Thread: Perdido Bay fishing

My family and I come down to Gulf Shores/OB every year. This year we rented a house (Papa Roy's) on Perdido Bay. I was wondering what type of fish might be available there. Any possibility of small shark (<4') perhaps? The owner is providing a couple kayaks so that will be an option. I also bought a rod off a German gentleman that I can't seem to find any info about. It's a Silstar 3300-240. He was apparently an avid angler until a heart attack put a stop to his fishing. I was a little suspect until he showed me pictures of him, the rod, some snapper, and a big red. When he told me i could have it for 5 bucks I took it figured worst case scenario it's a cheap life lesson. I was thinking of pairing it with a fin nor ofs9500 or a penn fierce 8000. Would that handle bull red/med shark (4-7')? We'll be down June 6th - 13th.2015-05-10 16.52.07.jpg

Personally, I think the reel is overkill. I've caught many shark and bull reds from a stationary point with 5000 class reels. I've only seen one silstar rod and that was an entry class Rod. Any Rod medium to medium heavy should be just fine. Even though I've never fished from a kayak, I would suspect some shock would be taken up from your ability to move around on the water or have the fish pull you around. Just my 2 cents worth.

good fishing.....

Thanks fishntime. I was leaning towards those because they seem solid and in my price range. But I'll look into the 5000 class.

I might just use the kayak to take the bait out to deep water and fish from terra semi-firma. I imagine that hooking a big-ish shark might take you on more of a ride than you want in a little kayak! Still, like fishntime said - a medium-heavy rod should be fine for a medium-sized shark.

When you catch one - take pictures and share!

The OFS9500 or 8000 is an excellent choice for medium sharks from the beach or boat.
It would also be a good reel for larger fish from a boat nearshore or even offshore, decent for bottom fishing too.
Not reels for holding all day or casting a lot, too bulky for the yak too.

There are a multitude of smaller & much more versatile reels that will better meet your needs.

Originally Posted by fshntime

Personally, I think the reel is overkill. I've caught many shark and bull reds from a stationary point with 5000 class reels. I've only seen one silstar rod and that was an entry class Rod. Any Rod medium to medium heavy should be just fine. Even though I've never fished from a kayak, I would suspect some shock would be taken up from your ability to move around on the water or have the fish pull you around. Just my 2 cents worth.

good fishing.....

This could turn into a case where the shark was trolling with the fisherman at the back of the line.

I had both Silstar rods and reels. Very serviceable pieces, and for $5 it was a steal.

I looked at the rental info on your house. It has it's own pier with a fish attractant light. You can probably do very well with speckled trout and flounder off the dock. Go much lighter with tackle. A Penn Fierce 3000 model loaded with 10 lb test line and a 6 foot light to medium action rod would do great. You can probably catch white trout or croaker that are not large but taste great on the table. The trout come to the lights at night. I have done very well with live bait and artificial lures in this type setup. Floracarbon (sp) leaders often help and I use a very tiny swivel to attach to the main line and go with a two foot leader. A dip net is a good idea as I have caught some large trout doing this. I caught a 35 inch cobia last fall on a rod and reel set up like this. I was actually fishing for flounder with a jig and saw the cobia cruise by and threw in front of him. Keep your drag set light to handle the unexpected big fish as well as avoid tearing the hook out of a trout's mouth.

I can tell you that, when kayak fishing, you are reeling yourself to the fish, particularly larger fish. The thing to keep in mind while kayak fishing is that once you catch the fish, you have to do something with it in the rather small confines of the kayak. I have a Hobie Pro Angler, which is a pretty good sized kayak, and I use caution with toothy critters that might get loose in it with me. Sharks are generally brought up beside the kayak for a quick photo op, then they are cut loose. If you go out in the kayaks and hook something fairly big, be sure to not lose your bearings and find yourself dragged out farther than you are comfortable or able to paddle back.

Thanks guys great info. I should probably clarify a little. I will be bringing my other 5 rods all 6-7' med to med-heavy with nameless (I think one is a sea striker st50) reels spooled with 6-15lb mono. My reel question was specifically for targeting shark/bull red/anything big enough to take the bait. Also I'm a kayak novice so if I do fish out of it at all it will be with light tackle. I was more pointing it out in case someone wanted to chime in with some nearish reefs/wrecks/etc that I might be able to yak to. Also, where can one target shark in the 4-7' range? I'm assuming Perdido Bay is sharkless. Is Ft. Morgan the closest place? (I don't know enough about state fishing stuff to feel comfortable bouncing between FL and AL.

No land fishing for sharks permitted in GSSP [corrected thanks to ChileR], and no landing sharks on the pier, as you may already have read. Hence the yak attack. There were numerous sharks off the inlet at some migration points (use the search feature on the site.)



A recent article in SportFishing magazine on kayak fishermen in Hawai'i mentioned that they used spears rather than gaffs to kill tuna or other fish they wanted in the yak or to tow in. A shot into the brain, and often from the back so you could keep the fish pointed the right direction away from you. Their "spear" looked a lot like a flounder gig -- wood handle and a straight single point with no visible barbs. I don't think I'd want a shark in that position (that's just me), and of course there are length regulations for some shark species. I believe they said they are in 30 fathoms just a quarter mile from shore, and they actually catch marlin while chasing the mackeral scad (cigar minnow cousins) schools in the A.M.