Fort Morgan Fishing Pier

Fort Morgan Fishing Pier puts shore anglers on the mouth of Mobile Bay from the Fort Morgan side, and it is free day and night. After the old wooden pier closed in 2014, anglers here had no way onto this water without a boat until the new pier opened.

• A wide L-shaped concrete deck about 8 feet above the bay
• Redfish, speckled trout and flounder, plus white trout and Gulf kingfish
• Open 24 hours with free admission
• Views of Fort Morgan, Dauphin Island and ships entering the bay

The pier is at Fort Morgan, at the western end of Highway 180, about 22 miles west of Highway 59 in Gulf Shores, beside the Fort Morgan boat ramp on the Mobile Bay side of the point. The Mobile Bay Ferry from Dauphin Island lands nearby.

• Hours: open 24 hours
• Fishing: free, on the outer side only; the boat basin side is a no-fishing area
• Parking: an improved lot with ADA spaces
• The deck is level concrete, 40 feet wide, with legs of roughly 300 and 200 feet
• The two-lane boat ramp next door carries a small daily launch fee set by the historic site

Lower Mobile Bay mixes bay and Gulf water, so the catch is varied.

• Spring (Mar-May): speckled trout and redfish feed on the shallows near the pier; sheepshead on the pilings
• Summer (Jun-Aug): white trout and Gulf kingfish on the bottom, Spanish mackerel chasing bait, trout early and late
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best season, with redfish, some of them very large, and flounder heading for the Gulf
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum around the structure, a few trout on mild days

Medium tackle handles the current and the high deck.

• A 7 to 8 foot medium rod with 15 to 20 lb line; heavier for bull redfish in fall
• Redfish: cut mullet or menhaden, or a live croaker, on a Carolina rig with 1 to 3 oz of lead
• Speckled trout: a live shrimp under a popping cork, or a soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jig head
• Flounder: a bull minnow on a light Carolina rig dragged slowly along the bottom
• White trout and Gulf kingfish: small pieces of shrimp on a two-hook bottom rig
• Bring a pier net; the deck sits well above the water

The north-central Gulf has one high and one low on most days, with only a foot or two of range, but here at the mouth of Mobile Bay the water still runs hard because the whole bay drains past the point.

• A moving tide is essential; the first hours of the fall bring bait out of the bay
• After heavy rain upstate, fresh water pushes trout and redfish down toward the pass and this pier
• North winds behind winter fronts drain the bay and concentrate fish in deeper water
• Strong south winds stack water up and muddy the shallows
• Check the tide for the Mobile Bay entrance near Fort Morgan

The pier is solid and railed, but the setting is exposed.

• Currents at the bay mouth are strong; never swim or wade from the pier
• Wind can be fierce on this open point; secure gear and bring layers in winter
• Summer thunderstorms build fast over the bay; leave at the first thunder
• Keep lines clear of boats using the ramp and the basin
• At night, bring a headlamp and a lantern
• Accessibility: level concrete deck and ADA parking

The facility was built for anglers.

• A wide concrete fishing deck
• A two-lane boat ramp with adjacent docks
• A parking area with ADA spaces
• No bait shop at the pier that we could confirm; buy bait in Gulf Shores or along Fort Morgan Road
• Fort Morgan State Historic Site and its gift shop are next door

• Fall is the time for bull redfish; a live croaker or a big chunk of cut bait on stout tackle is the way to catch one
• Fish the change of tide; slack water is slow here
• Only the outer rails are open to fishing, so arrive early on fall weekends to get a spot
• The pier never closes, so on summer days fish the cooler hours at dawn, dusk and after dark
• The ferry from Dauphin Island makes an easy loop with Mobile County's spots on the far side
• Visit the fort while you are here; it guards the same channel the fish move through

The pier and boat ramp stand on Alabama Historical Commission land at Fort Morgan; the state conservation department rebuilt them with Deepwater Horizon settlement money and license funds.

• Open 24 hours with free admission to the pier
• Marine Resources made the boat basin side of the pier a no-fishing area to keep anglers and boaters apart
• Alabama does not allow chumming for sharks from public piers
• 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
• Check current Marine Resources Division rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything