This week on the Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report, host Butch Thierry brings in a fresh lineup of contributors with three very different bites to pay attention to right now. Drew Giles breaks down a practical, repeatable sheepshead pattern that hinges on water clarity, current, and getting tight to structure. Tyler Hanks recaps a first-place win in the Battle of the Grubs tournament with a deep-water speckled trout approach that surprised even him. Then Captain Tyler Massey of Hot Spots Charters shares an offshore winter program built around vermilion snapper, scamp, and a few bonus species (including African pompano) when the weather cooperates.
Conditions Recap
Conditions were a mixed bag, and the theme across all reports was “adjust fast.” On the inshore side, heavy rain and runoff muddied up some dependable sheepshead water to the point of shutting the bite down completely, while cleaner water (2–3 feet of visibility with some wind chop) turned the switch back on. For the trout tournament crowd, water stayed super clear and mid-60s (roughly 62–64°F), and the winning fish weren’t locked where you “expected” them to be on the ledge. Offshore, the limiting factor remains winter weather windows between fronts, but when you can go, the fishing has been steady—especially on vermilion snapper, with scamp opportunities still in play (for now) in the deeper rock range.
Mobile Bay Inshore
Sheepshead: Clarity, Current, and Getting Close (Drew Giles)
Drew Giles has been dialed in on sheepshead and made it simple: water clarity and moving water decide your day. He learned that lesson the hard way this week when a normally “money” spot went dead after the water muddied up—so he ran to cleaner water and immediately found a bite. His sweet spot is moderate visibility (about 2–3 feet) with the water moving. When it’s slick calm and crystal clear, he says sheepshead get noticeably more finicky.
Drew’s approach starts with structure that has natural groceries on it—barnacles, mussels, clams—because that life is the dinner bell. He prefers clusters of pilings over isolated posts, and he works the water column from bottom up until he finds where the fish are holding. If they’re there, he expects bites quickly; if not, he’s moving within 15–20 minutes rather than waiting around for fish to “show up.”
Current matters as much as clarity. Drew watches tide movement and tries to avoid planning trips around long slack windows because the bite can die until water starts pushing again. When he sets up on a piling, he wants to fish the down-current side where food is naturally washing off the structure.
Gear notes (from Drew’s playbook): For eater-sized fish, he’ll run lighter setups (2500 class spinning or a baitcaster, 20 lb braid to 20 lb fluoro). When he targets bigger sheepshead around heavier structure, he steps up to a 4000 size so he can crank fish out before they rock him. If the water gets very clear, he’ll drop his leader to 15 lb fluoro (he doesn’t like going lighter because he’s fishing to bring fish home).
Rigging & hooks: Drew likes using a swivel for speed because you will get broken off around structure and re-rigging needs to be fast (cold hands make it even more important). He typically runs about a two-foot leader under the swivel. For hook choice, he’s a fan of fixed, weighted “sheepshead jigs/knocker-style” heads because they drive home quickly; he believes swing-style jigs can cost hookups in that split-second “crush and back off” sheepshead bite. When fishing with guests (especially bass anglers with fast hook-set habits), he’ll put them on a circle hook (often a 1/0 live bait circle) and instruct them to watch the line, lift, and reel—more like snapper fishing—so they stick more fish.
Baits: Fiddler crabs are Drew’s favorite because they reduce bycatch—shrimp will catch fish, but it can bring extra “trash fish” when you’re targeting sheepshead. If crabs aren’t an option, he’ll scrape barnacles or mussels from the structure and use that. He also keeps weight as light as possible—just enough to hold the bait still—because he wants a stationary presentation in the rivers and bays.
Boat positioning: Drew is not shy about getting tight to pilings. He believes staying vertical and in the strike zone is critical when the bite is tougher inshore. If he needs to chum, he’ll scrape structure or toss chum to pull fish in. He also notes an interesting pattern: he’s seen sheepshead rise higher in the water column during rain and flash on the surface.
Follow Drew for more short reports and on-the-water updates: Drew Giles on Facebook and check out The Fever.
Mobile Bay Speckled Trout
Battle of the Grubs Winner: Deep Water, Shallow Feed (Tyler Hanks)
Tyler Hanks recapped a first-place finish in the Battle of the Grubs tournament with a 18.16-pound bag, and the key was timing plus an open mind. The team knew they’d have a slight falling tide early that would roll into a slow incoming, so they planned to make their catch during the early window using river current and the falling tide to create the feeding scenario they needed.
They started on a deep-water ledge system dropping into roughly 35 feet and focused on finding where the trout were positioned around the ledge and thermocline. The twist: the fish weren’t doing what they’d done on the previous trip. Tyler expected them deeper, but his partner experimented and found the fish feeding in the upper eight feet of the water column over that same ledge. Once they recognized the pattern, the bite went “electric,” and they assembled their weight quickly (around 15 fish total caught) before sliding away to keep attention off the area.
Lure profile & presentation: While many anglers have been leaning into smaller bait profiles, their winning fish wanted the opposite—larger, fatter, longer straight-tail baits. They also leaned into a slower fall on lighter jigheads, which they believe helped trigger bites as barometric pressure changed ahead of the front. Water was very clear and in the low-to-mid 60s, so they stayed in more natural color families rather than bright or dark extremes.
Tyler’s biggest takeaway was simple and valuable: don’t lock into yesterday’s assumptions. Even on the same structure, fish can shift depth and preference quickly. Stay willing to experiment until you find where they moved and what they want.
Pensacola Offshore and Hybrid Report
Scamp, Vermilion Snapper, and Bonus Fish (Captain Tyler Massey)
Captain Tyler Massey of Hot Spots Charters says the biggest winter limiter is weather windows between cold fronts—but when you can get out, the days are often calmer offshore than you’d expect. The steady “meat fishing” play has been vermilion snapper, and scamp has been a strong secondary target in deeper water while the season is open.
Tyler discussed ongoing scamp management talk and why he dislikes full closures: in deep water, release mortality can be a real problem, and closing a species entirely often means anglers will still catch them while targeting other fish. His preference is typically reducing limits rather than shutting the door completely.
Where he targets scamp: Natural rock structure from roughly 180–190 feet out to around 400 feet can hold scamp. In January, he’s seen strong opportunities across that range.
Baits: This winter has produced unusually good live bait availability offshore—cigar minnows, sardines, small hardtails—plus inshore options like small pinfish, croakers, and finger mullet. While live bait is his primary scamp tool, he also notes scamp will eat jigs well (vertical jigs, slow pitch, and similar presentations) on the right days.
Go-to rigs: Tyler commonly runs (1) a Carolina rig with a 4–5 foot leader (often 60–80 lb leader material) and (2) a single-drop style rig with a bank sinker. He likes the single-drop/bank sinker setup when current is stronger because it gets down faster and holds bottom better without the twist issues heavier Carolina weights can create. On the Carolina rig, he’ll usually crank a couple turns off the bottom so the bait can swim and draw attention while keeping the lead from dragging.
Twist control tip: On the drop, add a little spool pressure and slow it down so the weight stays ahead and the swivel can do its job. If a leader gets badly twisted, he often re-ties immediately—once a leader has memory from a major twist, it tends to repeat the problem.
Bonus species: In the same deep rock range, Tyler has run into solid numbers of almaco jacks and even a rare-for-the-area African pompano showing on the machine like amberjack. They boxed a couple quality fish and released more after the boat limit.
When Weather Keeps You Inshore: Sheepshead and More
If offshore isn’t an option, Tyler says the inshore program through late winter revolves around sheepshead on bridges, plus chances at redfish, black drum, white trout, and even some mangrove snapper around the pass. As the season progresses, jetties improve and the crowds build—so positioning and etiquette matter.
Jetty etiquette: Tyler’s rule is simple—getting close isn’t the issue if you can safely hold position and fish vertically without tangling others. Don’t bump boats, don’t crowd into someone’s drift/cast lane if it creates constant tangles, and use your trolling motor/spot-lock responsibly. He prefers setting up directly over what he wants to fish (rather than long-casting) so another boat sliding in doesn’t shut down his game plan.
Inshore sheepshead baits he relies on: live shrimp first, fiddler crabs second, sand fleas third.
