Speckled trout · Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay may be the best trout water on this coast: causeway rips, gas rigs at daylight, and bars on both shores.
Mobile Bay may be the best trout water on this coast: causeway rips, gas rigs at daylight, and bars on both shores. In October and November, working birds over deep shell mark the schools; ease in from up-current and a jig does the rest.
Trout are the timing fish: first two hours of light, first hour of moving tide. Spring puts the big females shallow at dawn, summer splits the day into a dawn bite and a night bite around lights, and fall regroups fish over deeper grass and shell.
Late April through June for the biggest fish in shallow water, October–November for numbers, and the first two hours of daylight almost any warm month. Check the live Mobile Bay bite score before you commit a morning.
Florida's western Panhandle closes trout harvest during February (catch-and-release still allowed); Alabama stays open year-round. Verify current rules before keeping fish.
Conditions decide more than tackle. The live dashboard scores each Mobile Bay morning from NOAA tide swing, wind, and sky, with solunar windows and marine alerts, and Jemison's Bait & Tackle and Fisherman's Discount serve both shores.
Seasons and limits change. Verify with Florida FWC or Outdoor Alabama before keeping fish.