There are more than 200 artificial reefs off the Alabama coast, making perfect homes for snapper, grouper and other saltwater species. Of all the things there are to do on Alabama's coast, fishing in Orange Beach always proves to be one of the most popular. Salt and freshwater fishing are year-round opportunities. From June to September, there are 15 annual fishing tournaments ranging from spearfishing rodeos and blue marlin tournaments to shark fishing. Meanwhile, marine activities are plentiful even when no tournaments are being held.
Visitors can charter boats from one of the many marinas in Orange Beach.
The Alabama deep sea fishing charter fleet has nearly 100 charter boats, each equipped with electronic fish-finding and navigation devices and operated by a licensed captain. Once out to sea, the abundance of fish makes the adventure exciting as well as successful. In the reefs off the Alabama Coast, red snapper and grouper are fished year-round. Marlin weighing up to 700 pounds are not uncommon 31 miles off shore near the continental shelf. Another option is surf casting right from the shore.