By: Capt. Dan Kolenich
May is usually the best fishing for Specs and Reds on Mobile Bay until the fall. This year is off to a good start. Water temps are in the low 70’s and pretty dirty from the rains in April. This is all very normal for April.
In May, specs should be scattered out from Point Clear to Daphne and all along the ship channel into the Mobile River. The water will be in the 70’s and the muddy water from April rains should be cleared up in early May. Look for clear salty water. Shrimp should be showing up off Fairhope and Daphne late in the month.
So, try to find some clear water and work the docks along the bay. Specs and reds will be looking for a meal. For the live bait fishermen, try a shrimp under a popping cork. Artificial guys can work a soft plastic on a jig head, top water plug, or a Mirrolure suspending bait like a catch Jr. or a catch 2000. Away from the docks look for birds working, and you’ll find specs. The action is fast so approach them from up wind and drift down casting soft plastics on jig heads. My favorite colors are root beer/chartreuse, natural shrimp, white/chartreuse, and chartreuse/red on a 1/4 or 3/8 oz jig head. Try North Pass and the other cuts thru the causeway for reds, as we head into June.
Flounder should start showing up along the western end of the causeway. Look around sandy points that face into the current. Another good place will be in the pilings of the docks along the bay. A bull minnow on a carolina rig is the best bet. A soft plastic on a jig head is a good bet for the artificial fisherman. I like a curly tail or shrimp plastic.
Get out and get it while the water is in the 70 to 80-degree range. By mid-June the water will start to get warm and slow the trout fishing down for the summer.
Capt. Dan Kolenich
info@captdankolenich.com
251-422-3474