Wayne Miller caught this 7-pound largemouth bass while throwing a big topwater twitchbait in Bayou Sara Thursday morning. Miller says bass fishermen can put together a nice sack of fish if they're willing to move around and try different baits. (Submitted by Wayne Miller)Great weather, good tidal movement, decent water clarity, falling water temperatures and major feeding times early and late should all add up to some awesome fishing over the next week no matter what you like to catch.
The little rise on the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers has stained the water heading into the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Predictions from the National Weather Service indicate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is going to let the reservoirs behind the dams at Coffeeville on the Tombigbee and Claiborne on the Alabama fall slowly, keeping the rivers at a higher level.
That likely will extend the time some muddy freshwater flows into the Delta.
That won't be a huge problem for bass fishermen who make the effort to fish creeks and bays, but it could hinder folks who like to fish the main rivers.
I know folks were catching speckled trout and the occasional redfish up around Twelve Mile Island on the Mobile River early in the week, but I haven't heard if the river rise has hurt those bites.
I'm fishing up that way today, so I will have a better sense of what's happening. (I plan on posting an update to www.al.com as soon as I'm off the water.)
Bobby Abruscato said with water temperatures earlier in the week still hovering around 81 degrees, not much has changed in the Mississippi Sound. Until the water cools beyond 75 degrees, he said summer patterns would persist.
George Koulianos and a partner caught redfish and a couple of flounder off the stumps in Grand Bay. They didn't fish for specks.
He found specks and white trout around the rigs by Katrina Cut on Monday. Live shrimp under a slip cork were the ticket.
Chris Vescey at Sam's in Orange Beach said the pompano bite in the surf off Gulf Shores picked up this week. Sand fleas were the preferred bait.
Redfish and flounder are still biting well around Perdido Pass and Bay St. John. Specks are biting at night around the docks off Old River.
With cooler temperatures, Vescey said king mackerel and Spanish mackerel should be biting close to shore.
Offshore, he said the billfish bite, especially among white marlin and sailfish, should pick up.
The wahoo bite is still solid to the southeast around the Nipple, Spur and Elbow.
Rough seas have prevented most fishermen from heading to the southwest rigs.
Flounder, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish were biting at the Gulf State Park Pier on Thursday. One angler also lost an estimated 40-pound cobia.
Over the last week, redfish, bluefish, whiting, sheepshead, triggerfish and pompano were caught.
Live bait is growing scarcer at the pier. Folks targeting flounder are bringing their own bull minnows onto the pier.
Wayne Miller said the Delta continues to be a challenge for bass fishermen as they deal with another rise on the rivers feeding it.
The good news is that the bass are still biting. However, anglers should be prepared to try numerous areas and techniques to put together a good sack.
The topwater bite continues to be good on frogs, buzzbaits and stickbaits. Miller caught a 7-pound largemouth bass in Bayou Sara Thursday morning while slowly fishing a big topwater twitchbait on wood banks.
Bandit crankbaits in shad patterns and small spinnerbaits are working in the main rivers.
The most productive slow presentation Miller has found over the past week in the rivers has been a Junebug-color worm fished slowly around wood cover. It has been really effective with good tidal flow.
The DOA bite continues to be consistent along the south end of the Delta around the Causeway. Miller said anglers should always be vigilant in their search for active shrimp.
