Fishing Information

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SPECIES	ZONE	WHEN	BEST	BAIT	ALABAMA Size/Bag Limit	FEDERAL Size/Bag Limit
Amberjack	3, 4	Year-Round	May­Aug.	Live Pinfish or Croaker	28'' FL/1	28'' FL/1
Black Grouper	4	Year-Round	Feb.­April	Live or Cut Bait or Squid	22'' TL/5 aggregate	20'' TL/5 aggregate
Bluefish	1, 2, 3	April­Oct.	May­June	Various Lures	None	None
Cobia (Ling)	2, 3, 4	April­Oct.	April­May	Live Pinfish, Jigs	33'' FL/2	33'' FL/2
Croakers	1	Year-Round	Year-Round	Cut Bait, Live Shrimp, Squid	None	None
Dolphin	3, 4	May­Oct.	July­Oct.	Mullet, Ballyhoo, Lures	None	None
Flounder	1, 2	Year-Round	Nov.­Feb.	Live Shrimp, Bull, Minnows, Lures	12'' TL/None	None
Jack Crevalle	1, 2, 3	April­Oct.	July­Aug.	Cut Bait or Lures	None	None
King Mackerel	2, 3, 4	April­Oct.	July­Oct.	Cut Bait or Lures	24'' FL/2	24'' FL/2
Pompano	2	April­Oct.	April­Oct.	Live Shrimp, Jigs, Sand Fleas	12'' TL/3	None
Red Drum (Redfish)	1, 2	Year-Round	Oct.­Nov.	Live Shrimp, Cut Bait, Lures	16'' min TL, 26'' max TL/3Ø	Closed
Sheepshead	1, 2	Oct.­March	Dec.­March	Cut Bait, Live Shrimp, Squid	None	None
Snapper (Red)	3, 4	***	May­Sept.	Cut Bait or Squid	16'' TL/4	16'' TL/4
Snapper (Vermillion)	3, 4	Year-Round	May­Sept.	Cut Bait or Squid	10'' TL/ØØ	10'' TL/ØØ
Spanish Mackerel	2, 3	April­Oct.	May­June	Various Lures	None/ FL 15''	12'' FL/15
Speckled Trout	1, 2	Year-Round	Sept.­Dec.	Live Shrimp or Lures	14'' TL/10	None
Tarpon	1, 2	July­Oct.	August	Live Mullet, Live Ribbonfish	60'' TL**	60'' TL**
Gray Triggerfish	3, 4	Year-Round	May­Sept.	Cut Bait or Squid	12'' TL/ØØ	12'' TL/ØØ
Wahoo	4	May­Sept.	May­Sept.	Lures	None	None

Legend
FL = Fork Length Measure: Tip of snout to fork of tail.
TL = Total Length Measure: Tip of snout to tip of tail.
** $50.00 tag required to possess, kill or harvest each tarpon.
Ø One oversized fish is allowed.
ØØ Aggregate bag limit is 20. Nine species qualify for the aggregate reef fish bag limit: Vermillion Snapper, Lane Snapper, Gray Triggerfish, Goldface Tilefish, Almaco Jack, Anchor Tilefish, Tilefish, Blackline Tilefish and Blueline Tilefish; please contact Marine Resources (968-7576) for details.

Zones
1 = Bays, shorelines, wharves, boats, etc.
2 = Inshore waters of gulf, off or near jetties, in surf, etc. (0-1 mile).
3 = Offshore blue water in open gulf (1-9 miles).
4 = Deep water (10-60 miles).

Please Remember: Bag limits are per person per day. Alabama state waters extend out 3 miles, Florida 9 miles. Federal waters extend out from the state boundary to 200 miles offshore. If you fish in Florida and Alabama state waters you must have a saltwater fishing license whether a resident or non-resident. Possession limits will be enforced for the waters you are in regardless of where the fish were caught. This means you don't want to take an Alabama limit out of state waters. These regulations are subject to modification, so before going fishing, check with the Marine Resources Division for any changes (at Gulf Shores, 968-7576).