MONTH TO MONTH CALENDAR
JANUARY:
• SPECKLED TROUT: Deeper tidal rivers
• REDFISH: Dauphin Island Bridge
• SHEEPSHEAD: Dauphin Island Bridge
• WHITE TROUT: Deeper structure and gas rigs in the Bay and Sound.
• WHITING: Beaches
FEBRUARY:
• SPECKLED TROUT: Middle and deeper parts of tidal rivers
• REDFISH: Beaches, Pinto Pass
MARCH:
• SPECKLED TROUT: Deeper tidal rivers like Fowl, Dog, and Bayou La Batre and shallow flats adjacent to channels.
• FLOUNDER: Creek mouths on outgoing tide.
• REDFISH: Dixey Bar, Sand Island Lighthouse, Beaches, Portersville Bay, Heron Bay, Grand Bay
• SHEEPSHEAD: Rigs and structure at south end of bay and sound
APRIL:
• SPECKLED TROUT: Flats and oyster beds near the small islands and in and around Mobile Bay as they move out of the rivers; mouth of rivers.
• REDFISH: Dixey Bar, Sand Island Lighthouse, Beaches, Portersville Bay, Heron Bay, Grand Bay, Rigs in South Bay and Nearshore
• SHEEPSHEAD: Rigs and structure at south end of Mobile Bay and Sound
• FLOUNDER: Rigs and structure at south end of Bay; Theodore Industrial Canal
• POMPANO: Begin showing up. Beaches
• COBIA: Begin showing up. Sight fish along the beaches and hop the nearshore rigs, ships waiting for port clearance.
• KING & SPANISH MACKEREL: Nearshore
MAY:
• TRIPLETAIL: Begin showing up, target floating buoys, debris, and channel markers in Bay, Sound and Gulf.
• POMPANO: Beaches
• COBIA: Sight fish along the beaches and hop the nearshore rigs, ship channel markers, ships waiting for port clearance.
• SPECKLED TROUT: Dauphin Island
JUNE:
• TRIPLETAIL: Target floating buoys, debris, channel markers in Bay, Sound and Gulf.
• POMPANO: Beaches
• COBIA: Hop the nearshore rigs, ship channel markers ships waiting for port clearance.
• FLOUNDER: Mobile Bay rigs
• SPECKLED TROUT: Fish shallow Early and Late / fish deeper from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.
o Early & Late: Shallows and grass beds from 3 to 6 feet until water warms; wade fishing.
o Mid-Day: Deeper holes and structure in Bay and Sound (rigs); drop-offs around Sand Island and DI.
JULY:
• TRIPLETAIL: Target floating buoys, debris, channel markers in Bay, Sound and Gulf.
• POMPANO: Beaches
• COBIA: Hop the nearshore rigs, ship channel markers ships waiting for port clearance.
• FLOUNDER: Dauphin Island Bridge; North Pass
• SPECKLED TROUT: Slip-cork at gas rigs and deeper structure; gulf-side beaches
• JACK CREVALLE: Shrimp boats in lower Bay and nearshore Gulf.
AUGUST:
• TRIPLETAIL: Target floating buoys, debris, channel markers in Bay, Sound and Gulf.
• POMPANO: Beaches
• COBIA: Hop the nearshore rigs, ship channel markers ships waiting for port clearance.
• REDFISH: Bay rigs, Portersville, Grand and Heron Bays
• BLUEFISH: Mouth of Bay; rigs; Sand Island Light
• BLACK DRUM: Cedar Point
• WHITE TROUT: Bay rigs; White House rigs
SEPTEMBER:
• TRIPLETAIL: Coming to an end. Target floating buoys, debris, channel markers in Bay, Sound and Gulf.
• POMPANO: Coming to an end. Beaches
• COBIA: Hop the nearshore rigs, ship channel markers ships waiting for port clearance.
• REDFISH: Oyster beds, shells, points of rivers and streams that dump into larger water bodies, look for diving birds feeding on bait.
• FLOUNDER: Target points, structure and deeper channels.
• WHITE TROUT: Bay rigs
• SPECKLED TROUT: Dauphin Island Bridge
• SPANISH MACKEREL: Lower Mobile Bay
OCTOBER:
• REDFISH: Pinto Pass
• BLACK DRUM: Pinto Pass
• SPECKLED TROUT: Dauphin Island Bridge
NOVEMBER:
• WHITE TROUT: Bay rigs
• SPECKLED TROUT: Causeway; Fowl River
DECEMBER:
• REDFISH: Dauphin Island Bridge; Causeway
• SPECKLED TROUT: Dog River; Tensaw River
• WHITE TROUT: Theodore Canal
JANUARY
SPECKLED TROUT: With lower air and water temps the trout will still be in the deeper tidal rivers that dump into the Bay and Sound. If you can find live shrimp, by all means get some before you leave the dock, if not the good ole shrimp and minnow imitations will work well fished on a 1/8 to 1/4 ounce jig head. Fish deep from 8 to 12 feet and even deeper in the holes where the water temperatures and salinity are constant; AND remember present the baits SLOW, SLOW , SLOW and keep the jig head in contact with the bottom as much as possible.
A slow troll in the middle of these rivers also can produce nice fish. Troll a jig on the bottom, go slow either in a natural drift or by using a trolling motor on a very low setting, just drift as naturally as you can; there will be redfish in these areas as well as speckled and white trout.
WHITE TROUT: If you get a calm day and can get out into the bay or sound, the white trout will be around deeper structure and around the gas rigs in these areas.
WHITING (GROUND MULLET): Off the gulf beaches, use a small piece of fresh shrimp on a small hook and a small split shot above the hook to keep the bait on the bottom or close to the bottom, fish just off the beach or between the sand bars.
FEBRUARY
REDFISH: On the gulf side, just off the beach you can find large schools of big redfish. These are great fighters and fun to catch but don’t really have any table value; these are breeder stock fish so please practice catch and release with any redfish over the slot limit of 16 to 26 inches.
SPECKLED TROUT: The trout still remain in the deeper holes in the tidal rivers adjacent to Mobile Bay and the Sound; live bait will be very hard if not impossible to find so you will need to use soft plastic shrimp and minnow imitations like the vudu shrimp, gulp swim mullet or shrimp or yozuri crystal shrimp and minnows. Youwillneedtofishasslowasyou can and make sure the baits stay in contact with the bottom, jig lightly, and again, I cannot stress enough, if you think you are fishing too slow, slow down more. The do nothing drift will continue to work as well in the middle or deeper parts of the tidal rivers.
MARCH
REDFISH: There will be large Reds on Dixey Bar and around Sand Island Lighthouse and off the beaches also in the tidal rivers and bays, like Heron Bay, Portersville Bay and Grand Bay, fish the areas where small rivers flow or dump into the bays, look for water movement. Artificial baits work well here as well, jigging shrimp or minnow imitations or fishing the baits under a rattling cork.
Slow bumps with soft plastics across the bottom have been money on reds and flounders at creek mouths on outgoing tides. I am throwing the saltwater assassin 4” sea shads on a1/4 oz pro elite jig head.
The Redfish should start to show up at the mouth of the Mobile Bay this month and are usually plentiful along the beach in large schools at times.
The redfish bite down along the coast is still doing good. Good numbers of slot reds are being caught fishing the mouths of little creeks and bayous. Live shrimp or a Berkley Gulp under a popping cork has been the most consistent choice.
FLOUNDER: Slow bumps with soft plastics across the bottom have been money on reds and flounders at creek mouths on outgoing tides. I am throwing the saltwater assassin 4” sea shads on a1/4 oz pro elite jig head.
SPECKLED TROUT: We are definitely still in the winter fishing pattern around the Island, the water is well below that magical number of 62 degrees which is when the trout will begin moving out of the deep rivers and onto the warmer flats around the small islands. Until then, the trout will still be in the deeper tidal rivers like Fowl, Dog, and Bayou La Batre.
When using soft plastics, make sure you jig lightly and keep in contact with the bottom when jigging; It is really hard to find live bait now and that will continue until spring as the weather warms a bit more, so I would use any type of soft plastic shrimp or mullet or minnow imitation like a VuDu Shrimp in any natural colors with a chartreuse tail, a Gulp swim mullet in pearl or chartreuse or the Fin-S Arkansas shiner or the Fin-S fluke in motor oil or root beer, the beetle spins with gold flecks work well too, use the lightest jig head that you can, 1/8 to 1/4 ounce, remember the colder the water, the slower you fish the better.
As the temps rise so will the fish and they will start to move out to the more shallow flats that are close to the main deeper channels in the rivers.
Throw the MirrOlure She-Dog early and late in the days. Its high frequency rattles really give the trout something to key in on in choppy water. Walk the dog with a fast retrieve and get ready for action. Getting under that rough water works well too, Mirrodines have been handling the job. Change up the speeds of your retrieves until you find what’s working best for you. Keep to natural colors in the cleaner water.
SHEEPSHEAD: One positive thing that occurs in March and into April is the spawn of the Sheepshead; they will congregate in huge numbers around most any good structure in the bay and sound and around the gas rigs in the lower bay and near shore. Fish rock piles, bridges and the gas rigs with the freshest shrimp you can find. If you get lucky and find someone with live shrimp, get them! The Sheepshead love them.
I fish a #1 or #2 J hook, khale hook or suicide hook or any other small hook that is stout on about 2 feet of 15lb to 20lb Sufix flouroclear or clear mono leader, tied to a barrel swivel, above the swivel I will use a 1/4 oz, 3/8 oz or even a 1/2 oz egg sinker on the main line which is 12lb Sufix mono or 20 pound Sufix braid. Fish as close to the structure as you can but be careful because the Sheepshead will wrap you in the structure very quickly when hooked. Use the lightest egg sinker that you can that will allow the bait to present more naturally.
Fish structure with a good barnacle presence on it. Sheepshead fishing should remain good around the gas rigs through the end of April.
Live shrimp, hermit crabs or fiddler crabs, fished on the bottom or with a float.
Fish around oyster reefs, bridge pilings, inshore artificial reefs, rock jetties and oyster reef areas on flooding tides. A 1/0 hook is just about right. Move from place to place along jetties to find the fish.
APRIL
POMPANO: Begin showing up along the beaches. May - October; Peak: July – August
When the inshore surface water temperature reaches 68 degrees, it is time to be looking for Pompano. The best fishing days will be the full moon days of April and May.
Seasonal Pompano pros will run their boats randomly along the beaches in an attempt to "spook" a school. Pompano exhibit an unusual behavior called skipping. In the boat engine's prop wash, you can see the silvery sides of a school, as they skip across the waves on the surface. Once a school is located, it is time to stop, anchor and begin chumming the fish close to your boat. This technique can be extremely effective.
The number one bait is a live, frisky sand flea (mole crab). Do not put your hard won fleas in a 5 gallon bucket with sand, the ammonia from their urine will kill them. Keep them cool and out of direct sun. An old oyster bag with newspapers and a block of ice will usually keep them fresh and ready to fish.
Small bucktails, plastic tail jigs, Small live shrimp work well when Pomps are feeding. Fiddler crabs will also work. Don't be surprised to catch rat reds and trout at times while targeting Pompano. They like the same feeding areas. Small jigs will catch Pompano also.
Pompano frequent the surf zone right where the waves break in "suds" on the beach, feeding on the sand fleas that live in this high energy area. Live sand fleas fished on bottom in surf zone with a #1 or #2 hook weighted with a very small split shot along Gulf beaches. Flip the baited hook in this area and allow it to be carried with the current.
Try a quarter ounce Nylure yellow jig with a shrimp or sand flea pinned on the hook. Work it slowly by jumping it in short hops. This action emulates the natural movement of a sand flea by jumping and burying in the sand.
Add a bright orange plastic bead to your fluorocarbon leader that matches the color of a sand flea's egg sack. Pompano are professional sight feeders. They have large eyes like all members of the jack family and rely on their acute vision for feeding success. You can even add a short leader with a split shot, #1 hook and an orange bead to drag behind your primary bait. Creating more commotion on the bottom will attract hungry fish. Remember that you may not use treble hooks for Pomps.
Try anchoring just offshore of the last beach trough and casting into the trough. Frequently food will be there and so will the Pompano in large numbers. Target your efforts in troughs and drop offs around passes. Bait gets washed into these low lying "holes" and become a buffet bar for hungry Pompano. If fish are in the area, during some stage of the tide, the fish will be feeding in these troughs. Your mission is to have the patience to be there at the right time. I prefer the last two hours of a high tide with good horizontal current. The basic premise is that tide and current moves bait into feeding zones and the fish show up to chow down. Jetties that are granite boulders that form Gulf inlets are prime locations because they provide a steady offering of crustaceans, like shrimp and small crabs.
Ten pound class spinning reels. Hook sizes need to be small due to very small mouths. An Owner #1 live bait hook is a good choice. Leaders should be fluorocarbon, no larger than 15 pound.
COBIA: Begin showing up. March - October, Peak: mid-May - mid-September
Live bait (pinfish, mullet, silver eels); artificial lures (large spoons, white bucktails, plastic eels, swimming plugs); cut bait (menhaden or cigar minnows).
Live or dead bait rig: Snell a 7/0 – 8/0 circle hook to 4’ of 80lb moss green mono leader or fluorocarbon leader.
Offshore reefs and caught along Gulf beaches in the surf zone when migrating, usually mid-March. Many fish are caught by sighting the fish on the surface and casting to them. Cast, drift or slow troll live baits around buoys, floating and underwater obstructions and schools of fish swimming on the surface; anchor, chum and fish live baits, fresh dead baits and cut bait in chum slick; cast and troll lures around buoys, floating obstructions and to schools, pods or individual cobia swimming on surface.
If you are searching the outside beaches for fish, always have a 30 pound class spinner rigged and ready to present to a pod of big cobes. Be the prepared opportunistic angler. Searching to the west in the morning hours and back to the east after lunch will keep the sun at your back to improve on the water visibility.
REDFISH: Same as March.
SPECKED TROUT: The trout will be following and chasing bait and can be found around the flats and oyster beds near the small islands and in and around Mobile Bay as they move out of Fowl River and Bayou La Batre and the surrounding small rivers; I also use a variety of soft plastic shrimp imitation baits like the VuDu Shrimp in natural colors or a fleck color like the Cajun Pepper or a Gulp shrimp imitation in new penny like the Mantis Shrimp. Try different baits depending on the water clarity. I will also use some top water lures early and late, and a slow sinking mullet imitation in a natural black mullet pattern like the Egret Baits: Kick A Mullet, or a green or black back MirrOlure.
The fishing should be on fire this month around Dauphin Island. The shoals and the south and north facing beaches start a lot of wade fishing/boat fishing. When we wade fish I like to use top water (Top Dogs ,Zara Spooks , bacon, Adonis, etc.) and suspending baits (Catch 2000,mirrodine, bacon dank suspect), silver /black, red/white, green /silver, on all these baits.
The Mississippi sound should be starting to wake up from winter, so start looking for bait piled up around Coffee Island and some of the wrecks in the sound. Grand Bay should be looking excellent as well. Redfish and Specks will be chasing all the glass minnows around, so throw some top water around the schools and you should be successful. The fish should be starting to show up at the rigs in the bay (if no fresh water arrives and messes everything up) looking for something good to eat.
This is the time for live shrimp, finger mullet, croakers, pogeys (menhaden). All of these will work better under a slip cork or free lined or a small weighted bottom rig.
I always start looking for Speckled Trout in the shallows adjacent to deeper water. Look for flats with good drop offs, water movement and oyster shells. When in transit from spot to spot keep a keen eye open for signs of Trout. Look for Trout slicks, bait movement and water clarity. Trout slicks are the number one way that I find big schools of fish in the spring. Drift fishing is my favorite technique for the spring. Making long drifts and being quiet with your boat movements are key ways to increase your success rate in the spring. Sometimes fish will only bite when you are wade fishing, but being aware of how much noise you are making on a flat will put you further ahead of the game.
A popping cork and live shrimp is probably the most effective way to catch a Trout in the spring. Sometime live bait can be hard to come by depending on the year so at times we are limited to artificial lures. I like to use a shrimp imitation like a Vudu Shrimp under a popping cork with Pro-Cure shrimp scented gel. Mullet imitations such as topwater lures or suspending hard baits are another great way to target bigger fish in a spring time pattern.
The shoals and grass flats along Dauphin Island, Shell Bank Reef, and the rigs inside the bay are a good bet for Specs. Live shrimp or a croaker on a slip cork or free lined is the way to go. If you prefer artificial baits, a Mirrolure Glad Shad in deeper water, Catch Jr. or 2000 in water less than four feet, and soft plastics on jig heads in any depth are productive. Don’t forget top water plugs for some explosive action on warmer days and look for water temps in the 70′s. My favorites are High Tide jig heads and plastics in natural shrimp, white/chartreuse, chartreuse/red, root beer/chartreuse, and don’t forget electric chicken colors.
As April moves on, the saltwater will be heading for the causeway. Depending on our rainfall in late March and April, look at places like Zundel’s, Gray Cane Reef, Pt. Clear, Battles Wharf, Middle Bay Lighthouse, and Gilliard Island, early in the month. As the salt water moves north follow it. My guess is that we will be fishing on the causeway in late May this year instead of June.
The best pattern is sticking to throwing grubs and slow bouncing the bottoms in the rivers or live shrimp fished under a slip cork.
SHEEPSHEAD: Same as March.
FLOUNDER: April - October; peak May-July on Eastern Shore, Peak June - October in Mobile Bay
Rigs and structure at south end of Bay; Theodore Industrial Canal in April.
Drift fishing with live or dead natural baits fished on the bottom; slow trolling natural baits on bottom; jigging with live bait along jetties, casting from beaches and piers; trolling small bucktails dressed with strip baits (especially for big fish in lower Mobile Bay); and gigging along all coastal shorelines on dark moon in calm waters. Coastal bays and inlets; Mobile Bay area; lower Mobile Bay;
Live bait (bull minnows and small croakers), artificial lures (bucktails); big strip baits and live croaker or small mullet or croakers often used for big fish in lower Mobile Bay.
KING & SPANISH MACKEREL: May - September, Peak: July – August
Small artificial lures (spoons, metal lures, feather and nylon lures), small live baits (scaled sardines, mullet).
Trolling; casting to schools of fish. Coastal Gulf waters, particularly off inlets, along tide lines, and over coastal wrecks; lower Mobile Bay – fish under feeding birds. Lures for Spanish mackerel work best with a high speed retrieve. Best color lures are silver, white, and gold. Spanish readily take live shrimp or bait fish. Short wire leaders will prevent these toothy fish from cutting your line. Black swivels should be used or the mackerel will strike at the swivel and cut your line.
MAY
POMPANO: Same as April
TRIPLETAIL: Tripletail begin showing up so start looking for them. Mid-May - October Peak: July
Slack Tide: Work stationary structures such as channel markers, crab trap floats, buoys.
Moving Tide: Work tide rips and floating objects.
Channel markers, crab trap floats, buoys, floating grass mats and almost any floating debris congregate the fish. As the blackfish move into inland waters, they are prone to relate to objects near channels. Wooden markers are especially attractive to blackfish as they travel inward on their summer migration. Search in the Gulf, Bays and Sound.
If the structure you target is stationary, such as a channel marker or buoy, it is best to approach on the up-current side of the object, anchor and allow your baits to drift down to the structure. If the object you target is floating, you can simply drift along with it, making casts to different areas around the object.
Look for tide rips and work the line. Stay out of the line so as to not spook the fish.
Once I spot a tripletail, I make a long cast beyond the fish and then retrieve the float past its nose. At this time, assuming the fish hasn’t been spooked by the boat (or someone else’s boat), the tripletail should spot the colorful float and begin to follow. Within a few seconds, I expect the fish to see the bait, and make a subtle strike. The float may start to move, indicating the fish has the bait, or you might see the float shake for a second, indicating the strike. The fish is in no hurry to flee, so it just takes the bait and then waits for something else to come in range to eat. In most cases, once you get the strike and set the hook, the fight is on.
Blackfish hit a variety of natural baits. Live mullet, croakers or pinfish tempt hungry tripletail; however, nothing seems to turn on blackfish more than shrimp. Blackfish rarely turn down a large, frisky, live shrimp. Large live shrimp or artificial lures. Live shrimp is the absolute preferred bait. Yes, they can be caught on artificials. Yes, they can be caught on fly. But for the best shot at a huge ‘trip’, you need live shrimp.
Fresh dead jumbo shrimp also catch the attention of blackfish, with the fresher the better. These dead shrimp can be just as effective if presented properly. Dead shrimp are usually drawn up in the shape of a C after they expire. To make them appear live, insert a common wooden toothpick through the length of the shrimp. This gives it the natural straight appearance of a swimming live shrimp.
Tip a Vudu Shrimp with a piece of shrimp.
The use of a float or cork is vital to blackfish success. The float does two things. It keeps the bait near the surface and provides the visual indication of a strike that is needed when the fish softly takes the bait.
For coastal and inshore tripletail fishing, my favorite rig consists of a pink or orange rattling float to which I attach 30 inches of 30-pound-test monofilament leader material. I add a 1/0 circle or J hook to that, and then hook a small- to medium-size shrimp through the front of the carapace so that the bait swims in a straight line. If I’m using a small baitfish like a pilchard or pinfish, I hook the bait through the nose, again so that bait can swim in a straight line.
The most common rig used for blackfish is a medium to heavy spinning outfit. A 7-foot rod gives length for casting but should also have backbone for the fight. The reel should be spooled with 17- to 20- pound-test line. Fluorocarbon leader material of 40-pound-test offers advantages around the many barnacle-encrusted structures you target because it is strong and less visible to the fish. Since tripletail of double-digit weights are a possibility, the hook you choose should be up to the task. A heavy, extra-strong bronze hook fits most situations. Black barrel swivels in the No. 7 size can handle even the toughest blackfish.
Terminal tackle: float, a fluorocarbon leader, and either a circle or kahle 2/0 hook. The small hook makes for a more real presentation. The circle or kahle hook lets the fish hook himself.
Hard as they are to see, tripletail are often completely out of view, lurking near the base of a navigational marker or dock piling. If reports indicate the fish have been around, but you’re not finding any at the surface, it can pay to pitch a shrimp on a ¼-ounce jighead to select pilings. There may seem to be little rhyme or reason to why one piling or other structure is favored over another, but it’s clear that some produce season after season.
WHITE TROUT: May - November - Peak: June and July.
The white trout will remain around structure in the Bay and Sound. White trout are caught throughout the bays, including bay piers and on the inshore artificial reefs, around oyster reefs and coastal river mouths and around near shore Gulf rigs and platforms for large, "yellowmouth" trout. Often, night fishing is most productive.
They will hit dead shrimp and live shrimp. Small pieces of cut bait, dead shrimp or squid fished on bottom.
JUNE
TRIPLETAIL: Same as May.
SPECKLED TROUT: Well, summer is here and the cool nights and days are gone. We are in the full summer fishing pattern now. As the day warms, Speckled trout can be found in deeper water around structure, such as the Mobile Bay gas rigs and reefs and wrecks in Mississippi Sound. The Gulf beach side of the Island and around Sand Island will hold fish in the holes and drop offs. Live shrimp under a popping cork in water 3 to 6 feet deep are a good bet for now early before the sun gets too high and the water warms; tight lining or free lining a live croaker on the bottom in deeper water will work well too. Shrimp are easy to find at the local bait shops and from the bait boats anchored in and around Billy Goat Hole. Also, early morning, just at daylight and late afternoon right at dusk, the top water bite for speckled trout is a fun way to catch them either wading or fishing from the boat. I prefer to wade and use MirrOlure top water baits like the Top Dog and She Dog series and the Yozuri top water baits; I prefer the mullet imitations, silver sides, dark back, either green or black, but the bone, chartreuse and pink and white with a red head will work well too. When you are wading you can cover much more area. Mix it up a bit and have fun, enjoy your time on the water. When you are fishing around the deep holes on the Gulf side as well as around the oyster beds be ready for those redfish and flounder they are there too.
JULY
TRIPLETAIL: Same as May.
SPECKLED TROUT: Well its HOT, Africa hot, and so is the fishing around Dauphin Island. The trout have been on fire lately in Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay and the Gulf side of Sand, Pelican and Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan. We have been catching them with slip cork rigs around the gas rigs in the Bay and around any deep water structure,10 to 15 feet deep, suspending the live shrimp in the lower third or quarter of the water column. Also, we have been free lining live croakers around the Islands lately with great success. We have also been catching trout and reds on popping cork rigs in the more shallow areas, fishing a live shrimp about 18 to 24 inches below the popping cork. This pattern should continue for the coming months.
AUGUST
TRIPLETAIL: Same as May.
REDFISH: The redfish are around some of the bay rigs now and can be found in the Grand Bay area and the Portersville Bay and Heron Bay areas as well. They will hit live bait as well as the plastic shrimp or mullet imitation baits.
SPECKLED TROUT: We are still catching speckled trout around the bay rigs all up, down and across the bay, in the marshes and around the small islands in the sound. They can also be found around the rivers that dump into the bays and around structure in Mississippi Sound. The trout will continue this pattern for the coming months until the weather cools off. They will bite shallow early and late and will be in deeper water during the warmer part of the day; I will continue to fish live shrimp under a popping cork early in the shallows and then as we progress to the deeper water, I will fish with a slip cork rig or a free line, hook and lead on the bottom. On the slip corks and free line I will use either live shrimp or live croakers.
SEPTEMBER
TRIPLETAIL: Same as May.
REDFISH: Redfish will be in their usual spots, over oyster beds and shells and along the points of rivers and around streams that dump into the larger bodies of water; salinity and water temps don’t affect the reds like it will the trout. A great way to catch trout and redfish is to look for diving birds and ease or drift into them casting toward the divers. Be quiet, big motor off, stealth! These fish are fattening up for winter and gorge themselves on these little fat minnows and shrimp.
FLOUNDER: Flounder will start their migration from the rivers and channels down the bay as they head offshore to deeper water for the winter. Target points, structure and deeper channels with a finger mullet or bull minnow fished on the bottom. A live shrimp will work too as will the Gulp swim mullet on a lead jig head in either a pearl or chartreuse color bumped along the bottom; make sure to fish your baits on the bottom, its one big key to flounder fishing.
SPECKLED TROUT: It’s trout transition time at Dauphin Island… or very close to it. As the weather begins to cool, the trout will begin their migration and will move up the bay out of the lower bay and into the marsh areas and deeper river systems at the Mobile River Delta where they will winter. Although it is not cool by any means the trout follow the bait and their instincts. I will continue to use live shrimp under a popping cork in the shallow waters. Also in the deeper areas you can float one under a slip cork to find the fish as well. Once you locate fish, a plastic shrimp imitation will work well.
Also, another great way to catch trout and redfish is to look for diving birds and ease or drift into them casting toward the divers. Be quiet, big motor off, stealth! These fish are fattening up for winter and gorge themselves on these little fat minnows and shrimp.
OCTOBER
TRIPLETAIL: There may still be some Tripletail around but they will soon be gone. Same tactics as May.
NOVEMBER
SPECKLED TROUT: The fish have made their migration north into the tidal rivers around Mobile Bay, Portersville Bay, and Heron Bay including Fowl River, Bayou La Batre and Grand Bay where they will winter. The fish will stay in the deeper parts of these rivers early and as the day warms up they will move out to the flats and school up around the oyster beds. Fish with live shrimp, as long as you can find them, under a popping cork. Move around, look for fish slicks and look for birds working and diving; The birds are a dead giveaway. There will be fish under them eating the shrimp and minnows just like the birds. Ease up as you approach the school, turn the big motor off and drift around the school. Don’t go charging into the flock, you will spook the fish. Be stealthy and quiet. When you find these birds, you can throw shrimp imitations like Vu du shrimp, DOA’s, MirrOlure soft plastics, and Beetle spins or even the old faithful live shrimp. Hard baits like Yozuri and MirrOlures will work well too.
Redfish will be mixed in here as well and will eat up a live shrimp tossed to them over and around the oyster beds. Check the points where the smaller rivers dump into the larger rivers for nice flounder mixed in with the trout and reds as well.
WHITE TROUT: Same as May
DECEMBER
REDFISH: With the colder air and water temperatures, the fish will move into the deeper parts of the rivers that feed into Mobile Bay, Fowl River Bay, Grand Bay, Portersville Bay and others. Use a dead shrimp fished on the bottom, or smaller finger mullet, mud minnows or bull minnows. If you are fishing a dead shrimp on the bottom, don’t let it just sit on the bottom, bounce or pull it along the bottom ever so slowly, don’t rush or hurry the presentation. The fish are sluggish right now and expect the baits to be slow as well. You need a slooooow presentation. Don’t be afraid to try a live or VuDu shrimp under a popping cork either in the shallower waters. On the warmer days ahead of a cold or warm front (if we get lucky!) fish the flats in these rivers around the holes. The fish will move into the shallow water as the day heats up. The mud bottom and oyster shell bottoms heat up quicker than some other areas.
SPECKLED TROUT: With the colder air and water temperatures, the speckled trout will move into the deeper parts of the rivers that feed into Mobile Bay, Fowl River Bay, Grand Bay, Portersville Bay and others. When it is colder, the trout will hold up in the deeper holes of these rivers like Fowl River, Dog River, Little River and Bayou La Batre. The deeper holes are often found where the river makes a hard bend; Fish a carolina rig or slip cork rig deep and on the ledges around these holes with a live shrimp or imitation shrimp if you can get them, if not use a VuDu shrimp; I have found that the new VuDu shrimp are one of, if not the best, soft plastic shrimp imitation baits ever made. I love the natural, cajun pepper, gold and brown shrimp varieties.
You have to have some tidal movement in these rivers. When it’s slack tide you seldom have any action. Often, just as soon as the tide starts to move either way, in or out, the fish will begin to feed. Watch your water in these shallow rivers, you may get in an area when the tide seems high but a north wind and a falling tide may strand you on a mud flat. Be alert and careful, always pay attention to the conditions, they can change quickly this time of year.
GENERAL INFO ON ISLANDS
East end of Petite Bois, down the inside of the island a little ways used to be a deep hole that was great for Redfish and trout. Right on the west end point of the island great for ground mullet and pompano.
Look for the areas of slightly silty bottoms. That's where you will find the flounder.
The areas around the Katrina Cut rocks hold specks. There is a small rock pile on the Sound side at the east end of the cut. That is a good spot early with mirrolures or live shrimp. To the east of that there is a nice rapid drop off from 3 feet to about 13 feet. It holds specks and white trout.