East and West Matagorda Bay fishing

Capt. Tommy Countz reports catching trout and redfish while drifting in West Bay.

“We found a few birds and caught fish under them,” referring to trout. “It’s not real consistent but you can find enough to put a decent box of fish together.

“It’s unusual in January for us to find any bird activity. The redfish had little tiny shrimp in their bellies. Some of these trout under the birds have little shrimp in their stomachs…don’t know if it’s because of late hatching shrimp or what.

“We get a few (trout) up in the 20 inch range, but for the most part they’re school trout, 15-17 inch fish.

“Redfish have been in the three-five pound range. For the redfish we were throwing chicken-on-a-chain with a little heavier lead head to get more distance and get down closer to the bottom. A lot of times the redfish will hang out closer to the bottom.” Use a 3/8, a minimum of 1/4 oz jig head.

“Some of my buddies have been wading East Bay catching some pretty nice trout. I have already seen a couple of 30 inch trout caught caught. One said he fished all day and caught one fish, but it was 28 inch trout. He said it was worth the day.”

Lures: MirrOlure Marsh Minnows and Soft Shads.
They have real good action and a little bigger, will throw quite a distance, paddle tails and pre-scented. The Little John has been real effective in a purple or a glow/chartreuse tail. “I have gotten where I throw that more and more all the time. It has a real erratic action. When you are wading, the fish seem to like it, and it doesn’t catch a whole lot of grass like some of the other baits do.”

Rig it using a 1/16 oz jig head, and it will throw a half-a-mile. It doesn’t drop down real quick; it works through shallow grassy areas pretty well.