Keith Lusher 02.13.25
Living in Louisiana, I often make weekend trips to Orange Beach for a little fishing, but I have to admit that I haven’t been since the snowstorm in late January. Since then, I’ve kept in contact with some of the locals there to keep tabs on the fishing. My biggest concern was that the Alabama coast would see some fish kills from the plummeting temperatures. While there weren’t any major fish kills, there were reports of a few floating fish in some dead-end canals.
One of my buddies who works at J&M Tackle on Canal Road in Orange Beach called me right after the freeze. He told me that the silver mullet took the biggest hit. He said the morning after that snow when air temps dropped into the teens, he walked down to check his favorite canal and found it iced over – something he hadn’t seen since that ice storm back in 2014. The die-offs weren’t just in the canals either. Another friend, Jacob Dawkins, who lives on Little Lagoon, sent me pictures of what he was seeing, and I got similar reports from folks who fish the tidal rivers and even parts of Mobile Bay.
Salinity Dawkins explained how all that snowmelt played havoc with the salinity levels, especially in those back bay areas. He’s been fishing these waters for over 40 years and said the timing couldn’t have been worse, hitting during a neap tide. But as he reminded me, these waters usually respond well to tough conditions with better-than-normal fishing as soon as the following month.
What’s Biting Now? One of my friends, Dave Snell, who fishes the public piers along Orange Beach, has been fishing a lot this week. He said they’re still managing to put some black drum and sheepshead in the cooler, with the occasional keeper flounder mixed in. He mentioned the bluefish are still hanging around the jetties at Perdido Pass and Gulf State Park. Dave usually fishes with market bait or even artificials, but said right now, it’s all about the live shrimp. “Don’t leave home without live shrimp,” he told me. “These fish ain’t touching nothing else right now.”
What Spots Are Producing Fish Right Now? My contacts at Gulf State Park Pier and around the west jetty at Perdido Pass say these spots are still producing, especially if you can find those deeper holes. As one local put it to me, “Forget what they say about 90% of the fish being in 10% of the water – right now, it’s more like 99% are in 1% of the water!”
Tips for Catching Fish from Land and Pier I talked to pier fisherman Lance Riggs, who’d been fishing four times this past week, and he says presentation is everything right now. These fish are still sluggish from the cold, so he’s been having success with lighter lines, smaller hooks, and light weights. Riggs primarily fishes the jetties and told me to forget about frozen bait completely – he’s been doing best with live shrimp, though he’s also had luck with shucked oysters and mussels when the shrimp are hard to come by.
February Outlook: The reports I’m getting are cautiously optimistic overall. My contact at Orange Beach Marina said water temperatures 12 miles offshore are climbing back into the mid-60s. She predicts we’ll see the big black drum show up first, followed by the whiting and, finally, the pompano once the water warms past 65 degrees. She also mentioned that afternoon incoming tides have been most productive—it seems both the fish and fishermen appreciate that extra warmth from the sun.
I plan on making a trip to the coast by the end of February. Until then, I’ll keep checking in with my Orange Beach fishing family and keep you posted when those pompanos start showing up in numbers for surf fishermen. After all, spring isn’t too far around the corner, and these waters have never failed to deliver once that warm-up gets going.
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