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Gulf Shores Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Gulf Shores: Alabama's Gulf beachfront at Gulf State Park, whose fishing and education pier is open 24 hours.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
High 8:00 PM
Air / High
74 / 79 F
Wind
NNE 7 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8731269, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Gulf Shores offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 7 mph, falling pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 79. Tides: high 9:43 AM and 8:00 PM, low 1:52 AM and 1:35 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:27 AM-11:27 AM and 9:54 PM-11:54 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Tomorrow: Similar at 75 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Alabama requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Alabama licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing redfish (red drum) here? Check the size and bag limits with ADCNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Alabama, read off the agency, are on the Alabama seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8731269 (Gulf State Park Pier). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW1:52 AM0.8 ft
HIGH9:43 AM1.1 ft
LOW1:35 PM0.9 ft
HIGH8:00 PM1.3 ft
Sat
LOW3:34 AM0.5 ft
HIGH7:37 PM1.5 ft

Gulf Shores tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp74 F
High / Low79 / 54 F
WindNNE 7-9 mph
Pressure1019.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:58 / 18:11
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Gulf Shores this week

The best day on Gulf Shores this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:27 AM-11:27 AM and 9:54 PM-11:54 PM
Minor period
3:48 AM-4:48 AM
Sun
06:58 to 18:11
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 12 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Gulf Shores: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

When to come: the Gulf Shores calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Gulf Shores today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 78 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Alabama requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Alabama saltwater license for everyone fishing salt water, except residents and non-residents under 16 and residents 65 and older; exempt residents and those fishing from licensed public piers must register with the Alabama Saltwater Angler Registry. ADCNR limits: red drum 16-26 inches, 3 a day; Florida pompano 12-inch minimum total length, 3 a day; sheepshead 12-inch minimum fork length, 8 a day.

Access

Gulf State Park fishing and education pier (open 24 hours; parking and pier fees); Gulf State Park beaches and Lake Shelby day-use area.

About this water

Gulf Shores, Baldwin County, AL, on the Gulf of Mexico at Gulf State Park. NOAA tide predictions: Gulf State Park Pier (8731269).

Fishing Gulf Shores: the full guide

The state park pier

Alabama State Parks runs the Gulf State Park fishing and education pier around the clock, with covered seating, a tackle and souvenir shop, comfort stations at the midpoint and wheelchair-accessible rail fishing. By season, the park lists sheepshead, red drum, Spanish mackerel, flounder, Florida pompano, king mackerel and whiting among the catches. Weather or maintenance can close it, so check the park before you go.

Pier fees and license

An adult all-day fishing permit is $10 and a veteran's is $7, with weekly ($41) and monthly ($81) permits; paying the park's daily parking fee also covers one daily pier fishing permit. The fee does not include a fishing license, and anglers on the pier must hold a valid Alabama license.

Lake Shelby and the tides

Gulf State Park also holds Lake Shelby, a 900-acre freshwater lake close to the Gulf, with a day-use area for kayaks and canoes. Tide times on this page come from NOAA's prediction station at the Gulf State Park Pier (8731269).

Common questions

Do I need a license to fish the Gulf State Park pier?

Yes. The pier fee does not include a license, and the park requires a valid Alabama fishing license on the pier.

How much does it cost to fish the Gulf State Park pier?

An adult all-day fishing permit is $10 (veterans $7); a paid daily parking fee includes one daily pier fishing permit.

What can I catch from the Gulf State Park pier?

The park lists sheepshead, red drum, Spanish mackerel, flounder, Florida pompano, king mackerel and whiting, depending on the season.

Is fishing good at Gulf Shores right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Dauphin Island24 miMobile Bay25 miPensacola31 miEscambia River39 miNavarre51 miBiloxi71 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8731269 β€” Gulf State Park Pier
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 8 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 30.2460, -87.7010 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.