Bring on the Heat

SABINE LAKE & PASS

Reported by CAPT. EDDIE HERNANDEZ

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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THINGS ARE HEATING UP rather nicely as the spring season is winding down and summer is lurking just around the corner. Coastal towns from Port Arthur to Port Isabel are coming to life as anglers and their respective ecosystems are eager to show off what they have to offer. Options are now limitless for anglers up and down the coast looking to consistently box the Big 3. Here on Sabine Lake the bite is on from the marsh and bayous, to the Gulf of Mexico. The months of May and June present a much welcomed span as anglers will reap the benefits of the ever-increasing water temperatures and stable weather conditions that coincide with it. 

With the wind finally beginning to settle somewhat, and the mercury continuing to climb, the fishing just keeps getting better. The jetty bite will heat up in a big way with nice boxes of trout and reds being taken on both the Texas and Louisiana sides. When the wind is predominantly east, we fish the more protected west (Texas) jetty. If it is a westerly flow, we fish the east (Louisiana) side. Both the channel and the Gulf sides are productive, but the outside is usually more consistent, especially for trout. A Louisiana license is a must if you plan on fishing anywhere on the east jetty. Work the rocks thoroughly until you locate the fish. The reds will, more often than not, be stacked up along the rock piles. The trout will usually be scattered all along the wall with the most consistent action coming near the washouts. 

Tidal movement is crucial with incoming and outgoing tides equally productive. Work both sides until you find the fish, throwing topwaters and swim baits. Light colored soft plastics rigged on 1/4 oz. lead heads are also hard to beat if you’ve got pretty water. A DOA Shrimp or a Vudu Shrimp should also fool some nice trout, which will be holding close to the rocks. The action should be equally as good in the lake. Both the North and South Revetments on Pleasure Island are great places to start. Throwing topwaters early on calm mornings can result in some serious blowups. Incoming tides should be your best bet, but as long as you’ve got moving water you should be in business, especially if there’s bait present. Topwaters, soft plastics and jerk baits are very hard for these hefty trout to resist. The serious flounder fishermen will key on the mouths of the bayous and cuts on the Louisiana shoreline. Work these areas over well as you make your way down the bank. The stretch between Greens Bayou and Johnson Bayou is prime real estate for flounder during this time. Mud minnows or curl-tail grubs tipped with fresh shrimp should be all you need to entice these tasty flatfish to bite.

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Summer’s Here

GALVESTON

Reported by CAPT. DEREK YORK

Email Derek York at spotstalkerfishing@yahoo.com

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SUMMERTIME IS FINALLY HERE on the Texas coast and the fishing is as hot as ever.  The kids are ready to enjoy their summer break and what better way to do it than get outside and go fishing!  May and June offer some great opportunities for anglers all over the Galveston Bay complex, whether fishing from the shore, surf or off of a boat.  The jetties and beach front can offer some great fishing for speckled trout and redfish along with sheepshead and black drum.  Fishing the reefs in the open bay is also producing some great catches of trout.  And some of my favorite offshore pelagic species, including sharks, tripletail and cobia, are starting to show up in good numbers at the passes and in the bays.

Surf fishing is a great way to get out early in the day to watch the sunrise over the Gulf and usually have some pretty good luck catching trout in between the sandbars just off the beach.  Typical baits to use are soft plastics, spoons and live shrimp or croaker.  Locating active bait on the beach is a key to success when deciding where to fish.  Look for mullet jumping or big schools of menhaden up on the surface to increase your odds.

The jetties are continuing to produce some great catches of just about everything this time of year, with a good number of sheepshead and some really great speckled trout fishing along the rocks.  For the trout, I prefer to use a very light setup of fluorocarbon leader with a small treble hook and live shrimp, free lined up on the rocks.  I will usually add a small split shot to keep the bait down a few feet from the surface.  These bites can be really aggressive, so don’t be surprised when a 6-8 pound trout slams your bait!  For sheepshead, I’m using either a popping cork up on the rocks, or a ¼ oz weight above my fluorocarbon leader and hook fish along the bottom edge of the rocks.

Inside the bay, I spend a lot of time drifting shell in 5-10 feet of water with croaker or soft plastics.  Once you locate fish, make sure to utilize your electronics and keep track of your drifts so you can go right back to your bites and stay on them. I will try to mark the location of a couple bites to have as reference points on the map.  This will help you stay on active fish more and give you a better understanding of how the fish are relating to the reef at that time.  One of the best tools I’ve added recently to my electronics is the Reef Recon map overlay (https://troutsupport.com/products/oyster-reef-recon).  This has drastically decreased my time in locating live reefs and gives you a much better idea of where to be fishing.  

With all these opportunities, make sure to get out and make the best of this early part of summer.  

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Take a Kid Fishing!

MATAGORDA

Reported by CAPT. MARK TALASEK

Email Mark Talasek at MarkTalasek@sbcglobal.com

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REMEMBER WHEN WE GOT our first push button rod and reel?  I would tie a weight on the end and play cast all day long. Before the days of video gaming.  That is what entertained me as a kid.  Trying to cast into buckets set up in the yard.  Practicing until we are ready for the real thing.  Get a pound of dead shrimp.  Put one on a circle hook with a weight and cast it off the pier.  Dangling your feet in the water waiting for a hardhead to bite.  The moment something tugged on the other end of your line it was on!  It was fun even though most of the time there was a trash fish on the other end. There’s something about never knowing what you are going to catch. 

I was lucky enough to have a father who was a fishing guide.  I jumped in the boat every opportunity to go fishing.  Some kids don’t have that.  If you get a chance, pass that knowledge on to them youngsters.  Something as simple as tying a knot.  We take it for granted but someone else might not know. We all have to learn from someone.  

I learned something from every fishing trip.  Countless times on the water, some good, some bad.  Each trip was an experience.  Where to go at certain times, where not to go.  What bait to use. Hook size, line type, rod and reel, weather, moon, tide etc.  There are so many factors to catch fish.  Someone had to teach us.  

Basic navigation of a boat is something we take for granted.  Putting the plugs in, loading/unloading, safety equipment, docking, submerged objects etc.  I unloaded my boat for the morning trip and was waiting for my customers when someone came up and said that my boat was sitting low in the water.  Sure enough I forgot to put the plugs in. Back on the trailer to let all the water out. Lol. Even the pros get complacent.

 

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