Pier Fishing
in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach by David Rainer
Anglers who love to fish off piers along Alabama’s beautiful beaches will soon have two choices to try to catch abundant inshore species.
The Fort Morgan Pier, which has been closed for several years, will soon be available on the tip of the Fort Morgan peninsula. The renovated pier will have L-shaped dimensions of 305 feet by 210 feet and 40 feet wide. At mean tide, the pier floor will be 8 feet off the water's surface.
The total cost of design, construction and oversight of the new pier was $3.2 million. Due to the ravages of numerous tropical storms, the old pier had to be demolished and old barges removed. The new pier will be much more storm resistant, with a steel sheet pile and a concrete platform. The railings are made of cables. It will also be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. Additionally, there will be ADA parking spaces and a better parking area for anglers. Parking near the adjacent boat ramp has recently been rebuilt too.
Not only is the Fort Morgan Pier a fishing venue, but it also provides protection for the boat basin and ramp. The old seawall had deteriorated to the point that it allowed increased sedimentation in the boat basin. The new pier will reduce that sedimentation.
Contractors could use the dredged sedimentation from the boat basin and use it to fill the inside of the pier instead of having to haul in fill material.
The old Fort Morgan Pier was known for its flounder fishing. Anglers will soon have access to the abundant inshore species that inhabit the mouth of Mobile Bay, including red drum (redfish), speckled trout, and flounder.
The Fort Morgan Pier is along the flounder migration path with the shallow water and sandy bottom the fish prefer. Flounder migrate through that area to go out into the Gulf of Mexico in the fall and can show up in the area any time from October through December. The Alabama Marine Resources Division’s new regulations close flounder season, both commercially and recreationally, through November to protect the fish on their way to spawn.
When the Gulf beach gets too rough to fish, anglers soon head to Fort Morgan Pier for some fun fishing. Don’t be surprised if you don’t catch lots of white trout and ground mullet to go with the other inshore species.
For those who love to fish the Gulf State Park Pier, the good news is that the pier will remain open for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the work to repair the damage to the pier from Hurricane Sally in 2020 has been put on hold.
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Commissioner Chris Blankenship said bids to do the work far exceeded expectations from the engineers, who had estimated offers between $4 million and $6 million. The lowest bid received was for $12.5 million. Commissioner
Blankenship said ADCNR is now working with FEMA to get approval for the higher amount and hope to open the project for bids late this summer or fall.
Meanwhile, anglers have access to more than half of the pier, and plenty of fish are willing to bite.
Make plans to visit the Alabama Gulf Coast soon and try your hand at pier fishing.
