About Orange Beach
Orange Beach boats reach the Gulf through Perdido Pass, the jettied inlet at the mouth of Perdido Bay on the Alabama-Florida line. The pass opens onto the northern Gulf of Mexico and connects to the Intracoastal Waterway. Marinas sit on Terry Cove, Cotton Bayou and the ICW.
This is a year-round port, with the offshore season running spring through autumn. Boats here target red snapper, gray triggerfish, king mackerel, cobia, mahi, greater amberjack, gag and vermilion snapper. Check Alabama fishing regulations before you fish. You need a saltwater license, the Gulf Reef Fish Endorsement, and Snapper Check reporting for red snapper, gray triggerfish and greater amberjack. The ADCNR Marine Resources Division limits page covers sizes and bags. MRD sets the red snapper season, and other reef fish follow federal seasons.
Access and navigation
Three public ramps and five marinas serve Orange Beach.
- Boggy Point Launch – public ramp
- The Launch (Orange Beach) – public ramp
- Cotton Bayou Launch – public ramp
- The Wharf Marina – marina, fuel listed
- Orange Beach Marina – marina, fuel listed
- Zeke’s Landing Marina – marina, fuel listed
- Hudson Marina – marina
- Safe Harbor Sportsman – marina, fuel listed
The entrance is described in NOAA Coast Pilot 5, Chapter 6. A lighted buoy marks the approach, and the channels are well marked. Numerous sunken wrecks lie in the approach. Charted depths run 22 to 30 ft between the approach buoy and the outer jetty ends, and 12 to 18 ft in the entrance, with deeper water mid-channel. More than half of the east jetty is submerged, about 1 to 3 ft at low tide. The SR 182 fixed bridge gives 54 ft of clearance over Perdido Pass Channel and 41 ft over Cotton Bayou Channel.
An ebb running against an onshore wind can stack seas shorter and steeper in the entrance. Shoaling moves, and the pass was dredged 23 times from 1968 to 2012, so follow the marked channel rather than memory.
For conditions, read Perdido Pass station PPTA1 for the pass and NDBC offshore buoy 42012 for outside. Add the NWS Mobile Coastal Waters Forecast. Conditions in the pass might differ from the offshore buoy, since a buoy measures one point.
Pensacola Pass lies about 13.8 NM east of Perdido Pass, and returning fishing boats have at times run there instead. Check the water and the official forecast on arrival, and switch approaches if the seas look bigger than you want.
Fishing conditions
MRD describes its artificial reef program as the largest in the United States, with 14 permit areas and public reefs out to 55 NM. The Nearshore Reef Zone runs 0 to 9 NM, which is also the edge of state waters for reef fish. MRD publishes coordinates for each zone as GPX, KMZ and XLS files: see the Outdoor Alabama Nearshore Reef Zone and the Outdoor Alabama Offshore Reef Zone.
Named grounds, from the beach outward:
- R.V. Minton East and West Nearshore Reef Zones – nearshore reef zones
- Trolling Corridor – the kingfish ground, worked with king mackerel trolling technique
- Capt. Shirley Brown – wreck, 85 ft
- The LuLu (formerly M.V. Yokamu) – wreck, 17 NM from the entrance, 115 ft
- New Venture – wreck, 125 ft
- Allen Liberty Ship – wreck
In Breakpoint, the OBS SST and Chlorophyll layers show temperature and color edges, and Chart Contours show bottom structure around the zones. The chart layers are not for navigation.
Winter
Red snapper availability depends on whether MRD’s state season is open, so check MRD. Gray triggerfish closes for part of winter, and MRD has the dates. Vermilion snapper are available on reef structure. Trips tend to come in weather windows between fronts, so check the buoys and the forecast before you commit.
Spring
Gray triggerfish bite well on the reefs, and the gray triggerfish guide covers the approach. King mackerel arrive off Alabama as the water warms, and the cobia run comes through Orange Beach waters in the same stretch. Spanish mackerel show up as well.
Summer
Red snapper is the main draw while MRD’s season is open. Kings work the reefs and the Trolling Corridor, and mahi can turn up offshore. Cobia remain over nearshore structure. Afternoon thunderstorms can build and might shape when you head back in.
Autumn
Greater amberjack follow the federal season, so check the agency for dates. Gag open when federal waters are open. Kings are still around, and vermilion snapper hold on the reefs. Boats that fish the reef zones in autumn work the same structure they worked in summer, with fewer boats on it.
Breakpoint reads the temperature, color and structure data for the northern Gulf and ranks the best spots for the species you want. Download Breakpoint from the App Store or Google Play to look over your next Orange Beach run before you leave the dock.
