Fishing platforms within 10 miles of orange beach / gulf shores....

Noticed that there are several oil / gas platforms within 12 miles of the OB / GS coast. Can anyone say how successful you can be fishing these platforms this time of year? Was thinking about taking some frozen cigar minnows out there and just casting those out to see what we could catch. We would also take other bait in case we need to try something different. So if my group only has one day to fish (next week), would my time be better spent fishing the platforms or just bottom fishing artificial reefs? Just wanted to hear the opinion of folks here. Thanks in advance.

The oil/gas platforms are farther than 10 miles from Orange Beach. It is a much shorter run if you launch at Ft. Morgan. As far as fishing, it depends what you are trying to catch. For spanish, bluefish and kings, I prefer the rigs from 3 miles offshore and beyond. For snapper, I would pick the reefs, although there are some on the rigs, but they can be hard to catch as they have seen a lot of pressure. You can always try both. I suggest catching some live bait if you can too. Good luck!

If you don't have a trolling motor with a GPS lock, the smaller reefs are hard to fish, so pick a big one or a cluster. Even on a cluster you can do better anchoring and chumming. We often catch kings with flat line behind the boat while we bottom fish.

Also, it's getting late in the season and the water is getting warm, so the farther out/deeper you go the better you will do.

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Originally Posted by Green_Steel

The oil/gas platforms are farther than 10 miles from Orange Beach. It is a much shorter run if you launch at Ft. Morgan. As far as fishing, it depends what you are trying to catch. For spanish, bluefish and kings, I prefer the rigs from 3 miles offshore and beyond. For snapper, I would pick the reefs, although there are some on the rigs, but they can be hard to catch as they have seen a lot of pressure. You can always try both. I suggest catching some live bait if you can too. Good luck!

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You are right, the platforms I had taken a look at are more in the area south of the Gulf Highlands area. They are named A (24158), A (23467) and CB (24112). My buddy and I are renting a center console for the day - and are not very experienced at catching the live bait. Thought we may get some frozen minnows and fish with those for the Spanish, Bluefish and Kings - just casting and retrieving around the platforms close to the surface. We'll also take squid for bottom fishing. How does that sound? By the way, thank you very much for the response.

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Originally Posted by frednic

If you don't have a trolling motor with a GPS lock, the smaller reefs are hard to fish, so pick a big one or a cluster. Even on a cluster you can do better anchoring and chumming. We often catch kings with flat line behind the boat while we bottom fish.

Also, it's getting late in the season and the water is getting warm, so the farther out/deeper you go the better you will do.

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Thank you very much for the response! We are renting a center console for the day and only get to fish in OB a couple of times a year. Do you have any suggestion on a "cluster" spot or two for us to try? Won't have a trolling motor so that would be great. We are also are only allowed to go out up to 12 miles from shore. So can't go out too far. I like the idea of flat lining while bottom fishing - do you have to use live bait for that?

We caught a mess of really nice spanish yesterday slow drifting cigar minnows and throwing Gotchas at a couple rigs about 8 miles south of Gulf shores yesterday. Caught more on Gotchas than drift lines. Take some sabiki and catch live ones. The few we caught got nailed instantly. We lost a big king in the 30-40# range also - broke the leader:mad:

Yes on flat lining live bait

Based on the information you have given, I do feel the rigs are a good choice. I agree throwing gotchas and other lures is a great idea while drifting cigar minnows or live bait. If you are familiar with catching live bait at the pier with a sabiki, this technique can also be used from a boat. I watch the fish finder closely on the ride out. If you see any bait breaking on the surface, or on the bottom with the fish finder, stop and give it a try. We almost always catch live cigar minnows in open water 30-40 ft deep. Many times without seeing anything, we will just shut down and drift. Within a few minutes bait gather under the boat. Fish the sabiki bouncing off the bottom. Most times you can catch live bait at the rigs as well, sometimes near the surface, sometimes at mid-level or even on bottom. Good luck and let us know how you do.

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Originally Posted by bmajors

Thank you very much for the response! We are renting a center console for the day and only get to fish in OB a couple of times a year. Do you have any suggestion on a "cluster" spot or two for us to try? Won't have a trolling motor so that would be great. We are also are only allowed to go out up to 12 miles from shore. So can't go out too far. I like the idea of flat lining while bottom fishing - do you have to use live bait for that?

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Since you are limited to 12 miles the rigs might be a best bet.

The are some relatively new (2019) reefs off Dauphin Island that I have not fished because we usually go deeper. I assume you have checked out the reef lists at Outdoor Alabama. I you have not you should. The easiest way to access them is through Google Earth or you can download an Excel file. If you look at the "Alabama Wildlife Federation" reefs off Dauphin Island there is a sunken tug, "Jane B" with barge welded to it on the east end of that area.

GPS Latitude	N30° 5.471'
Latitude (Decimal Degrees)	30.091183
GPS Longitude	W88° 13.387'
Longitude (Decimal Degrees)	-88.223117

If I were limited to 12 miles I would consider going there. Again, I have never fished it but it sure looks like the right kind of target to me other than its relative newness. Pier#r might know better.

As far as the flat line, you need a circle hook (#5/0 to #7/0) with steel leader (I use 27# or 44# single strand - about 15-18") and any reel with good drag and 15-25 lb line. Just hook a frozen cigar minnow through the nose and let the current take it about 50-100 feet behind the boat and set it in a rod holder with the clicker on and a pretty light drag. You can also use alive bait on a float, but it will require more tending. The live bait will not attract remoras quite as much.

Here is the page to get the reefs. https://www.outdooralabama.com/saltw...tificial-reefs

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BY the way, it is definitely worth your time to learn how to make a steel leader rather than use the store-bought. You can use single strand and a haywire twist or seven strand and a figure-8 knot, but the store-bought are really not that good - they are too visible.