped or black mullet. Officially called "Mugil curema". The other species is the silver mullet. Our mullet form large schools during the fall in the outlet end of streams and rivers before they migrate offshore to spawn. The large schools migrate up to 100 miles offshore. There they release eggs and sperm in great mass. The fertilized eggs float and are washed in by the tide. Eggs that are not fertilized will sink and become food for the sealife.

According to Dr.Skip Lazauski, a large female striped mullet can produce over 4 million eggs per spawn. After this offshore activity, most mullet return to their point of origin.

Mullet can eat small algae and decaying plant matter. Mullet are food for birds, other fish, sharks, and dolphins. They are found in a wide range of habitats and can live in both saltwater and brackish water.

Striped mullet are commercially fished with gillnets during the spawning run in the fall more for their eggs than their meat. The harvested roe is for the Asian market. The rest of the year, striped mullet are fished commercially for their meat. Silver mullet, smaller than striped mullet, are said to be sweeter than the striped and are fished recreationally most of the year. Silver mullet are sensitive to the cold and dieouts can occur if winter temps are down to the high 20's or low 30's for several days in a row. Mullet can be raised on fish farms, but in the states, the cost is higher than catching wild fish due to the cost of labor according to Dr. Lazauski the biologist who writes a great weekly column for the local newspaper, The Islander..

	"Fishing the Local Waters...Gulf Shores to Panama City" is the book you want to order if you are headed here to fish. Click to Order
<!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" endspan --> <p><!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" startspan -->	In The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast, Gregory Dew reveals forty very special spots to fish along the Gulf Shores, Alabama, to Apalachicola, Florida. Also included for the angler is a wealth of sound advice on rigging an outfit, basic angling techniques, special fishing techniques, picking a prime location (considering tides, currents, wind, water, and geography), fish species and habitats, even local recipes! The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast is enhanced further with a chapter dedicated to resource websites, addresses, telephone numbers, tackle shops, and selected fishing charters. If you are planning a fishing trip anywhere along this spectacular Gulf of Mexico shoreline, begin with browsing through Gregory Dew's The Barefoot Fisherman Guide To The Emerald Coast!
<!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" endspan --><map name="FPMap0"> <area href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" shape="rect" coords="14, 200, 103, 207"> <area href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/mosaicforarch-20" shape="rect" coords="0, 0, 10000, 10000"> </map><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" border="0" alt="Shop at Amazon.com" usemap="#FPMap0" width="120" height="240"><!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" startspan -->	Sport Fish of the Gulf of Mexico This book is an excellent reference guide for identifing gulf and bay fishes, and contains very little "how-to" information. Fish are separated into families. Each fish has a detailed color illustration, common name(s), and scientific name, plus a short description of each of the following categories: physical description, range, habitat, typical sizes, food value, game quality, typical tackle and bait, and a very short description of typical fishing methods. 185 fish are pictured in all, including sharks, stingrays, baitfish, and a number of other fish that may be encountered even though they are not normally thought of as sportfish.
<!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" endspan --><map name="FPMap1"> <area href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" shape="rect" coords="14, 200, 103, 207"> <area href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/mosaicforarch-20" shape="rect" coords="0, 0, 10000, 10000"> </map><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" border="0" alt="Shop at Amazon.com" usemap="#FPMap1" width="120" height="240"><!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" startspan -->	The Pelican Guide to the Florida Panhandle One reviewer said: I had no idea that the Florida Panhandle had so much to offer. This author definitely knows the territory - I felt like I got all kinds of inside tips on where to go and what to do --- plus I couldn't find any other source of information specifically dedicated to the Panhandle. With Alabama's Gulf Coast right on the same stretch of land, you know that much of the information here applies to us too ! .

Little Warning Here:
State waters extend into the Gulf of Mexico three miles south of Alabama's coastline from Florida almost along a straight line due west along the Ft. Morgan peninsula and Dauphin Island to Mississippi. The line, however, curves southward three miles from Sand Island. A rule of thumb when leaving Mobile Bay: if you are south of Farewell Buoy , you are in federal waters. Mississippi and Florida also require salt water fishing licenses. Florida's state waters extend nine miles south of the coastline. You can be fined for straying into another state's water with fish caught in Alabama or federal waters.

Approximately 1,200 sq. miles of dedicated artificial reef bottom beckon Alabama's off shore anglers. Some of the commonly caught reef fish include Red Snapper, Lane Snapper, Grouper, Atlantic Spadefish, Scamp, Triggerfish, Amberjack, & Barracuda.

One of the first fish to arrive off our coast in the spring is the Spanish Mackerel, a popular spot and commercial fish. In the early spring the Spanish mackerel migrate up the west coast of Florida. The arrive off the Gulf Shores Alabama coast in March & early April. They prefer the shallow shelf waters rather than the deeper parts of the Gulf. Spanish mackerel spawn several times during the spring and summer near the shore. The commercial fishing of Spanish mackerel is done mainly with gill nets and is closely regulated. Recreational fishermen catch Spanish mackerel with silver spoons, jerk jiggers and live bait. They can be caught from both boats and the fishing pier at Gulf State Park between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. If you catch one, better eat it fresh rather than freezing it as it is an oily fish and it is said they don't freeze well. Try them grilled outside with lemon and garlic.

Gulf Shores Yacht Club & Marina
1577 Highway 180 West
Gulf Shores, AL 36542 (251) 540-BOAT
Located at the western tip of the Fort Morgan Peninsula.it is the only full-service marina on Fort Morgan Road. It is also the closest marina in Gulf Shores to the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf Shores Yacht Club & Marina has wet and dry slips, fuel docks, charter boats and Tacky Jacks 2 restaurant. Gulf Shores Yacht Club & Marina offers inshore and offshore fishing charters, as well as dolphin, sightseeing and shrimping charters. www.gulfshoresyachtclubandmarina.com

The SanRoc Cay Marina and Restaurant/Shopping area is one of the highlights of Orange Beach. It is easy to spot by the huge stainless steel fish fountain on Perdido Beach Blvd. in Orange Beach Alabama, see photos below