Gulf Shores, Orange Beach Alabama  Fishing Charters & Reports

 Captain Don McPherson

View my Alabama saltwater fishing reports from Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. See pics from some great Alabama deep sea fishing charters along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Whether you choose a half day fishing charter or a full day fishing charter, you will find Alabama saltwater fishing very exciting. My Orange Beach/ Gulf Shores fishing reports  are honest and accurate. Sometimes we have outstanding catches and sometimes we have average or slow days of fishing. Whatever it is, you will see it here.  Great Gulf Shores fishing pics below. 

November 11th, 2008  Redfish has not been the only fish biting in November. Today we had a very nice family with us on a 4 hour trip. They caught Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bonita and the famous lizard fish. We all had a blast. The kids fished, listened to their favorite music and drove the boat. We all had a blast. Nice fish caught by all.

We finally had a full day trip offshore and what an awesome amberjack bite. We broke the Getaway record of a previous 90lbs. How about 98lbs. We caught another just under 50lbs. Novermber can provide some awesome offshore fishing. However, always rember that we have to contend with cold fronts which can bring wind and rough seas. The weather can be beautiful between cold fronts. If you book an offshore trip in November and it is too rough  for offshore fishing then we can fish just off the beach on a 4 or 6 hour trip for big bull redfish. Not a bad option. See pics below.  

November 7th, 2008  Redfish anyone? We were on the big redfish a few days ago with a nice cold front. They seemed to have disappeared and then appeared today. The king mackerel bite has been good the last couple of days. We also caught a nice amberjack, vermillion snapper, lane snapper and white snapper on an 8 hour trip. We had over 20 lane snapper, which is rather unusual. We may catch 2 or 3 on a trip, but over 20? Wow! We only had 2 anglers. Nice catch. Today was the day for the big bull redfish. We had a blast on light spinning tackle. These big bull reds were on the surface chasing bait. There must have a hundred or more. We caught and released numerous fish in the 16 - 24 pound range. Just awesome. We look forward to much more as the redfsih season is just beginning. See some nice pics below.

October 29th, 2008  Wow! Awesome weather and awesome fishing. This is my favorite time of year. I arrived at the boat dock this morning, sipping on a cup of hot coffee. There was a cool nip in the air. The dolphins were chasing bait around the marina along with a few pelicans. No doubt, it is late October. This was our second cold front this year and I just had a feeling that today was the day for the big bull redfish to show near the beaches. We departed at 7:30am and less than an hour, it was on. Birds were diving, bait was popping and fish were on the surface. Within seconds the rods were bending and the reels were singing. This is what Gill and I had been waiting on. After a long fight, the celebration began. Thanks to Alex, his brother and their father. These guys were really fun. 

Nice catches of king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, black snapper, vermillion snapper and much more have been caught this past week. See pics below. 

October 20th, 2008  The nearshore fishing for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel continues to be awesome. We are having a blast on these 4 hour fishing charters along Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. We had to go to option  2 on a couple of fishing charters this past week. We had two full day trips scheduled but changed to half day trips due to high seas. We experienced a north wind and therefore the seas were calm nearshore. This gives us a great option as we fished for nearshore mackerel. We did mange to fish an 8 hour charter on friday and we had a blast. We caught a nice wahoo as we high speed trolled on the way out. We caught a few triggerfish and vermillion snapper for some fish to be taken home and then our customers wanted to participate in some light tackle catch and release fishing. It is very hard to locate amberjack large enough to keep on an 8 hour trip. However, locating amberjack that will bend your rod and give you some awesome ligth tackle sportfishing is a different story. I watched these guys fight, catch and release several nice amberjack. What a blast. We had our first cold front this past weekend and that means the big bull redfish should appear anyday now. Come enjoy this fantastic fall fishing.       

Gill(deckhand) and Captain Don are holding some nice king mackerel that were caught today as seen in pic below. 

October 14th, 2008  We enjoyed a few days of fishing nearshore last week. We caught some nice king mackerel and big Spanish mackerel as we trolled nearshore Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. We also caught red snapper on a 6 hour trip. (Red snapper season is open in Florida state waters untill October 31st.) After a few windy days, the weather is looking good and we will be on the water again tomorrow. The big bull redfish are here but are very isolated. The cold front forecasted for this weekend will most likely bring the big bull redfish to the waters along the beaches. Come on and let's go fishing.   See pics of Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, red snapper and much more below.

October 7th, 2008  It has been rainy and windy for a couple of days but the weather forecast looks great for the remainder of the week. We enjoyed an 8 hour Orange Beach fishing charter a few days ago. We caught vermillion snapper, white snapper, red snapper and Spanish mackerel. We finally have a couple of 10 hour fishing charters over the next few days. We are excited about returning to the deepwater. It has been a while since we have fished for amberjack and grouper. Gill and I are ready to go. It is a good time to book your Fall and Winter charters. The big bull redfish are here. I still have some fridays, Sundays and weekdays available in October. Several weekends are available in November and December. Come join Gill and me in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores for some fun and fishing on the Getaway.    

September 28th, 2008 The weather is absolutely beautiful. It just doesn't get much better than this in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. We have fished the past 3 days on 4 and 6 hour fishing charters and the nearshore bite has been red hot. The king mackerel and Spanish mackerel bite has been a blast with light tackle. We missed two big redfish yesterday. The redfish are still isolated but they should be here in numbers anyday now. It appears they will be early this year. Alabama redfish fishing can be enjoyed on a 4 or 6 hour fishing charter. We have not been on many full day fishing charters lately. However, the boats that fished offshore yesterday brought in nice wahoo, amberjack, a few grouper, scamp, a few triggerfish and vermillion snapper. Come enjoy a full day charter while we still have some beautiful weather. If you do not have a full group, then let me know and I will try to put together a group for you.    Captain Don  

September 21st, 2008  Redfish, redfish, redfish! We just got back from a 4 hour Gulf Shores nearshore fishing charter. The redfish are here and they are a little early this year. We had some action fishing just off Gulf Shores. We caught big bull redfish near 20 pounds each, a big king mackerel, lost a king and landed a few Spanish mackerel. A great 4 hour Orange Beach fishing charter.

September 8th, 2008  Pretty blue water has finally arrived 40 miles offshore fromm Orange Beach. There have been reports of wahoo and white marlin caught in the last few days. We have been waiting for this all year. Thanks to our last major storm for pushing this bluewater to us. Call me and I will give you details about our offshore big game fishing. See pics below from the last couple of 8 hour fishing charters from Orange Beach.

September 2nd, 2008  Hurricane Gustav has come and gone with no damage in our area. Gill and I look forward to fishing on Friday. Nearshore fishing for Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bluefish and jack crevalle has been good on our 4 hour trips. We also had a great 8 hour trip last week with big king mackerel, vermillion snapper and a nice grouper.  View the pics below from some fishing last week. 

August 15th, 2008 We have enjoyed several 4 hour nearshore trolling charters off Gulf Shores and Orange Beach this week. The king mackerel bite has slowed down since early in the week. I expect to see some king mackerel any day. The Spanish mackerel bite has been very good near the beach and out to 8 miles. We are still catching just a few red snapper in Florida state waters. The bite has been difficult due to the pressure that has been placed on the Florida waters all season. We are doing a combination trolling for mackerel and bottomfishing for red snapper on the 6 hour Orange Beach fishing charters and having some success. We did not have any offshore fishing charters this week but I am looking forward to running offshore again for some scamp, grouper, amberjack and much more. Do not forget our fall and winter redfish charters beginning late October. This is one of my favorite times of year with cooler weather and the peacefulness on the waters just off the beach. Grab the light tackle and hang on. Come on and let's go fishing. 

See pics and reports below from this week.

August 8th, 2008 The bluefish and Spanish mackerel bite was red hot today on this 4 hour trolling trip off Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. No one wanted to keep any fish so this was all catch and release. Gulf Shores fishing at it's best. See pic below.

4 hour trolling trip for the family as seen below

A fun 12 hour trip with some very tasty scamp grouper. The bite was slow offshore today but we managed to catch an amberjack, scamp grouper, vermillion snapper and white snapper. See pic below. 

August 3rd, 2008 Fishing is good and I am looking forward to some great August fishing. The king mackerel and Spanish mackerel bite has been good on the 4 hour fishing charters. This should continue. We will be targeting vermillion snapper, white snapper and triggerfish on our 6 hour fishing charters. The 10 and 12 hour trips should be producing scamp, amberjack, grouper, vermillion snapper ...  as usual.  See some great pics below from fishing the past week. The big jack crevalle is a great nearshore sportfish that will give you one heck of a fight. This is a catch and release fish.

July 21st, 2008 Gill and I took our families fishing. Leigh and I had a blast watching Gill's young boys reeling in some nice red snapper. Oh yea, and a shark. See pic below.

July 20th, 2008 Today, Gill and I are taking our families fishing. I look forward to some good food, good music and of course, some good fishing. Will let you know the results and also pics and reports from the past week. Fishing continues to be good. The king mackerel are biting again near the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. A 4 hour trip is usually long enough to catch these fish. We will be fishing for vermillion snapper, white snapper and triggerfish on our 6 hour charters after the closing of red snapper season on August 4th. We will just have to travel a bit farther. I am happy to have the speed on the Getaway to get us to the fish. Got to run. Let's go fishing.

Captain Don 

July 10th, 2008 Everyone in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores is having fun along the beaches and of course having fun with some great fishing. We are enjoying the many families that are fishing on the 4 and 6 hour charters. The king mackerel and Spanish mackerel bite has been off and on but most of the time on. The 6 hour red snapper charter fishing trips are providing plenty of action and fun. Whether it be your family, friends or business, the 6 hour trip is always a good one during red snapper season. Our 12 hour fishing charters have produced a great variety of fish as usual. How bout some amberjack, grouper, scamp, red snapper, white snapper, vermillion snapper ...  Come join me and Gill on the Getaway. We are all about fun and fishing. 

July 1st, 2008 Red snapper, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, vermillion snapper, tilefish...  A great week of fishing on 4, 6, 8 and 12 hour Alabama fishing charters. We hooked into a nice sailfish on a combo offshore trolling trip/ deepdrop trip. We enjoyed the dance and show of this beautiful sailfish before it departed from the hook. We have also seen several sperm whales offshore. This is an awesome site. The sun is shining and everyone is enjoying the music, good food and good fishing. A special thanks to Don Baldwin for joining us on the Getaway for a deepdrop fishing charter. We all look forward to his story on deepdrop fishing in the Alabama Outdoor News. A great magazine full of hunting and fishing. Also thanks to my good friends Larry and Randy for joining us on the deepdrop fishing trip. We are learning more about this fishing every time we go. You just never know what you may reel in from the deep deep water below. I will be promoting combo trips in August, September & October. We will be offshore trolling for white marlin, dolphin, wahoo and tuna. We will also offer a couple of hours of deepdrop fishing. I also offer deepdrop fishing on our conventional 12 hour fishing trips. How about a 4 or 6 hour fishing charter? Your choice.

June 26th, 2008  What an exciting June in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama. Everyone is enjoying their summer vacation and some great saltwater fishing. Family fishing has been popular with the 4 and 6 hour charters. King and spanish mackerel are still being caught on the 4 hour trips. The red snapper bite is hot on the 6 hour charters. If you are lookiing for some offshore bottomfishing for variety, then the 12 hour trip has been great. We have also been doing some deepdrop fishing and catching tilefish, snowy grouper and yellowedge grouper. Thanks to Bubba and group for the 9th consecutive year fishing with me. I appreciate you. Also a big thanks to Richard Blades whom has fished with me several times.   

June 15th, 2008  We are experiencing some great fishing on the Getaway. King mackerel and Spanish are biting well on our 4 hour trips. We have even caught a couple of redfish. Red snapper and mackerel are being caught on our 6 hour trips. The 4 and 6 hour trips are great for the family or for you and your friends. The 12 hour charters have produced some nice amberjack, vermillion snapper, triggerfish, red snapper, scamp, gag grouper, white snapper and king mackerel. We often catch some kind of big fish, whether it be a red snapper, amberjack or grouper. If you do not catch a big fish, you can usually count on catching a wide variety of fish on our 12 hour deepwater charters. Yesterday we had some bonus fish including a bigeye snapper, silk snapper, tilefish and snowy grouper. These are deepwater fish. See some pics from the last couple of weeks of fishing on the Getaway. 

This was Rhett's 3rd trip on the Getaway. We enjoyed having his group with us. See pic below.   

Brad's 2nd trip with us on the Getaway. See pic below.

This was David Long's 3rd trip this year. Thanks, David.

Matt and his group in pic below. Thanks for your repeat business. Last year we caught  a 90 lb amberjack.