Orange Beach, Alabama Fishing – Cobia Fishing Season Arrives in Gulf Shores

By Troy Frady

In March and April each year, have you ever seen boats going back and forth right off Orange Beach and Gulf Shores with people up in the tower? Have you ever wondered what they were fishing for? It’s Cobia. They are also known as Ling or Lemon Fish. They look like a big brown crossbred catfish-shark. They can weigh over 100 pounds. The average size of one caught off Orange Beach is about 30 to 50 pounds each. Whatever the weight, they are truly a sport-fisherman’s dream come true. They are an excellent catch and release fish or they are mighty tasty after being cooked on the grill.

By the time these migratory fish get to Orange Beach in mid March, most every charter boat, big and small is ready to go for the year. This type of fishing is a reward for those captains and deckhands who have been working tirelessly getting the boats polished and shined for the fishing season. It is an excellent opportunity for anglers to get on a charter boat and go try and catch one. Not every boat in Orange Beach fish for Ling. There are a lot of private boats that are out there every day.

Cobia fishing is like trophy deer hunting. The anglers that fish for them are patient and usually like the challenge of finding, fighting and landing a big fish. This type of fishing is not for those who want to go deep sea fishing and catch a lot of fish. Very often, the boats ride for hours and you see nothing. When you do see one, it can be the most awesome sport fishing challenges. The challenge is casting a live eel or a jig and trying to get him to eat. They can be real hungry or not be interested at all. Your heart will be racing and your blood will get pumping when you first see one. You can ride for hours. Every wave, every shadow will make the anticipation build. Your sunglasses will make you imagine them. Sometimes a false alarm stingray school will swim by and your heart gets to pounding.

The neat thing about the Cobia migration is that they are always swimming just under the surface of the water, and heading from the East to the West. They swim as close as the second sand bar to the beach and have been seen as far out as a mile or more. Most of them are caught within 1 mile of shore along the Alabama gulf coast from Orange Beach, Gulf Shores to Fort Morgan.

If you want to go Ling fishing, I would recommend calling some charter boats to see if they fish for them. There are some people who charter a boat to fish specifically for them. If you are by yourself or do not have the funds to charter a whole boat, I would ask around and see if you could buy the fuel and tip the deckhand. Again, this type of trophy fishing can be boring. You can be a zero all day long and in a split second, have a monster fish looking right at you. This is not a charter trip for those who are expecting to go out and catch one fish after another. A lot of captains do not allow any kind of alcohol consumption because getting up in the tower can be dangerous. They do not want you to fall and get hurt. Being in the tower is like being on a pendulum. The higher up you are on the boat, the rougher the ride.

I hope you find this information about Cobia fishing enjoyable. We hope to see you out there.

Tight Lines

We hope this information helps explain the different types of Alabama saltwater fishing charters that are available for recreational saltwater fishermen.
For more information on charter boats and charter fishing in general, you may contact Captain Troy Frady at http://distractioncharters.com

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