The bass and their habitat in the Delta survived last summer's intense hurricane season in fine form. Photo by Stephen E. Davis

The third of four hurricanes to impact the Gulf States, Ivan roared ashore near Gulf Shores on Sept. 16, 2004. Fortunately, and unlike the multiple strikes to hit Florida, Ivan was the only storm to cause death and massive damage in Alabama.

On the hurricane's approach, an NOAA buoy in the Gulf registered waves 50 feet high. Twelve-foot waves broke at Gulf Shores as Ivan's core maintained 130-mph winds. To expedite evacuation, the state reversed I-65's southbound lanes, turning the interstate into a one-way escape route.

In the pre-dawn hours, Ivan moved ashore, proceeding inland to the northeast. Destruction was catastrophic. Hugh trees fell, many taking out power lines and poles. A state-record 1.1 million homes and business lost electrical power.

The impact of fierce winds also forced debris into the waters of the Mobile Delta and caused a fish kill as far north as Claiborne Lake.

"Because we had fish kills after hurricanes Fredrick and George," explained Joe Zolczynski, fisheries biology supervisor for District V, "I expected this would happen with Ivan. We began receiving calls from the public about fish dying approximately five days after the storm.

"Our investigation revealed that fish kills occurred throughout what we call the Upper Delta, which is essentially north of Interstate 65, extending north into Washington County. My assistant, Cliff Young, and I did quick roving surveys to determine where fish were dying, and then we returned and did 100-yard counts to determine essentially what had happened.

"We found that we had a moderate fish kill in the Delta that involved non-game species more than it involved game fish. The most heavily affected two species were threadfin shad, because they are so numerous, and freshwater drum.

"Whenever we took water quality readings, we found the level of dissolved oxygen to be very low. Those low levels caused the fish to die."

Decaying organic debris, which was blown into the water, caused the extreme drop in dissolved oxygen. On Sept. 29, Zolczynski found that oxygen levels had increased from below 1 part per million to 2 parts per million. That was the first day that he did not see any fish in distress.

"The long-term effect that these kills will have on the Delta we have yet, obviously, to determine," Zolczynski said. "As we gather data, we will get a better picture. The Delta is a dynamic system that will rebound very rapidly."

Fortunately, reports from bass fishermen through last fall and winter indicated that stringer weights are unaffected by the storm. That's not to say you find fishing unchanged. Areas without flowing water or aquatic vegetation may not hold the numbers of fish that you remembered before Ivan.

Two anglers who have not had a problem locating fish on the Delta are Mobile City champions Lee Grandquest of Semmes and Kevin Zellers of Citronelle. The former has won the prestigious tournament three times in the past seven years and is the reigning champion. Both anglers say high water in the months before May make for great fishing.

"If we have a wet spring," advised Grandquest, "May can provide the best fishing of the year. Normally, the river will recede in April or May, but until then many places are unfishable. The water and the fish are so far out into the woods that there is no pressure on them. So when the water finally recedes, it's possible to catch big stringers of bass.

"On the other hand, if we have a dry spring, which usually occurs every other year, fishing pressure starts in February."