![]() It all changes with the conditions on the day, and five people will always have six different opinions on the matter. We won’t go into the nitty-gritty of tackle choice and trolling spreads. That’s part of the fun – you never know what might take your bait. There are so many different fish out there, it’s impossible to list them all here. And More!ĭepending on how far offshore you go, you could catch Cobia, Kingfish, deep-water Groupers, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, and huge pelagic Sharks. Late summer is the best time of year to look for Blue Marlin in the Gulf. However, if you’re set on catching one, remote offshore rigs are about the most promising places to try. They’re more of a lucky draw than a target species. Marlin are a much rarer sight than the rest. Texas also has a couple of rigged reefs in state waters, where you can catch them year-round. Time your trip, and you can fill your coolers with premium fillets. Hands down the best food fish in the Gulf! Red Snapper are a seasonal specialty in most of the Gulf due to the short federal season. Get one aboard, and you’ll have feasts for weeks – if you can lift your arms to eat. Amberjack around this offshore structure grow almost too big and give no ground during the fight. They may be known as “Reef Donkeys,” but the bite around the oil rigs is even better. However, you’ll need to go 50 miles or more to get them, depending on where you start. What’s more, you can find them all year round. They grow big, fight hard, taste great, and look seriously cool. Yellowfin Tuna are the signature catch on rig fishing trips. Here are a few of the fish you might come across on your trip. This really expands your list of target species. The thing that makes oil rig fishing special is that you can target bottom and pelagic species in the same spot. What can you catch around Gulf oil rigs?Īlright, we’ve talked enough about the rigs themselves. And that’s on top of the thousands of operational platforms throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Even so, the Rigs to Reefs Program has converted over 500 defunct structures into bustling fish cities. It has to be in the right place and made in the right way. Of course, not every rig is suitable for reefing. The method used depends on how large the rig is, as well as the depth of water it sits in. So, how do you turn an oil rig into a reef? You can either break it in half, tip it over, or drag it to a more suitable spot (“partial removal,” “topple-in-place” or “tow-and-place” in the industry lingo). As part of the reefing deal, some of the money that companies save then goes to the state’s artificial reef program. Converting it into a reef instead is a lot cheaper and preserves the fish habitat at the same time. Usually, when a drilling lease expires, the rig is hauled back to land and scrapped. This became known as “ The Rigs to Reefs Program” and it created some of the Gulf’s top fishing spots. By 1984, oil rig fishing was so popular that Congress passed laws allowing states to turn these fish magnets into permanent reefs. The Gulf’s first oil platform was built way back in 1938, but it wasn’t until the ‘70s that offshore rigs as we know them appeared. From Rigs to Reefsīefore we jump into the angling itself, a little history. There are also a lot of them – anywhere from 1,862 to nearly 4,000, depending on who you ask. What’s more, they rise through the entire water column. The difference now is that you have large, fixed platforms that are marked on the map and easy to spot. Artificial structure has been doing so for centuries. Of course, oil rigs aren’t alone in attracting fish. You can catch a dozen different fish just by working different depths. Pretty soon, you have a complete ecosystem, from minnow to Marlin. This, in turn, brings bigger, predatory species. ![]() They build up corals and plants, and provide shelter for bait fish. These towering structures attract marine life from miles around. Most of the time, it wasn’t even that likely. Of course, captains followed currents, temperature breaks, and visual cues like birds and debris, but finding fish was far from certain. The basic tactic was to head out into the Gulf and troll until the clicker sounded. In the past, bluewater fishing was as much a question of luck as skill. Why go oil rig fishing in the Gulf of Mexico? You can also learn what’s being done to turn these platforms into true fish havens. What makes oil rigs so productive for anglers? What can you catch, and how? And most importantly, where should you go to fish them? Today, we’ll cover all these questions and more. From giant Amberjack and Grouper to Tuna, Wahoo, and even Marlin, the Gulf’s finest all hang out around these underwater towers. Nothing beats it for action, and you never know what you might head back to the dock with. Oil rig fishing in the Gulf of Mexico should be on every angler’s bucket list.
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