[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ctober is definitely one of my favorite months to fish. I always wait for that first morning to come along where I have to walk back inside to get a fleece before I leave the house headed to the boat ramp. That is always about the time the Speckled Trout have made their transition from a Summer time pattern to a fall pattern. I will just about refuse to fish anywhere else except the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in the fall. The Delta can be a magical place in the fall when the conditions are right. The White Shrimp will make a migration into the shallow bays of the Delta in the late summer and the Speckled Trout and Redfish will be right behind them. I always start looking for Trout on the south side of I-10 Bridge under birds on the Tensaw, Apalachee, and Blakely Flats. I always use my trolling motor to approach schools of fish under birds but if no trolling motor setting up a drift if the best plan of action. Motoring into a flock of birds is a surefire way to spook the school of fish and upset other anglers trying to target the same school.
Remember to be stealthy anytime you are targeting inshore species in shallow water and stay on the outside of the flock of birds casting into them. So, what lures and tackle do you use to catch these fish? My go to setup is a light spinning rod with a popping cork and a live shrimp or shrimp imitation about 18 inches under the cork. Throw your cork right where the birds are diving and that is where the fish will be. In deeper rivers when I find birds working I like to throw a grub with a fairly heavy jig head. I like to throw into the middle of the school and twitch it like a shrimp through the water column. Sometimes you will find the bigger fish will be deeper in the water column and the smaller school size fish will be on top. As the cold fronts come through on a weekly basis the shrimp will start to fall out of the Delta and the fish will push further north. This pattern will basically continue until we get our seasonal winter rains. Once the rain sets in the freshwater will flush the Delta of all the shrimp and fish. Then we get into winter time fishing which is for another day! Good luck and happy catching!