Amy wrote; Once at the end of last summer I think we were at Pascagoula's
pier and someone was tossing a circle net off the pier. I believe he was
trying to catch shrimp....?

If he was throwing a circular net and then lifting it he would be throwing a
cast net for either shrimp or bait fish.

Amy wrote:I've often seen families at this little park on Mobile Bay wading
out with flashlights and buckets right at dusk.....crabs?

I done something similar to this but used Coleman lateens and a gig. We
went lantern for flounder. This can be dangerous at times since stingrays
bury themselves in the sand and at night their eyes look just like flounder
eyes. I do most of my crabbing after they already been boiled at the local
bar it is some much easier.

Amy wrote: Have you ever witnessed a "jubilee" on Mobile Bay? Since I don't
know anyone that lives on the bay I'll probably never witness one unless we
are accidentally at the park but they are so fascinating!

No, I don't live in Alabama but in Louisiana. I have witness several
parades on the water in a town called Madisonville. They do this every year
around Mardi Gras. Being this area is very heavy catholic there is a
blessing of the fleet (shrimp boats) every year in many locations on the
different bayous and communities. This is done in right before shrimp season
starts. This will be occurring around May of each year.

Suggestion number one is "Take A Kid". Teach them conservation and respect
of the resources. Never take more then what you can use. I not sure what
the limit is in your area but in Louisiana the limit on specks is 25. With
my son and I in the boat we can limit out sometimes and have too many fish
to eat. This is especially true when you catch a limit of 3 to 5 pounders.

If you want to have fun take some market shrimp and bait a hook off with it
and threw it off a pier in Mobile Bay. You might catch anything from a
hardhead catfish (trash), gafftopsail catfish (edible), speckle trout
(edible), redfish (edible), black drum (edible), sheephead (edible) or any
other type of fish out there. If you are interested in a good internet
resource to look for information on what is edible go to www.al.rodngun.com
There is a fish identification section. There is also reports on the area.
This may be some helpful information as to what works best in your area.

Sarge