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Big Reds Are Off The Beach This Month, But Have a Back-Up Plan
The redfish bite will begin this month right on the coast. However, if they’re not biting, the king and Spanish mackerel will be hitting a few miles offshore.
By Don Baldwin
Originally published in the November 2011 issue of AON
Big redfish move in near the coast in November, and anglers will continue to catch them through December and January. If I were to use one word to describe the fishery around Orange Beach, the word would be versatile. There is such a variety of fishing options available on the Alabama Gulf Coast that they are seemingly endless.
For example, a couple of weeks ago I was scheduled to do a deep-drop article in the area. I took along my next-door neighbor Scott Craig for company on the trip. We were to go about 45 miles offshore aboard “Another Getaway,” a 47-foot Hatteras sport fisherman captained by Don McPherson, of Orange Beach, and fish in about 1,000 feet of water for exotic species such as tile fish and snowy grouper. This was to be an interesting trip featuring a unique style of fishing, but the weather just didn’t cooperate. A cold front came through the day we were to go out, and 25 to 30 knot winds out of the north just didn’t bode well for heading 45 miles offshore. We would have experienced extremely uncomfortable conditions while we fished and had to fight a tough headwind and huge swells on the way back in. But I had a story to produce and a deadline to meet. Capt. Don quickly came up with another idea.
“The bull reds should be showing up soon for their winter run,” said Capt. Don. “It is a bit early yet, but I have heard of some in the area, so we might pick up a good one near the beach.”
The big bull reds come in each year around the end of October or early November, and they will hit swimming plugs trolled over shallow bars along the beach. In addition, schools of redfish will often appear on the surface anywhere along the beach, busting bait. As always, this activity brings flocks of gulls and other sea birds looking for an easy meal.
“When we come out of the pass, we scan down the beach in both directions looking for birds,” said Don. “If we see actively working gulls or pelicans, we head toward them and get our jigs ready.”
Don says lead-head jigs with curly tail grubs cast to the schools will almost certainly produce strikes. When you see fish on the surface, there are almost always more underneath aggressively feeding on bait. Make your cast, and let the jig fall on a relatively tight line, and you’ll generally feel a massive hit before the jig sinks very far. Topwater plugs will also produce strikes when the surface action is at its height.
“It really doesn’t much matter what plug you throw,” said Don. “The reds are so aggressive they’ll hit just about anything.”
Don and mate Gill Havard said double hook-ups are not unusual, and fish of 30 pounds and more are often landed.
When we left Perdido Pass on the morning we were out, we scanned the horizon for birds and saw a flock of gulls working about 300 yards to the west. We headed in that direction with redfish plugs and mackerel plugs in tow. The redfish like bigger swimming plugs like the Mann’s Magnum 30+, while the Spanish and king Mackerel prefer spoons with a lot of flash.
In addition to the big Mann’s bait, we were dragging a No. 2 planer with a small Clark spoon tied on to about a 10-foot leader. The small spoon was to attract the Spanish or king mackerel if there were no redfish in the area. As it turned out, the schooling fish were Spanish mackerel, lots of them. As we dragged the spoons through the school, we immediately had a couple of small mackerel hooked up and the big Mann’s swimbait went untouched.
We continued to catch and release small Spanish mackerel as we made our way west along the beach, but we couldn’t raise a redfish.
“It looks like we are still a little early for the reds,” said Don. “They should be in by mid to late October, but the first place they generally show up is at Dixie Bar at the mouth of Mobile Bay.”
We pulled up to the rigs and headed for Dixie Bar to see if we would have better luck with the reds there.
“We prefer to troll on Dixie Bar,” said Don. “Lots of the small-boat anglers will drift with live bait or crabs trying to attract the reds as they feed along the bar.”
In the shallow water, Don and Gill will use a smaller Mann’s 20+ and troll it over the bar at about 5 knots. The bait will dig down and bump along the bottom stirring up silt and attracting the big reds.
“It is OK for the bait to bump the bottom once in a while, but if we are continually banging the bottom, we’ll move up to a more shallow-running bait,” said Gill.
You will need a stiff rod to withstand the drag of the troll and a 30-lb. test line spooled on a small to medium boat reel is about right. The rig is finished off with a barrel swivel and 50- to 60-lb. test monofilament leader attached to the bait.
We worked the Dixie Bar for about an hour without a strike. Clearly the reds weren’t in the area, or if they were, they weren’t interested in our offerings.
“Let’s go troll the rigs for kings,” said Gill.
There are quite a few oil rigs within about 10 miles of the shore, and these rigs often hold many species of fish.
“We are close to the end of kingfish season,” said Gill. “But there are still a few stragglers in the area.”
This time the fishing rig consisted of a slightly larger planer and size 3.5 Eco Spoon. The one we used was silver with a pink color strip, but Gill said that flash was most important and color didn’t really matter much in his opinion. He also tied on a mackerel tree rig (or straw rig) behind the planer on about 10 feet of line before attaching the small spoon to the terminal end.
“The mackerel tree will often increase the strike ratio for Spanish mackerel,” said Gill. “It can make a big difference when the action is slow.”
The mackerel tree is available commercially at most local tackle shops, or Gill said you can make your own using small hooks and pieces of plastic straws from McDonalds.
We approached the first rig, and Don kept a close watch on the graph for bait and fish in the area. He was marking a few fish, so we dropped a couple of spoons of various sizes over the side. Within a few minutes we had a fish on, and after a brief fight landed a small king mackerel.
We fished several oil rigs, all with the same result. Small kings or Spanish mackerel took our baits willingly, but we could not land anything of decent size. After an hour or so of this action, Don decided to take us out to a nearby reef and try some bottom fishing.
After a short ride, Don set the boat over one of the many reefs he had marked in his GPS system. Gill changed the outfits to bottom rigs equipped with 30-lb. test line and 80-lb. test leader below a weight and barrel swivel. The sinker will vary in size from 1 to 6 ounces, based on the wind and current involved.
At the terminal end was a 6/0 circle hook (required for reef fishing in the Gulf) and a small live pinfish.
“While cut bait will do for most reef fish, grouper want live bait,” said Gill.
He told Scott and me to let our baits down right to the bottom.
“Grouper hang out right on the bottom next to the wreck,” said Gill. “If you are up in the water column, you are more likely to hook a red snapper, and they are out of season.”
Let the bait go down quickly and engage the reel as soon as the weight hits the bottom. Then hang on, and wait for the pull. It didn’t take long for us to get our first strike, and just about as quickly, the big fish was gone, with rig and all.
“You need to take control of the fish quickly and pull him away from the reef,” said Gill. “There is no need to set the hook. The circle hook will do the work. But steady pressure on the rod and continuing to crank the reel is very important.”
On the next drop we were more successful and landed a 15-lb. gag grouper for dinner that night. We caught and released several species of fish over the reef before heading back to shore into a stiff north wind. It was a good thing we didn’t go out 45 miles. It would have been a long, rough ride home.
While we didn’t hook up with the big reds, Don assured us they will be in the area in good numbers by the first of November. The redfish will stay in the shallows near the beach through the winter and can provide some excellent big-fish action in November, December and even into January.
Trolling big plugs at about 5 knots is an excellent way to tempt these big fish, and you might just land a 40-lb.-plus trophy.
An advantage of fishing on a big boat like the “Getaway” or “Another Getaway” is the enclosed cabin. It can get quite cold along the Gulf coast in the winter months, and the heated cabin can provide some welcome relief when a cold north wind is blowing. In addition, you can listen to your favorite football game on the satellite radio if you are out on a Saturday or Sunday afternoons.
However, since the reds are so close to the beach, you can be fishing almost as soon as you exit Perdido Pass. And with the short runs, most of your time is spent fishing instead of riding. A four- to five-hour trip is all you need to have some fine fishing action.
In addition to trolling, casting to schools on the surface can provide some exciting action with jigs and topwater baits. If the fish go deep, which they sometimes do when spooked by the boat, vertical jigging with curly tail grubs on jig heads can also be productive.
Redfish can only be kept within 3 miles of the shoreline, and there is a 16- to 26-inch slot limit. Anglers may keep three fish, one of which may be longer than the slot limit. If you are on a charter, the captain and mate are well acquainted with the regs and won’t let you get out of line.
So give Capt. Don McPherson a call this month, and head out for some of those big bull reds as they move in close. He’ll know what the fish are doing, and I’m sure you’ll have a great outing in the comfort of a well equipped boat. And if, by chance, the reds aren’t biting he’ll find something else for you to catch. The versatility of the Gulf waters will certainly give something up for your table.
Visit Don’s website at <www.get awaygulffishing.com> or call him on (251) 981-8047 to book a trip.
If you need accommodations while in Gulf Shores, check out the Island House Hotel at <www.island househotel.com>. It is a reasonably priced hotel with all rooms facing the beach, and it is conveniently located right across the street from Zeke’s Marina and many of the area restaurants.
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