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Bob Ward

Mobile Delta "Tensaw River Report" Email Bob Ward

Date Fished: 3/16/2010
Water Temperature: 65
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Strong north wind kept the incoming tide out this afternoon and made fishing tough. I didn't launch in the lower Delta until 2 PM and had hoped the incoming tide would come up enough to cover the little grass in Chocalotta. It didn't happen. The water level actually dropped 3 or 4 inches.
I didn't have much time so stayed in Chocalotta. Four bites and one keeper fish in two hours. Air temp was 65 but felt more like 45. Water temp varied from 58.4 at the ramp to 65 degrees in the back. Everything is late due to extreme cold and heavy rains but surely bass are bedding now.
Heavy rains last week up north caused the rivers to rise above their banks again and that high, muddy water should reach the Delta tomorrow or the next day. I'll try it again next week.

Date Fished: 3/8/2010
Water Temperature: 54
Water Clarity: 6 inches

It has been colder than usual this winter and we have had more rain than normal. Consequently, bass are more difficult to catch and the spawn is at least two weeks off. The water is still cold, muddy and high. Today was the third day of a warming trend so I launched on the lower end (Causeway) half way through an incoming tide to see if the bass had started their move shallow. They haven't. With little grass, and few ducks, there weren't many duck blinds built in the lower Delta this year. And with the muddy water, it was difficult to find the grass. I stayed with a spinnerbait most of the afternoon because of the strong south wind. Not a bite. I moved to the creeks and started throwing an 8 inch, grape worm. I immediately caught a decent keeper. I fished an hour or so without another bite, got tired of fighting the wind and made the cold, rough ride back to the launch. Air temp was predicted to be 70 today. It never got over 60, and the wind made it feel like 50.

Date Fished: 2/22/2010
Water Temperature: 50
Water Clarity: 6 inches

The rain quit at 7 AM but it remained cloudy all day with a moderate northwest wind. The rivers which feed the Delta are back in their banks but high, muddy, cold water remains in the Mobile/Tensaw Delta. This is the prime time to catch quality bass here as the fish begin to move shallow for the spawn. I launched on the Causeway at 1100 AM to check out some of my favorite shallow spots. I got a few fish to slap at a rattletrap but no takers. Water temp varied from 50 degrees at the launch, to 49 in the rivers, to 58 in the swamp where I found clearer water and caught two keepers on a spinnerbait. I quit at 2 PM. I think we will have a little more grass than last year, and fishing will be better, but not nearly as good as it should be. Two pound fish will be hard to come by.

Date Fished: 1/29/2010
Water Temperature: 50
Water Clarity: 0

The Lower Mobile/Tensaw Delta remains unfishable; high, cold, muddy water. But I went anyway. Both the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers are above flood stage and rising. A flash flood watch is in effect for our area tonight and tomorrow. High today, 63. High predicted for tomorrow, 47. Light wind today let me fish where I wanted, but couldn't find any clear water. The clearest (and warmest)I found was in Mallard Fork
(off Chuckafee) and water visibility there was less than 6 inches with a water temp of 53. One decent keeper on a grape worm. Nothing on jig or crankbait. Quit just before noon when the rains returned and the falling tide turned. Mardi Gras parades begin tonight. They should have fun with all the rain predicted. Three parades tomorrow with a cold north wind. An article in the local newspaper reported that the Conservation Department has begun a bass restocking program in the lower Delta. A follow-up study will determine if the restocking has done any good.
I just want the grass to come back. With all this fresh water, it should.

Date Fished: 1/22/2010
Water Temperature: 58
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Two days ago, Wednesday, we had a record-breaking rain storm which caused local flooding and sent the two rivers feeding the Delta, the Tombigbee and Alabama, out of their banks once again. I checked the lower Delta this morning and found it to be unfishable; very high and very muddy. I tailored my boat up to Cliff's Landing and launched there about 11 AM. The upper Tensaw River was very high, swift and very muddy. So was Dennis Lake. I ran back to McReynolds Lake and found it to be "in the banks" and a lot clearer. I fished in McReynolds for three hours without a bite, even though the water temp was above 60 degree in a lot of places. The highest temp was in Maple Creek (62.3) but the water was muddy. I met another angler while launching and he reported that he had good success at the "top of the T" in Miflin (left arm) on a Bandit double-deep crankbait, "mistake" in color. As if the lower Delta isn't in bad enough shape, more muddy water from up north should arrive in two or three days.

Date Fished: 12/31/2009
Water Temperature: 52
Water Clarity: 0

Too nice of a day to sit around the house today so I hit the lower Delta with my son about 1100 AM, just after low tide. As expected the water is high and very muddy, and the rivers were too swift to fish. My son caught a nice keeper on a red shad worm in the only clean water we found, in Bay Minnette Basin (visibility 6 to 8 inches). I tried several baits but didn't get a bite. We quit at 2 PM with the air temp about 68 and the water temp at 55. Another cold front is on the way. It will be at least two weeks before conditions return to normal in the Delta, if we don't get more rain.

Date Fished: 12/23/2009
Water Temperature: 53
Water Clarity: 0

The Mobile/Tensaw Delta remains unfishable due to high water. We have had the rainiest December on record, this followed by one of the heaviest rainy Octobers on record. I ran around the lower Delta for a couple of hours this afternoon and didn't see any area worth fishing.
I have not been in the upper Delta but the local newspaper reports that creeks that are normally 30 feet wide are now 300 feet wide. Hard to believe.
More rain predicted this evening. The water on Dog River is still muddy but not as muddy as the Delta, and the water is not nearly as high.
In fact, the water level on Dog River looks about normal for this time of year. A small tournament on Dog River Saturday produced a few limits in the 6 to 7 pounds range. I heard that one contestant had a lunker of 3.5 pounds and thus had top stringer.
Maybe next year will be better. Merry CHRISTmas.

Date Fished: 11/30/2009
Water Temperature: 57
Water Clarity: 1 foot

The good news is, the water is clearing and not so high. The bad news is, bass quantity is still not what it should be. I fished the lower Delta with my neighbor from 8 AM till noon and we only managed three small fish. We had several other bites but I think the fish were too small to take the bait. We quit just as the rain began. We timed it right for a change.

Date Fished: 11/22/2009
Water Temperature: 60
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Not much has changed. The water is still very high and muddy. And fish are hard to find. But the good news is, the grass is coming back. I launched on the Causeway about 9 AM with the tide falling hard and the water very high. I decided to check out some of heads of some of the bays to try and find clearer water. I did find some clearer water and to my surprise I found milfoil in places where there had been none two months ago.
The bad news is the milfoil wasn't filled with bass as I though/hoped it would be. I caught only two small keepers.
But it was a beautiful, overcast day with hardly any wind so I fished my usual four hours and went home.

Date Fished: 11/16/2009
Water Temperature: 62
Water Clarity: 0

I launched on the Causeway at low tide this morning and my worst fears were confirmed: high, muddy water everywhere. It was only 10 AM and several fishermen were already calling it quits, including three spec fishermen. It was a beautiful, calm day with temps approaching 70 degrees and I needed to run my boat so I headed for the back of Oak Bayou. I figured if I could find clear water anywhere it would be there. In the very back of Oak Leaf Bayou I found water visibility of 6 inches. I pitched a lizard and a worm to the structure at the bank for a while, and even tried a shallow diving crankbait, but got no takers. I was able to catch 5 small bass with a junebug lizard by moving off the bank where the water was 5 feet or so deep. By 12:30 a south wind came up and the incoming, muddy water shut the fish down. I called it quits and headed home. Maybe, just maybe, a few bass can be caught in the back of creeks in the lower Delta for the next couple of days, but after that the Mobile/Tensaw Delta will be unfishable for the next week or so.

Date Fished: 11/8/2009
Water Temperature: 67
Water Clarity: 1 foot

As reported in the local newspaper, the City Championship was held out of Dead Lake yesterday. For those that don't know, the City Championship is a one day shoot-out by the top six fishermen from each of the clubs in the area. In the recent past there were 27 teams, but this year there were less, probably because of bad fishing conditions or bad economy. How many less I don't know. But I was right on with my predictions, the top three with six fish limits (1st 14.03 pounds, 2ND 13.47 pounds and 3rd 12.72 pounds) all fished the Alabama River just below the Claiborne Dam and caught all of their fish on plastics. The next seven all had six fish limits at 9+ pounds and, while the newspaper didn't mention where they fished, I feel sure they fished the middle and upper Delta. Lunker was a little over 3.5 pounds.

Date Fished: 11/4/2009
Water Temperature: 67
Water Clarity: 6 inches

The lower Delta is still a mess and hardly worth bothering to fish. A few boats were out looking for clean water for the City Championship Saturday. The Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers are on the rise again so I hear and the water is still very high and fairly muddy in the middle Delta.
The water level around the Causeway is as low as I have seen it in a while but I fished hard for several hours and did not get a bite.
The water level was too low to get to the back of the bays where the water should be clearer and I could get no bites in the grass in the rivers, also very muddy. I hear the water draining into the Delta from the swamps in the middle is clear and should be holding fish. No doubt there will be some head scratching when the City Championship contestants blast off Saturday morning. Some will make the long run down the bay to Dog and Fowl Rivers, some will make the long run north to the rivers feeding the Delta in spite of rising water, and some will head to their favorite spots in the lower Delta, but most will probably fish the middle Delta and hope for the best. The clearest water is on the west side of the Mobile River.
The most drains or run-offs are in the middle and upper Delta. Oh, someone will have six bites Saturday and come in with 12 pounds or so and win it all, but most will have only a fish or two and be very disappointed. Me, even if I had qualified for the City Championship I think I would rather stay home Saturday and watch the LSU/Alabama football game.

Date Fished: 11/2/2009
Water Temperature: 66
Water Clarity: 6 inches

The lower Delta is still a mess. Lots of muddy water and little grass. I caught four small fish, two bare keepers, in Lower Crab between 1:30 and 3:30 PM. Junebug Brush Hogs and chartreuse/black Wee-R. My oil ejector quit as I was about to try Chocalotta Bay.
Fortunately, I didn't have far to troll back to the landing.

Date Fished: 10/23/2009
Water Temperature: 71
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Normally, October is one of the driest months of the year for us. Normally, fresh water entering the Delta is less than 10,000 cps. Normally, we get lots of north winds. Normally, the water cools and clears, and the last of the shrimp head south to the Gulf and fish of all types began heavy feeding. But this has not been a normal October. We have had rain, rain and more rain. And plenty of south wind. With high tide at 3:30 this morning the water in the Delta was so high that the Causeway was actually closed until 10 AM. My neighbor and I launched on the Causeway just after 1 PM. The water was still in the parking lot and the piers at the launch barely out of the water. We didn't waste time looking for clear water, we headed straight for the swamp at the extreme north end of Bay Minnette Basin. The water, normally less than 2 feet deep, was more than 4 feet deep. I stayed mostly with a small buzzbait and my neighbor tried several types of spinnerbaits (there as too much wind for plastics and too much grass for crankbaits). My neighbor caught three small bass, two medium redfish and one flounder. I got no reaction with the buzzbait. Too much sun I guess. We called it quits at 4 PM and headed home. Hopefully, we have seen the last of the heavy rain and the Delta will settle down in time for the City Championship the first Saturday in November.

Date Fished: 9/25/2009
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 0

I have not reported on the Delta lately because it has been raining almost constantly, the water has remained very high, and the bite has been inconsistent. I went out (alone) today only because a friend has a tournament tomorrow and has not been able to pre-fish. The water remains high, very high, and very muddy. The rivers which feed the Delta (the Tombigbee and Alabama) are already at flood stage and have not crested yet. Even though we had falling tide all day, with all the water coming down the water level didn't drop more than a few inches from the time I put in at Chocalotta at 10 AM and when I called it quits at 1:30 PM. I did find a little clear water though, after running around for an hour or so.
And I managed to catch a few keeper fish on an 1/8th ounce buzzbait. The key is to find clear (clearer) water as far off the main rivers
as you can go and look for cover (grass clumps, reeds, and ribbon or milfoil).

Date Fished: 9/7/2009
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 0

I didn't realize it was Labor Day until I reached the launch ramp at on the Causeway at 8:30 AM and found the parking lot about full. It was a nice day with a light northeast wind and low tide two hours away. I have fished the west side of the lower Delta without much success lately so decided to try to east side. FYI contrary to what I was told, the NO WAKE buoys are still in Pass Pacata. Most of the brown shrimp are gone but the larger white shrimp are making their move to the Gulf. With boats everywhere I had a difficult time finding a open grass-line in the river.
When I did, I could only catch small fish (10 to 11 inches). That is until I came across a local old timer who said he had five keepers on a junebug worm. Since the water was clear (visibility better than 1 foot) I had been sticking with clear baits such as watermelon or salt/pepper.
I rode around for a while looking for grass on the deeper banks that didn't have one or two boats on them. When I finally found a bank (the lower Blakely River) I switched to a junebug lizard and immediately started catching fish. I caught several in the 2 pound class before the tide turned and the rain returned. It was past noon so I put on my Frogg Toggs and headed for the landing.
I caught and released more than a dozen bass this morning, half were keepers. Best 5 about 8 pounds.

Date Fished: 8/23/2009
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 1 foot

I fished the lower Mobile/Tensaw Delta alone for a few hour this morning. Only one trailer at the ramp when I launched in Chocalotta at 7 AM.
A moderate northwest wind had the tide outgoing and the water fairly low. The water was very clear considering all the recent rain and the air temp was a cool, comfortable 68. That's the good news. The bad news is the bass were not on the grass lines in the rivers as they should have been.
They were holding tight to limbs, twigs, logs and individual grass or cane stalks, and they were small. I caught at least a dozen with the best 5 weighing no more than 7 pounds. All fish came on plastics, watermelon or watermelon/red being the most productive. I quit just before noon when the fleet showed up. The parking lot was jammed when I took my boat out, and I had to wait a while to do that.
A nice day to be on the water even if the quality fish were not biting.

Date Fished: 8/11/2009
Water Temperature: 89
Water Clarity: 1 foot

My neighbor and I fished the lower Delta from 10 AM until 2 PM, the last two hours of the falling tide and the first two hours of the incoming tide. Water clarity was much better than I expected what with all the rain lately but quality bass are still hard to come by. We started on the deep banks in the rivers and only managed a couple of small keepers and several dinks. We moved to the shallows as the tide turned, still in the river, and found a good many small keeper fish holding in isolated patches of eel grass. They readily bit no matter what bait you pulled by the grass patch.
I stuck with a lightly weighted lizard in watermelon and my neighbor used a clear Okeechobee spinnerbait.
The water was clear enough that most times you could see the fish come out of the grass and hit the lure. The heat got to both of us at 1:30 PM
(the heat index was 102) so we called it a day. Light south wind with occasional light rain. Perfect day for fishing the lower Delta.
Not many fishermen out today. The salt water fish have been driven to the lower end of the bay by the influx of fresh water.
I heard of a local tournament held Saturday where the winner had less than 5 pounds. Eight fishermen had zeros.
I remain of the opinion that we have the worst fishery in the state of Alabama, if not the whole nation.

Date Fished: 7/20/2009
Water Temperature: 90
Water Clarity: 1 foot

Another horrible afternoon fishing in the lower Mobile/Tensaw Delta today. Good falling tide and water clarity much improved but still very little grass. I fished from 2:30 PM until 6:30 PM and had one keeper, two non-keepers and a 7 pound redfish on an Okeechobee spinnerbait. Nothing on top water or plastics. Few fishermen out today.

Date Fished: 6/19/2009
Water Temperature: 90
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Too hot to fish comfortably today and I normally would not have gone to the lower Delta but my nephew came over from Fort Walton Beach and wanted to fish, so we hit the lower Delta about 6:30 AM and headed for the Blakely River. FYI most of the area through Pass Pacata is now a
No Wake Zone. Incoming tide all morning, very high water, very little water movement, water too hot and all of the other bad things you can think of that make for a horrible day of fishing in the lower Delta. We found a few bass in the grass but they would not take a buzzbait or spinnerbait. Swimming worms/lizards were the only baits that worked, and the fish were very small. The river readings look good but the lower Delta is still plagued by high, muddy water. We saw plenty of redfish "finning" but only managed to catch a couple of small ones on a spinnerbait.
We guit at noon with a surface water temp of 91.5 and little wind.

Date Fished: 6/5/2009
Water Temperature: 80
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Hardly anyone fishing the lower Delta today, probably because either the fish are no longer there or they are not biting. High tide at 11 AM with a moderate north/northwest wind. I fished from 2 PM till 6 PM and caught six small fish, no keepers. What little grass we had is mostly gone now and the water remains high and muddy. We have seen the last of the heavy rain for a while and the rivers (Tombigbee and Alabama) have fallen considerably. With this slowdown in influx of fresh water the salt water should be noticeable in the lower Delta by next week and the salt water fish (specs, redfish and flounder) should arrive shortly. Shrimping season for Mobile Bay began today which means the shrimp are mature enough to leave the Delta and head for the Gulf. Hardly any serious bass fishermen are fishing the Delta these days but a few are fishing Dog River. Local bass tournaments continue to be won in the northern reaches of the Alabama River, a very long run. I hope the Alabama Department of Natural Resources are aware of this and will do something to improve our fishery.

Date Fished: 5/15/2009
Water Temperature: 76
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Another mediocre morning in the Lower Mobile/Tensaw Delta today. I launched early (for me) at 7:30 AM with an incoming tide and light north wind. The water level was high and even though the tide was incoming the water in the rivers was heading south, hard. I tried fishing the rivers as the spawn is over but the strong current and low water visibility made for tough fishing. I missed more fish than I caught and all were small.
I also tried buzzing the little grass (eel or ribbon grass) I found in Chocalotta Bay but had no takers. I tried a trick worm and spinnerbait as well.
I found a good number of small fish in Lower Crab Creek that would take a junebug lizard but here too the current was strong and you had to be quick to get a hook-set. A strong thunderstorm drove me off the water at 11:30 AM and it got busy at the launch ramp as 5 or 6 other fishermen wisely decided to call it quits at the same time. I had 7 fish (one large redfish) but most were non-keepers.
But the boat ran fine after the mechanic replaced the switch box yesterday.

Date Fished: 5/13/2009
Water Temperature: 78
Water Clarity: 1 foot

The water remains high but the visibility gets better each day. The spawn is over but the small buck bass are guarding the spawn areas in great numbers. My neighbor and I caught at least a dozen small bass on chartreuse/white spinnerbaits before my big motor failed to start
(electronic problem I'm pretty sure) and we had to get a tow back to the landing yesterday evening. You can expect thunderstorms most every afternoon or evening, but the water remains fairly stable in the lower Delta.
Incoming tide almost all day. Isolated grass remains the key to finding fish.

Date Fished: 4/25/2009
Water Temperature: 73
Water Clarity: 6 inches

The lower Delta is still one big mud hole with very little grass and very few bass. Some of my favorite bays (Delvan, Grand Bay, Chuckfee, Bay Minnette Bay, D'Olive Bay, Pole Cat and Bay Grasse) are totally void of grass as far as I can tell, and I was not able to catch a single fish in any of them yesterday. I even tried in the rivers a little with no success. As a last resort I ran and idled at least three miles up Ching-a-Ling (Three Mile Creek off the Tensaw) and never found grass or a fish. Desperate, I tried Lower Crab Creek with the same results. There is grass in Bay Minnette Basin and Justang, and a little on the east side of Chocalotta, but these areas are getting hammered. The biggest problem is muddy water. Grass will not grow in muddy water. What little Eurasian Milfoil we had last year did not reappear this year and with all the high water the eel or ribbon grass is difficult to find, if there is any. Yesterday was the first time I have been in the Delta in two weeks and it may be two weeks before I go again. It's just not worth it. The Alabama Conservation people say we are just going through a down cycle, much like the economy I guess. The quality of bass fishing in the Mobile Delta has been going down hill since the mid-90s and I don't have much hope of it turning around in my life time.

Date Fished: 4/13/2009
Water Temperature: 70
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Rain, rain and more rain. Forget the tides, the water in the Mobile/Tensaw Delta is heading south, hard 24/7. Everything is flooded and there is no clear water. I didn't expect to do much today and I wasn't disappointed. Caught three small bass in the back of Bay Minnette Basin on a willowleaf spinnerbait. Tried several other spots on the east side of the lower Delta and either it was too muddy, too windy or the fish weren't there.
Fished from 11 AM (just after the rain quit) until 3 PM (just before the rain returned).

Date Fished: 3/13/2009
Water Temperature: 68
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Same old story, very little clear water and very little grass. Incoming tide all day after 3 days of neap tides. Fished the lower Delta from 9 AM until 1 PM. 8 fish, 4 keepers. One at 4 pounds plus. All on larger beetle spins. Nothing on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, top water or plastics. The rivers feeding the Delta are falling hard and the Delta should be in good shape by Tuesday, although clear water may be still hard to find. Until it was covered up by the incoming tide, I found clear water (visibility of 1 foot or better) in northeast Chocalotta and west side of Bay Minnette Basin.

Date Fished: 3/7/2009
Water Temperature: 58
Water Clarity: Less Than 1 foot

High water is the biggest problem with bass fishing in the Mobile Delta. Good stringers have been coming from the middle and upper Delta but with all the rain up north last week, clear out-of-the-woods water is hard to find after early morning. Still, 10-12 pounds on five fish is needed to get into the top ten, this from the newspaper report of the first day of the Fish N Fever tournament yesterday. Today may be a little tougher. The lower Delta remains tough with little grass in the spawning areas, lots of muddy water and few big (above 3 pounds) fish. I was going tomorrow but have decided to wait until Monday. The Sally bite is supposed to be on but I understand that most fish are being caught on willow leaf spinnerbaits.

Date Fished: 2/27/2009
Water Temperature: 62
Water Clarity: 1 foot

I launched on the Causeway this morning about 8 AM but didn't learn very much. Neap tide and a strong south wind keep the water level high and stable. Many tournament boats out today. Pre-fishing for the Dixie tournament tomorrow I guess. Either the fish were not very active today, I was in the wrong places, or I wasn't smart enough to figure them out. I quit just after 10 AM because of the strong winds. I did manage to catch a couple of buck bass on a Baby 1 Minus and two red fish on a white Sally in the little grass I found in Chocalotta Bay. I didn't get a bite in Pole Cat or Delvan where I found no grass. I was going to check out Grand Bay and Chuckafee Bay but I was by myself and I didn't feel like fighting the wind.

Date Fished: 2/10/2009
Water Temperature: 58
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Water visibility remains poor but water temp has warmed enough to get the fish active. The water level was too low to venture out into the bays in the lower Delta yesterday, and the southeast wind was too strong today, but by weeks end the fish should be on the move and feeding heavily. My neighbor and I boated ten yesterday, all on junebug lizards and worms, but the water temp is high enough now that the fish should be hitting spinnerbaits readily. Rumor has it that tournament contestants had a good day on Dog River Saturday, mostly on spinnerbaits, where the water is a little clearer. Many stringers in the 9 pound plus range,and I heard somebody had a stringer of 18+ pounds. They won't do that well in the Delta but I have no doubt that plenty of fish will be caught this weekend during the Fish N Fever tournament there. I may go to Dog River.

Date Fished: 1/4/2009
Water Temperature: 61
Water Clarity: 6 inches

Rain and fog made it difficult finding a good time to go fishing. But it has been unusually warm and my boat hadn't been on the water for some time, so my son joined me Sunday morning for a venture into the lower Delta. I knew that with all the rain and the high water it would be difficult finding clear water. Turns out, it was impossible. We never found water visibility better than 6 inches and the water level was very high even when we launched just after low tide at 8:30 AM. Fishing was slow but we did manage to catch 5 at about 7 pounds on junebug lizards fished very slowly near the middle of creeks in 4 to 7 feet of water. And even though we found water temps about 62 degrees we never got a bite on a spinnerbait or crankbait. We quit about 1 PM just before the rains returned. More rain and fog is predicted for the next four days.