July and August Put the ‘Hot’ in Hotspots

SABINE LAKE & PASS

Reported by CAPT. EDDIE HERNANDEZ

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

THE TWO HOTTEST months of the year are upon us, and the temperature and the fishing action are both just about peaked out.

You’d be hard pressed to find temperatures and fish catching this hot and this consistent during any other two-month span. The rod bending action has been steady since March here on Sabine. We started off the year with much higher salinity levels than we’ve had in several years prior.

Mother Nature gave us a break this spring as we did not have to contend with any freshwater runoff from flooding to our north. Throw in the fact that we were also miraculously spared from any significant freeze-related fish kill in February, and it’s easy to see why our ecosystem has been as productive as is has.

Fast forward to mid/late summer

It is hot and the fish are hungry. The jetties, short rigs and surf are loaded with trout and reds. Throwing top-waters early and light-colored plastics once the sun begins to penetrate the trout-green water should be your keys to a successful outing.

Work the entire wall at the jetties, paying special attention to rock piles and washouts. When you hit a few fish, work that area thoroughly before moving on.

Live baits such as shrimp, shad and finger mullet are also very effective in these hot summer months. Place a split shot about 18 to 24 inches above a Kahle hook or rig it with a popping cork. Both set ups can be very effective, especially when the fish decide to get lockjaw on artificials as the water heats up in the summer months.

Many people don’t realize that often, the fish really stack up north of the boat cut. Again, top-waters, light colored plastics and live bait should all produce strikes.

The competition is usually not as bad on that side of the cut, so you can spend more time fishing and less time maneuvering around boats. Keep in mind tidal movement is very important. Both incoming and outgoing tides can be productive.

Also, the channel side can be just as good as, or better than the Gulf side at times. The short rigs are also holding nice trout and some big reds. soft plastics and live finger mullet or shad should get the job done.

You might also get to do battle with some Spanish mackerel on steroids, gafftops and sharks. Drifting or wading the surf is another exciting option. Early mornings when the pretty water has found its way to the beach before the wind picks up are hard to beat.

Wherever you end up, remember to prepare for the hot weather. Bring plenty of extra water, and wear a hat, long sleeves and good sunglasses. Also, don’t forget to use sunscreen early and often.

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GALVESTON

Reported by CAPT. MICHAEL MARQUEZ

Email Michael Marquez at MichaelSharkyMarquez@gmail.com

 

GALVESTON ISLAND IS truly an incredible place, jam-packed with opportunities to catch a variety of trophy fish year-round. From chasing big wintertime trout and flounders in the Galveston Bay complex to running offshore in the heat of the summer for tuna, mahi mahi, kingfish, and more—this place never gets old.

One of my personal favorite species of fish to target here is a redfish. These are some of the hardest fighting inshore fish and just an all-around blast to catch.

Slot redfish are commonly sought out by anglers for their great taste on the grill. A slot red is a redfish that is between the length of 20 to 28 inches. The Texas bag limit allows anglers three slot redfish per person.

However, if you are looking for the fight of your life, the bull red is the fish to target. These are redfish that exceed a length of 28 inches and are notorious for being one of the hardest fighting fish to catch inshore. Catching a bull red is sure to bring you a memory-making experience that you will never forget.

So how do you get one of these big redfish to bite your line?

Location: Structure, structure, did I say STRUCTURE? Yes. If you’re visiting Galveston and don’t have the luxury of a boat to fish from, the seawall is loaded with little jetties that run into the surf. This is a great habitat for baitfish that turns into a feeding ground for bigger predatorial fish. There are also other fishing “Hot Spots” such as Seawolf Park and Lee & Joe Jamail Bay Park.

Live Bait: I use a large shrimp or finger mullet on a Carolina-style rig (fishing the lower water columns). I like to cast out around the structures and let the live bait do all the work for me. Keep that slack out of your line and get ready to SET THE HOOK when you feel the bite.

Hint: If you made it this far in the post, you deserve to know my biggest secret to catching redfish with bait. If your first cast is unsuccessful (when using live shrimp), pinch the tail (making a small break in the shell, but leaving the tail intact). This will release scent and also give the shrimp an injured look in the water. Sometimes it’s just the thing you need to get those fish to react and bite.

Artificials: For this time of year, I like to throw a white-bodied lure with a chartreuse tail when fishing around structures such as jetties, rocks, oyster reefs, and other areas. The redfish seem to react well to this color due to the replication of sand eels and mullets that are prominent in the Gulf Coast waters at this time.

Using a ¼-ounce jig head is best when targeting these fish. It will keep your lure in the lower water column where these redfish spend most of their time feeding.

For beginners starting out with artificials, you can’t go wrong with a reeling pattern such as (Bump-Bump-Reel-Repeat) over a two to three second duration. I continue changing my reeling pattern every few casts until I find one that the fish react to best.

Fish Structure: This is the perfect ambush point for big redfish to find an easy meal around. If you can find the bait, you can find the fish.

Suggested equipment (rods and reels):

• Spinning reel size 3500-4500

• 30Lb braided line

• Medium action 15-30lb weight class rod

These fish can put up a solid fight from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the gear you are using. The key is to have fun and enjoy every minute of it.

Ready to catch a redfish of a lifetime? Visit our website outcastfishincharters.com to book your trip today.

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MATAGORDA

Reported by CAPT. MARK TALASEK

Email Mark Talasek at MarkTalasek@sbcglobal.net

 

THE CONCERN OF the 2021 “deep freeze” seems to be the topic of conversation among most anglers. Did it kill any big game fish? Did it hurt the bay system? Are the bays going to be ok?

The answer is yes to all. Yes, we lost some trout and red fish along with numbers of bait fish that lined the shores, dead.

But the bay system is alive and well. Most of the fish retreated to the deeper waters of the intracoastal canal and Colorado River

The deeper waters provided a thermal barrier from the frigid temperatures above. Most of the flounder population migrates to the Gulf of Mexico yearly, so they were spared.

I saw the same pictures of dead fish that flooded the internet. I have also seen good numbers of reds and flounders come across my boat lately. Not as many trout, but I’m still catching a few.

Conditions have not allowed us to drift deeper shell in the bay. When the wind calms we have caught and released trout to five pounds. I feel confident the numbers are still there—just maybe not as many.

Some things are not as good as they used to be. Matagorda bay is going to be OK. I have been fishing deeper channels off the intracoastal canal, catching reds and drum with live bait under a popping cork. An occasional trout has been in the mix.

Water temperatures continue to climb, replenishing the bay system with bait and fish from deeper gulf waters. Wade fishing grass beds along the shoreline has produced half limits of trout to three pounds. Dark colored soft plastics have been the ticket. Flounder gigging has produced near limits at night as the spring run is in full swing. Conditions and catches should only improve. Capt. Mark Talasek – (979) 479-1397.

 

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HotSPOTLight:

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Location: Campbell Bayou
Hotspot: Sand Island
GPS: N 29 20.3141, W 94 54.0286
(29.3386, -94.9005)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Soft Plastics
Source: Capt. Paul Marcaccio
www.gofishgalveston.com
Tips: Drifting Campbell’s Bayou can produce trout in the 16–17-inch trout. Look for bird action.

Location: East Matagorda Bay
Hotspot: Drulls Lump
GPS: N 28 42.285, W 95 50.0659
(28.7048 -95.8344)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Berkley Gulp Shad or live shrimp
Source: Capt. Tommy Countz
www.matagordafishing.com
Tips: You can catch big trout all year round. A lot of it deals with the weather. In July a lot of the big fish move into deep water. Drifting the deeper reefs especially in East Matagorda Bay can pay off.

Location: East Matagorda Bay
Hotspot: Long Reef
GPS: N 28 40.3998, W 95 53.0899
(28.6733 -95.8848)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Berkley Gulp Shad or live shrimp
Source: Capt. Tommy Countz
www.matagordafishing.com
Tips: In dirty water, use a light color or a really bright chartreuse. In clear water, throw pink colors

Location: Galveston East Bay
Hotspot: Big Pasture & Yates Bayou
GPS: N 29 29.55, W 94 36.011
(29.4925 -94.6002)

Species: Redfish
Best Bait: Live shrimp
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fish grass shoreline, around bayou mouth; dawn-morn, dusk

Location: Galveston East Bay
Hotspot: Bull Shoals
GPS: N 29 28.716, W 94 44.424
(29.4786 -94.7404)

Species: Redfish
Best Bait: Live and artificial redfish bait
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Drift shallow reef on SE corner of island, hit reef edges; dawn thru dusk

Location: Galveston East Bay
Hotspot: Elm Lake
GPS: N 29 27.147, W 94 41.691
(29.4525 -94.6949)

Species: Redfish
Best Bait: Shrimp under cork
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Troll grassline, drift open water; dawn-morn, dusk

Location: Galveston Trinity Bay
Hotspot: April Fool Reef
GPS: N 29 29.077, W 94 54.773
(29.4846 -94.9129)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Bait: Live shrimp, croaker
Source: Capt. Paul Marcaccio
www.gofishgalveston.com
Tips: Work reef top and edges, drift; dawn-midday, dusk

Location: Galveston Trinity Bay
Hotspot: Camp House
GPS: N 29 40.478, W 94 42.609
(29.6746 -94.7102)

Species: Redfish
Best Bait: Topwaters
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: This spot is made for the wade; fish early

Location: Galveston Trinity Bay
Hotspot: Channel Marker 44
GPS: N 29 27.814, W 94 50.615
(29.4636 -94.8436)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Bait: Live shrimp, croaker
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Work reef top and edges, drift; fish early

Location: Galveston Trinity Bay
Hotspot: Seabrook Pipes
GPS: N 29 33.306, W 95 1.385
(29.5551 -95.0231)

Species: Flounder
Best Bait: Live shrimp, flounder jigs
Source: Capt. Paul Marcaccio
www.gofishgalveston.com
Tips: Best with moving tide; dawn through morning, dusk and night

Location: Galveston West Bay
Hotspot: Chocolate Bay Shoreline
GPS: N 29 10.392, W 95 9
(29.1732 -95.1500)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Soft Plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Areas with small baitfish will normally have the bigger trout.

Location: Galveston West Bay
Hotspot: Chocolate Bayou
GPS: N 29 11.6209, W 95 9.948
(29.1937 -95.1658)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Soft Plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: August is one of my favorite months for true shallow water fishing.

Location: Galveston West Bay
Hotspot: Redfish Cove
GPS: N 29 6.1009, W 95 6.5689
(29.1017 -95.1095)

Species: Redfish
Best Baits: Soft Plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Focus on schools of mullet, and especially the areas that have small bait fish.

Location: Matagorda East Bay
Hotspot: Catchall Basin Flats
GPS: N 28 43.7719, W 95 45.562
(28.7295, -95.7594)

Species: Redfish
Best Baits: Weedless Gold Spoon
Source: Capt. Tommy Countz
www.matagordafishing.com
Tips: On the deeper edges of the grass flats there will be still pretty decent numbers of redfish feeding, not visible, but grouped up, slicking along a drop-off.

Location: Matagorda West Bay
Hotspot: Cottons
GPS: N 28 30.45, W 96 12.3816
(28.5075, -96.2064)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Topwaters and soft plastics
Source: Capt. Tommy Countz
www.matagordafishing.com
Tips: Start the day wading until you find fish. Early morning, they are going to be shallow. Getting into mid-morning, and it gets hotter

Location: Sabine Lake
Hotspot: Flats
GPS: N 29 56.404, W 93 50.919
(29.9401, -93.8487)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Soft Plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: By August anglers should be able to find trout in just about anywhere. Just look for the bird action.

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For the Love of a Favorite Animal

ROCKPORT AREA

Reported by CAPT. MAC GABLE

Email Mac Gable at captmac@macattackguideservice.com

Or Visit Online: macattackguideservice.com

 

A TALK BY A Harvard professor I attended years ago, pointedly and matter-of-factly stated animals, and in particular dogs, were incapable of emotion.

Citing the prominent French scientist René Descartes, the Harvard professor stated dogs were a type of carbon-based machine filled with biological gears, pulleys, and connective cables. This machine, he went on, lacks the divine spark we humans have. It can’t think, but can be programmed to serve us, the master.

This machine (in the form of our favorite pet) eats without pleasure, cries without pain, acts without knowing, fears nothing, desires nothing and knows nothing. Although some evolutionary progress has been made over the past 1000 years, what we perceive to be emotion in an animal is nothing more than reaction to stimulus or a flight or fight response.

I was twenty at the time of this mindless rendering. Even then, I knew under scrutiny this leaky-vessel of philosophy would sink to the bottom in record time.

Fast forward to today. We know through studies of humans that chemical neuron processes are at work driving much of how we think, learn, and feel. It has also been shown animals, in particular dogs’ hormones, are very similar to humans and undergo the same chemical changes in reaction to emotional states as we do.

Researchers know the difference between us and animals is the development process or sequence of emotional learning. To put it simply, humans have a much broader range of emotions, which developed over a much longer time frame.

It may take 20 years for a human to fully develop their broad range of emotional capability, whereas a dog’s brain is fully capable at six months. This short time frame has its advantages and disadvantages.

Learning in puppies is at the speed of light compared to human infants, but this rapid brain maturity also limits its emotional peak range. It is believed the average animal or dog, when mature, is the equivalent of a 2 1/2-year-old child.

What does this mean? Our favorite pet has all the basic emotions we have. They can be angry, fearful, disdained, happy, joyful, (dogs can even smile in their own way) and much like humans at 2 1/2 years of age they DO LOVE.

Science says they cannot, however, feel shame, guilt or be prideful. In my humble opinion, I think the science here is in error—maybe not pride, but for sure guilt and shame. Ever come home to a disaster a dog makes and it’s nowhere to be found? You eventually find it cowering in its favorite hiding place with a guilty-as-sin look on its face.

On the rare days I got to fish by myself, he was always with me. He never turned down a fishing trip. He never got to reel in a fish, but was always by my side, his tail thumping against my leg, his tongue out with a panting smile as I reeled in a fish. It was important he sniff the fish, give it a gentle lick, and then cock his head sideways telling me “Good job, now let it go.”

He was a leaner, meaning he always wanted to be touched by people. When he greeted you, he always needed to feel your touch. After long days being left alone in the house, he never made a mess, He always waited, about to burst, for me to get home and let him outside.

He would always seek a bush to do his business even if the bush was a mile away, never making a mess in the yard. Every day for 17 years he got a dog bone—the highlight of his day. Should I forget, he gently reminded me.

Amazingly people volunteered to keep him if we had to leave town and couldn’t take him. He rode to Alaska and back (and many other places) in the back seat of my truck and was a great road trip companion.

He never attempted to bite anyone; I’m not sure he even knew how. He was trained to steer clear of water—how do you train a Lab to stay out of the water? —because our lake has alligators in it.

It was determined people would visit as much to see him as to see us. He would not bark unless something was wrong.

His grandfather was a Champion Tennessee Labrador hunting dog, and he was a champion sit in your lap dog. He respected me and listened to my every command except when I was being stupid.

He dearly loved my wife Lisa, and she him. In his last days his body eaten with cancer, his joints worn out and arthritic, he would always struggle and stand and wag his tail if she walked into the room. When she would leave the house, he would wait, staring out the window or standing in the driveway, his head pointed in the direction he last saw her until she came home.

His name was Diesel. Nicknames “D,” “Roo,” and “Rascal.” He was 17 years old. I cried when he died.

If you take your favorite pet fishing with you, bring water for it. They will drink almost anything. However, neither beer, soda nor Gatorade is a substitute for water.

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I LIKE FRESH MENHADEN this time of year. Frozen will do but fresh is better. The summer heat seems endless, but there is no need to stay out all day. Half day trips, either early morning or late evening, can be just as productive and less taxing on one’s body.

Copano Bay: Cut mullet or menhaden work well in the Turtle Pen area free-lined or on a light Carolina rig for reds. Lap Reef is a good spot for trout using croaker free-lined. Mud minnows will work as well.

St. Charles Bay: The opening that leads to Salt Creek is a good place for reds using finger mullet on a medium heavy Carolina rig. Some flounder and black drum are found in the back part of Cavasso Creek. Use fresh dead shrimp on a light Carolina rig.

Aransas Bay: Wades down Blackjack Point can produce some nice trout and reds using free-lined croaker. The key here is to stay within casting distance of the salt grass and fan your cast 180 degrees from near shore to offshore. Dunham Bay is a good spot for reds using free-lined finger mullet. Approach the back part of the bay quietly, using a trolling motor or drifting in.

Carlos Bay: Inside Cedar Reef is a good spot for black drum and keeper reds. Use fresh-dead shrimp and finger mullet, free-lined. The shell edges of Carlos Trench are good spots for trout using live shrimp and a rattle cork.

Mesquite Bay: Wades near Bludworth Island can produce large trout using free-lined croaker. This area is best fished on high tide. The spoil area just off Roddy Island is good for sheepshead and black drum on live shrimp under a silent cork.

Ayres Bay: Drifts or trolling motor approaches to Second Chain Island are good for reds and trout using free-lined croaker. Live shrimp under a popping cork works here as well. Wades near Ayres Point is good for trout using free-lined croaker.

Bank Bite: The shoreline near the airport is a good spot this time of year, early morning or late evening with a moving tide. Wading is best, but this area can also be fished from the bank.

The go-to bait is live shrimp under a popping cork. Trout, reds, and black drum frequent this area. The area can be accessed through Howard Murph Park. Great sunsets here as well.

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CORPUS CHRISTI AREA

Reported by CAPT. JOEY FARRAH

Email Joey Farah at jfarah@gmail.com

 

SUMMERTIME FISHING here in the Coastal Bend will be hot. We offer so many places and styles of fishing here that your options are endless.

I drifting and wade fish the extreme shallows, casting to redfish, drum, trout, and flounder. I make long casts with a 1/16th to 1/8th ounce jig head and a five-inch Down South Lures soft plastic. My favorite summertime color is Dirty Tequila.

The gold glitter turns the redfish on fire in the clear flats. For blind casting from the boat, I also use a very special weedless hook from Owner. It’s the Flashy Spinner. This weedless hook has a gold blade Ed spinner under the bait. I use a DOA shrimp body on this rig and have watched redfish and drum strike with wicked aggression.

Shallow water flats can be accessed along the back side of Mustang Island between Port A and North Padre. Explore the many trails leading to marshes and the edges of Corpus Christi Bay. I’ll be in the boat drifting the flats along East Flats, Shamrock Cove, and down south in the best shallow water redfish area on the coast, Nine Mile Hole, and Yarborough Pass.

The gas wells in Corpus Christi Bay lie in about seven to ten feet of water. When winds are light, live shrimp free-lined or under a popping cork can be very effective for specks and sand trout. Gafftops will also be close at hand there at the Wells, as well as in the structure along the Corpus Christi Bayfront. Look for old piers and cement structures, jetties and breakwaters. Gafftops are a large catfish that is great eating. They readily eat cut bait and dead shrimp for fishermen looking for fillets.

The beach is a summertime hotspot. Fish the first two guys at dawn with topwater lures for trout, then switch to a silver spoon or a three-inch DOA CAL SHAD on a 1/4- to ½-ounce jig head with a length of 40-pound leader for Spanish mackerel. Spanish Macs are fast, and they like a fast retrieve as well. Their sharp teeth can cut the line easily, but their keen eyes can see wire leader, you will get many more strikes with mono leader.

We have an extended red snapper season this year so jump on a party boat or a private charter offshore for red snapper and lots of kingfish. Most trips will be successful within only a few miles of land.

Making it out to the closer rigs or the manmade reefs inside state waters can be fun and easy. Look online for their GPS locations and fish on the bottom with squid and shrimp. Drifting these reef structures with live hard tails is a sure bet to hang into big kingfish. Use small pieces of cut bait on small hooks to catch the hard-tail mackerel for bait.

Trout fishing with live croaker has been by far the most popular summertime fishing activity in years past, after the February fish kill, trout numbers fell to only 30 percent of years past. This is bringing many anglers to catch and release speckled trout so that we can rebuild our fishery.

Live bait fishing for trout is still popular and great fun. Live croaker along the edges of the larger islands in and along Corpus Christi Bay are great places to find schools of trout up along the strip of grass on the drop-off of the islands.

Free-line the croakers with a #6 wide-gap hook. Catch a few and release the rest so we can guarantee a great trout fishery for generations.

We will build memories for a lifetime along the shallow flats of the Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay. Come find out how exciting watching big redfish explode on shallow water top-waters against the orange glow of sunrise. Stop your heart in its tracks as you watch hundreds of black drum tailing in the flats while your bait softly floats down to them. Shallow water fishing adds the element of sight to your imagination.

 

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HotSPOTLight:

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Location: Ayers Bay
Hotspot: Ayers Reef
GPS: N 28 10.434, W 96 50.3659
(28.1739, -96.8394)

Species: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
Best Baits: Live Croaker
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Look for shell piles and work the edges from a boat. Trout, redfish, and an occasional flounder can be caught. The trout are the easiest to catch using a croaker freelined.

Location: Carlos Bay
Hotspot: Cedar Reef
GPS: N 28 8.251, W 96 53.049
(28.1375, -96.8842)

Species: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
Best Baits: Paul Brown Devil Eyes and Chicken-on-a-Chain soft plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: A favorite soft plastic is Devil Eye in a chrome with a chartreuse tail and a 1/4-ounce jig head. It’s a great redfish lure.

Location: Corpus Christi Bay
Hotspot: Pita Island
GPS: N 27 36.169, W 97 17.1989
(27.6028, -97.2867)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Live Croaker or Live Shrimp
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: The month of July is a great time to fish around the island using live croaker.

Location: Mesquite Bay
Hotspot: Cedar Bayou
GPS: N 28 4.3309, W 96 50.832
(28.0722, -96.8472)

Species: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
Best Baits: Live Croaker
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Close to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge, use live croaker over shell and mud where the edges drop off.

Location: Nueces Bay
Hotspot: East Nueces Bay
GPS: N 27 52.2799, W 97 19.9979
(27.8713, -97.3333)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Live Croaker or Live Shrimp
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fresh water runoff doesn’t affect the trout like it does on other bays. The trout are used to it, and the rain will clean up the water for us, reduce high salinity.

Location: Port Aransas
Hotspot: Lydia Ann Channel
GPS: N 27 51.736, W 97 3.298
(27.8623, -97.0550)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Soft Plastics
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fishing a bunch of schooling fish mostly. Use your trolling to move along to find the schools.

Location: Upper Laguna Madre
Hotspot: Boat Hole
GPS: N 27 40.969, W 97 14.9989
(27.6828, -97.2500)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Live Croaker or Live Shrimp
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Use a 4/0 Kale hook because the croaker down here aren’t very big, along with a 1/8-ounce barrel weight. The more natural the presentation, the better.

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As the Sun Ascends, Go Deeper for Trout & Reds

BAFFIN BAY

Reported by CAPT. GERAD MERRITT

Email Gerad Merritt at GeradMerritt@gmail.com

Visit Online: ParadiseGuideServices.com

 

SUMMER IS IN full swing, and the trout and redfish bite is heating up along with the temperature. Currently, we are seeing solid fish on big rock structures.

I’m starting with shallow water fishing first thing in the morning and moving deeper as the day progresses. Once the cool morning air dissipates, the bay fish seek out the deeper, cooler water mid-morning and throughout the rest of the day. These fish will start the pattern again once the sun sets and temperatures decrease a little.

At one of my favorite spots to fish, the rock structure is large. All summer long, I’m able to throw a bait on top of it and slowly drag it towards me. Once it hits the edge of the rock and sinks just a few feet deeper, a fish will typically engulf it, and the fight is on.

Whether it’s a soft plastic lure or a good healthy croaker, the feeling is like none other. Drifting over the edges of grass flats and drop offs is also currently working for a successful trip. Keep in mind that when the water is nice and clear, you want to try to target the sand pockets and work around them.

This helps fish locate bait and helps less experienced anglers stay out of the grass hang ups. Usually when I am fishing this way, I’m targeting more redfish and bigger trout, looking for the one every angler dreams of. Although it can be slower-paced fishing at times, it works for those who prefer to stay in the boat.

Keep in mind that after the big freeze back in February, Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners have changed our trout limits in south Texas to a three fish per person bag limit and a length of seventeen to twenty-three inches.

This runs from the JFK causeway south to Brownsville and will hopefully be lifted in the coming months. But until then, let’s be patient and enjoy what we have.

 

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HotSPOTLight:

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Location: Baffin Bay
Hotspot: Kennedy Shoreline
GPS: N 27 15.598, W 97 27.6509
(27.2600, -97.4609)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Topwaters early, soft plastics later in the day
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Target the shoreline along the Kennedy Ranch, focusing early on the shallow edges

Location: Baffin Bay
Hotspot: Land Cut
GPS: N 27 0.5195, W 97 26.8494
(27.0087, -97.4475)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Live Croaker
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Hook the croaker more to the tail along the lateral line, and kind of jig it backwards, free lining let it swim away from you.

Location: Baffin Bay
Hotspot: The Badlands
GPS: N 27 18.447, W 97 25.993
(27.3075, -97.4332)

Species: Speckled Trout and Redfish
Best Baits: Norton Sand Eels soft plastics with a 1/8 jig head
Source: Capt. John Little
captjohnlittle@sbcglobal.com
Tips: There is not much traffic back in here; it’s pretty laid back, see two or three boats in a day as compared to 20-30 boats.

Location: Lower Laguna Madre
Hotspot: Grass Flats
GPS: N 26 1.399, W 97 10.5606
(26.0233, -97.1760)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Skeeter Walker, Super Spook, or Corky
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Use topwater lures, but not broken backs.

Location: Lower Laguna Madre
Hotspot: South Bay
GPS: N 26 1.785, W 97 11.0109
(26.0298, -97.1835)

Species: Black Drum
Best Baits: Live Shrimp, Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny, Pearl
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Fish the drop-offs and channel edges with bottom rigs with live or dead shrimp. Free shrimping rigs also work. A transient snook might also strike your offering. Bounce a Gulp! Shrimp on the bottom.

Location: Port Mansfield
Hotspot: Community Bar
GPS: N 26 35.144, W 97 25.644
(26.5857, -97.4274)

Species: Speckled trout
Best Baits: Soft plastics in red/white, limetreuse, pearl/chartreuse.
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Use soft plastics around the edges of the Bar to find both trout and redfish. Fish slowly to work deeper water.

Location: Port Mansfield
Hotspot: The Saucer
GPS: N 26 27.694, W 97 21.685
(26.4616, -97.3614)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: Live Croaker
Source: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
Tips: Use a bigger croaker; but the trout are aggressive whether the croaker is small or big.

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