Baffin Bay spring action …

Capt. Joey Farah points out that a combination of factors have transformed this spring into one of the best fishing opportunities in recent memory.

“There are a huge amount of shrimp and other bait in the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay,” Farah said. “The tides have been so high for so long that the bait has stayed here and the big trout fishing is better than we’ve seen in quite a while. The drum run has also started early because a lot of fish just never left the bay area.

“All of the right conditions and factors have fallen into place for some super fishing,” said Farah. He also gives credit to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for expanding the five-fish bag limit on trout in 2014 to cover most of the Texas Gulf Coast as a key factor in the increasing big trout bonanza this spring.

“We are also experiencing some of the clearest water that I have seen in years,” he said. “That might be because they have stopped dredging (along the Intercoastal Canal) and because of the good rainfall and high tides. The fish are more spread out this year, so you have to be able to find them. The trout are really hanging around the rocks — chasing all the bait that is there — along with redfish and drum.

“This is one of those rare springs when you can hook into a lot of big trout, find some really good redfish action and take advantage of the drum run all at the same time.”