Middle Bay Fishing Charters

Booking here starts with a phone call about what an angler wants to catch, because the launch point is only chosen after that conversation. Depending on the season, the weather and where fish are biting, Captain David Rice meets clients at a ramp serving Mobile Bay, Weeks Bay, Fort Morgan, Orange Beach or Gulf Shores. The operation is based in Fairhope on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay and sells custom inshore fishing trips alongside scenic boat tours of the surrounding Alabama coastal water.

Rice states that he is a USCG licensed fishing guide and that he has run charters on Mobile Bay and the surrounding waters for more than 25 years. The species listed for these trips are redfish, speckled trout, flounder and tripletail. Planning is built around specific requests: anglers prone to seasickness can be kept on flat river water instead of the open bay, and a party after tripletail will be fished near the structure those fish hold to. Clients who do not want to keep a catch can have it photographed and released.

Not every charter has to involve fishing at all. The site says a party that would rather take in the view can book the boat on that basis, which puts the scenic run on the same footing as the angling trip. No prior experience is required, and first time anglers are accepted alongside people who have fished for years.

Trips are arranged directly by phone or through the site contact form rather than an online calendar. The operator asks that clients say what they want to fish for when they call, so the meeting point and the plan can be set to match. No rate card is published.