Mobile Bay Hits 72°F as May Cobia Migration Peaks Along the Alabama Gulf Front

What's Biting

What's Next

With water temps at 72°F and light winds across the northern Gulf, conditions are setting up well for an active few days on Mobile Bay and the Alabama offshore bars. No wave height data came back from today's buoy readings, so anglers planning nearshore or offshore runs should pull a full NOAA marine forecast before leaving the dock.

**Cobia** is the headliner for the next several weeks. May is peak migration timing along the Alabama Gulf front, and 72°F water sits squarely in the productive window for this species. Fish move in classic, predictable patterns: following stingrays and cownose rays across shallow nearshore flats, stacking on artificial reefs and channel markers, and staging along the beach front from Dauphin Island eastward. Live baits — large cigar minnows, eels, and cut stingray — are the traditional producers. For sight-casters, soft-plastic paddle tails and large swimbaits can draw strikes when fish show themselves. The waning gibbous moon over the coming days means strong tidal pulls, particularly around moon overhead and underfoot periods; aligning a beach-front run with those windows typically improves odds on slow-moving fish.

**Speckled trout** should be building in activity on the bay's grass flats. With water in the low 70s, trout are feeding actively through the first two hours after dawn and again in the early evening. Work soft plastics on 1/4 oz jig heads along the edge where grass meets sand, or throw a topwater plug at first light for the most visual action of the season.

**Spanish mackerel** typically push through Alabama's nearshore zone in May behind schools of glass minnows and threadfin herring. A high-speed trolling pass with Clark spoons or Gotcha plugs along the beach bars and over nearshore live bottom is a reliable way to put fish in the box on days when the cobia bite is slow.

**Snook** are a developing story. Field & Stream reported a new Mississippi state record caught near Pascagoula Bay on April 21, noting the species is actively expanding its range into northern Gulf estuaries. The catch came on a Z-Man soft-plastic mullet — Pascagoula sits directly east of Mobile Bay. Anglers working similar habitat along Dauphin Island's back bays, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta marsh edges, and nearby tidal cuts may be ahead of the curve on a species that could become a legitimate May target sooner than most expect.

Context

Early May in Mobile Bay and along the Alabama Gulf coast is historically one of the year's strongest inshore and nearshore windows. Water temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s — right where NOAA buoy 42012 is reading at 72°F — are on schedule for a typical northern Gulf spring warm-up. The cobia migration, the defining event of the Alabama May calendar, generally kicks into high gear once nearshore water breaks 68°F and peaks through mid-month before fish disperse to summer structure. This year's early buoy reading suggests the run is at or near its seasonal apex.

What distinguishes this season's angler-intel picture is the snook data. Field & Stream reported a Mississippi state record snook near Pascagoula Bay on April 21, describing the species as expanding its range into northern Gulf estuaries. Historically, snook were treated as a Florida species with only occasional strays reaching Alabama and Mississippi waters. A record catch confirmed in April — before Gulf water reaches peak summer heat — suggests these fish may be establishing a viable northern presence. For Mobile Bay anglers, it is a trend worth tracking across seasons; what shows up as an anomaly today may become a routine target within a few years.

Direct year-over-year data from Mobile Bay charter captains or local tackle shops is limited in today's intel feeds, making a precise seasonal benchmark difficult. Based on available environmental data, conditions appear on schedule — neither notably early nor late. If the current mild wind pattern and gradually rising water temps continue, the second and third weeks of May traditionally see the cobia run intensify while speckled trout and flounder hold steady on flats and passes. Check state regulations for current season and size limits before targeting any species.