The third week in June has proven to be typical of previous years except the trolling fishing has been difficult at times. The 4 hour trolling charters for King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel has been thwarted by a strong saltwater currents coming from the west. These currents are making the surface water in the Gulf of Mexico, just south of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to be nasty, murky and muddy at times. The trolling fish like the Mackerel bite by sight, instead of smell and they were not biting good the first part of the week.
The Sharks have been eating us up on every fishing reef we have stopped on this week. The poor visibility has made sharks show up in the reef zone and we have experienced a lot of cut offs. We have even reeled up a few fish that have been cut in half by the shark bites. There was even a jet skier who got off his ski just offshore and was mistakenly bitten on the foot from a Black Tip or either a Spinner shark near the surf. These sharks are not usually a threat to people and they are everywhere just offshore, but the muddy water has sharks relying on vibrations in the water instead of sight for a quick meal.
We have been catching some really big Red Snappers this week on our artificial reefs. The Red Snappers have been biting slower than normal due to the west current, so we have had to begin using light tackle and long leaders to make them bite. Toward the end of the week, the southerly winds pushed some much needed clear water back in to the Gulf Shores beaches and there was no surprise that the King and Spanish Mackerel bite improved.