Alabama Gulf Coast Fishing:
Big Grouper off Alabama Gulf Coast

Getaway Charters

Captain Don McPherson
PO Box 976
Orange Beach, AL 36561
Phone: 251-981-8047
Alt: 251-752-0235
Email: getawaycharters@yahoo.com
http://www.getawaygulffishing.com

By Captain Don McPherson
Written November 25th, 2005

Many people across the country are well aware of Alabama having some of the very best Red Snapper fishing around the world. You can talk to any fisherman or charter boat captain along the Alabama Gulf Coast and he will tell you how great the fishing is for Red Snapper. Orange Beach, Alabama is also home of the Red Snapper World Championship Tournament which runs from April 21st through May 21st .

However, what many people do not know, is that the Alabama Gulf Coast is also home of big grouper. If you are looking for some Alabama Gulf Coast Fishing, then select one that targets grouper along with all of the other many species that we have to offer in addition to the ever-so-popular red snapper. There are several types of grouper that reside off the Alabama Gulf Coast. Among the most popular are gag grouper, black grouper, red grouper and scamp. These fish are usually found in water depths from 140 feet to 240 feet and deeper. Many of the red grouper and smaller gag grouper are caught in depths of 80 feet to 120 feet of water. Our largest grouper caught on the Getaway weighed 60 pounds. A 47.35 pound grouper, caught October 29th, 2005, won the October Rodeo in Orange Beach, Alabama. A 44.05 pound grouper took 2nd place in the rodeo. Both of these fish were caught on the Getaway. I really enjoy fishing for these big grouper and they can be caught year round.

One of our 12 hour deepwater fishing trips this past summer produced not only some large grouper, but a large variety of fish. This is very common on our longer trips. I met my customers at the dock and we all enjoyed sipping on a hot cup of coffee before we boarded the boat. I gave a tour of the boat, which included safety orientation, and discussed our game plan for the day. My deckhand untied the lines and we were off and running. A beautiful morning with calm seas and the anticipation of catching some big fish was already creating excitement on the Getaway. We traveled less than 2 hours and stopped to catch some large baits for grouper and amberjack. The lines had been in the water no longer than a couple of minutes and everyone was reeling up bait, white snapper, vermillion snapper and an occasional triggerfish. Within 30 minutes, we had plenty of bait and already several good fish for someone’s dinner. We proceeded on for another 45 minutes and began our deepwater fishing.

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