11-12-2010, 09:10 PM
Although the weather was cool, and the water was rough on Alabama's Gulf Coast the first weekend of November, the red snapper still were biting. Bryan Reeves, who was captaining the "Riptide" charter boat based out of Zeke's Landing Marina in Orange Beach, Ala., took a party out on a 6-hour trip for king mackerel and red snapper.
My party wanted to catch king mackerel and red snapper. One member of our party, who wanted to get a king mackerel mounted, caught a 33-inch-long king that had a 17-inch girth and weighed about 15 to 18 pounds. The smallest red snapper we caught weighed about 6 to 8 pounds, with the largest snapper weighing between 13 and 14 pounds. On Saturday morning, the weather was chilly, there was a strong north wind, and this section of Alabama's Gulf Coast had 1- to 3-foot seas. So, we only went out about 12-miles from shore.
Because of the north wind and the rough seas, the bite was somewhat slow. We marked fish on every artificial reef where we stopped, but on some of those reefs, the fish just wouldn't bite. We hit four or five reefs within 8 miles of the beach to fish in protected waters. We went 1-mile south of where we'd been fishing, which put us 9-miles from shore, and found the snapper really biting there. When my deckhand put-out the bait, he was surprised that the water was warm. Generally in November, when we hit cooler water, the fish bite turns-on, and the fish bite better. Cool water causes the fish to move into more-shallow water, because cold water is usually more oxygenated than warm water. When we were furthest away from shore but still only 9-miles away from port, the snapper bite really turned-on.
With the cool weather we've had, the bites really should be good this upcoming weekend, the second in November. We hope to run several trips this weekend and not only catch snapper and king mackerel, but also catch triggerfish, vermilion snapper, lane snapper and white snapper. Too, with the cooler weather, the king mackerel and the Spanish mackerel we usually fish for on the way out to the snapper reefs should really be heating-up. Right now in November, catching a limit of Spanish mackerel and possibly a limit of king mackerel, as well as a limit of red snapper, is not uncommon on a 6- to a 10-hour trip.
Alabama Gulf Coast's special fall red snapper season continues until 12:01 am on November 22, and an angler can catch and keep limit of red snapper on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. During the week, you still can catch and release red snapper and keep king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, triggerfish and vermilion snapper. Also, because of the cool weather, more schools of redfish will be showing-up on the front beaches from Perdido Pass to Fort Morgan. Many of the charter boats will be fishing for those big bull reds all winter.
For more information about fishing with Bryan Reeves, contact him at 251-233-0465. For more information about fishing guides and charter boats, lodging accommodations, restaurants and entertainment on Alabama's Gulf Coast, call Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism at 800-745-SAND (7263), or visit www.orangebeach.com. You also can get a fishing report three times each week by visiting the "What's Biting?" column at www.orangebeach.com/fishing/biting.
My party wanted to catch king mackerel and red snapper. One member of our party, who wanted to get a king mackerel mounted, caught a 33-inch-long king that had a 17-inch girth and weighed about 15 to 18 pounds. The smallest red snapper we caught weighed about 6 to 8 pounds, with the largest snapper weighing between 13 and 14 pounds. On Saturday morning, the weather was chilly, there was a strong north wind, and this section of Alabama's Gulf Coast had 1- to 3-foot seas. So, we only went out about 12-miles from shore.
Because of the north wind and the rough seas, the bite was somewhat slow. We marked fish on every artificial reef where we stopped, but on some of those reefs, the fish just wouldn't bite. We hit four or five reefs within 8 miles of the beach to fish in protected waters. We went 1-mile south of where we'd been fishing, which put us 9-miles from shore, and found the snapper really biting there. When my deckhand put-out the bait, he was surprised that the water was warm. Generally in November, when we hit cooler water, the fish bite turns-on, and the fish bite better. Cool water causes the fish to move into more-shallow water, because cold water is usually more oxygenated than warm water. When we were furthest away from shore but still only 9-miles away from port, the snapper bite really turned-on.
With the cool weather we've had, the bites really should be good this upcoming weekend, the second in November. We hope to run several trips this weekend and not only catch snapper and king mackerel, but also catch triggerfish, vermilion snapper, lane snapper and white snapper. Too, with the cooler weather, the king mackerel and the Spanish mackerel we usually fish for on the way out to the snapper reefs should really be heating-up. Right now in November, catching a limit of Spanish mackerel and possibly a limit of king mackerel, as well as a limit of red snapper, is not uncommon on a 6- to a 10-hour trip.
Alabama Gulf Coast's special fall red snapper season continues until 12:01 am on November 22, and an angler can catch and keep limit of red snapper on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. During the week, you still can catch and release red snapper and keep king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, triggerfish and vermilion snapper. Also, because of the cool weather, more schools of redfish will be showing-up on the front beaches from Perdido Pass to Fort Morgan. Many of the charter boats will be fishing for those big bull reds all winter.
For more information about fishing with Bryan Reeves, contact him at 251-233-0465. For more information about fishing guides and charter boats, lodging accommodations, restaurants and entertainment on Alabama's Gulf Coast, call Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism at 800-745-SAND (7263), or visit www.orangebeach.com. You also can get a fishing report three times each week by visiting the "What's Biting?" column at www.orangebeach.com/fishing/biting.