Alabama shore fishing spots

Alabama has just two coastal counties, Mobile and Baldwin, and between them they wrap around Mobile Bay. The Gulf beaches run from Dauphin Island in the west, across the mouth of the bay to the Fort Morgan peninsula, and on through Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to Perdido Pass near the Florida line, with long undeveloped stretches in Gulf State Park and Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. Behind the beaches lie the shallow, often brown waters of the bay and the Mississippi Sound, the quiet back bays around Wolf Bay and Perdido Bay, and tidal rivers that reach up into the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, where saltwater and freshwater fish take turns.

Shore anglers come for speckled trout, redfish, flounder and sheepshead in the bays and passes, pompano and Gulf kingfish in the surf, and Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and cobia from the Gulf State Park Pier. Most public spots are free, and the whole coast keeps Central Time.

Dauphin Island

• Character: a long barrier island at the mouth of Mobile Bay, with Gulf surf to the south, sheltered Aloe Bay to the north and the main pass beside Fort Gaines at its east end.
• What it suits: Gulf kingfish, pompano and redfish in the surf at West End Beach, Middle Beach and East End Beach; sheepshead and trout around the pass at East End Landing and Little Billy Goat Hole; trout and reds on the marsh at the Blankenship Eco-Tourism Area.
• Access: paid town beach lots, where one day's payment covers all three; free launches at East End Landing; the Mobile Bay Ferry crosses to Fort Morgan.

Cedar Point, Coden and the Fowl River

• Character: shallow bay and Sound water at the foot of the Dauphin Island bridge, with brackish, marsh-lined rivers inland.
• What it suits: trout, white trout, redfish and sheepshead from the free, all-night Cedar Point Pier and the short pier at Rolston Park; trout, reds and flounder at Bayfront Park in Coden, Delta Port Marina, the Fowl River Access Site and Memories Fish Camp.
• Access: mostly free county, city and federal sites, several of them open in daylight only.

Mobile and the head of the bay

• Character: brown, brackish water where the Mobile River and the delta meet the bay, along the city's shore and the Mobile Bay Causeway.
• What it suits: croaker, white trout, catfish and black drum most of the year, and trout, reds and flounder in dry spells and fall, at Arlington Park, Helen Wood Park, Dog River Park, Chocalotta Ramp and Meaher State Park; bass and bream after rain.
• Access: city parks, a state launch and a state park pier. Alabama's saltwater and freshwater license line runs along the Causeway.

The Eastern Shore

• Character: the shallow east side of Mobile Bay from Daphne through Fairhope and Point Clear to Weeks Bay, home of the summer jubilee.
• What it suits: speckled trout, white trout, croaker, redfish and flounder from the Fairhope Municipal Pier, May Day Park, Bayfront Park in Daphne and Mullet Point Park; flounder and reds at the Weeks Bay Reserve Fishing Pier and The Launch at CR 6 on the Bon Secour River.
• Access: free city, county and reserve piers, with family facilities at Fairhope and Daphne.

The Fort Morgan peninsula

• Character: a quiet strip of refuge dunes and rental homes between the Gulf and Bon Secour Bay, ending at the mouth of Mobile Bay.
• What it suits: bull redfish, trout and flounder at the Fort Morgan Fishing Pier and Mobile Point; surf pompano, kingfish and reds at the Bon Secour refuge beaches and Morgantown; bay trout and reds at The Pines Boat Launch and the Jeff Friend Trail.
• Access: free refuge beaches open sunrise to sunset, a free 24-hour pier, few public lots and no lifeguards.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach

• Character: resort beaches, Gulf State Park's natural shore, Little Lagoon and Perdido Pass, the only Gulf inlet in Orange Beach.
• What it suits: Spanish mackerel, kings and cobia from the Gulf State Park Pier; pompano and Gulf kingfish at every beach access; sheepshead, bull reds and flounder at Perdido Pass Seawall and Alabama Point East; flounder and trout in Little Lagoon.
• Access: very good, with a fee pier, state park beach accesses with a daily parking fee, city lots and metered parking.

Perdido Bay and the back bays

• Character: sheltered, brackish bays and creeks behind Orange Beach and along the Florida line.
• What it suits: trout, reds, sheepshead and black drum at Orange Beach Waterfront Park, Lillian Boat Launch, Josephine Park Public Access and County Road 95 Park, and a mixed bag at Wolf Creek Park.
• Access: small county launches and city parks, quiet on weekdays.

Season	Likely species (shore)	Notes
Spring (Mar–May)	Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, cobia, pompano, Gulf kingfish, sheepshead, speckled trout, redfish	The Gulf warms and the mackerel and cobia arrive at the Gulf State Park Pier; pompano run the surf; sheepshead crowd the pass and pier pilings into April.
Summer (Jun–Aug)	Speckled trout, white trout, croaker, Spanish mackerel, hardtails, ladyfish, Gulf kingfish	Trout feed at first light and after dark; mackerel and hardtails chase bait near the passes; jubilees bring flounder into the Eastern Shore shallows on still nights.
Fall (Sep–Nov)	Bull redfish, flounder, speckled trout, pompano, Gulf kingfish	The best season on the whole coast: big reds pour out through Perdido Pass and the mouth of Mobile Bay, flounder head for the passes, and dry weather salts up the rivers and the delta.
Winter (Dec–Feb)	Sheepshead, black drum, speckled trout, redfish, white trout	Fish move to deeper channels and river holes after each cold front; sheepshead and drum stay on the pilings and rocks.

• Live shrimp: a live shrimp under a popping cork catches speckled trout and redfish almost everywhere on the bay; buy it on the way, as few spots sell bait.
• Bottom rigs: a two-hook rig with small pieces of fresh shrimp takes white trout, croaker and Gulf kingfish from piers and the surf.
• Surf: a 9 to 11 foot rod, 2 to 4 oz pyramid sinkers and a pompano rig with shrimp, sand fleas or Fishbites, cast into the trough beyond the first bar.
• Structure: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a small, strong hook dropped tight to pilings, seawalls and rocks for sheepshead and black drum.
• Flounder and bull reds: bull minnows on a light Carolina rig for flounder; cut mullet, menhaden or a live croaker on a fish-finder rig, with enough lead to hold in the current, for big redfish.
• Pier mackerel: Gotcha plugs and small spoons for Spanish mackerel, and a live hardtail caught on a sabiki for kings off the end of the Gulf State Park Pier.
• A drop net or long-handled net lifts a good fish onto a high deck or boardwalk.

• Tides: the north-central Gulf is diurnal, with one high and one low on most days, a range of only one to two feet, and a few days each fortnight when the tide nearly stalls. Predictions for the Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay areas cover most of the coast.
• Wind: wind moves the water more than the tide does. North winds behind winter cold fronts drain the bays and the Sound and push fish into deeper holes and channels; strong south winds stack water up, muddy the shallows and build rough surf.
• Rain and rivers: heavy rain upstate floods Mobile Bay and the Sound with fresh water and pushes trout and redfish toward the passes and Dauphin Island. In a dry spell the salt creeps up the rivers and the delta, and the saltwater fish follow it.
• Current: even a small tide runs hard through Perdido Pass, Little Lagoon Pass and the mouth of Mobile Bay, and the falling tide carries bait out past the points.
• Water: the upper bay and the Sound are shallow and often brown; the water clears toward the passes and the Gulf beaches, where clean green water is the sign for mackerel and pompano.
• Jubilees: on still summer nights with an east wind, flounder, crabs and shrimp crowd the Eastern Shore shallows before dawn.

• Lightning: summer storms build quickly over the Gulf and the bay; leave piers, boardwalks and beaches at the first thunder.
• Rip currents: they form along every Gulf beach. Heed the beach flags and never wade deep; Fort Morgan's beaches and West End Beach on Dauphin Island have no lifeguards.
• Passes: Perdido Pass, Mobile Point and the east end of Dauphin Island run deep and fast, with boats and ships close by; stay off wet jetty and breakwater rocks.
• Sharks: Alabama does not allow chumming for sharks from public piers or near the beach, and the Gulf State Park Pier bans shark fishing.
• Wildlife: shuffle your feet for stingrays, unhook catfish with pliers, and keep children and pets back from the water's edge in the delta and the swamp creeks, where alligators live.
• Storms: tropical storms close piers and flood low roads; Tropical Storm Bertha shut the Gulf State Park Pier and flooded the road to West End Beach in July 2026.
• Fees and hours: most spots are free; the Gulf State Park Pier sells a daily fishing permit, Gulf State Park's beach accesses and Dauphin Island's town beaches charge for parking, and many parks close at dusk or sunset.

• Time a trip by the wind and the rain as much as the tide: a few days of light south wind and dry weather bring the cleanest, saltiest water.
• Fall is the season to be here, for bull reds at the passes and trout and flounder up the rivers.
• Come with fiddler crabs from late February through April for sheepshead at Perdido Pass, East End Landing and Cedar Point Pier.
• When the Gulf is rough, fish the bay side: Orange Beach Waterfront Park, Little Lagoon, the Fort Morgan Fishing Pier or Dauphin Island's back side.
• The Mobile Bay Ferry links Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island, so the spots on both sides of the bay mouth make one loop.
• Gulf Place, the main public beach in Gulf Shores, bans fishing; the West 6th Street access just west is the place to go instead.
• Two piers never close for the night: the Gulf State Park Pier and the free Fort Morgan Fishing Pier. Cedar Point Pier closes only on Christmas Day.
• Pack out every bit of line and bait packaging, especially on the refuge beaches, where shorebirds nest.

• Florida – just east along Perdido Key and across Perdido Bay: Perdido Key State Park, Johnson Beach, Big Lagoon State Park and the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier, with Florida's own license and rules
• Mississippi – across the state line west of Grand Bay and beyond the west end of Dauphin Island: the Mississippi Sound shore of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties, from Pascagoula and Ocean Springs west to Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis, where a Mississippi license and MDMR rules apply

• Do I need a fishing license to fish from the shore in Alabama?
  • An Alabama saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt; Alabama residents who are exempt (and anglers fishing only from a pier that holds a pier license) must still complete the free Saltwater Angler Registration. Anglers under 16 are exempt. In the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and up the rivers, check ADCNR's license boundary map; the Marine Resources Division has the details at outdooralabama.com.
• Can I keep what I catch?
  • Check current Marine Resources Division rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything.
• What is the best time of year?
  • Fall, from September into November, for bull reds, flounder and trout; spring for mackerel, cobia and pompano along the Gulf beaches; late winter for sheepshead.
• Can I fish at night?
  • Yes, from the Gulf State Park Pier and the Fort Morgan Fishing Pier, both open 24 hours, and from Cedar Point Pier, open around the clock every day but Christmas. Most parks and beaches close at dusk or sunset.
• Where can I fish when the Gulf is rough?
  • The bays: Orange Beach Waterfront Park, Little Lagoon, the Eastern Shore piers, Cedar Point Pier, and the Aloe Bay side of Dauphin Island.
• Where's good for beginners?
  • The family piers at Fairhope, May Day Park and Orange Beach Waterfront Park, where croaker, white trout and pinfish keep children busy, and Romar Beach for a first try at surf fishing.

Area	Coast character & access	Best species	Prime season	Go-to methods	Key safety notes	Facilities
Dauphin Island	Barrier island surf, the bay pass and Aloe Bay; paid town lots	Gulf kingfish, pompano, reds, trout, sheepshead	Spring and fall; Feb–Apr for sheepshead	Pompano rigs, fiddler crabs, soft plastics	Rip currents, pass current, no lifeguards at West End	Restrooms at West End; launches and a pier at the east end
Cedar Point, Coden and the Fowl River	Shallow bay and Sound, marsh rivers; free piers and launches	Trout, white trout, reds, flounder, sheepshead	Fall	Live shrimp, bottom rigs	Lightning on open decks, insects, soft banks	Restrooms and security at Cedar Point Pier
Mobile and the head of the bay	Brown, brackish water; city parks and the Causeway	Croaker, catfish, black drum, fall trout and reds	Fall in dry years	Bottom rigs, popping corks	Boat traffic, soft mud, alligators	Pavilions and restrooms at Arlington Park; campground at Meaher
The Eastern Shore	Shallow bay with long and short piers	Trout, croaker, white trout, reds, flounder	Fall; jubilee nights in summer	Live shrimp, bull minnows	Lightning on the piers	Family parks with restrooms at Fairhope and Daphne
The Fort Morgan peninsula	Refuge beaches, bay shore, free 24-hour pier	Bull reds, trout, flounder, pompano	Fall, and spring at the point	Heavy surf rigs, live croakers	No lifeguards, strong currents, ship wakes	Few; ADA parking at the pier
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach	Fee pier, state park and city beaches, inlet seawall, lagoon	Mackerel, kings, cobia, pompano, sheepshead, bull reds	Apr–May; Sep–Nov	Spoons, live hardtails, pompano rigs, fiddler crabs	Rip currents, pass current, crowds	Excellent: bait shop at the pier, restrooms at most accesses
Perdido Bay and the back bays	Sheltered bays and creeks; county launches, city pier	Trout, reds, sheepshead, black drum	Fall; late winter for sheepshead	Popping corks, Carolina rigs	Ramp traffic, insects	City park at Orange Beach; restrooms at Lillian