Alabama deep sea fishing charters will take you to some of the greatest fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico. The state may only have 50 miles of coastline, but that just means that all the boats are within easy reach. It’s a long ride to the best bluewater grounds, but the fish are well worth the journey. Marlin, Sailfish, Mahi Mahi, Tuna, and more of you favorite pelagic fish hunt offshore. You’ll have to time your trip right to find them all at once, though.

 

Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, and Tuna can be found year-round, but the weather makes getting offshore unreliable. The season starts to get going in March, with large schools of Yellowfin and Blackfin Tuna. By May, things really start heating up, with Sailfish, Mahi Mahi, and Wahoo joining the party.

 

What follows are five long months of awesome Billfishing. Blue Marlin arrive first, and peak in July and August. White Marlin show up a month behind them, and stick around in big numbers until October. Overall, August is the best month for Alabama deep sea fishing. All the state’s deep sea superstars are on fire. This is also the hottest and wettest month of the year, so getting to the fishing grounds early is key.

 

If you’re looking for serious pelagic species like Marlin and Sailfish, you’ll have to head 50+  miles offshore. You may even go as far as the De Soto Slope, where the seafloor drops thousands of feet to raw bedrock. It doesn’t really matter where you launch from on these trips. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have the most established charter fleets, but Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island also have plenty of boats more than fit for the task. 

 

With so much ground to cover, it should come as no surprise that trolling is the go-to tactic on most trips. You can also find a few captains who specialize in kite fishing, especially during Sailfish season. Tuna tubes are a rare sight in Alabama, but you’ll usually have plenty of brined Ballyhoo to put a bit more meat in your trolling spread.

 

The deep sea season may not be as long in Alabama as it is farther south, but when it’s good, it’s on fire. The advantage of having to travel so far is that captains who do get out here really take things seriously. The equipment is high-quality and the crews are first-class. So if you’re visiting the Heart of Dixie this summer, why not spend the day offshore? You definitely won’t regret it!