Powered by RedCircle
In this week’s Mobile-Tensaw Delta Fishing Report, host Nick Williams checks in on a hot late-summer pattern with Darren Shirah of Reel Time Outdoors With Darren, Dave Middleton of basscatlildave, and Josh Gunter of Steele Creek Bait & Tackle.
Darren reports that bass fishing has been best during the first couple of hours after daylight, while bream are still available later in the morning by moving deeper and using crickets under conventional or slip-cork rigs. He is also seeing signs of an early brackish-water push, including schools of redfish and both white and brown shrimp farther north in the Delta than he normally expects this time of year. Dave Middleton breaks down how to punch thick summer grass mats for bass using heavy tungsten weights, braided line, compact creature baits, and heavy tackle. Josh Gunter wraps up the episode with a look at the growing inshore opportunity around the lower Delta, the live-shrimp and crabbing bite, and the tackle local anglers are buying as redfish, trout, flounder, drum, shrimp, and crabs continue moving into the system.
Conditions Recap
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta remains locked into a hot August pattern, and the most comfortable fishing continues to come early. Darren Shirah has been concentrating on the first two hours after daylight, when bass are more willing to feed and anglers can avoid the worst of the heat. Nick Williams has seen a similar pattern, with topwater bass action during the short low-light window before the bite slows quickly after sunrise.
Even with the heat, fish remain catchable later in the morning for anglers willing to change tactics. Bream are still feeding in deeper creek water, and anglers fishing the main rivers can continue catching bass later into the day. Darren’s recent trips suggest the limiting factor is often the angler’s tolerance for August heat rather than a complete shutdown in fish activity.
The lower Delta is also showing an increasingly strong brackish-water influence. Darren recently saw a large school of redfish feeding on white shrimp in Bayou Canot and said the appearance of white shrimp that far inland seemed early compared with what he has historically seen. He also noted reports of bait fishermen catching both white and brown shrimp. Josh Gunter is hearing similar signs from customers and says inshore-oriented tackle and live shrimp have already become important parts of the late-summer fishing picture.
If the current weather pattern continues without the heavy rainfall that dominated earlier portions of the summer, Josh expects the brackish bite to improve steadily. Larger speckled trout have remained in the system, smaller trout and white trout are beginning to appear, and redfish, flounder, drum, shrimp, and blue crabs should become increasingly relevant as summer moves toward fall.
Creek Bass, Bream, Catfish, Redfish, Shrimp, and Lower Delta Report With Darren Shirah
Darren Shirah of Reel Time Outdoors With Darren has been keeping his summer trips short and concentrating on the early-morning window. On a recent outing he bass fished until roughly 7:00 a.m., then switched to bream after the bass bite faded.
The bream bite has been steady enough to keep fish coming through the late morning. Darren started with a traditional bream pole and crickets in deeper water, then switched to a slip cork as he moved deeper. That adjustment kept him catching solid keeper-size bream until around 11:00 a.m. The fish have not necessarily been exceptional in size, but the pattern has been dependable.
For anglers willing to tolerate the heat, Darren says the bass are also biting in the rivers. His personal preference is to stay in cooler creeks, sloughs, and backwaters, but the main-river bite remains an option after his own early-morning cutoff.
One of the most interesting developments has been the early appearance of brackish-water activity farther north in the Delta. Darren recently saw a large school of redfish in Bayou Canot chasing big schools of white shrimp. He said seeing white shrimp that far inland in July was earlier than he normally remembers, and he has also heard reports of bait fishermen catching both white shrimp and brown shrimp.
That early bait movement has Darren and Nick watching the Causeway and lower-Delta flats closely. Nick plans to use his shallow-draft kayak to target redfish on fly tackle as the brackish bite develops. One of the fly patterns discussed was a small bead-chain Seducer-style shrimp imitation, a simple profile that can imitate the shrimp moving through those shallow areas.
Darren also revisited the Causeway’s history as a mixed-species fishery. Decades ago he regularly wade-fished areas along the Causeway and caught bass, speckled trout, redfish, and flounder from the same stretches. Many of those areas have since filled in or changed substantially, but the same freshwater-to-brackish transition remains one of the defining features of late-summer fishing in the lower Delta.
Catfish have been another option, although Darren’s recent daytime set-line trip was modest. He set roughly 20 jugs and five or six limb lines from daylight until around noon and caught four catfish. He believes the results likely would have improved if the lines had been left overnight, but he did not want to commit to returning the following day.
Products and gear discussed in Darren’s report included crickets, a traditional bream pole, slip corks, jug lines, limb lines, shallow-water kayak gear, fly tackle, and small bead-chain shrimp-pattern flies. Darren also noted that local shops are already stocking more inshore products such as DOA Lures and Vudu Shrimp as the brackish bite moves inland.
How to Punch Summer Grass Mats for Mobile-Tensaw Delta Bass With Dave Middleton
Dave Middleton of Bass Cat Little Dave returns to the report with a detailed breakdown of punching heavy summer vegetation. The technique is designed for thick mats of hydrilla, hyacinths, eelgrass, lily pads, and other vegetation where bass can hold underneath a dense surface canopy.
Dave compares a grass mat to looking down at a forest from an airplane. The top may appear completely covered, but underneath the surface vegetation there can still be open water where bass move, feed, and use the overhead cover for shade. Punching uses a compact bait and a heavy sinker to break through that canopy and put the lure directly into the fish’s living space.
Punching Weight, Line, Hook, and Bait
Dave considers a three-quarter-ounce sinker about the minimum for punching and will go as heavy as two ounces when necessary. For most Mobile-Tensaw Delta conditions, however, he said an ounce to an ounce and a half handles most situations. He strongly prefers tungsten because its smaller profile and slicker shape penetrate vegetation more efficiently than an equivalent lead weight.
The sinker is pinned in place with a bobber stop. Dave fishes 50-pound braided line and uses a straight-shank flipping hook tied with a snell knot. The snell causes the hook to rotate as the weight moves on the hookset and helps drive the point into the roof of a bass’s mouth.
For the plastic, he prefers short, compact creature-style baits that slide through cover without collecting unnecessary vegetation. Examples discussed include beaver-style baits and the Zoom Critter Craw. The idea is not to create a large profile but to build a streamlined package that follows the tungsten weight through the mat.
Heavy Rods and a Vertical Presentation
Dave has used traditional 7-foot-6-inch flipping sticks, but his current punching rod is built on a 7-foot-11-inch heavy-action Mud Hole MHX rod blank originally marketed for large swimbaits or glide baits. The extra length works well because much of his punching is closer to flipping than long-distance pitching.
Anglers do not necessarily need a purpose-built punching rod to experiment with the technique. A stout flipping rod, heavy bass rod, frogging rod, or large-swimbait rod can provide enough power to move a fish through heavy cover as long as it can comfortably handle the sinker weight.
The presentation itself is simple and repetitive. Dave flips the bait onto the mat, lets the weight punch through, and works it vertically rather than trying to retrieve it horizontally through the vegetation. Some fish eat the bait on the initial fall. Others pick it up after the bait reaches bottom, or after it is lifted back toward the underside of the mat and shaken in place.
He will sometimes add a small clacking disc between the weight and the hook. The component was originally designed for Carolina-rig applications, but it creates a subtle clicking sound when the bait is shaken beneath the grass. Dave believes the added noise can help draw attention to the presentation, or at minimum gives him additional confidence in the bait.
Where to Punch
Dave does not limit the technique to the outside edge of vegetation. When the mat is large enough, he positions the boat tight to it and flips 20 to 25 feet back into the cover. He still tries to remain quiet and uses the trolling motor carefully because grinding through heavy vegetation can spook fish.
Grass located near slightly deeper water is a high-percentage target. Trees or laydowns with hyacinths blown against them are also worth extra attention, especially in river environments. Lily-pad fields can be punched the same way when fish will not come up to eat a frog.
The technique can produce more than largemouth bass in the lower Delta. Dave has caught or encountered redfish, goggle-eye, and other species hiding beneath heavy vegetation. The point is that a mat that appears impossibly thick from above may still hold open water, bait, and feeding fish underneath.
Products and gear discussed in Dave’s report included three-quarter- to two-ounce tungsten punching weights, bobber stops, 50-pound braided line, straight-shank flipping hooks, snell knots, beaver-style creature baits, the Zoom Critter Craw, clacking discs, heavy flipping rods, and MHX rod blanks.
Steele Creek Bait & Tackle Report With Josh Gunter: Live Shrimp, Redfish, Trout, Flounder, Crabs, and Inshore Tackle
Josh Gunter of Steele Creek Bait & Tackle says anglers have continued fishing despite the heat, and the late-summer brackish-water transition is already influencing what customers are buying. The store expanded its inshore tackle selection after seeing strong demand for live shrimp and repeated requests for popping corks, shrimp imitations, redfish tackle, and other products normally associated with fishing farther south.
The expansion started with live shrimp. Josh found that many anglers in northern Mobile County had difficulty finding shrimp without driving south of Interstate 10 or across the Bay. After working through the learning curve of keeping shrimp alive, the store began seeing enough demand to justify a larger inshore section.
What Local Anglers Are Buying
One of the strongest sellers has been the Fishbites Dirty Boxer, a soft-plastic grub profile with a large swimming tail. Josh said pink, chartreuse, and white have been the most requested colors, and demand has been strong enough that the store has already reordered the bait after the latest shipment.
A similar local option is the Southern Salt Grunt. Josh said the store has carried Southern Salt products for several years and brought in the full Grunt selection because customers were looking for that style of bait. The Southern Salt Haymaker color, essentially a white body with a chartreuse tail, has also been a strong producer in the upper end of the Delta.
Josh is also selling plenty of DOA Shrimp and Vudu Shrimp. Among the DOA colors, a clear/chartreuse-glitter style has been especially popular. For jig presentations, anglers are pairing these plastics with standard unpainted jig heads, with one-quarter ounce being one of the most common choices.
Popping Corks and Search Baits
Steele Creek is carrying several styles of popping corks because local anglers have different preferences. Josh mentioned H&H corks as a dependable option, Betts for a budget-friendly choice, and Four Horsemen Tackle for anglers looking for a more premium cork. The store has oval, popping-style, and cigar-shaped floats in several colors.
For anglers who want to cover water faster, Josh has brought in redfish spinner blades that can be paired with a jig head and soft plastic. He specifically likes the heavier-duty H&H redfish spinner blades. The store is also carrying H&H Cocahoe-style minnows and Matrix Shad plastics, giving anglers the ability to build a spinnerbait-style search presentation without buying a complete premade rig every time.
Josh also expects to add T3 Tackle after repeated customer requests. The products discussed included jig heads, live-bait rigs, and sheepshead hooks. The emphasis at Steele Creek is to stock products that local Delta anglers are actually requesting rather than filling shelves with colors and designs that have little local application.
Crabs and Late-Summer Mixed-Bag Fishing
Blue crabs are becoming another major part of the late-summer fishery. Josh said the stronger crabbing period on his end of the Delta typically runs from around mid-July into October, when larger male crabs move into the system. Steele Creek carries hand lines, wire flat baskets, and cloth flat baskets for anglers who want to target them.
Josh and April often crab in the evening by setting several hand lines, then fishing a larger bait on a rod while waiting. That creates the opportunity to catch redfish, black drum, sharks, or other brackish-water species while also putting together a cooler of crabs.
Looking ahead, Josh believes fishing should continue improving if rainfall remains limited. Larger speckled trout never completely disappeared, smaller trout are beginning to move into the system, and reports of white trout are increasing. The same conditions should continue improving opportunities for redfish, flounder, drum, shrimp, and crabs until a significant high-water event pushes salinity back toward Mobile Bay.
One of Josh’s easiest practical indicators is the shrimp tank at Steele Creek. Because the store is well north of the traditional Causeway bait-shop corridor, he does not keep live shrimp simply for display. When the shop is consistently stocking shrimp, it is a good indication that customer demand and the brackish-water bite justify having them available. Anglers should call before making a special trip because live-shrimp inventory can change quickly.
Products and gear discussed in Josh’s report included Fishbites Dirty Boxer plastics, Southern Salt Grunt plastics, Southern Salt Haymaker colors, DOA Shrimp, Vudu Shrimp, quarter-ounce jig heads, H&H popping corks and redfish spinner blades, Betts corks, Four Horsemen popping corks, H&H Cocahoe-style minnows, Matrix Shad, T3 Tackle, crab hand lines, wire crab baskets, and cloth crab baskets.
What to Expect This Week
Anglers should expect the heat to continue controlling how and when they fish. The easiest bass window remains around daylight, while bream can be targeted later in deeper creek water with crickets and slip corks. Main-river bass remain available for anglers willing to fish through the heat.
The lower Delta and Causeway should become increasingly interesting as shrimp, crabs, redfish, trout, flounder, and drum continue pushing into the system. Areas that traditionally produce freshwater fish can quickly become mixed-species water during prolonged low-flow summer conditions, so anglers should be prepared to adjust from bass or bream tackle to inshore presentations during the same trip.
Grass mats are also worth more attention during the heat of the day. When bass stop coming through the vegetation to eat a topwater frog, punching a heavy tungsten-weighted creature bait through the canopy can reach fish holding in cooler, shaded water below.
For anglers planning a brackish-water trip, live shrimp, quarter-ounce jig heads, paddle-tail or grub-style plastics, popping corks, and a redfish spinner setup will cover a wide range of situations. Crab hand lines or baskets can add another option during evening trips as blue crabs move farther into the Delta.
