Guide
Fishing: what is open, and the limits
Checked September 30, 2026 against the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and NOAA Fisheries.
The Fishing tile says, for Alabama waters, whether each fish people go out for is open today and what may be kept. When it cannot be sure, it says Check and links the rule.
What the tile covers
Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, sheepshead, cobia and king mackerel, with Alabama’s daily limits; red snapper, whose season Alabama sets; and gag, greater amberjack, gray triggerfish and red grouper, which open and close in Alabama waters with federal waters.
- Red snapper: the private angler season opened May 22, 2026, seven days a week, “until the end of the year or when Alabama’s quota has been met.” The Marine Resources Division announces the closing date when it expects the quota to be met.
- Flounder is closed every November.
- Gag, greater amberjack, gray triggerfish and red grouper follow the federal seasons, and Alabama posts no notice of its own when they change. That is why the tile watches NOAA Fisheries’ Gulf bulletins too.
- Red snapper, gray triggerfish and greater amberjack are reported through Snapper Check before landing, and reef fish need the Reef Fish Endorsement.
Which water your town reads
| Water | Towns |
|---|---|
| The bay and the Gulf | Dauphin Island, Bayou La Batre, Coden, Mobile, Daphne, Fairhope, Point Clear, Magnolia Springs, Bon Secour, Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach |
Alabama’s limits are the same in Mobile Bay, the Sound and the state’s Gulf waters, so every town reads one water.
How the words are earned
- Open, Closed or Check. Each fish’s word comes from the season and limits we read off the agency’s own pages and orders, written down with the date we read them.
- A notice turns a fish to Check. When the agency, or NOAA Fisheries for the Gulf, posts anything about one of these fish after we read its rules, that fish says Check, with a link to the notice, until someone has read it and brought the words up to date. A wrong “Open” is a ticket; Check is a minute reading the rule.
- A page that changes turns its fish to Check. The limits pages are compared, word for word, every time the board refreshes. An edit we have not read yet is Check.
- A season that closes when the quota is met says so under the word. The agency announces those closings, sometimes with a day’s notice, and the notice turns the fish to Check.
- The limits here are the state’s, for its own waters out to 9 nautical miles. Federal waters beyond that have their own rules.
Who to call
- Marine Resources Division, Dauphin Island 251-861-2882, Gulf Shores 251-968-7576.