Powered by RedCircle
In this week’s Mobile-Tensaw Delta Fishing Report, host Nick Williams covers a wide stretch of the system with help from Brenton Grace of Hooked Up by the Bay, Darren Shirah of Reel Time Outdoors with Darren, and Dip McMillan of Dippi Outdoors. The episode moves from Causeway redfish and bait-shop intel to upper-Delta bass, crappie, bream, and goggle-eye patterns, then finishes with a practical late-spawn crappie outlook and a community update on a benefit tournament for Mount Vernon Outdoors. It is a strong snapshot of a Delta that is warming up fast, fishing well in a lot of places, and starting to shift from spring transition into more defined seasonal patterns.
Conditions Recap
The big theme this week is change. Water and weather are both warming, afternoon trips are getting more productive, and fish are spreading out across the system depending on species and location. Around the Causeway, high tide pushed redfish shallow enough to feed on points and marsh edges, while bass and even occasional freshwater fish continue to mix in around culverts and current seams. Farther north, bass are scattered between bedding areas and staging zones, crappie are at the tail end of the spawn in many places, and bream and goggle-eye are starting to show in better numbers. It is that classic Mobile-Tensaw moment where one launch can feel like late winter and the next can feel like early summer.
Causeway Report with Brenton Grace
Brenton Grace shared a good look at what is happening around the Causeway and why that stretch stays so interesting year-round. He explained that while some longtime anglers have been a little discouraged lately, the fishing is more early-season than bad. There are still fish being caught, but this is not yet the stronger late spring and fall bite most people associate with the area. Even so, the mix remains impressive. Anglers are catching bass, redfish, flounder, and speckled trout in the same general zone depending on tide, salinity, and bait movement.
One of the more encouraging reports came from the culvert area where shore anglers and waders have been catching a mix of speckled trout, redfish, and flounder. Brenton said that kind of spot continues to produce because fish are always moving through there, and as long as people are willing to throw bait into moving water, there is usually something around. He also pointed to points, bridge areas, and any place with visible bait activity as high-percentage places to start.
His own quick trip backed that up. After getting called back toward the shop for a shrimp delivery, he and a buddy stopped on a nearby point for less than an hour and found a short but productive redfish bite right at high tide. They caught several fish, including a few keeper-sized reds in that 17 to 18 inch class. The lesson was simple: when the water is right, even a short window can pay off if you are around moving water and active bait.
For gear and bait, Brenton’s simple recommendation was to keep it easy. His go-to setup for redfish is a Carolina rig with live shrimp, though he also uses dead shrimp when needed. He said live shrimp is still the best all-around bait for newcomers because it gets bites from almost everything in the system. He will also sell bull minnows, but he made it clear that they are more specialized, especially for flounder, and not as universally productive as shrimp. For flounder, he still loves working soft plastics on the bottom, but for quick family trips or getting kids bites fast, live bait is hard to beat.
He also offered some very useful bait-care advice. To keep shrimp alive, he recommends using properly salted bait-shop water rather than just filling a bucket from the bay, along with a good aerator and enough bucket volume for the number of shrimp you are carrying. He also warned against dumping household ice into the bucket because chlorine and other chemicals can kill bait quickly. That kind of detail matters for anglers trying to get maximum life out of a bucket of shrimp on a warm afternoon.
Brenton mentioned that Hooked Up by the Bay has also added local tackle options, including Tensaw Deltico curly tails and jerk baits, along with a scent developed with Flounder Pounder / Pro-Cure. For anglers wanting to fish artificials around the Causeway, that is worth checking out.
Upper-Delta Bass, Crappie, and Bream with Darren Shirah
Darren Shirah’s report covered a lot of water and really captured how mixed the Delta can be right now. He recently spent time bass fishing around Boatyard and said the quality was there even if the numbers were not. He caught several good fish, but the bed bite has been inconsistent for him. Water temperatures and seasonal timing suggest bass should be doing more on the beds than they are, yet the better females have been hard to pattern consistently. That has made this a year where anglers may have to stay flexible instead of leaning too hard on what should be happening.
His crappie report was more encouraging. Darren said many of the better fish he has caught have been holding around grass in four to five feet of water, and a surprising percentage of them have been solid fish over a pound. He has also seen fish around wood, especially where males are color-changing and setting up, but grass has been a key part of his better bites. He has caught them on both Beetle Spins and minnows, and he noted that some of the prettiest fish of the year are showing those bright spawning colors right now.
Bream are also starting to wake up. Darren reported catching around 40 quality fish on one recent trip, along with a strong showing of goggle-eye. That is a good sign that things are moving in the right direction for panfish anglers. He has been catching them with crickets and on his favorite homemade gold-blade Beetle Spin setup. He explained that he started favoring a number 2 gold blade because fish were tracking and swiping at that flash around bedding areas, and it has become one of his confidence setups.
He also shared a broader point that applies to a lot of Delta anglers this time of year: there is so much fishable water that it is easy to get locked into one zone. Darren spends most of his time in the Delta because there is always another creek, lake, or backwater to explore. That matters right now because patterns are still shifting. Some places look like full-blown spring, while others are still in transition, so covering new water can be as important as dialing in one bait.
For anglers wanting a simple artificial starting point, Darren’s report made a strong case for a gold-blade spinnerbait or Beetle Spin-style presentation in spring. Those baits cover water, draw reaction bites, and work across multiple species when fish are aggressive enough to chase.
Crappie Update with Dip McMillan
Dip McMillan said the crappie fishing is still good, but the spawn appears to be nearing the end in many areas. He has seen fish in very shallow water on cypress knees and bank cover, but he is also seeing plenty of fish roaming in eight to ten feet of water without holding tightly to visible structure. That scattered behavior is what makes this time of year productive but tricky. You can catch fish shallow one stop and then have to track moving fish off the bank the next.
His view is that another cold push should help settle fish into a more consistent post-spawn pattern. Once that happens, he expects better grouping on structure and more predictable fishing. Until then, anglers need to check both shallow cover and slightly deeper water, especially where fish are transitioning away from spawning areas.
Dip’s advice for anglers without forward-facing sonar was especially practical. He said to focus on visible structure in roughly six to ten feet of water and fish it thoroughly at multiple depths. A log running off the bank, a stump, or any obvious piece of cover can load up once fish finish spawning and begin feeding again. For bait choice, he likes jigs or minnows, especially patterns that resemble a crawfish or a minnow. He specifically called out a Cajun Cricket jig and Tennessee shad-style colors as good options.
When fish are scattered, he is not afraid to cover water. Dip said he will use a spider-rig setup when needed to search a wider swath and figure out quickly whether fish are holding on structure or roaming. The key right now is not assuming one pattern has completely taken over yet. There are still enough fish in different stages that anglers need to check both.
