Perdido Pass Seawall Fishing

Perdido Pass Seawall puts shore anglers right on the only Gulf inlet in Orange Beach, the gap that empties Perdido Bay and the Orange Beach back bays into open water. Fish moving between the bays and the Gulf pass within easy casting range of the wall.

• More than 1,000 feet of boardwalk along the channel, rebuilt after Hurricane Sally
• Fishable on both sides of the Perdido Pass Bridge, with shade and pilings under the span
• Sheepshead, redfish, flounder, speckled trout and black drum through the year
• A public saltwater fishing access on the state's list, with parking a few steps away

The seawall lines the west side of Perdido Pass beside Perdido Beach Boulevard (Highway 182), at the east end of the Orange Beach strip just before the bridge. The state operates the site, and the City of Orange Beach led its rebuild.

• The boardwalk runs from The Gulf restaurant, south of the bridge, under the span to the state docks and a grass lawn on the north side
• Parking: the reworked lots beside the wall, about 35 spaces including three accessible ones; read the signs for any parking fee
• The walk from car to rail is short and level, all on boardwalk
• The west jetty lies beyond the south end, toward the Gulf; getting onto it means a scramble over wet rocks
• No overnight camping

Because the pass is the main door between Perdido Bay and the Gulf, the wall sees both bay fish and Gulf fish.

• Spring (Mar-May): sheepshead still thick on the pilings early, then Spanish mackerel and bluefish toward the jetty end and speckled trout along the wall
• Summer (Jun-Aug): mangrove snapper and sheepshead around the bridge pilings, trout at first light, jack crevalle and ladyfish slashing through bait
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best season, when bull redfish and flounder run out through the pass and trout feed hard
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum on the wall and rocks, white trout schooling in the channel, and redfish on calm days

Medium spinning tackle with 15 to 20 lb braid and a fluorocarbon leader handles most fish here; step up for bull reds in the fall.

• Sheepshead and black drum: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook dropped tight to the pilings and the face of the wall
• Redfish: a Carolina rig with cut mullet, menhaden or a live finger mullet on the channel edge, with 2 to 3 oz of lead to hold in the current
• Flounder: a live bull minnow or a soft plastic on a jig head hopped slowly along the base of the wall
• Speckled trout: live shrimp under a popping cork drifted with the tide
• Spanish mackerel and bluefish: small spoons or Gotcha plugs thrown toward the Gulf end
• A long-handled landing net helps lift a heavy fish up to the boardwalk

Orange Beach, like the rest of this stretch of the Gulf, usually gets one high and one low tide a day, with a range of only a foot or two and a few days each fortnight when the water barely moves. Even a small tide squeezes a whole bay through this narrow gap, so the current along the wall is strong.

• The outgoing tide carries redfish and flounder out of the bays and past the wall
• The incoming tide brings cleaner Gulf water and mackerel up toward the bridge
• Slack water is the easiest time to keep a bait on the bottom beside the wall
• North winds behind a winter cold front drain the bays and push fish into the deep pass
• After heavy rain upstate, muddy bay water pours out; fish the edge where it meets the green Gulf water
• Use tide tables for the Perdido Pass and Orange Beach area

The rebuilt boardwalk makes this one of the easier inlets on the coast to fish, but the water beside it is deep and fast.

• The current in the pass is powerful; nobody should swim or wade off the wall
• Boats run through the channel at all hours; keep casts and lines clear of them
• The jetty rocks toward the Gulf are wet, slippery and washed by boat wakes; stay off them in rough water
• Watch your back cast on a crowded wall, and mind other anglers' cast nets
• Leave at the first thunder of a summer storm; the boardwalk gives no shelter
• Access: a level boardwalk straight from the parking areas, with rails along the channel side

The seawall is a fishing spot first, with only basic comforts.

• More than 1,000 feet of boardwalk, with benches along the wall
• Portable restrooms at the west Alabama Point area
• A grass lawn on the north side of the bridge
• The Gulf restaurant at the south end of the boardwalk
• No bait shop on the boardwalk that we could confirm; buy bait in Orange Beach on the way
• Bring your own light if you plan to fish after dark

• Sheepshead peak in late winter and early spring; switch to fiddler crabs when they start stealing shrimp
• The shade under the bridge holds fish on bright summer days and keeps anglers cool too
• In fall, work the base of the wall for flounder on the last of the outgoing tide
• Arrive early on weekends and holidays, when the wall fills up fast
• Let a boat wake pass before you swing a fish over the rail
• Anglers fish here after dark too, when the boardwalk is quieter than at midday

Marine Resources lists the seawall as a state-operated public saltwater fishing access, and the City of Orange Beach led its rebuild.

• Fishing is allowed along the whole boardwalk; overnight camping is not
• Give the state docks and any boats tied there plenty of room
• 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 from the license
• Check current Marine Resources Division rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything