The first Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report of 2026 featured host Butch Thierry with co-host Dylan Kiene (Dr. Doormat), plus reports from Capt. Bobby Abruscato of A-Team Fishing and Capt. Patric Garmeson of Ugly Fishing. The theme from start to finish was a warm, erratic winter pattern: short cold snaps followed immediately by t-shirt weather, unusually clear water, and fish that are still in the right places—but not always doing the “normal” winter thing. The big takeaway was to let the fish dictate the program each day, especially when they start suspending, and to stay flexible with lure size, depth, and color.
Conditions Recap
Early January brought downright spring-like air temperatures at times (mid-70s during recording), with “Arctic blast” cold arriving in short bursts that only last a couple of days before warming back up. That quick flip-flop is what’s making the bite feel inconsistent: fish will bunch up and chew, then suspend and get picky when the weather stabilizes and warms again. The water across the tidal rivers has been extremely clear, and the crew noted some areas with visibility measured around 8 feet, which increases the importance of lure color and subtle presentation.
Another curveball has been the tide schedule—very low water during the day with higher water at night—creating access issues at certain launches and changing which stretches are fishable. In the rivers and delta, bait is still abundant, including heavy mullet presence, and there were even reports of shrimp hanging around later than “normal,” which can keep predator fish spread out and feeding selectively.
Inshore Report
Mobile Delta and tidal rivers with Capt. Bobby Abruscato (A-Team Fishing)
Capt. Bobby described this as one of the better winter trout bites he’s seen in years, with the delta fishing feeling closer to the “old days” when numbers and quality stacked up together. The key point: the fish haven’t necessarily left the productive winter areas—they’re still in the delta and in the tidal rivers—but their position in the water column has been changing with each warm stretch. When conditions swing warm after cold, the trout often suspend in 8–10 feet, and that’s when they become the hardest to catch. His approach has been to start the day with multiple lure sizes and let the bites reveal whether fish are relating to the bottom or holding mid-column.
When water is cold and fish are set up deeper, Bobby leans on jig fishing and a “drag line” (his name for the classic do-nothing drift) in strong current. He emphasized that the true do-nothing drift is best in the delta where current is moving hard; in slower tidal rivers it’s tougher to keep baits ticking without hanging up. When it is right, he wants the drag baits barely ticking bottom in the river channel, and he pays attention to drift speed on GPS because the bite will often “lock in” at a specific pace.
Clear water has also made color selection more important. Bobby noted a consistent shift where brighter colors can work early, but after the sun gets up the bite often improves on more subtle, natural tones. He also called out a few “in-between” confidence colors for when you’re unsure where to start.
Gear and lure notes from Bobby’s segment included Slick Lures (Big Slick and Slick Jr), with frequent talk of color rotations like B Cat, Dirty Ice, Broken Croaker, Mad Mullet, Cool Beans, Goblin, and Pea Mint. He also stressed that fluorocarbon (or at least a fluorocarbon leader) helps these soft plastics fish deeper and more effectively than monofilament, especially when the bite requires staying in the lower third of the water column.
Causeway and lower delta focus with Capt. Patric Garmeson (Ugly Fishing)
Capt. Patric has been spending most days within a few miles of the causeway, bouncing around the lower delta based on the direction of the weekly trend. His framework was simple: once you’re beyond Thanksgiving, you can usually count on fish settling into winter zones and then sliding deeper during cooling trends and shallower during warming trends. The water temperature changes may be small, but even a 1–2 degree shift can move fish and change how aggressive they feed—especially in January.
When a true cold push arrives and fish are set up deeper, Patric leans heavily on the do-nothing drift with multiple rods in holders, quarter-ounce jig heads, and baits dragging naturally until a rod loads up. He described it as a high-percentage winter pattern when current is right and you can make long drifts through a productive depth band. He uses electronics to narrow the zone, because on many days fish won’t be in the deepest part of the river; they may be concentrated in a tighter depth range (for example, mid-depth ledges rather than the channel bottom).
Once you find the depth band producing bites, he likes to keep the drift efficient by staying within that range rather than covering the entire river from shallow to deep. For anglers who need a rod in hand, he prefers casting across current and letting the bait work naturally as the boat drifts, instead of retrieving “backwards” to fish that are often facing into the current.
Pattern Breakdown and On-the-Water Playbook
Across both interviews, one lure dominated the conversation: the Slick Jr. Multiple times, the group described days when the Big Slick wasn’t getting touched, then the moment someone picked up the Slick Jr the bite turned on immediately—even with quality fish still in the mix. The consensus was that the smaller profile has been matching what fish want in this warm-winter cycle, and it also allows anglers to cover the top, middle, or bottom of the water column more efficiently during the same drift or set of casts.
The most repeatable winter retrieve described was a true slow roll in the bottom third of the column, with minimal rod movement and occasional pauses to let the bait settle back down. Bobby even gave a real-world example that proves how much built-in action the lure has: the boat was moving under 1 knot and a Slick Jr left in a rod holder still got eaten while simply swimming behind the boat.
The other consistent theme was adapting to fish position during warming stretches. When the weather stabilizes and warms after a cold snap, trout and reds can lift off the bottom and suspend. That’s when long casts, controlled sink, and steady depth management become more important than “working” the bait aggressively.
Gear and Lure Recommendations Mentioned in the Episode
The show included a lot of very specific, in-the-boat gear talk. The most talked-about soft plastics were Slick Lures Big Slick and Slick Jr, with the Slick Jr repeatedly described as the top producer during this stretch. Product and setup mentions included the Slick Jr colors Cracked Pepper, Cool Beans, Ice Candy, Sand Flapper, Ozark Shiner, plus broader color references like B Cat, Dirty Ice, Broken Croaker, Mad Mullet, Goblin, and Pea Mint.
Rigging details mattered. The group repeatedly emphasized lighter jig-head approaches for the Slick Jr to keep it versatile through the water column, and they discussed letting the bait fall naturally before engaging the reel so it sinks more vertically and stays in the strike zone longer. Fluorocarbon (or a fluorocarbon leader) was recommended to help the bait get down and to improve sensitivity compared to monofilament.
Jig heads and terminal tackle specifically mentioned included NLBN-style jig head concepts (flatter-head behavior was discussed), Death Grip-style hooks in smaller sizes, and multiple jig head options Patric likes for the Slick Jr, including the Eye Strick Swimbait Eye and Redfish Eye styles. Patric also noted a simple trick that can improve bait durability on barbed keepers: trimming a tiny amount off the nose before threading to help it seat cleanly.
Rod-building talk included Point Blank spinning builds in the 6’6″ to 6’9″ range with extra-fast actions, and Fuji K-series guide trains for casting efficiency. There was also discussion of BFS-style casting setups as a potential match for the Slick Jr when anglers want baitcaster control with lighter lures.
Barometric Pressure and Why the Bite “Turns Off”
A listener-driven topic this week was barometric pressure, and the crew tied it directly to what anglers feel on the water. In general, they described the best feeding windows as the period leading into a change when pressure is falling and conditions are unstable, when fish can get noticeably more aggressive. When pressure spikes quickly and the weather becomes less comfortable—often paired with stiff north winds—bites can transition from hard strikes to softer, mushy taps and more skin-hooked fish, as if fish are just rolling on the bait instead of committing.
Dylan added the biological “why” behind those windows, explaining how pressure changes can affect fish comfort and behavior (particularly around buoyancy), which is why some of the most electric bites happen during active weather movement, even if that weather isn’t enjoyable for anglers.
