Little Billy Goat Hole, Dauphin Island Fishing

Little Billy Goat Hole is a small launch basin across the road from Fort Gaines on the Mobile Bay side of Dauphin Island, and the state counts it as one of the island's public saltwater fishing access points. It is a handy place to fish water fresh in from the Gulf pass without a boat.

• Shoreline fishing beside a two-ramp town launch, across the road from Fort Gaines
• White and speckled trout, redfish, sheepshead and flounder
• Next door to the Sea Lab's Estuarium
• No fee listed by the state, but no restrooms at the launch

The basin opens off Bienville Boulevard at the far east end of Dauphin Island, facing Fort Gaines across the road and sitting beside the Sea Lab's aquarium. The Town of Dauphin Island operates it; the state notes that it does not maintain the ramp.

• Getting there: drive east on Bienville Boulevard toward Fort Gaines; the launch is beside the aquarium
• Parking: a small lot of roughly two dozen spaces, including four accessible ones; check the signs for any fee
• The walk: a few steps from the car to the water
• Ramps: two, with three courtesy docks for boats
• Lights and restrooms: none at the launch
• Hours: not published; read the posted signs

The basin sits just inside the main pass into Mobile Bay, so salt water and fish come and go on every tide.

• Spring (Mar-May): sheepshead around the docks and rocks early, then speckled and white trout as the bay warms
• Summer (Jun-Aug): white trout, ground mullet and croaker on the bottom, Spanish mackerel slashing through bait, trout early and late
• Fall (Sep-Nov): redfish and flounder heading for the Gulf, with trout at their best
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum on structure; slow on cold, windy days

A 7-foot medium spinning rod with 12 to 15 lb line handles the current and the occasional big redfish.

• White trout and ground mullet: a two-hook bottom rig with fresh shrimp or squid
• Speckled trout: live shrimp under a cork in summer, or a soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jig hopped along the bottom
• Sheepshead: a fiddler crab or a piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook against the rocks and pilings
• Redfish and black drum: cut mullet, crab or a whole shrimp on a Carolina rig with enough lead to hold in the current
• Flounder: a mud minnow dragged along the channel edge in the fall
• Spanish mackerel: a small silver spoon retrieved fast when bait is breaking the surface

Tides at the mouth of Mobile Bay are diurnal, one high and one low most days with only a foot or two of range, but the current through the pass nearby runs harder than anywhere up the bay. Read the Dauphin Island predictions before you go.

• An outgoing tide carries bait out of the bay past the basin and often fishes best
• A few near-slack days each fortnight are slow; plan around them
• Strong north winds after a front drop the water and push fish to the deeper edges
• A south wind piles water in and can bring clearer Gulf water close
• Heavy rain upstate turns the bay brown and fresh, and the fish then hold nearer the Gulf

This is a working boat launch, and boaters come first.

• Never cast across the ramps or the courtesy docks while boats are launching or loading; at the larger Billy Goat Hole launch to the west, the state's access map allows fishing only more than 100 feet from the ramps, a sensible distance here too
• Watch for traffic on Bienville Boulevard when crossing with gear near the fort
• Rocks and hard edges can be slick when wet
• Leave at the first thunder; summer storms build quickly over the bay
• There are no restrooms or lights at the launch, so plan ahead
• Access: paved parking right beside the water, with accessible spaces

Facilities at the launch itself are bare, but the east end of the island has plenty nearby.

• Two boat ramps and three courtesy docks
• A small paved parking lot
• No restrooms, lights, bait or food at the launch
• Fort Gaines is across the road and the Sea Lab's aquarium next door
• The East End public beach on the Gulf side is a few minutes away

• Pair a morning on the water with a visit to Fort Gaines or the Sea Lab's aquarium when the bite slows
• Fish when the tide is falling and current is pulling past the mouth of the basin
• Weekends and tournament days bring a stream of boats, so fish early
• Buy live shrimp and fiddler crabs on the way onto the island, as nothing is sold at the launch
• For surf fishing, the East End public beach on the other side of the fort is close by
• Wear shoes with grip; the edges of the basin are hard and can be slippery

Little Billy Goat Hole is a Town of Dauphin Island launch, listed by Alabama's Marine Resources Division as a public saltwater fishing access point. Read the town's posted rules at the site.

• Boats come first at the ramps and docks; fish well away from them
• Park only in marked spaces
• 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. Under-16s are exempt.
• Check current Marine Resources Division rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything