Timing

When to go & what turns the bite on

Every species on this site with its peak months, the tide or current stage that matters, and the weather, water temperature and moon conditions that separate a slow day from a loaded cooler.

Peak bite Good Slow

Tide rule of thumb

Moving water beats slack water every time on Dauphin Island. Aim for the two hours either side of high or low, and check the Dauphin Island (NOAA station 8735180) tide table before you leave. Dauphin Island runs a single daily tide cycle most of the month, so a "good tide" window can be a long one — or nearly nonexistent.

Moon & pressure

Full and new moons produce the strongest tidal range inshore and drive the bream bedding cycle in Auburn. A falling barometer ahead of a front is the best few hours of any week; the bluebird high-pressure day right after it is the worst.

Water temperature

Temperature drives everything freshwater: 55°F starts the crappie move, 60°F the bass prespawn, 70°F the bream beds and the catfish run. Carry a thermometer or watch your graph and let the number pick the pattern.

Auburn & Lake Martin — freshwater

No tides here, but dam generation on the Tallapoosa creates current that functions the same way. Water temperature and frontal weather do the rest.

Largemouth Bass

Prespawn March through April is the best shot at a giant; October's shad migration is the best shot at numbers.

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Spring (Mar–May)

Water 55–68°F pulls fish onto pockets and pea-gravel banks. Lipless cranks and chatterbaits prespawn, wacky worms and flukes on beds, then shallow topwater as they guard fry.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Fish go deep and nocturnal. Work main-lake points and brush in 15–25 ft with a Carolina rig or deep crank, or fish the last hour of light and after dark around lighted docks.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Peak feeding. Bass chase shad into the creek arms — spinnerbaits, squarebills and walking topwater over schooling activity.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

Slow and deep. Jigging spoons, jerkbaits and a slow-dragged football jig on 20–35 ft channel bends. Fewer bites, bigger average size.

Tide / current

No tide, but current matters: on Yates and Thurlow the bite turns on when Alabama Power starts generating and water begins pulling past points and rip-rap.

Best time of day

First light to about 9 a.m. and the last two hours before dark. In winter, the warmest part of the afternoon is actually best.

Conditions that turn it on

Stable or slowly rising water level after a warm rain
Overcast with a light chop — bass roam shallow all day
Falling barometer just ahead of a front (best window of all)
Water 58–75°F and stained rather than clear

Tough conditions

Bluebird high-pressure skies the day after a cold front, and muddy, fast-rising water below 50°F.

Black Crappie & White Crappie

Late February through April spawn is the marquee season; a second solid bite comes in cool October water.

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Spring (Feb–Apr)

At 58–64°F they move to 2–6 ft on bushes, blowdowns and bank cover. Long-line a 1/16 oz jig or dangle a minnow under a slip float right in the wood.

Summer (May–Aug)

Suspended over 15–25 ft brush piles and bridge pilings. Vertical jig with electronics, or night-fish under a green light where crappie stack on the bugs.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Cooling water scatters them back onto creek-channel brush in 10–15 ft. Slow-trolling jigs covers water fast.

Winter (Dec–Jan)

Deep, tight schools in 20–30 ft. Tiny hair jigs fished dead-still — bites feel like the line just got heavy.

Tide / current

No tide. Watch generation schedules on the Tallapoosa chain — slack water is far better than heavy pull for vertical jigging.

Best time of day

Mid-morning through afternoon in spring (warmest water); dusk and after dark under lights in summer.

Conditions that turn it on

Three or more warm, calm days in a row in late winter
Slightly stained water — crappie hate bright, clear conditions
Overcast skies push fish shallower and looser
Water 58–65°F for the shallow spawn bite

Tough conditions

Hard cold fronts and heavy muddy runoff, which drop the shallow bite for several days.

Channel & Blue Catfish

May through August is prime, and the bite only improves after dark in the heat.

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Spring (Mar–May)

Prespawn feeding on flats next to creek channels. Cut bait and nightcrawlers on the first warm rain runoff.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Best of the year. Fish shallow flats and rip-rap after dark with cut shad, chicken liver or punch bait. Big blues sit on deep channel edges by day.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Heavy feeding before winter — drift fresh cut shad along 15–25 ft ledges.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

Slow but the biggest blues of the year come from deep holes on fresh cut bait; give each spot an hour.

Tide / current

No tide, but current is the trigger — generation flow below Yates and Thurlow stacks catfish behind rip-rap and current seams.

Best time of day

Sunset through midnight in summer; midday in winter.

Conditions that turn it on

Warm, humid, still nights
Stained or muddy water after a summer thunderstorm
Rising water pushing food onto flats
Water above 70°F

Tough conditions

Cold, clear, high-pressure days in the low 40s — the bite basically stops.

Bluegill & Shellcracker

Bream bed on the full moons of May and June — the single most reliable bite in Alabama.

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Spring (Apr–May)

At 70°F they fan saucer-shaped beds in 1–4 ft of sandy shallows. You can smell them. Crickets or worms under a small float.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Repeat beddings on each full moon through August, plus shade lines under docks and overhanging willows midday.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Scattered but chunky, holding on brush in 6–12 ft.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Deep and lethargic; tiny jigs fished very slowly.

Tide / current

No tide. Full-moon and new-moon periods drive the bedding cycle more than anything else.

Best time of day

All day during the spawn; otherwise early morning and the last two hours of light.

Conditions that turn it on

Three days either side of a May or June full moon
Water 68–78°F
Calm, sunny mornings — you can sight-fish the beds
Light stain; clear water makes them line-shy

Tough conditions

Cold snaps that drop the shallows below 65°F — the beds empty overnight.

Striped & Hybrid Striped Bass

Spring runs up the Tallapoosa and the fall shad blitz are the two windows; summer means deep, oxygenated water only.

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Spring (Feb–Apr)

Fish push up-river below the dams. Live shad, bucktails and swimbaits in the current seams and boils.

Summer (May–Aug)

Tough. Stripers get squeezed into cool, oxygenated water near the dam or deep springs — downline live shad at 25–40 ft, early only, and release fast.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Surface schooling over shad. Throw a topwater walker or a flutter spoon into the boils.

Winter (Dec–Jan)

Bunched on deep humps and bridge pilings; jigging spoons and umbrella rigs.

Tide / current

Generation current is your tide. When Alabama Power pulls water at Yates or Thurlow, bait sweeps through and the schools set up right below the boils.

Best time of day

Dawn and dusk almost exclusively, plus any time generation starts.

Conditions that turn it on

Active generation flow below the dams
Birds working over surface bait (fall)
Water 55–70°F
Overcast, breezy days extend the topwater window

Tough conditions

Slack water with no generation, and mid-day summer heat when surface temps top 85°F (release mortality is brutal).

Dauphin Island — saltwater

Tide stage matters more than time of day. Match a moving tide to the right structure and you'll out-fish anyone waiting on sunrise.

Red Drum (Redfish)

Catchable year-round, but September through November is the bull-red run along the Dauphin Island beaches and Dixey Bar.

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Spring (Mar–May)

Slot reds move onto warming grass flats and marsh drains in the back bays. Gold spoons and popping corks over shell.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Early and late around the jetties, pilings and the causeway; live croaker or a Carolina-rigged shrimp on the bottom.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Peak. Big bulls stage at Dixey Bar, the ferry channel and the pier for the spawn. Cracked blue crab or a whole mullet head on a fish-finder rig.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

Slot fish school in clear, shallow, dark-bottom back bays and are visible on sunny afternoons. Slow-rolled paddle tails.

Tide / current

Last two hours of the falling tide and the first two of the incoming — moving water is essential. Reds ambush at marsh drains on the fall and push onto flats on the rise. Dixey Bar fishes best on a strong outgoing tide.

Best time of day

Sunrise and sunset, though a good moving tide beats time of day every time.

Conditions that turn it on

Strong tidal range — the days around a full or new moon
Light onshore wind stirring the surf into a trout-green stain
Water 65–80°F
Falling barometer ahead of a front

Tough conditions

Dead slack tide, and hard north winds that blow the water out of the bays in winter.

Speckled Trout

April–May and September–October are the classic windows; big gator trout come in the cold months.

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Spring (Mar–May)

Trout push onto grass flats and the causeway as water hits 68°F. Popping cork with a live shrimp is hard to beat.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Night-fish the lighted piers and bridges, or work deeper channel edges and the jetties at first light with soft plastics.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Best numbers of the year as trout gorge on shrimp flushing out of the marsh on falling tides.

Winter (Nov–Feb)

Fewer but heavier fish in deep, muddy-bottom holes in the back bays; slow-twitched suspending jerkbaits on warm afternoons.

Tide / current

Moving water, with the falling tide the best of all — trout stack at the down-current side of marsh drains, cuts and bridge pilings and eat what washes past. Slack tide is the worst hour of the day.

Best time of day

Dawn and dusk; in summer, after dark under dock and bridge lights where shrimp collect.

Conditions that turn it on

Steady 5–12 mph wind giving a light chop on the flats
'Trout green' water — a little stain, not muddy, not gin clear
Water 65–78°F and salinity up after a dry spell
Two to three days after heavy rain, once the freshwater flushes

Tough conditions

Dead calm slick-clear water, and big freshwater dumps out of Mobile Bay that drop salinity.

Southern Flounder

The fall 'flounder run' in September–October is the whole show; Alabama closes harvest in November for the spawn.

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Spring (Mar–May)

Fish move back inshore as water warms. Drag a Carolina-rigged live bull minnow along sandy drop-offs.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Scattered on sand next to structure — pier pilings, the ferry landing, rock edges. Slow bottom presentation with live mud minnows.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Peak. Flounder stage in passes and channel edges heading offshore to spawn. Fish the pass on an outgoing tide.

Winter (Nov–Feb)

Gone offshore. Harvest is closed in November; catch-and-release only until they return.

Tide / current

Outgoing tide through a pass or cut is the flounder tide — they lie on the down-current sand lip and ambush bait swept past. For gigging, wait for a low, slack, glassy tide so you can see the bottom.

Best time of day

Any daylight hour with moving water; gigging is a night game on calm, low-tide flats.

Conditions that turn it on

Clear water over a sand or shell bottom
Strong outgoing tide during the fall run
Water 65–75°F
Calm, windless nights for gigging

Tough conditions

Muddy, wind-churned water and slack tide, when they simply won't commit.

Red Snapper

Season-driven — Alabama's private-angler season typically opens the Friday before Memorial Day and runs weekends through summer until the quota fills.

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Spring (Apr–May)

Fish move up onto the reefs and feed hard just before the season opens. Confirm the announced dates and register every trip in Snapper Check.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

The season. Run to the public reef zones 8–25 miles south of Dauphin Island; drop cut bonito, whole cigar minnows or a big jig to structure.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Fish are still there and often bigger, but harvest usually closed — catch-and-release with a descending device only.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Closed season and rough seas; stay inshore.

Tide / current

Offshore it's current, not tide height, that matters — a light drift of about 1 knot keeps chum and bait streaming off the reef. Dead-still water makes snapper finicky and sharks brave.

Best time of day

The bite is structure-driven, not light-driven, but the first drop on an untouched reef is always the best one.

Conditions that turn it on

Seas under 2 ft so you can hold position over the numbers
Light current moving across the reef
Water 70°F+
Fresh cut bait and a chum trail to lift the school off the bottom

Tough conditions

Rough seas, and fishing the same reef too long — move once the sharks show up and the fish shrink.

Mangrove Snapper (Gray Snapper)

A warm-water structure fish — June through September is prime around the jetties, pilings and nearshore reefs.

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Spring (Apr–May)

Fish move onto the rocks and pilings as water passes 72°F; numbers build fast.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Peak. Live shrimp free-lined around the Fort Gaines rocks and pier pilings, especially at night under lights.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Best average size of the year on nearshore reefs before they push offshore.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Mostly gone from shallow structure; only deeper reefs hold them.

Tide / current

A steady moving tide that sweeps bait past the structure. Down-current of a piling or rock pile on an outgoing tide is the spot; slack water shuts them off.

Best time of day

Night is by far the best — pier and dock lights pull them up. Dawn and dusk are the daylight windows.

Conditions that turn it on

Water 72°F+
Clear to lightly stained water
Lit pilings or docks after dark
Light leader — they refuse heavy fluoro in clear water

Tough conditions

Muddy post-storm water and dead slack tide; also skip heavy leaders, which cost you most of your bites.

Sheepshead

February through April is the pre-spawn convict run when sheepshead pile onto every piling and jetty rock.

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Winter–Spring (Jan–Apr)

Peak. Big spawners stack on the pier pilings, jetties and nearshore rigs. Live fiddler crab or half a shrimp on a #1 or 1/0 short-shank hook, right against the barnacles.

Summer (May–Aug)

Scattered and smaller, but always present on structure. Scrape barnacles off a piling to chum them up.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Steady numbers on the jetties as water cools; the average size climbs through November.

Tide / current

A moderate moving tide — either direction — keeps them chewing. Extreme rip current makes it impossible to feel the bite, and slack tide shuts them down. The hour either side of the turn is the sweet spot.

Best time of day

Whenever the tide is moving; overcast midday is perfectly fine.

Conditions that turn it on

Water below 70°F (the colder, the more they stack up)
Clear-ish water so they can see the crab
Barnacle-covered structure with current sweeping past
Light wind so you can feel that famously subtle tap

Tough conditions

Muddy blowout water and screaming spring tides that pin your bait against the piling.

Hardhead Catfish

Unfortunately most abundant exactly when you want speckled trout — warm summer months, all tides, all day.

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Summer (May–Sep)

Everywhere on the bottom in warm water. If you're catching one after another on dead shrimp, move or switch to artificials.

Winter (Oct–Apr)

Mostly gone as water cools below 65°F — a blessing.

Tide / current

Any tide. Slack water and dead bait on the bottom is a hardhead guarantee.

Best time of day

All day and especially after dark. There is no good time.

Conditions that turn it on

Warm, murky water
Dead shrimp or cut bait sitting on the bottom
Slack tide with no current

Tough conditions

To avoid them: fish artificials, keep the bait off the bottom, and move as soon as the first one hits. Handle with pliers — the spines are venomous.

Whiting (Southern Kingfish)

A cool-water surf fish — best in spring and fall when the beach water is 60–75°F, thinner in the heat of summer.

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Spring (Mar–May)

The strongest run of the year in the first trough; they show up with the pompano.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Still catchable early and late, but scattered once the surf pushes past 85°F.

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Second big run as the water cools; often mixed with pompano and bluefish.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

Some fish stay in the deeper trough on warm, calm afternoons.

Tide / current

Incoming and the first of the fall — a rising tide pushes them into the wash right at your feet.

Best time of day

First two hours of light and the last two before dark; overcast days fish all day.

Conditions that turn it on

Light to moderate surf with a stirred, sandy-green trough
Rising tide over a cut or slough in the first bar
Water 60–78°F

Tough conditions

Flat, gin-clear water in dead heat, and heavy onshore blowouts that fill the trough with sargassum.

Atlantic Croaker

Warm-water bottom fish — thick from May through September and largely gone once the bay drops below 60°F.

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Spring (Apr–May)

First fish move onto the piers and sound bottom as water hits 70°F.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Peak. Non-stop on shrimp anywhere there's mud or sand bottom.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

The biggest croaker of the year before they push out to deeper water.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Mostly offshore and out of reach from the bank.

Tide / current

Any moving tide. Current keeps the scent moving and keeps them feeding.

Best time of day

All day; after dark under pier lights is best for the bigger ones.

Conditions that turn it on

Warm, slightly stained water
Mud or sand bottom near structure
Moving tide with steady current

Tough conditions

Hard slack water and cold, clear post-front conditions.

Gafftopsail Catfish

A warm-season fish that shows up with the shrimp — thickest May through September, and best after dark.

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Spring (Apr–May)

First sail cats arrive as the bay warms past 70°F.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Peak — the pier and passes are full of them at night on shrimp.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Fewer but bigger fish, often 3–5 lb, before they leave.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Gone. You'll be catching hardheads at best.

Tide / current

Falling tide through a pass or around pier pilings where bait gets swept.

Best time of day

After dark is far better than daylight; dawn is the daylight window.

Conditions that turn it on

Water over 72°F
Fresh shrimp or cut bait on the bottom
Night, especially under lights

Tough conditions

Cold snaps and clear, cold winter water — they simply aren't there.

Blacktip Shark

A summer visitor. Blacktips follow bait into the surf and the bay mouth from about May through September.

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Spring (Apr–May)

First fish arrive with the mullet and pogy schools.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Peak. Surf fishing at night off the West End and Dixey Bar in the day.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

They feed hard on the fall mullet run, then push offshore.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Gone to warmer offshore water.

Tide / current

Incoming through high, and the first of the fall — they hunt the trough on higher water.

Best time of day

Dusk into the first few hours of dark; also midday when bait is being blitzed on the bar.

Conditions that turn it on

Bait schools visible in the surf or on the bar
Water over 75°F
Fresh, bloody cut bait on the bottom

Tough conditions

Cold, dirty water after a front, and heavy surf that buries the bait in sand.

Bonnethead Shark

Warm-season flats shark — visible and catchable on the shallow sound side all summer.

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Spring (Apr–May)

First fish move onto the flats as they hit the low 70s.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Peak sight-fishing — cruising the shallows hunting crabs.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Still around and feeding heavily before they leave.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Out of the shallows entirely.

Tide / current

Rising tide onto the flats; they follow crabs up with the water.

Best time of day

Mid-morning through afternoon when the sun is high enough to spot them.

Conditions that turn it on

Clear, calm shallow water for sight-fishing
Water 72–88°F
Fresh shrimp or crab on the bottom

Tough conditions

Windy, muddy water — you can't see them and they won't find your bait.

Atlantic Sharpnose Shark

The summer pier shark — thick from May through September and willing to eat any cut bait on the bottom.

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Spring (Apr–May)

Show up as the Gulf climbs past 70°F; first ones hit the pier in April.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

Peak — steady action day and night on cut bait off the pier and in the surf.

Fall (Sep–Oct)

Still strong in September, thinning out through October.

Winter (Nov–Mar)

Gone offshore; effectively no catches.

Tide / current

Moving water either way; an outgoing tide pulling bait out of the passes is best.

Best time of day

Best after dark and in the last hour of light, though they bite all day in summer.

Conditions that turn it on

Water over 72°F
Fresh, bloody cut bait on the bottom
Bait schools in the surf

Tough conditions

Cold water after a spring front and dead-slack tide.

Timing guidance reflects typical east-Alabama and Mobile Bay patterns. Conditions vary year to year — check current tide tables, water temperature and season dates before you go.