_Mag_Current Issue

Coastal Focus: Aransas to Corpus

March… Time for Trophy Speckled Trout

I T’S THAT TIME OF YEAR when the quest for big speckled trout is here again in the Upper Laguna and Baffin Bay areas.

It all depends on the water temperature. If it warms up, Yarborough, the Badlands, Green 9, Tide Gauge Bar, Carrallos Shoreline and Black Bluff Barr in Baffin Bay could produce possible trophy trout.

If the weather turns cool, try bumping a soft plastic around the Land Cut. “It’s tedious work, but if conditions dictate it, that’s what you have to do,” says fishing guide Javi Castillo. He and his clients have caught their share of Baffin and Upper Laguna Madre wall hangers.

Probably 90 percent of Castillo’s trout trips are wade fishing. In early spring trout are looking for warm muddy bottoms. Trophy-sized trout are rarely caught drifting open water, unless it’s over an area heavy with scattered shell pads throughout. Pay attention to detail when you do hook a couple of good fish.

Castillo emphasizes that big trout don’t get big by being dumb. If it’s a full moon, he and his clients are in the water probably about an hour-and-a-half before sunrise.

“When I park my boat I generally put my clients out in a line. We wade down 80 to 100 yards away from the boat before we start casting.” The sound of wave action against the hull of the boat can spook the fish.

He tells the anglers to stay behind him and follow his lead. “We start the wade by throwing topwaters, topwaters, and more topwaters…fan casting,” he added. “If you’re getting no takers, take it off and tie on a Corky, fan cast. Switch over and go to the bottom, fan cast, take 10 steps up, and start over again until you find the fish.”

Castillo targets anywhere from one to three feet of water “If I’m past my waist in water, I’m fishing too deep for big trout. They can be caught off the sides of the Intracoastal if it’s cold, fishing a soft plastic slowly, bumping it along the bottom. But if the conditions are right, 75 percent of the time I’m wading knee to waist deep.

“I will be throwing topwaters until the sun comes up and then switch over to the super models of floating Corkies, and then switching to soft plastics,”

“Super” refers to the larger baits.

His prime, main two topwater colors are pink/chrome and Halloween, a gold/orange/black combination. If he is throwing Skitter Walk Jr. or One Knockers he prefers a bone or white color.

If the wind is howling, he ties on a black/chartreuse or a red/chrome She Dog, or She Pup. “They make more noise to draw the fish to them. The trout can see the chrome better in the dirtier water. Even though the clarity is bad, if the sun’s up it will glare off the bait. The fish will come up and get it.”

According to Castillo big trout tend to prefer pink color at the beginning of the big trout season. As the season progresses, they tend to go more for a purple bait. Then late in the season color isn’t that important.

On soft plastics, if the water’s clean, he likes natural colors. “The Gambler Grass Hopper is good; white is always good. If you don’t have white in your tackle bag, you’re doing something wrong.”

In the soft plastics he starts with a white, switching to Morning Glory…” something black or chartreuse, and then work any color in the middle.”

“Sometimes I don’t have to switch. I’ll have the right color or lure right from the get-go. Chicken-on-a-Chain is good. Gambler makes one called Lunker Candy, a brownish blue with a purple glitter. Purple Rain without the chartreuse is probably my go-to as far as soft plastics.”

He isn’t just catching big trout, but he will go after redfish if the trout bite slows and big schools of reds show up. “I’m not going to frown on a school of redfish.

“First thing in the morning I always look for trout unless we just roll up on a big school of redfish.

“I will work trout until 10 in the morning. If the trout bite slows down, I’ll try to find a grass flat and work for redfish until around 2 p.m. As the sun starts coming down we will switch back into trout for the afternoon bite.”

Use some of the tips garnered from Castillo for catching big trout and apply them to areas where you think the chances are good for a trophy. Concentrate your efforts on a specific area that meets the requirements for holding fish. Does it have a hard or soft bottom, grass, etc? Mornings in March can be really cold; schedule a trip in late afternoon after the sun has warmed the water. Fish until dark; some really nice fish have been caught right before sunset.

The Bank Bite

Under the Bridge: Packery Channel

GPS: N 27 37.007, W 97 12.749

Species: Flounder

Best Bait: Mud minnows

Tips: Fish the channel south of Hwy 361, near the edge. And fish slowly.

 

Email Tom Behrens at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

Roy Neves

Recent Posts

Here Are The Details On the Proposed Speckled Trout Trophy Tag

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission is set to make a decision on a trophy…

5 days ago

TX Wardens Bust Snapper Poachers

Texas Game Wardens, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)…

5 days ago

Hunt-Fish Podcast Summit Kicks Off Thursday

The fourth annual Hunt-Fish Podcast Summit kicks off Thursday March 21 at the Warren Ranch…

5 days ago

Catching Trout on Swimbaits & Eel Imitations

A great way to cover water and mimic what big trout are eating this time…

5 days ago

Are Elk Populations Rising In Several Parts of Texas?

“Hey Chester, you’ve got to check out what I got on my game camera.” An…

5 days ago

CCA Texas Funds Over $7 Million In Oyster Restoration

Some  80% of oyster reefs have disappeared, reduced from overharvesting and environmental events. The oyster…

5 days ago