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Pinfish

Pinfish

Pinfish are native marine fish found in Alabama's coastal waters from Massachusetts to the Yucatan Peninsula. They are euryhaline species tolerating salinities from 0-75 g/L and water temperatures from 50°F-95°F.

Pinfish serve as important forage for larger gamefish like ladyfish, spotted seatrout, red drum, snook, and flounder. They are abundant in Alabama's coastal ecosystem.

Scientific Name: Lagodon rhomboides

Physical Characteristics:
  • Oval, compressed fish easily identified by their distinctive black spot near the origin of the lateral line behind their gill plate, bluish-silver coloring with alternating blue and yellow longitudinal stripes, and deeply notched incisor teeth.
  • Growing to lengths of 12-18 inches and weighing 3-5 pounds typically, with some reaching over 7 pounds.

What to know

Habitat Distribution

  • Alabama's coastal waters, vegetated marine bottoms, rocky reefs, jetties, mangrove swamps.

Key Locations

  • Mobile Bay, Baldwin County waters, Lagoon Pass Park, Little Lagoon, Mobile Bay areas, lagoons, and coastal passes.

Specific Spots

  • Look for them near vegetation, docks, piers, and structure.
  • Around oil rigs and jetties, vegetated shallow flats of estuaries, brackish areas.

Pinfish FAQ

Answers from onWater's species guide.

When is the best time to fish for Pinfish in Alabama?

Available year-round in Alabama's coastal waters with peak fishing from March through October. In winter months, target deeper channel waters, while spring through fall fishing is productive in shallower areas.

How do you catch Pinfish in Alabama?

Target them in vegetated shallow flats of estuaries, around structures like oil rigs and jetties (particularly productive in March when water temperatures reach 65-70°F), and in brackish areas of Mobile Bay. Fish around dawn and dusk for best results.

What do Pinfish eat?

Voracious omnivorous predators with diet varying by life stage - post-larval fish feed on planktonic copepods, juveniles consume shrimp, mysids, and amphipods, while adults eat shrimp, mysids, amphipods, fish e.g.gs, crabs, and plant matter including seagrass.

Where do Pinfish live in Alabama?

Alabama's coastal waters, vegetated marine bottoms, rocky reefs, jetties, mangrove swamps.

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Alabama licenses and regulations

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