Mobile Bay Trout, Pier Mackerel, and the Orange Beach Billfish Classic

Memorial Day weekend is here, summer patterns are starting to settle in, and the Alabama Gulf Coast fishery is wide open from the surf to the pier to Mobile Bay and the offshore tournament scene. This week, Butch Thierry checks in with Angelo DePaola of The Coastal Connection for an update on Orange Beach real estate, the Abaco development, marina access, and the early action in the Gulf Coast Outboard Challenge. Captain Patric Garmeson of Ugly Fishing breaks down a changing inshore bite across Mobile Bay, with speckled trout spread from shallow slicks to deeper structure, live shrimp still producing, soft plastics playing a role, and Spanish mackerel, redfish, puppy drum, and other species moving through the system as water temperatures rise. Jim Cox joins the show to recap the Orange Beach Billfish Classic, including long runs, big money, blue marlin releases, bluefin tuna battles, and the start of the Gulf Coast Triple Crown season. David Thornton, the Pier Pounder, returns with a surf and pier report covering Spanish mackerel, pompano, whiting, trout, clean water, snobbling dead bait, and what anglers can expect as beach traffic picks up. To close it out, Blakeley Ellis of CCA Alabama previews the 2026 STAR Tournament and explains how registered anglers have a shot at winning a Skeeter bay boat by catching one of the blue-tagged redfish released along the Alabama coast. SPONSORS   Make Wake Marine Deep South Cranes CCA Alabama Dixie Building Supply / Baker Metal Works Foster Contracting Black Buffalo Slip Ski Solutions Admiral Shellfish Company Coastal Connection Fiber Plastics Inc Hilton's Offshore Charts / Realtime-Navigator McCoy Outdoor Company Ricciardone Dentistry  Midway Lumber Sales Coastal Brew Baits Pure Flats EMS / Endeck Camper City Mobile