Slow-Pitch Jigging in the Gulf of Mexico – On The Water
The Gulf waters of Alabama boast 17,000 artificial reef systems—the most of any state in the U.S.— that are home to dozens of desirable fish species, whether you’re fishing for fun or for food. The footprint of those 17,000 reefs equates to 3, 594 football fields and, as a result, the fishing grounds receive significantly less angling pressure due to the sheer amount of structure. Back in late August, I had the pleasure of visiting Gulf Shores, Alabama, with the folks from Shimano to put some of their newest slow-pitch jigging gear to the test. The fishing was fantastic, but it’s just part of what makes this region such a desirable place to visit.
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Slow-Pitch Jigging with Shimano
With so many potential places to fish and so little time, we relied on local knowledge to put us on the meat. Thankfully, our spirited guides, Captain Blake Brown and Captain Buddy Childress of Southern Bend Charters, knew exactly where to begin the search—not to mention, they’re a great hang. Whenever I return to the Gulf Shores area, they’ll be the first ones I call.
On day 1 of our two-day adventure, captains Brown and Childress picked us up at the dock right behind our hotel which, in my opinion, was a level of luxury of which I am completely undeserving. But, that’s just southern hospitality for ya.
From the dock, it was a quick 5-minute ride through Perdido Pass inlet. We stopped briefly at the mouth, just off the tip of the jetty, to drop sabiki rigs for bait in the event that jigging didn’t produce results. Dolphins cruised along the beach as mullet fled from unknown predators just along the jetty rocks, and small Spanish mackerel lept from the water after plucking hooks from our sabikis. We had been on the boat for no more than 20 minutes and there was already so much life.
Once our group had secured a good number of small jack crevalles and a variety of other baitfish in the livewell, we arranged our beanbag seats in the stern of the center console for a 40-mile run offshore. One hour later, we began dropping 200-gram slow pitch jigs in over 300 feet of water with the new Shimano Ocea Jigger LD 2500 and Ocea Jigger Infinity Motive rods. The soft blanks have a surprising amount of backbone in order to impart action on such heavy metal in deep water, but all of the power comes from the reel.
The Ocea Jigger LD comes in two models: the 2500MG and 2500HG, which boast 44 pounds of drag pressure and retrieve 42- and 46-inches of line per crank, respectively. The reel’s Hagane construction makes it lightweight and durable, and with Shimano’s InfinityDrive technology—which now features both drag washers on the handle-side of the reel— side pressure is significantly reduced. Each of our reels was spooled with 20- to 30-pound test PowerPro Depth Hunter braided line, which changes color every 25 feet and includes black tick marks every 10 feet, making it easy to measure the depth of your jig in the water column.
The two-piece Ocea Jigger Infinity Motive rods were equally as impressive as the reels. Each of the four models—medium light, medium, medium heavy, and heavy—is built with Shimano’s Spiral X Core technology, which allows the blank to flex into an oval shape, boosting breaking strength under heavy loads. The durability of these ultra-flexible rods was on full display when I hooked and battled a 7-foot bull shark to the boat in 30 minutes after it stole my dinner (and eventually, my jig).
For a majority of our 6-hour trip on day one, we played catch and release with amberjacks up to 50 pounds, with a few of the guys even tripling up.
Almaco jacks, scamp grouper, and red snapper were also in the mix. Lucky for us, it was the last day of red snapper season, and Kade Gewanter got one in at the buzzer that was destined to be dinner at Flora-Bama Yacht Club in Pensacola, FL, later that evening.
The next day, the plan was to fish even deeper. We made a slightly longer run to a place jig for snapper and grouper over a pipeline. On the way there, Captain Blaine Anderson of Shimano divvied up our lures, including the Shimmerfall, Wing Fall, and Butterfly Flat Fall jigs. Each jig has a unique action, and the plan was for the 6 of us to fish all 3 styles in different weight increments to see what the fish wanted. Turns out, they responded to everything.
Vermilion snapper were the most abundant on day 2, and while we didn’t catch any jumbo amberjacks, we did manage a handful of almaco jacks, a couple of scamp, a few rudderfish, and a white snapper—which is equivalent to a scup (or porgy) in the northeast.
All of that came back to the dock with us, where it was filleted by Captain Blake Brown while we helped Captain Buddy Childress with the boat cleanup.
Flora-Bama Shore: The Culture and The People
As previously mentioned, part of the allure of fishing in this region is the southern hospitality and charm.
Local waterfront hook & cook spots like Zeke’s Landing in Orange Beach and Flora-Bama Yacht Club in Pensacola, will gladly prepare your catch of the day in a number of ways. We enjoyed blackened scamp grouper—one of the most delectable fish I’ve been blessed enough to dine on— along with almaco jack tacos, fried vermilion snapper and much more.
The food was as good as the fishing, but the people are what made this trip so unforgettable. We were made to feel right at home thanks to our incredible host, Easton Colvin of Alabama Beaches, who took time out of his week to show us around the local bars and restaurants. And of course, our captains, who were constantly busting our chops and providing more laughs than your average stand-up comedy show.
So, the next time you’re considering a winter fishing trip to Florida, think twice about a calmer, more comfortable destination than Miami or Tampa. Between the fishing culture, the food, and the friendly community, this area is, in my book, one of the most underrated and under-the-radar fishing destinations in the country. I know I’ll be heading back soon.
