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Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report for July 17 – 23, 2026

July 17, 2026

In this week’s Alabama Saltwater Fishing Report, host Butch Thierry gets anglers ready for Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo weekend with reports from Capt. Patric Garmeson of Ugly Fishing and Capt. King Marchand of Capt. Mike’s Fishing. Patric covers a diverse inshore and nearshore bite, including speckled trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, black drum, red snapper, king mackerel, cobia, and jack crevalle. King breaks down how the Lady Ann crew approaches a multi-day tournament, where they plan to look for tuna, blue marlin, mahi-mahi, and wahoo, and how tournament fishing changes tackle, bait selection, and decision-making.

The episode is presented by Angelo DePaola of The Coastal Connection with eXp Realty. With good weather expected to bring a large number of boats onto the water for the rodeo, Butch and both captains also stress the importance of thunderstorms, boating etiquette, emergency communication, life jackets, and having a plan before running offshore.

Conditions Recap

Mid-July fishing along the Alabama coast is offering plenty of opportunities, but anglers may need to be flexible. Capt. Patric Garmeson says water temperatures have remained very warm, although recent days were slightly more comfortable with temperatures staying below 90 degrees. Speckled trout are available throughout the system, flounder are showing up, and there is a wide mix of sheepshead, black drum, puppy drum, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, cobia, and red snapper to target. Redfish have been the exception, with several guides reporting unusually inconsistent action from fish that are normally one of the summer’s most dependable targets.

One important inshore factor is the presence of thermoclines in portions of southern Mobile Bay and nearshore Gulf water. Patric says his fishfinder has shown distinct layers only several feet beneath the surface, with fish holding almost entirely above them. When those layers appear, keeping live baits, soft plastics, or popping-cork rigs in the upper portion of the water column can be much more productive than fishing underneath the fish.

Nearshore, the red snapper bite has become less automatic. Both captains describe fish that are surrounded by abundant natural forage and are sometimes difficult to trigger. Patric has countered that problem by adapting tuna-style chunking methods for nearshore snapper. King says the offshore snapper bite has also slowed as reefs become covered with cigar minnows, other baitfish, and the summertime jelly-like material that fish are feeding heavily on.

Offshore water quality is mixed. King reported cleaner water around areas such as Appomattox and portions of the deeper Gulf, while several closer structures remained in dirty water. He expects anglers willing to make the long run to cleaner water and productive current features to have opportunities for tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo, and blue marlin during rodeo weekend.

Safety is especially important this week. Butch warns that a good general forecast does not eliminate the threat of fast-developing summer thunderstorms. Anglers should carry properly fitted life jackets, reliable emergency communication such as a Garmin inReach or similar satellite communicator, and an active towing membership such as Sea Tow. Slow down around heavy tournament traffic, give other boats room to work, and have a plan for rapidly changing weather.

Mobile Bay Inshore and Nearshore Fishing Report With Capt. Patric Garmeson of Ugly Fishing

Capt. Patric Garmeson of Ugly Fishing says this is a good time to avoid becoming locked into one species or one technique. There are plenty of fish available, but the most productive trips have involved carrying several bait options and being willing to adjust throughout the day.

Speckled trout remain one of the better inshore targets, but there has not always been one dominant presentation. Patric has seen situations where a soft plastic catches one trout, a croaker catches the next, and a live shrimp catches another from the exact same area. On some recent trips, croakers have been the best live bait with shrimp serving as an important backup.

Current speed helps determine how Patric presents those baits. When current is light, he likes freelining a live croaker, pogie, or other baitfish. When the current is moving harder, a slip cork with live shrimp can keep the bait traveling naturally through the strike zone. If small fish begin destroying shrimp, switching to a croaker can help eliminate some of those unwanted bites while still producing trout.

Artificial lures are also producing. During the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament, Patric’s son Cooper caught trout and a large black drum on Z-Man four-inch scented paddletails. In stronger current around deeper structure, Patric will move up to a 3/8-ounce jighead so the angler can maintain contact with the bait. He prefers a 1/4-ounce jighead when conditions allow and will go even lighter as the current slows.

Patric says larger four- and five-inch soft plastics can be especially effective around gas rigs and other structure with large concentrations of bait. In areas with less bait, the smaller Pure Flats SLICK Jr. becomes another strong option.

Pay attention to the fishfinder before deciding how deep to fish. Patric recently found a very clear thermocline while fishing roughly 14 to 18 feet of water. The layer appeared around six to eight feet deep, and the fish were holding above it. Once he instructed his anglers to stop letting their baits sink and instead work them slowly through the upper water column, they stayed in the productive zone. He believes a popping-cork presentation could also have been effective because it would naturally keep the bait above the thermocline.

Redfish have been unusually frustrating. Patric has spent hours working docks, rocks, river structure, Delta habitat, beaches, and other traditional redfish areas with relatively few slot-size fish to show for the effort. The encouraging sign is the number of very small juvenile redfish appearing in those same areas. When Patric has caught better slot fish, baitfish such as pogies, bull minnows, and finger mullet have been more productive than shrimp.

For sheepshead and black drum, Patric recommends carrying live shrimp and fishing extremely tight to bridges, docks, pilings, concrete walls, and similar hard structure. Once one fish is caught from a piece of structure, anglers should thoroughly work the entire area because those fish are rarely alone. The same approach can also produce bonus redfish and flounder.

Nearshore Red Snapper, Cobia, King Mackerel, and Chunking Tactics With Capt. Patric Garmeson

Patric’s most interesting nearshore pattern has been borrowing a technique from offshore tuna fishermen and applying it to pressured red snapper around gas platforms and wrecks. Rather than simply dropping a bait to the bottom, he creates a chum line with small pieces of pogie and hides a hook inside an identical-looking chunk.

The details matter. Patric cuts the bait only large enough to conceal the hook and pushes the hook into the meat instead of simply running it through the chunk. He then releases the hooked bait among the free pieces of chum and allows it to fall at the same rate. Even around heavily pressured nearshore structure, that more natural presentation has produced quality snapper.

His basic chunking setup includes a small circle hook, approximately a six-foot section of 50-pound monofilament leader, and a short 80-pound bite tippet immediately above the hook. The heavier bite section offers some protection from Spanish mackerel and king mackerel without adding a full wire leader. Patric leaves the reel in freespool and feeds braided line fast enough to keep a small coil of slack on the surface. When that coil suddenly disappears, he closes the bail and comes tight.

Chunked pogies have been the preferred bait. Patric has also experimented with croakers and other dead bait, but the pogie chunks have consistently generated bites. Once the chum line gets fish active, dropping a small lively croaker into the same area can produce a larger snapper, Spanish mackerel, or king mackerel.

The tactic recently produced red snapper from legal size into the 13- to 14-pound range, along with a roughly 40-pound cobia. Interestingly, Patric says that cobia’s stomach was packed with crabs and shrimp rather than pogies, yet it still ate the first hooked chunk that drifted naturally through the chum line.

Patric also recommends keeping anglers casting around the boat while one or two rods are chunking. A five-inch Z-Man paddletail rigged on an Eye Strike Diesel Eye jighead in the 1/2- to 1-ounce range has produced snapper, Spanish mackerel, sharks, and quality king mackerel. One recent king weighed approximately 34 pounds and made a run of more than 100 yards on a 5000-size spinning reel.

When specifically targeting kings and Spanish, Patric often avoids wire and instead uses an 80- to 100-pound bite tippet with an Owner 4/0 Kahle hook. Some fish will still cut the leader, but he likes the increased number of bites and the tendency of the Kahle hook to catch fish in the corner of the mouth.

Jack crevalle are another nearshore and lower-bay option. Patric likes having one angler throw a topwater popper while another follows with a five-inch Z-Man paddletail. If the jacks slash at the topwater without committing, the soft plastic thrown directly behind the commotion often gets eaten.

Products and gear discussed in Patric’s report included live croakers, live shrimp, pogies, bull minnows, finger mullet, Z-Man four- and five-inch paddletails, Pure Flats SLICK Jr., 1/4- and 3/8-ounce jigheads, Eye Strike Diesel Eye jigheads, small circle hooks, Owner 4/0 Kahle hooks, 50-pound monofilament leader, and 80- to 100-pound bite tippet.

Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo Offshore Report With Capt. King Marchand of Capt. Mike’s Fishing

Capt. King Marchand of Capt. Mike’s Fishing is approaching the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo with a very different mindset from a normal charter trip. Rather than trying to catch a little of everything, the Lady Ann crew plans to concentrate on the big-game categories where they believe they have the best opportunity to compete.

King says the crew is focusing on tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo, and blue marlin rather than splitting time between those species, swordfish, and red snapper. On a four-day tournament trip, committing to specific categories allows the crew to build the entire tackle and bait program around catching a winning fish rather than simply producing numbers.

That means moving slightly heavier on tackle. A yellowfin that might normally be targeted with 40- or 50-pound leader could be approached with 60- or 80-pound material during the tournament. King does not want to go so heavy that the fish refuse the bait, but when a 150-pound-class tuna bites during a tournament, landing it becomes more important than generating the maximum number of bites.

He is still prepared to downsize if necessary. If tuna are visibly feeding behind the boat but ignoring heavy leaders, the crew can go back to 50- or 40-pound leader or even deploy a kite to change the presentation. Tournament tackle only helps if the fish actually eats it.

King’s offshore game plan includes trolling large lures for blue marlin, live-baiting large blackfin tuna for marlin, live-baiting and chunking for yellowfin, trolling ballyhoo for tuna, and searching for productive grass lines that could hold mahi-mahi or wahoo.

He expects to make a long run partly to escape fishing pressure and partly to find cleaner water. Closer rigs have fish around them, but dirty water, barracuda during the day, and heavy shark pressure after dark can make it difficult to convert bites into tournament fish. Farther offshore, King expects productive upwellings and grass to create opportunities for larger pelagics.

Knowing when to leave a rig is one of the toughest decisions in tuna fishing. King follows the old rule of not leaving fish to find fish, but that does not always mean catching constantly. If tuna are clearly present, he may put four or five live hardtails in the spread at different depths and wait through a slow period because those fish may suddenly turn on later in the day.

Grass lines are another major part of the plan. King believes the winning tuna could come from a productive patch of grass rather than a rig. A large mat with bait and other life can be enough structure to hold a quality yellowfin, mahi-mahi, or wahoo, making it worth slowing down and fishing thoroughly.

Blue Marlin Trolling Setup With Capt. King Marchand

For anglers trolling specifically for blue marlin, King has several lures he wants in the spread. One of his most dependable combinations is a blue-and-white Islander behind a bird, generally positioned from the left rigger. He also likes a pink-and-white Islander on the long rigger.

Other favorites include Black Bart lures, particularly the St. Thomas Prowler, along with Mold Craft soft-head lures positioned on the flat lines and rotated through different colors during the day. Blue-and-white, green-and-purple, and darker combinations remain confidence colors for King.

Live bait is also part of the blue marlin plan. Large blackfin tuna can be deployed when the crew locates a fish or productive structure. The overall strategy is to have several ways to produce a bite rather than relying solely on trolling or solely on live bait.

Products and gear discussed in King’s report included 40- to 80-pound tuna leader, live hardtails, large blackfin tuna, kite-fishing equipment, trolled ballyhoo, blue-and-white Islander lures, pink-and-white Islander lures, trolling birds, Black Bart St. Thomas Prowler lures, and Mold Craft soft-head lures.

Red Snapper and Cobia Update With Capt. King Marchand

Outside the tournament strategy, King says cobia are still showing around offshore structure. On the day of the report, his crew found multiple cobia holding around a ship or buoy chain, including a couple of legal-size fish. They hooked several but were unable to put a keeper in the boat after fish wrapped around structure and broke lines.

The red snapper bite has become more difficult over the previous several days. King says even historically productive private spots can be covered with fish but produce mostly small snapper. Many reefs are loaded with cigar minnows and other forage, while fish are also feeding heavily on the jelly-like summertime material commonly seen in the water this time of year.

Rather than assuming the best-looking sonar mark will be the best place to fish, King recommends checking a variety of structure. On a recent trip, his most productive snapper spot was a small piece of low relief that did not look impressive on the fishfinder. Because it did not hold the same enormous concentration of natural bait as larger reefs, the snapper there appeared more willing to eat his hooked baits.

For anglers hunting a tournament-class snapper, King recommends being willing to soak larger baits on proven structure. Ruby lips and large hardtails can help select for a better fish. That slower approach is not always practical during a charter when numbers matter, but it can be worthwhile when the goal is one exceptional snapper.

King has not been specifically targeting king mackerel, but he has seen commercial king boats consistently working south of Dauphin Island, a strong indication that fish are present. He recommends keeping a drift line out when conditions allow because a king or cobia can turn an ordinary bottom-fishing stop into the fish of the trip.

Products and baits discussed in this portion of the report included ruby lips, large hardtails, live baits, and drift-line presentations.