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Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report for July 3 – 9, 2026

July 6, 2026

On this week’s Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report, host Butch Thierry is joined in studio by Dylan Kiene AKA Dr. Doormat for a Fourth of July week report that covers boating safety, custom rod building, trout, triple tail, tarpon, swordfish, surf fishing, offshore weed lines, tuna, and red snapper from Orange Beach and Gulf Shores to Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Mississippi Sound, and Dauphin Island.

This episode features Chris Vecsey of J&M Tackle, Capt. Richard Rutland of Cold Blooded Fishing, and Cody Broughton. The big story is that fishing remains strong across several different fisheries, but heavy rain, strong currents, floating debris, dirty water, high boat traffic, and changing bait patterns mean anglers need to slow down, stay aware, and adjust their game plan.

Conditions Recap

The Alabama Gulf Coast is setting up for a busy Fourth of July weekend, and the main message from the opening conversation was safety. Butch and Dylan both emphasized that recent rain has pushed a lot of debris into the bay system, including logs, deadheads, and new obstructions that may not have been there a few weeks ago. Anyone running after fireworks or returning to the dock at night needs to slow down, follow safe tracks, use the channel when appropriate, wear a kill switch, keep life jackets handy, and make sure there is a reliable communication device on board. Dylan also mentioned carrying a Garmin inReach for emergency communication.

Current is another major factor this week. Chris Vecsey reported very strong current on the beach and on nearshore and offshore bottom structure inside roughly 40 miles, while also noting that the current was not as bad as expected out swordfishing. The big current has made tarpon fishing tougher because fish are rolling fast, staying low, and giving anglers fewer clean sight-fishing opportunities.

Water quality has changed quickly. After a stretch when blue water was close to shore and even near the ships, much of the system has been dirtier, greener, or stained from freshwater intrusion. Capt. Richard Rutland said the water around Mobile Bay, the mouth of the bay, and the Mississippi Sound is improving day by day, but it is still far from the clear green water anglers had a few weeks ago. Cody Broughton said he ran as far as about 80 miles offshore and still saw green water, which has played into the odd tuna pattern.

Despite those conditions, the fishing remains good. Speckled trout are biting well in the right shallow-water setups, triple tail are being found on tide lines and floating debris, swordfish have been active around the moon cycle, red snapper are strong in state and federal waters, and surf anglers still have trout, flounder, jacks, and bull reds to target when they can work around water clarity and grass.

Boating Safety, Custom Rods, and Rodeo Notes With Dylan Kiene AKA Dr. Doormat

Dylan Kiene AKA Dr. Doormat joined Butch in studio to start the show with a broad look at the weekend conditions and the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. With big holiday boat traffic expected, Dylan stressed that even experienced boaters should not assume their normal route is clear right now. Debris has moved, currents are strong, and night running after fireworks can make familiar water look completely different.

Dylan also talked about recent work in the Mastering Rod Building studio, including his flounder rod recipe video and how custom rod building lets anglers match a rod to a specific technique, grip style, guide train, and fishery. He explained why handle length, exposed blank contact, guide alignment, spiral wrapping, and building into the spine of the blank can change how a rod performs and feels on the water.

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo will have a new live triple tail category this year, and Dylan is building a high-end prize rod for the winner. He said the first-place live triple tail rod will be a seven-foot-six heavy moderate Point Blank build with Anglers Resource and Fuji components, including anodized titanium guides and premium grips. He also discussed other live-category rods for redfish, trout, and flounder.

Products and gear mentioned in Dylan’s section included custom flounder rods, Anglers Resource, Fuji Guides, Point Blank blanks, Fuji Alconite guides, titanium guides, custom cork, carbon grips, exposed blank reel seats, spiral-wrapped guide trains, and Garmin inReach emergency communicators.

Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Tarpon, Swordfish, Surf, and Lights Report With Chris Vecsey of J&M Tackle

Chris Vecsey of J&M Tackle joined the report from Orange Beach after fishing inshore, offshore, in the surf, under the lights, and along the beach for tarpon. His main point was that the fish are still there, but anglers have to adjust to heavy current, dirty water, and changing conditions.

Tarpon fishing has been tough but active. Chris said he has been seeing plenty of fish, but the strong east current on the beach has made them move quickly and stay low. Instead of staying up and giving anglers repeated shots, many fish roll once, drop down, and slide past before a fly or lure can be placed in front of them. For fly anglers, that means long periods of looking without many casts, but the payoff is worth it when a fish finally eats.

For anglers who are not fly fishing, Chris recommended a straightforward conventional setup. A spinning reel that holds at least 250 yards of 40- to 50-pound braid, a longer rod for casting and changing angles on the fish, 60- to 80-pound fluorocarbon leader, and 6/0 to 8/0 circle hooks will cover most live-bait situations. For artificials, he likes four- to six-inch swim baits on three-quarter- to two-ounce heads, with the lighter heads allowing a slower retrieve that keeps the bait higher in the water column while still letting the paddle tail work.

Chris likes to throw ahead of a tarpon at a slight angle rather than directly head-on, then slow-roll the swim bait with a steady retrieve. He mentioned Jig Pro swim tails and larger Saltwater Assassin tails as examples, but said the key is a roughly five-inch bait with a good tail kick rather than one exact brand.

Swordfishing has been productive. Chris went with Stephen Franklin of Bama Saltwater and found bait and fish in deeper water around 1,500 to 1,600 feet. Once the electronics were dialed in, they marked fish quickly, sent baits down, and hooked two swordfish in a short window. One legal fish was released, and another legal fish was kept after being hooked in a way that caused it to bleed heavily. The bite was good enough that they had action from both swordfish and pomfret before deciding to head back early on a smaller boat.

For swordfish bait, Chris kept it simple with squid, but also said J&M Tackle carries octopus tentacles that have been very effective. Squid, octopus tentacles, 300-pound leaders, stitched baits, and a heavier four-pound weight were part of the plan because there was still current. He said the key depth zone was near bottom to roughly 80 to 100 feet above bottom, and once he hit bottom, he would crank up around 10 to 15 turns to get in the zone.

The surf has been tougher because of poor water quality and some grass, but it is still worth fishing early. Chris said big trout are still in the surf, flounder are still being caught in the close troughs, and the early morning bite has been best. Afternoon fishing has been more difficult because ladyfish have been ruthless. Around Fort Morgan and West Pass, big jack crevalle and some bull reds have also been showing up.

Night fishing under the lights has been steady, even though the freshwater has knocked things around. Chris said there are lots of trout, mostly smaller fish, along with some bigger reds mixed in. The lights with bait have been the most important ones to fish. He has been throwing smaller paddle tails and shrimp imitations rather than live bait, and the Marker 54 Shrimp LIT has been one of his best baits under the lights.

Products and gear mentioned in Chris’s report included tarpon fly tackle, 40- to 50-pound braid, 60- to 80-pound fluorocarbon, 6/0 to 8/0 circle hooks, four- to six-inch swim baits, three-quarter- to two-ounce swim bait heads, Jig Pro swim tails, Saltwater Assassin tails, squid, octopus tentacles, 300-pound swordfish leaders, four-pound swordfish weights, stitched swordfish baits, Marker 54 Shrimp LIT, smaller paddle tails, shrimp imitations, and J&M Tackle for local tackle help.

Mobile Bay, Mississippi Sound, Speckled Trout, Wade Fishing, and Triple Tail Report With Capt. Richard Rutland of Cold Blooded Fishing

Capt. Richard Rutland of Cold Blooded Fishing said speckled trout have been the heavy hitter lately, especially around the full moon. Instead of the bite falling off before or after the moon, the trout bite has continued to hold up well, and he has been catching fish a lot of different ways.

Wade fishing has been one of the most productive and enjoyable approaches. Richard has been throwing a lot of topwater, and when fish do not want the surface bait, he has been catching them on smaller-profile lures. He said the original Slick Lure, normally one of his favorites, has not been producing as well for him lately, while the Slick Junior and MirrOlure Little John XL have been very good.

Richard said the Slick Junior has been especially versatile because it can be rigged on a small swim bait hook, fished on a jig head, kept high and fast, or weighted down and worked lower and slower. For customers who are not experienced with artificial lures, he often tells them not to overwork it. A simple cast-and-wind retrieve can let the bait dart and dive naturally.

Dylan added that he has been testing Tsunami black nickel swim bait hooks that fit the Slick Junior well, while Richard said he often replaces the spring keepers on Hayabusa swim bait hooks with Owner screw locks. Richard also mentioned fishing a three-ought, one-eighth-ounce Hogy jig head with a spring keeper to make soft plastics last longer.

Topwater has been good enough to produce through much of a half-day trip in shallow water. Richard has been throwing the Mansfield Knocker, which he said he gets through Waterloo Rods. He also spoke highly of Waterloo’s wade-fishing gear, stringers, tackle boxes, wade boxes, wading belts, and rods, especially for anglers who want a quality rod without jumping all the way into a fully custom build.

The best wading areas have been shallow, especially during high-water morning conditions. Richard is looking for water from about a foot and a half to three feet deep, sand with grass, Gulf-side beach structure around Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan, potholes, bars, guts, dips, and any feature that breaks up a flat shoreline. He said deeper water close to the beach is usually a recipe for success, whether that is on the Gulf side, in Mobile Bay, or in the Mississippi Sound.

Bait activity is the clue that tells him he is in the right place. He wants to see mullet pinned tight to the beach, nervous bait rippling the surface, and little eruptions where bait showers away from feeding fish. When walking a shoreline, he casts out, down the beach, at 45-degree angles, and even onto the beach so he can work the lure back into the water. With topwater, he watches closely for wakes, follows, missed blowups, and changes in fish behavior so he can adjust cadence.

Richard also gave a practical crab report from Dauphin Island. The Gulf beach has been producing blue crabs when the water is clear enough to see them, and a long-handled crab net has been the key tool. He reminded anglers not to keep female crabs carrying eggs, regardless of egg color.

Triple tail fishing has shifted because of the freshwater. Richard said water quality is still not where it was a few weeks ago, but it is improving. He has been finding more salinity south of Middle Bay Lighthouse, with much of the water north of that still very fresh. Instead of treating that as purely negative, he sees it as a way to eliminate water and focus effort farther south.

His better triple tail zones have been near the mouth of Mobile Bay, roughly a few miles north of Fort Morgan and the east end of Dauphin Island, along with the Mississippi Sound, which tends to clean up faster after big rain events. Because the water is dirty, he has leaned more into sight fishing than slip-corking. Triple tail have small visual windows, and in dirty water it is harder to put a suspended bait where they can see it.

Tide lines have been a major part of the pattern. Freshwater, saltwater, temperature differences, wind, and tide can create hard edges where foam, bait, debris, grass, and floating structure concentrate. Dylan explained that these lines form when water bodies with different densities meet, and Richard said the lines with life are the ones worth spending time on. Glass minnows, ballyhoo, bait, foam, grass, logs, and other structure can all make a tide line more productive.

Richard said he wants the sun at his back when running tide lines or crab trap lines so he can see fish clearly. Sometimes that means running the rougher side of the line if it gives him the better angle. Preparation is critical because a triple tail on open water or a tide line may only be visible for a short time. He often keeps a live shrimp already hooked and ready in the livewell or in a bucket so a customer can make the cast as soon as the fish appears.

Products and gear mentioned in Richard’s report included Slick Lures, Slick Junior, MirrOlure Little John XL, Hogy jig heads, Hayabusa swim bait hooks, Owner screw locks, Tsunami swim bait hooks, Mansfield Knocker topwaters, Waterloo Rods, wade boxes, wading belts, stringers, live shrimp, long-handled crab nets, and crab-trap and tide-line sight-fishing gear.

Dauphin Island Offshore, Swordfish, Yellowfin Tuna, and Red Snapper Report With Cody Broughton

Cody Broughton joined the report from Dauphin Island with a mixed offshore update that included green water, scattered tuna, swordfish action, pomfret, mahi, white marlin, and excellent snapper fishing. He said tuna fishing has been strange this summer. The spring yellowfin bite lined up the way it normally does, but once things warmed up, the fish seemed to disappear from many of the usual places.

Cody ran as far as about 80 miles and never found the clean blue water he was hoping for. Even with that, he found life around grass while swordfishing. On one trip, he saw a white marlin jumping several times around the grass while sword lines were still deployed. After reeling up his final buoy line, he went back to the area with lures, then spotted what he first thought might be the white marlin. When he got close, he realized the yellow fin in front of the tail belonged to a yellowfin tuna.

His crew quickly rigged a popper, hooked the tuna on the first cast, lost it while passing the rod, then got another shot when the fish came back up. The second cast connected, and the fish ate the popper well. They were in roughly 900 feet of water with bait, mahi, grass, and billfish activity nearby, which reminded everyone that even in off-colored water, the right rip or grass patch can still produce.

For swordfish, Cody is a believer in moon timing and being on the spot for the bite window. On the full moon trip, he arrived right around the major bite period, dropped quickly, got bit, and eventually put together a strong day with a swordfish, pomfret, yellowfin tuna, and solid red snapper. He said he has had recent swordfish bites on eel and squid, while friends fishing a tournament had better success on belly strips and eels because there was so much bait around that squid was getting picked apart.

The red snapper bite has been strong, including in state waters and on public reef areas. Cody said he had been worried that some of his spots were hit hard last year, but recent trips have produced solid fish, including 10- to 13-pound class snapper. He found good fish in roughly 58 to 62 feet of water, and Butch noted that other recent trips in about 65 feet had plenty of 10- to 15-pound snapper as well.

Cody’s approach out of Dauphin Island has included checking different directions instead of only running straight south. He has found good options west of Dauphin Island and around public structure, and the rough early-summer weather may have given some fish a break. He said the fishing has been good enough that on some trips, they have had to figure out extra things to do because the snapper limits came together quickly.

Products and gear mentioned in Cody’s report included swordfish squid, eel baits, belly strips, buoy lines, poppers for tuna, trolling lures around grass, reef and bottom-fishing tackle, red snapper rigs, full-moon and solunar planning tools, and offshore gear for swordfish, yellowfin tuna, mahi, pomfret, white marlin, and snapper trips.