surf fishing next week at Orange Beach...

Use a drop shot rig setup at the public bridge over there at night under the lights. Use fresh shrimp from publix, not the prefrozen type. cut into chunks and toss is out. Make sure you can feel the bottom and adjust your weights according to how strong the tide is. Never has failed me from catching fish anywhere water is moving. Might not catch monsters or keepers, but enough to have fun with.

I go down the beach to Perdido every summer with the family. We catch a lot of fish casting right off of the beach with frozen shrimp and squid by letting it sink to the bottom with pyramid weights. No need to wade out there or anything, they are right there in the surf. If you hit a school of whiting you will have a blast and catch more fish than you know what to do with. We also catch decent size sharks off the beach by paddling the bait right past the sandbar/drop off.

You can buy a surf setup for like $20, I would leave the bass gear at home.

I was there over the weekend. There were a few guys fishing in the mornings, they all were fishing with dead shrimp (from Publix) on the bottom. They were catching flounder, channel mullet and sting rays for the most part. It's pretty funny watching a guy in chest waders standing in ankle deep water with a 10 foot surf rod reel in a 8" flounder as if he were cranking down on a marlin.

Did it a few times. Bait of any type available on a stout leader with a good sized weight. No telling what you'll catch, but hey, it's fishing.
Watch the birds, they'll grab you bait if not covered onshore.