Changing Patterns & Changing Mentalities

Winter took forever to get here and seemed like it took even longer to get out of town.  This delay in normal seasonal change caused trout to stay in their cold-weather patterns longer than expected. Since December we’ve caught the majority of our fish over primarily mud and shell bottoms near deep water. Because of the frequency of cold fronts, water temperatures hovered in the mid-fifties most of the time even as we entered the first day of spring on March 20th. Now that fronts are becoming less frequent water temperatures are ranging from low-60s to near 70° some days. As a result trout are becoming more scattered with little or no predictability to their patterns. This is especially true for our Upper Coast bays.

With warmer nighttime temperatures trout and redfish typically pull up on shallow flats in the evenings and become easier targets at the crack of dawn the following morning.  However, we’ve had many days with extremely low tides keeping this strategy from being very reliable. Not only have the lunar tides created a negative pull but late fronts generating stiff northerly winds and high barometric pressure have exaggerated low water levels. Relentless high winds have added insult to injury by muddying the water.    

Speaking of tough conditions, I recently attended the captains meeting for The Saltwater Legend Series that was held out of Harborwalk Marina in Hitchcock, Texas. It was a two-day event where some of the top anglers on the entire coast competed for some hefty payouts and prizes. The anglers were greeted with northwest winds gusting to nearly 30 mph on the first day of the tournament. The second day consisted of that dreaded super low tide and post-front high pressure bluebird sky scenario that can humble even the best of the best. Speaking of “the best,” it was awesome to get to be in the same room with many of these future “Legends.”  It was even more gratifying to get the opportunity to visit with some of them and hear their perspective on modern day trout fishing, how it compares to years past, and their genuine interest in conservation.  It was very refreshing to say the least.   

This mission statement taken from their Facebook page says it all: “The Saltwater Legend Series is an organization whose sole purpose is to honor the heroes of the sport of saltwater fishing, preserve the history of the sport and its anglers, promote its values and celebrate excellence everywhere.” I especially like the part about celebrating excellence. This isn’t just a fishing tournament folks. This series and its message is significantly changing the way things are done and the way we think in a positive way.  All of the anglers participating were very proud to be there. I could see it on their faces that night.

Our good friend, Mickey Eastman, was honored and inducted into the Saltwater Legend Series Hall of Fame at this year’s Galveston event. Mickey has been at it for a very long time and continues to have a positive influence on our sport through not only his own charters where he practices catch and release but also through his weekly Outdoor Show on Sports Radio 610AM KILT Houston. I was honored to speak alongside Blaine Friermood, James Plaag, and Jimmy Lloyd as we congratulated him on his induction.  These gentlemen along with myself have experienced many ups and downs in our fishery through the years, but we’ve made many memories in the process. We’re all thankful to still be doing it because making a living as a professional fishing guide isn’t always easy. 

Chad Peterek and his crew have set the new standard for saltwater tournaments with their approach to conservation. Each trout is weighed on the spot right where the angler caught it then released into the exact location from which it was caught. This is verified by cell phone video. Hopefully, this is the wave of the future with tournaments as our fishery needs all the help it can get after dealing with issues such as the freeze and habitat loss.

Congratulations to my friends, Trey Prye, Brooks Kelm and Kyle Holmes for their victory in the Galveston event. Their ability to stay persistent and focused in horrible conditions payed off in a big way. Best of luck to them and the rest of top notch fishermen heading into the next and final event in Aransas Pass.

Getting back to what to expect in the coming weeks, we will see some positive changes if we haven’t already by the time this issue hits the newsstands. The majority of the fronts will be behind us and water temperatures will stabilize in the low- to mid-70s.  Trout and redfish will begin to form actual schools. When this happens forage species such as shad and mullet will ball up when predator fish are nearby. In addition, our target species will show themselves more frequently because there will be more of them together in one area compared to their “scattered” nature from weeks before. Slicks, nervous water, mud boils, and hovering gulls will be dead giveaways.

Open water live oyster reefs will become more consistent producers as we get on into May. Casting to small slicks and working the edges of rafting mullet with topwaters and tails can be a blast when conditions allow. MirrOlure She Dogs, Rapala Skitter Walks, and Spook One Knockers are my top three choices for surface plugs. Saltwater Assassins, MirrOlure Provokers and Lil Johns definitely get it done in the soft plastic department. We used to catch some really big trout doing this in years past. It now seems to be more of a numbers thing.  Either way, we’ll have fun doing it.

Targeting hard sand bottomed areas near passes will produce some of our larger trout for this time period. Current is the determining factor when fishing near a pass or a cut leading to the Gulf. San Luis Pass, for example, is at its best during a tide change or when there’s moderate flow in or out. Too much current can muddy up the water making catching difficult. There’s no real structure or habitat per se to hold fish near the Pass.  It’s more about locating the active bait along edges of guts and sandbars. The trout always seem to be on the move in these areas. Topwaters are great search baits while fishing these areas. It’s important to understand the right time to be standing there.  Otherwise, it can be a very humbling fishing experience.

Shoreline coves are great areas to target, especially on the windier days. In fact, I actually prefer some wind when wading the coves. Soft plastics always seem to be productive but we sure did have a lot of fun the past few years chunking twitchbaits such as the Borboleta LeLe, Rapala X-Raps, and Texas Custom Lures Double Ds. As a bonus, the larger trout seem to prefer them.